Golf Events from the Weekend 24th April 2011

Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) with his Volvo China Open Trophy

Well it was another exciting weekend on the Professional Golf Tours from around the world.

First, I will start with the European Tour and the Race to Dubai. This week it was the 2nd leg of the 1st of two Asian Swings it is doing this year. It was the Volvo China Open and it was being played at the Luxehills International Country Club, Chengdu, China. And the player that took home the trophy was Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium). He scored rounds of 65-7, 67-5, 66-6 and a final round of 66-6 for a 72 hole total of 264-24 and he won by 4shots for his 1st ever European Tour Victory.

Many thought his 1st European Tour win would have come much earlier in his career because at the age of 18 years old, back in 2001 he was the 2nd youngest player to gain his European Tour card at his 1st try at the gruelling Qualifying School. But he didn’t live up to the high expectations he set early on in his career and twice had to go back to Qualifying School. Plus he had a couple of season on the Challenge Tour which is the equivalent of the Nationwide Tour on the USPGA Tour. And won a Tournament there hence it put him on the European Tour in 2010. And last year he finished 67th on the Race to Dubai Money List. But before this Tournament he had not really shown any indication that a Victory was near.

But the longest hitter on the European Tour had the week of his life. He started the final round on -18 and had a 1shot lead over the young South Korean Golfer Chang - won Han (South Korea). But Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) continued on his fine form in the final round. With solid birdies on the 1st and 4th holes he quickly moved to -22 and when he made 3 birdies in a row to finish out the front nine in 31-5 and he was now at -23, when he birdied the Par 5, 16th hole to get too -24, the Tournament was virtually his. Danny Lee (New Zealand) had early shot a brilliant round final of 65-7 that was bogey free to post -20 after 72holes. Also Pablo Martin (Spain) had posted the best round of the day a 63-9 and was also -20 after 72 holes, and Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark) had shot 66-6 and was -20 after 72 holes as well. And finally Peter Lawrie (Ireland) shot a final round of 68-4 to also finish -20 after 72 holes. He had a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to finish at -21 and take 2nd place prize money all by himself, but he left it short. So all those players finished tied for 2nd.

Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) made a solid par on the Par 3, 17th hole and went to the 72nd hole with a 4shot lead. He hit a booming drive straight down the middle of the fairway and hit a mid iron on to the front of the green. He left his 45foot eagle putt 12feet short and missed the next one but it was irrelevant to the situation. He tapped in his short par putt to finish with 66-6 in the final round and was 264-24 after 72holes and had won his 1st European Tour Event as I mentioned earlier. He won € 350,946 for his win that places him 10th on the Race to Dubai money list with €447,610 from the 8 events he has played this year so far. Charl Schwartzel (RSA) is in 1st place with €1,587,333 won from the 9 events he has played this year. The win should almost guarantee Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) a place in the Climax to the Race to Dubai which is the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World that is played in early December. The Top 60 players on the Race to Dubai money list prior to that final event get to play in the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World. And he also has a two year exemption on the European Tour that last till the end of 2013.

I will look for Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) to keep on improving this year and he may be even achieving another win. Perhaps he will even get to play in some of the Majors? I wish him luck for the rest of the season. Danny Lee (New Zealand) waved the New Zealand Flag high this week on the European Tour with his tied 2nd finish. He scored rounds of 66-6, 68-4, 69-3 and an amazing 65-7 in the final round to finish on 264 -20 after 72holes. It was his best finish on the European Tour as a Professional, of course we all remember that win he had as an Amateur on the European Tour in February 2009 which came at the Johnnie Walker Classic that was played in Perth, Australia that year. At the time he was the youngest winner ever on the European Tour at age 18, but as we all know it has since been beaten twice by the Amazing Italian talent of Matteo Manassero (Italy) that just last week won for the 2nd time two days before his 18th Birthday.  

