Golf Events from the Weekend 3rd April 2011

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

David Horsey (England) winner of the Trophee Hassan II 2011 with
the Sword Trophy he won

First I will start with the European Tour and the Race to Dubai. This week it was the Trophee Hassan II that was played at the Golf du Palais Royal and Golf de L’Océan, Agadir, Morocco. With €1,500,000 as the prize purse and the last event before the first Major of the year the US Master, it was sure to attract a great field.

And it was David Horsey (England) who came out on top. He scored rounds of 67, 71, 67 and 69 for a 72 hole total of 274-13 and won on the 2nd playoff hole over the defending champion Rhys Davies (Wales) and the young South African Jaco Van Zyl (South Africa). They too finished on -13 after 72holes. So it was back to the 18 hole as the 1st playoff hole. All three players made par 4s. So it was back to the 18th hole for the 2nd time for the 2nd playoff hole. But this time David Horsey (England) didn’t let the chance he had to win slip like he did on the 72nd hole when he missed his birdie putt. This time the birdie putt went straight in the centre of the cup. And he had his 2nd win on the European Tour. It was his 1st win since winning the BMW International Open in 2010.  

The win earns him € 250,000.00 and that moves him to 16th on the Race to Dubai Money list with €292,460 from the 7events he has played this year. Still 1st with €1,221,411 from the 2events he has played this year is Luke Donald (England). The win will be a real boost for David Horsey’s (England) confidence. And because he is not in the 1st Major of the year he is heading back to his family in England soon for a few weeks to celebrate with them his win. George Coetzee (South Africa) was 4th on his own at -11, Oscar Floren (Sweden) and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (France) were tied 5th on -10. Mikko Ilonen (Finland) and Richie Ramsey (Scotland) were tied 7th on -9, and rounding out the top 10, tied in 9th place were Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Japan) and David Lynn (England) on -8.

The big surprise of the week was the play of Michael Campbell (New Zealand), after only making one cut in the 6events he had entered this year on the European Tour prior to this event, he had his best finish on the European Tour since finishing 3rd in the Quinn Insurance British Masters way back in late September 2008. So it had been a long time between drinks for him. He scored rounds of 69, 71, 71 and 71 for a 72hole total of 282-5. He won € 16,320 for his efforts and that moved him to 176 position on the Race to Dubai rankings with €19,220 he has won from the 7events he has entered this year. He is still a long way off making the Top 60 on the list, that will earn a place into the Dubai World Championship presented by DP world in early December, or even getting in the top 115 on the European Tour Order of Merit that keep their playing Status for the 2012 season. But with the confidence he will have gained from scoring 4consective rounds under par. I feel bigger and better things are going to happen in the future for him. And I wish him all the best with that.

The other New Zealander in the field was Mark Brown (New Zealand) he scored rounds of 73, 74 for a 36hole total of 147+4 and missed the cut by 2shots. He has now made 6cuts out of the 8events he has played this year. With his best finish being the 23rd place at the South African Open Championship just before Christmas last year. He is in 142nd place on the Race to Dubai money list with €31,183 from 8events. He is going to need to start playing better if he is going to keep his playing status for 2012. The next event on the European Tour is the Masters Tournament, which is also the first Major of the year. It is played at the famed Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia, USA and only the best players on the European Tour are invited to play. It always produces an exciting finish, and is definitely a must see for me every year. So for the players that haven’t been invited, the next event on the European Tour is the 1st leg of the Asian Swing. Which 3 Tournaments in Asia are played, the 1st being the Maybank Malaysian Open that is played at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It starts on Thursday 14th April. But firstly I will report back who took home the green jacket at the Masters Tournament in my report next week. 

Phil Mickelson (USA) with the
Shell Houston Open trophy he won

So to the USPGA Tour and this week it was the Shell Houston Open that was played at Redstone GC Tournament Course, Humble, Texas. And with the purse of $US5,900,000 up for grabs it attracted another fine field of the best USPGA Tour players. But the player that came out on top was Phil Mickelson (USA), and it was a very popular victory for him and all his fans. He scored rounds of 70-2, 70-2, 63-9 and 65-7 for a 72hole total of 268-20 which was a brand new Tournament Record. He also scored the lowest 3rd and 4th rounds of any player in the field. And he equalled the course round in the 3rd round with his 63-9. But it was not as easy as it sounded for Phil Mickelson (USA).

