Golf Events from the Weekend 22nd May 2011

Ian Poulter (England) with the Volvo World Match Play Championship Trophy

Well it was an 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 there was two tournaments on the European Tour. First I will start with the main one which was Volvo World Match Play Championship and it was played at the Finca Cortesin GC, Casares, Andalucia, Spain. And it was the out spoken English professional Ian Poulter (England) that won the trophy.

This week it was Match play rather than the usual 72hole Stroke play tournament. At the start of the week on Thursday there were 24 players divided into 8 groups of 3 players. On Thursday and Friday they each played each other once in 18 hole match play and the player that led each group after they had all played each other advanced to the last 16 players that qualified for Weekend play. The 8 players that won their matches on Saturday Morning then played the Quarter Finals on Saturday Afternoon.

On Sunday Morning it was the Semi – Finals with only 4 players left. The first Semi – Final saw Martin Kaymer (Germany) verse Luke Donald (England). Luke Donald (England) was too steady for Martin Kaymer (Germany) and convincingly beating him 5&3 and was the first player in to the 18 hole final in the Afternoon. The other Semi – Final saw Ian Poulter (England) take on Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium), and this was a much closer game. It took 19 holes to decide the winner and it was Ian Poulter (England) who eventually prevailed.

So to the final and to decide who was going to hold aloft the Volvo World Match Play Championship Trophy for 2011? It was between two English Men. Luke Donald (England) verse Ian Poulter (England). If Luke Donald (England) won, he would move to the World Number 1 Position. Luke Donald (England) got off to a good start with winning the 2nd hole with a par to go 1up on Ian Poulter (England). But Ian Poulter (England) birdied the Par 4, 4th hole, to get back to square. And then he won the par 5, 5th hole with a birdie as well to go 1up on Luke Donald (England). Luke Donald (England) hit straight back on the next hole with a birdie 2 on the Par 3, 6th hole. So it was back to all square. Luke Donald (England) had the Par 5, 8th hole conceded to him by Ian Poulter (England), so he went back to 1up.

But again Luke Donald (England) gave the 1up lead back on the 9th hole where he made a Bogey to an Ian Poulter (England) par. So they both were all square after 9holes. On to the Par 3, 10th hole, a Luke Donald (England) par to an Ian Poulter (England) bogey meant Luke Donald (England) went back to 1up. But on the par 3, 12th hole, Ian Poulter (England) made a birdie 2 to a Luke Donald (England) par 3. So it was all square with 6 holes to play. On the Par 4, 14th hole, Ian Poulter (England) made a birdie 3 to Luke Donald (England) par 4. So Ian Poulter (England) now had the lead for the 1st time since the 5th hole. They halved the Par 4, 15th hole in bogeys. Then Ian Poulter (England) made a birdie on the Par 4, 16th to a Luke Donald (England) par, so Ian Poulter (England) was now 2up with 2holes to play.

They both made pars on the Par 3, 17th hole. And that meant that Ian Poulter (England) had won the Volvo World Match Play Championship 2&1. It was the 1st time he had ever won the Volvo World Match Play Championship. But it was a great thrill for him because when he was a young boy he used to watch the Volvo World Match Play Championship when it was played at Wentworth Club, Surrey, England. Ian Poulter (England) won € 566,660 for his win and it places him 8th on the Race to Dubai Money list with €698,632 earned from the 8events he has played this year to date. Luke Donald (England) is leading with €1,831,495 earned from the 4 events he has played this year so far. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the highest placed New Zealander on the list with €163,864 earned from the 7 events he has played this year to date and that places him 61st on the list.

It was also Ian Poulter (England) 1st top 10 of the 2011 season. And it was his 11 career win on the European Tour; also with the win he is exempt on the European Tour till the end of 2013. I feel this win will only increase his confidence. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on to win a Major this year. Luke Donald (England) again had to settle for 2nd place which will annoy him. But the € 377,770 he earned for coming 2nd has him number 1 on the Race to Dubai Money list as I mentioned earlier. And I am sure he will gain the number 1 ranking in the coming months and perhaps even win a Major?

Michael Hoey (NIR) kissing the Madeira Islands Open Trophy that he won

The Semi – Final losers Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) and Martin Kaymer (Germany) each earned € 191,400. The Quarter Final losers Graeme McDowell (NIR), Francesco Molinari (Italy), Alvaro Quiros (Spain) and Charl Schwartzel (RSA) each earned € 112,500. The round of 16 losers Aaron Baddeley (Australia), Johan Edfors (Sweden), Ross Fisher (England), Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark), Rory McILroy (NIR), Seung-yul Noh (South Korea), Jhonattan Vegas (Columbia) and Lee Westwood (England) each earned € 58,730. The other 8 players that didn’t make the round of 16 all earned € 40,540.