Getting back to Danny Lee (New Zealand), he can take a lot of confidence from this tied for 2nd place finish. And it makes up for the Disqualification he suffered after the final round on the Maybank Malaysian Open last week where he signed an incorrect scorecard. He earned € 140,086.13 for his efforts and that places him 46th on the Race to Dubai Money List with €163,864 won from the 6events he has played this year. He will now have to decide where he wants to play for the rest of the year because he has both a Nationwide Tour card in the USA and a European Tour card on the European Tour for 2011 season. And he now is well placed on both money lists. I feel he will concentrate his efforts still on the Nationwide Tour because he owns a house in Dallas, Texas. And I feel that the USPGA Tour is where he wants to play in the long term. But that could all change if he was to win in his Country of birth this week, where he is going to play the Ballantine’s Championship at the Blackstone GC, Icheon, Seoul, Korea Republic. It is great to see Danny Lee (New Zealand) produce the results we all know he was capable of from the 1st day he turned Professional. I wish him all the best for the 2011 season.

In 6th place all on his own was Christian Nilsson (Sweden) on -19, Tied for 7th were Jamie Donaldson (Wales), Gregory Havret (France) and Danny Willett (England) on -18. And rounding out the top 10 were Richard Finch (England) the 2007 Michael Hill NZ Open Champion, Pablo Larrazabal (Spain), Gareth Maybin (Northern Ireland), Jeev Milkha Singh (India) and Aaron Townsend (Australia), they were all on -17. The scoring was extremely low this week with -5 being the number you had to be at after 36holes to make the halfway cut. Next best of the New Zealand players was Steve Alker (New Zealand) who had rounds of 66-6, 67-5, 71-1 but a poor final round of 74+2 left him on 278-10 after 72 holes and he tied for 43rd which earned him € 10,739. But because he is only a member of the ONE Asia Tour which this event was co – sanctioned with, he isn’t eligible for the Race to Dubai Money list. But after missing every single cut in 2010 on the Nationwide Tour in the USA. He has now made two cuts in 2consective weeks. I hope this gives him a lot of confidence to keep playing well in 2011 no matter what tour he is playing on.

Also in tied 43rd place was Michael Hendry (New Zealand), He had rounds of 70-2, 69-3, a brilliant 3rd round of 66-6 but a poor final round of 73+1 to finished at 278-10 after 72 holes and also earned € 10,739 for the weeks work. But just like Steve Alker (New Zealand) he too isn’t eligible for the Race to Dubai Money list, because he only has ONE Asia Tour Status. But he just continues on the fine form he has shown over the past year. I wish him well with the rest of his season. Michael Campbell (New Zealand) made another cut and had a fine tournament for him. He scored rounds of 66-5, 71-1, a terrible 3rd round of 75+3 ruined his chance of a top 10 finish, but he redeemed himself in the final round with 69-3 to finish on 282-6 after 72 holes and he tied for 62nd. He earned € 4,948 for his efforts that places him 155th on the Race to Dubai Money list with €36,284 earned from 9 events he has played this year so far.

There were 3 other New Zealand Players in the field but unfortunately they missed the cut. They were Michael Long (New Zealand) at even par, Gareth Paddison (New Zealand) at +2 and Mark Brown (New Zealand) at +4. Next week the European Tour and the Race to Dubai head to South Korea for the Ballantine’s Championship that is being played at Blackstone GC, Icheon, Seoul, Korea Republic and with €2,205,000 prize pool to play for, it is sure to attract another high quality field. Australian Marcus Fraser (Australia) will be looking to defend the title he won last year. First round starts on Thursday (28th April), I will report back who took home the spoils next week.

Brandt Snedeker (USA) with The Heritage Trophy
and the Plaid Jacket that always goes to the Winner

 

Now to the USPGA Tour and the FedEx Cup and this week it was The Heritage that was played at Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina. This Tournament in the last few years has gone ahead with no naming rights Sponsor. There are grave fears that this Tournament may fold and be finished if they can’t find a Sponsor for next year. If that happens I feel it will be a real tragedy for the USPGA Tour, because this year it was the 43rd staging of it. I personally love to watch this tournament as it is played on a world class golf course and always produces a great finish on Sunday afternoon. So please if there is any Big Business out there looking to Sponsor a Sporting Event, please give The Heritage some serious consideration. It will be a win, win situation for both parties.