He started the final round tied with Scott Verplank (USA) on -13, After nine holes Scott Verplank (USA) had a 1shot lead at -16, over Phil Mickelson (USA) who birdied the par3, 9th hole to get to -15, They both birdied the par 4, 10th hole, But Phil Mickelson (USA) birdied the par 4, 11th hole to Scott Verplank’s (USA) par, so they were now both tied at -17 with 7holes to play. They both birdied the next two holes to both move to -19 with 5holes to play. So at this stage of the Tournament it had turned into a 2horse race. A Phil Mickelson (USA) par on the par 3, 14th hole to a Scott Verplank (USA) bogey, meant that Phil Mickelson (USA) now had a one shot lead because he was -19 to Scott Verplank (USA) dropping back to -18. Phil Mickelson (USA) looked like he was going to extend his lead to two shots when he hit the par 5, 15th hole in 2shots. He attacked his 30foot eagle and it rolled 6feet past. And surprisingly he lipped out his birdie putt. So he had to settle for a par 5, and that was all that Scott Verplank (USA) could manage as well.

So Phil Mickelson (USA) still was -19, and still held a 1shot lead over Scott Verplank (USA) that was -18 with 3holes to play. Phil Mickelson (USA) hit a brilliant tee shot to the par 3, 16 hole. It landed 8feet to the left of the pin, pin high. And presented himself a great birdie chance. But Scott Verplank’s (USA) tee shot landed in the right hand greenside bunker, and he was unable to get up and down. And when Phil Mickelson (USA) calmly rolled in his birdie putt, it meant Phil Mickelson (USA) was now -20 and had a 3shot lead over Scott Verplank (USA) with 2holes to play. So to the 17th hole. Phil Mickelson (USA) sliced his tee shot to the left of the fairway but was able to put his approach shot on the green. Scott Verplank (USA) hit the fairway with his drive but his approach shot landed over the green. But he hit a fine chip shot and got up and down for his par 4, and Phil Mickelson (USA) also two putted from 40feet for his par.

So Phil Mickelson (USA) took a 3shot lead to the 72nd hole. Jim Mackay (Bones) his caddie convinced him to hit a 3wood off the tee instead of a driver. And he hit a brilliant shot right down the centre of the fairway. Scott Verplank (USA) hit driver right down the centre as well and passed Phil Mickelson’s (USA) ball. Phil Mickelson (USA) hit his 2nd shot just over the green. Scott Verplank (USA) hit his 2nd shot on the green 30 feet to the right of the hole. Phil Mickelson’s (USA) 3rd shot chip almost went in the hole and stopped 2feet just past the hole. Scott Verplank (USA) two putted for his par and he finished up on 271-17 in tied for 2nd place. Then the stage was set for Phil Mickelson (USA) to tap in for par and winning his 1st USPGA Tour event since winning the 2010 Masters Tournament. It was also his 39 win of his USPGA Tour Career and he gains 500FedEx Cup points for the win, which puts him 2nd on the FedEx Cup Points with 1,048 points from the 8events he has played this year, he is 113 behind Mark Wilson (USA) who is leading the FedEx Cup Points list with 1,161 points from 9events he has played this year. And he has now been on top of the list for 9consective weeks. Phil Mickelson (USA) also moves to 3rd on the Money List with $US 1,062,000.00 he won for winning the Shell Houston Open that is included in the $US2,107,131  he has earned from 8events he has played this year. Mark Wilson (USA) also leads that list as well with $US2,430,825 earned from 9events he has played this year to date. It was a great win by Phil Mickelson (USA) and a timely one as well. Because next week is the 1st Major of the year, The US Masters Tournament and he is defending Champion as well. He will be looking to do what he did 5years ago in 2006 when he won the Bell South Classic the week before and went on to win his 2nd Masters Tournament title the following week, becoming only the 4th player to win the tournament before the Masters then win the Masters Tournament the week after. And I would say he has every chance of doing that again, because he knows the Augusta National Course so well and he is in great form at the moment.

Plus the Victory in Houston was Special to his family because over the past year his Wife Amy and his Mother have been having treatment for Breast Cancer in a Hospital in Houston. And he now has completed a career goal of surpassing Tiger Woods in the World Golf Rankings, I will mention more about that later on. Scott Verplank’s (USA) 2nd place finish was a fine effort because he has been dealing with a painful wrist injury that has meant he has only been able to play 4events on the USPGA Tour this year and he had to with draw from one of them as well. He must be one of the most consistent players on the USPGA Tour over the past 10 years having earned over 1million US$ each year since 2000 till now. And I would say it is a good bet that he will earn 1million US$ this year as well. He is thinking of Surgery to fix his wrist, but the Doctors are telling him it is extremely risky operation.