The other event on the European Tour this week which was also part of the Challenge Tour and it was the Madeira Islands Open that was played at the Porto Santo Golfe, Madeira, Portugal. And it was the Northern Irishman Michael Hoey (NIR) that came away with the top prize. He scored rounds of 72even, 68-4, 67-5 and a final round of 71-1 for a 72 hole total of 278-10. He won by 2shots, it was his 2nd win on the European Tour having also won the Estoril Open de Portugal back in 2009. He earned € 116,660.00 for the win that places him in 54th place on the Race to Dubai Money list with €189,460 earned from the 12 events he has played this year to date. I hope this win gives him the confidence to keep on improving in 2011 season and stay in the Top 60 on the money list that get to play the final event of the season in Dubai in Mid December.

Two English men were tied for 2nd on -8 and they were Jamie Elson (England) and Chris Gane (England). Tied for 4th were Federico Colombo (Italy), Jose Filipe Lima (Portugal), and Lloyd Saltman (Scotland) they were all on -6, in tied 7th place were Markus Brier (Austria), Magnus A Carlsson (Sweden) and Colm Moriarty (Ireland) they were all on -5. And tied for 10th were Alastair Forsyth (Scotland), Sebi Garcia (Spain), Branden Grace (South Africa), Ricardo Santos (Portugal), Lee Slattery (England), and Tom Whitehouse (England) they were all on -4.  

Next week on the European Tour they play one of the biggest events of the season and it is the BMW PGA Championship that is being played at the Wentworth Club, Surrey, England and with a purse of €4,500,000 up for grabs it is going to attract a brilliant field. Simon Khan (England) will be looking to defend the title he won last year. It starts on Thursday 26th May and I will report back who took home the spoils next week.

So to the USPGA Tour and the FedEx Cup and this week it was the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and it was played at Colonial CC, Ft. Worth, Texas. And it was last week’s runner up David Toms (USA) who managed to pick himself up from the disappointment from last week and win this week. He scored two brilliant rounds to start with, with back to back 62-8’s in rounds one and two which gave him a 7shot lead after 36holes. But he came back to the field in the 3rd round scoring 74+4 and was 1shot out of the lead heading into the final round, but a final round 67-3 gave him a 72 hole total of 265-15 and he won by 1shot.

In the final round he played a steady front nine of 34-1 without a drop shot on the card. That put him at -13 with 9holes to play and a 1shot lead over Charlie Wi (South Korea). But the turning point in the tournament for David Toms (USA) was when he holed his 3rd shot with a Wedge on the Par 5, 11th hole for an eagle 3. He was now -15, and when he added another birdie when he hole a curling left to right putt on the par 4, 14th hole to get to -16 the Tournament was virtually his for the taking. Charlie Wi (South Korea) reduced the lead to two shots when he birdied the Par 3, 16th hole to a David Toms (USA) par, and Charlie Wi (South Korea) pared the Par 4, 17th hole to a David Toms (USA) bogey.

David Toms (USA) with the Jacket and Trophy for winning the Crowne Plaza Invitational
at Colonial

That meant there was some excitement on the 72nd hole because David Toms (USA) only had a 1shot lead over Charlie Wi (South Korea). Charlie Wi (South Korea) hit 1st and missed the fairway to the right in the rough. David Toms (USA) hit next and hit his tee shot straight down the middle of the fairway. David Toms (USA) hit his 2nd shot into the green 1st and left it 25feet under the hole on the green. Charlie Wi (South Korea) hit his 2nd about 30feet past the pin. Charlie Wi (South Korea) putted for his birdie 1st and just missed. That meant that all David Toms (USA) had to do was 2putt and that is just what he did. It was a great win for him and he had his wife and kids there to share the moment with him.

The win brought a tear to David Toms (USA) eye as it had been almost 5 and a half years since his last win that came in the Sony Open in Hawaii back in 2006. But at age 44 this win must of felt good after the disappointment of last week. And of course at that age you never know if it is going to be your last. It was his 13th win on the USPGA Tour. And one of those wins was the 2001 PGA Championship which is a Major and properly the most important one of his career. He got 500 FedEx Cup points for the win which now places him 4th on the FedEx Cup Points list with 1,229 points earned from the 11 events he has played this year to date. He is 154 points behind the leader Bubba Watson (USA) who has 1,383 points that he has earned from the 12 events he has played this year to date.