Well back to who won The Heritage, and this year it was Brandt Snedeker (USA) who scored rounds of 69-2, 67-4, 72+1 and a brilliant final round of 64-7 for a 72 hole total of 272-12. But Luke Donald (England) finished up on the same score. He scored rounds of 67-4, 65-6, 70-1 and a final round of 70-1 for total of 272-12. Luke Donald (England) came to the 72nd hole knowing he needed birdie to win. He hit a fine drive down the centre of the fairway, but miss judged his approach shot and landed short in the front bunker. But with a good lie and as the stats tell us, because he is ranked in the Top 10 in Sand Saves, he produced a brilliant bunker shot that just missed going in the hole. He tapped in for his par and He and Brandt Snedeker (USA) were heading back to the 18th for the 1st playoff hole.

Slugger White the USPGA Tour Official let Brandt Snedeker (USA) draw 1st and he drew number 1 out of the hat. So Brandt Snedeker (USA) teed off 1st and put his drive right down the middle of the fairway. Luke Donald (England) then hit his drive down the middle as well. They both hit brilliant short iron 2nd shots to within 12feet of the pin. Luke Donald (England) was 12feet past the hole and Brandt Snedeker (USA) 12 feet short. Luke Donald (England) putted 1st and hit an awesome putt that rolled into the back of the cup at perfect holing speed and he had applied huge pressure to Brandt Snedeker (USA) with his birdie 3. But Brandt Snedeker (USA) was up to the task and his putt just fell in the hole on its last roll for his birdie 3.

So they both headed off to the Par 3, 17th hole for the 2nd playoff hole. Brandt Snedeker (USA) hit his tee shot just right of the green 20 feet from the hole in the fringe. Luke Donald (England) landed his tee shot in the front bunker, this may have been caused because in regulation play he hit what he thought was a perfect tee shot but it rolled through the green and down the slope at the back. Luke Donald (England) played his 2nd shot 1st and again hit a fine bunker shot that left him with a tricky 5foot par putt to save par. Brandt Snedeker (USA) then putted from the fringe for his birdie and it rolled to 4feet past the hole. They both were able to make their par putts. So that meant they went back to the 18th hole for the 3rd playoff hole.

Brandt Snedeker (USA) still with the honour hit another fine drive down the centre of the fairway. Luke Donald (England) had a Camera Shudder go off in his down swing, but still managed to hit the centre of the fairway. Luke Donald (England) hit his 2nd shot in 1st and was in between an 8 and 9iron. He chose to hit the hard 9iron but pushed it slightly and he had a terrible break, because it plugged in the front bunker. Brandt Snedeker (USA) had a perfect yardage for a 9iron and hit a brilliant shot in the Situation pin high 15feet to the right of the hole. Luke Donald (England) with all his Bunker Skills was unable to keep his 3rd shot on the green and it rolled just through the green into the rough. Brandt Snedeker (USA) then knew that 2putts was all had may need to win his 2nd USPGA Tour title. And that is just what he did rolling his 1st putt to two feet past the hole. Then he tapped in for an easy par. Luke Donald (England) knew he had to chip in to force a 4th playoff hole. He hit an excellent chip shot from about 30feet just in the rough that caught the back of the hole, but didn’t fall.