Also it was a fine performance by Chris Kirk (USA) who is in his Rookie year on the USPGA Tour as he tied for 2nd on -17 alongside Scott Verplank (USA). He was the only player to have 4rounds in the 60’s. After gaining his card by finishing 2nd on the Nationwide Tour Money List in 2010 he had been struggling with missing 4cuts in the 9events he had played with his only top 10 finish being at the Bob Hope Classic where he tied for 7th, but the 2nd place finish here earns him $US 519,200.00 and he has now earned $US 779,079 for the 10events he has played this year to date, and he should have no problem keeping his card for next year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he won this year as well. In tied for 4th place at -13 were Steve Stricker (USA) and Aaron Baddeley (Australia), Tied for 6th were Robert Allenby (Australia) and David Hearn (Canada) on -12, Greg Chalmers (Australia), Matt Kuchar (USA), Brandt Jobe (USA), Padraig Harrington (Ireland) and Hunter Mahan (USA) were all tied for 8th at -11 rounding out the top 10. 

The top 5 Golfers in the world have a slight change this week, Martin Kaymer (Germany) number 1 with 7.91 world ranking points, Lee Westwood (England) number 2 with 7.43 world ranking points, Phil Mickelson (USA) moves up to Number 3 with 6.75 world ranking points, Luke Donald (England) 4th with 6.59 world ranking points and rounding out the top 5 is Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland) in 5th with 6.11 world ranking points, Tiger Woods (USA) is now 7th in the world with 5.64 world ranking points.

Next week is the 1st Major of the year, it is the 75th renewal of the Master Tournament that is played at Augusta National GC, Augusta, Georgia and has an invited field with near to 100 players on the list. It is one of my favourite Tournaments of the year, because I know all the holes from watching it every year since 1993 when Bernhard Langer (Germany) won his 2nd Masters Green Jacket, which is the prize the winner gets for winning the Tournament along with the $US 1,350,000 first prize cheque. And in 1997 is another found memory I have when Tiger Woods (USA) won his 1st Major and Masters Tournament winning it by 12shots when he scored -18 for the 72 holes. And when Tiger Woods (USA) won his 4th Masters Tournament in 2005 with the Famous Chip in for birdie 2 on the par 3 16th Hole:

He went on to eventually beat Chris DiMarco (USA) on the 1st playoff hole the 18th with a 20foot birdie putt. And I have many more memories but I could go on all day. There is always a traditional par 3 tournament on the short 9hole par 3 course, next to the 18hole Augusta National Golf Club. It is on the Wednesday afternoon before the tournament starts proper with the 1st round on Thursday morning, with a past champion who is no longer able to compete given the honour of hitting the 1st tee shot to get the Tournament started. I will look forward to reporting back who won the Green Jacket for 2011 next week.

So to my final event I am reporting on this week, and it was on the Champions Tour, it was the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic that was played at the Fallen Oak GC, Biloxi, Mississippi. It was Tom Lehman (USA) who came out the winner after the 54holes were completed. He scored rounds of 67-5, 64-8 and 69-3 for a 54 hole total of 200-16. He won by 4shots over Nick Price (Zimbabwe), Jeff Sluman (USA) and David Frost (South Africa) who were -12. He has now earned 694 Charles Schwab Cup Points from the 4events he has played this year and leads by 216 points from Nick Price (Zimbabwe).

Tom Lehman (USA) winner of the
Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic 2011

Tom Lehman (USA) won $US 240,000.00 for the win and also leads the Champion’s tour money list with $US 718,038 from the 4events he has played this year and Nick Price (Zimbabwe) is 2nd on $US 515,233 from the 5events he has played this year. It was Tom Lehman’s (USA) 2nd win on the Champions Tour this year after winning the Allianz Championship back in February. Having joined the Champions tour in 2009 when he turned 50, he is having his best season to date and this could be his year to win the Charles Schwab Cup. I hope he continues on his fine form throughout the rest of the season. I can remember Tom Lehman (USA) winning the 1996 Open Championship, because I won $150 from a $5 bet at the NZ TAB.

Tied 5th were Olin Browne (USA) and Jay Haas (USA) on -11, tied for 7th was the ever green Hale Irwin (USA), the straight hitting Fred Funk (USA) and Steve Lowery (USA) they were all on -10, and rounding out the top 10 was Mark Calcavecchia (USA) on -9. Peter Senior (Australia) has another good finish at -7 in tied 13th place. The next tournament on the Champions Tour is Outback Steakhouse Pro – Am and it is played at TPC Tampa Bay, Lutz, Florida. It starts on Friday 15th April and with $US 1,700,000 purse to play for it is sure attract a great field. Bernhard Langer (Germany) is the defending Champion. I will report back who won when the tournament has finished.

So until then remember keep hitting it straight and making all your putts. Until next time keep safe.

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com