Brandt Snedeker (USA) hugged his caddie nicknamed “Clear” to celebrate his win. He won $ US1,026,000.00 for his win and is now placed 7th on the Money list with $US 2,031,100 from the 11 events he has played this year. Luke Donald (England) is the New Money list leader with $US 2,754,067 earned from the 6events he has played this year. He also gets 500 FedEx Cup points and he is now placed 7th on the FedEx Cup points list with 975points from the 11events he has played this year. He is 232 points behind the still FedEx Cup point’s leader of nearly 3months now Mark Wilson (USA). He has 1,207points from the 11events he has played this year. And he gets a Plaid Jacket to wear that always goes to The Heritage Champion. Brandt Snedeker’s (USA) only previous win on tour came in 2007 at the Wyndham Championship. I can remember he came out to New Zealand in 2008 to play at the Kiwi Challenge at Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers Golf Course. And his Wife has just had their 1st Child a few months ago. So life for Brandt Snedeker (USA) is going very well right now. I look for him to carry on the good form throughout the rest of this season and to contend in the Majors and make the 2011 US Presidents Cup Team that play the International Team in Melbourne in November.

In 2nd place was Luke Donald (England) as I mentioned above. If he had won this week he would have become the New World Number 1 Golfer. But unfortunately he came up just short. And his fellow Country Man re took the World Number 1 Golf Ranking after winning the Indonesian Masters this past week on the Asian Tour. But getting back to Luke Donald (England), he also misses a chance of getting to the Top of the FedEx Cup Points list, but at least he now is 2nd and has 1,144 points from the 6events he has played this year. He is only 63points behind Mark Wilson (USA). But as I mention before Luke Donald (England) is now Top of the USPGA Tour Money List with $US 2,754,067 earned from the 6events he has played this year. So at least he can take at least one positive out of this week. I feel he is still in a great place with his golf game right now. And I look for him to contend in the last 3majors this year, just as he did at the Masters. And he is one of my favourites going into the Players Championship next month.



Tommy (Two Gloves) Gainey (USA) in action

 In solo 3rd place was Tommy (Two Gloves) Gainey (USA), He is nicknamed Two Gloves because unlike most Golfers he wears a glove on each hand. He finished at -11 after 72 holes and had a chance to force himself into the playoff with Luke Donald (England) and Brandt Snedeker (USA). But his 15foot birdie putt just missed to the right. But he will be very happy with this finish because it has more than likely rapped up his USPGA Tour card for the 2012 Season.

With 3top 10 finishes this year on tour, and the $US 387,600.00 he won on Sunday for coming 3rd, he now has won $US 917,697 from the 13events he has played this year and is 30th on the money list. He also is 30th in the FedEx Cup Points list with 504points from the 13events he has played this year. That puts him 703points behind Mark Wilson (USA). To me he is the feel good story of the 2011 USPGA Tour season. After getting his tour card at the 2007 USPGA Q-School Finals, he struggled in 2008 on the USPGA Tour finishing outside the top 125 players that retain their cards and that was after having his best finish ever on the USPGA Tour finishing solo 2nd to Davis Love III (USA) at the final event of the 2008 Season which was the Children’s Miracle Network Classic. I thought at that time his USPGA Tour Career was finished.

He went back and played the Nationwide Tour and the few USPGA Tour Events he was allowed to play in 2009 but had little success on both tours. But in 2010 he dedicated himself to the Nationwide Tour and had a brilliant season, he won twice and finished in the Top 10, 5times. He earned $US 403,957 from the 27 events he played and finished 4th on the money list giving him lots of guaranteed starts on the 2011 USPGA Tour early in the season. But after missing his 1st 3cuts of the season he busted into life at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in early February where he finished tied 8th, then in early March he finished 5th at the Honda Classic and on Sunday he finished 3rd at The Heritage. So I hope now he can go on and win his 1st USPGA Tour event in 2011 now, because like I mentioned before his Card is secure for next year now.

Tied 4th were Tim Herron (USA) and Ricky Barnes (USA) on -10, Nick O’Hern (Australia) was the low Australian at -8, tied for 6th, and also at -8 tied for 6th were Ben Crane (USA) and Pat Perez (USA). Kevin Na (USA) was tied 9th after a great final round of 66-5, and finished at -7 after 72holes. I am pleased he didn’t let his 16 +12 on the Par 4 , 9th hole at the Valero Texas Open in the 1st round last week destroy his confidence. And he has now earned $948,465 on tour this year that places him 28th on the money list so his 2012 USPGA Tour card is secure. I hope he gets his 1st Victory this year. Also tied for 9th were Paul Goydos (USA), Garrett Willis (USA) the 1st round leader, Jason Day (Australia) and Scott Verplank (USA) who is one of the most consistent players on the USPGA Tour. They were all at -7.

Next week the USPGA Tour heads to New Orleans and it is Zurich Classic of New Orleans that is being played at TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana. The defending Champion is Jason Bohn (USA) and with a prize purse of $US 6,400,000 for the taking it is sure to attract some of the top players on the USPGA Tour. It starts of Thursday 28th April and I will report back who won next week.

Now to the top 5 in the Official World Golf Rankings and this week there is a change at the Top with Lee Westwood (England) regaining his Number 1 Ranking.  Lee Westwood (England) has 7.65 World Ranking Points, 2nd is Martin Kaymer (Germany) on 7.52 World Ranking Points, Luke Donald (England) is 3rd on 7.37 World Ranking Points. So as you can see there is only .28 points between the Top 3 Golfers in the World Ranking Points. It is the closest it has been in a long time. 4th on the World Ranking Points is Phil Mickelson (USA) with 6.52 World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 is Graeme McDowell (NIR) with 5.84 World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) is in 6th Position with 5.72 World Ranking Points. The best New Zealander on the list is Danny Lee (NZL) who is 361st Position with .45 World Ranking Points.

David Eger (USA) and Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe) with
 the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf Trophy they won

So to the final event I am reporting on this week, and it is on the Champions Tour and is Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf and it was played at the Savannah Harbor Golf Resort, Savannah, Georgia. It is a special tournament that is played it pairs and it was where the Champions Tour began back in 1978. 34 Teams of 2 Champions Tour Professionals completed 3rounds of Best Ball Stroke play and after the 54 holes were complete it was a two way tie at the top of the leader board with David Eger (USA) and Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe) scoring a final round 61-11 to finish at -27, they were joined by Scott Hoch (USA) and Kenny Perry (USA) who scored a final round of 64-8 to also finish -27 after 54holes. So for the third consecutive year this tournament had been forced into a Sudden Death Playoff. So David Eger (USA) and Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe) and Scott Hoch (USA) and Kenny Perry (USA) headed back to the 18th tee for the 1st playoff hole. It was halved in pars. So the 4players head back to the 18th tee again for the 2nd playoff hole. All four players miss the green but they all chipped close with their 3rd Shots. When Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe) holed his par putt. It was left up to Scott Hoch (USA) or Kenny Perry (USA) to hole there short par putts.

When Scott Hoch (USA) missed his par putt it was left up to Kenny Perry (USA) to make his 14 inch par putt and force a 3rd playoff hole, but it lipped out. So that meant David Eger (USA) and Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe) had won the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf. For the win they both earned $US 230,000. There was no change in the Charles Schwab Cup Points this week with Tom Lehman (USA) still on top with 850 points from the 6events he has played this year.

Tied for 3rd on -26 were Russ Cochran (USA) and Mark Wiebe (USA), Michael Allen (USA) and David Frost (RSA), Tom Lehman (USA) and Corey Pavin (USA), Joe Ozaki (Japan) and Ian Baker – Finch (Australia) who had the week off from commentating for CBS Sports, and Keith Fergus (USA) and Wayne Levi (USA). Larry Mize (USA) and Hal Sutton (USA) were tied 8th at -25 along with Gary Halberg (USA) and Ted Schulz (USA), and Peter Senior (Australia) and Sandy Lyle (Scotland).

Next event on the Champions Tour is the Regions Tradition and it is being played at the Shoal Creek Country Club, Shoal Creek, Alabama and it has a purse of $US 2,200,000 to play for. Fred Funk (USA) is the defending Champion, and it starts on Thursday week (5th May) and is the 1st Major on the Champions Tour this year. I will report back who won once the results come to hand.

So until then remember keeping hitting the ball straight and long and make all your putts.

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com