David Toms (USA) won $US 1,116,000.00 for the win and moves to 4th on the USPGA Tour Money list with $2,842,215 earned from the 11 events he has played this year to date. Luke Donald (England) is still leading with $3,344,867 earned from the 8events he has played this year to date. So the last 2weeks David Toms (USA) has really found something in his game. I look for him to continue this form for the rest of the year and to contend in the remaining 3 Major Championships. And more than like make the 2011 Presidents Cup Team that plays the Internationals at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Melbourne, Australia in mid November.

 So I wish him all the best for the 2011 Season. In solo 2nd place at -14 after 72 holes was Charlie Wi (South Korea), it was his best finish of the season for him and his 1st top 10 of the season as well. But now he knows his card for 2012 USPGA Tour season is secure, I feel he just may win his 1st USPGA Tour event in the near future. In Solo 3rd place was Bo Van Pelt (USA) at -10, in sole 4th place was the Defending Champion Zach Johnson (USA) at-9, in tied 5th place were Robert Karlsson (Sweden) and Chez Reavie (USA) at -8, in solo 7th place was Kevin Stadler (USA) at -7, Tied for 8th place were Bill Haas (USA) and John Senden (Australia) at -6, and rounding out the top 10 were Kris Blanks (USA), Kevin Streelman (USA), Rod Pampling (Australia), Hunter Mahan (USA), Martin Laird (Scotland) and Paul Goydos (USA) continued on his fine form from the PLAYERS Championship last week where he finished 3rd to tied for 10th here as well with the rest of the players I mentioned at -5.

Next week the USPGA Tour stays in Texas for the HP Byron Nelson Championship which is being played at the TPC Four Seasons Resort, Irving, Texas. And Jason Day (Australia) is the defending champion. With a purse of $US 6,500,000 to play for it is sure to attract another great field. I will report back who took home the Trophy next week.

Now to the Top 5 players on the Official World Rankings this week. Still at number 1 is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.08 Official World Ranking Points, but Luke Donald (England) is very close on his heels with 8.03 Official World Ranking Points, in 3rd place is Martin Kaymer (Germany) on 7.49 Official World Ranking Points, in 4th place is Phil Mickelson (USA) with 6.29 Official World Ranking Points, and rounding out the Top 5 is Graeme McDowell (NIR) with 5.71 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week has slipped out of the Top 10 into 12th place with 5.03 Official World Ranking Points. Best New Zealander is still Danny Lee (New Zealand) with 0.58 Official World Ranking Points and has moved up 53 places to have an Official World Ranking of 289th in the World after his 3rd place finish in the recent Nationwide Tour Event.

Garth Mulroy (RSA) with the BMW Charity Pro-Am Trophy

 

Now to the last event I am reporting on this week, and it is on the Nationwide Tour and it is the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation and it was played at three courses that were Thornblade Club, Greer, South Carolina, Bright's Creek Golf Club, Mill Spring, North Carolina and The Carolina Country Club, Spartanburg, South Carolina. Garth Mulroy (RSA) scored rounds of 65-7, 66-6, 70-1 and 67-4 for a 72 hole total of 268-18. But he was joined on that score by Sung-Hoon Kang (South Korea) who scored rounds of 67-5, 63-8, 69-3 and a final round of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 268-18.

So the 2 players headed back to the 18th tee for the 1st playoff hole. Garth Mulroy (RSA) made a par 4 to Sung-Hoon Kang (South Korea) bogey 5. So Garth Mulroy (RSA) won his 2nd Nationwide Tour event having won the South Georgia Classic Pres'd by First State Bank and Trust Company back in 2009. He earns $US 108,000.00 for the win moves to 2nd on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 123,065 earned from the 5events he has played this year. Mathew Goggin (Australia) is still leading with the $US 194,440 he has earned from the 6events he has played this year to date.

It was a fine win by Garth Mulroy (RSA), having played the USPGA Tour in 2010 after finishing in the Top 25 on the Nationwide Tour in 2009 to get his card on the USPGA Tour in 2010 season, but injury struck him last year in his rookie year on the USPGA Tour and he only managed to play 19 events and earned $US 287,118 from them which placed him 178th on the 2010 USPGA Money list not enough to keep his playing status for the 2011 season. So he chose to stick with the Nationwide Tour this season. I feel he will gain his USPGA Tour card back for 2012 and maybe even win 2 more Tournaments and gain a Battlefield Promotion to the USPGA Tour? I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.

Sung-Hoon Kang (South Korea) had his best ever finish on the Nationwide Tour in his 1st ever event he has played on that tour. He qualified for the USPGA Tour for the 2011 season having finished tied 16th at the 2010 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament but has been struggling in his rookie season with only 3cuts made from 8events played and is 193rd on the USPGA Tour Money list. So this result should help his confidence when he goes back to the USPGA Tour. He won $US 64,800.00 for coming 2nd and is now 13th on the Nationwide Tour Money list. Maybe he should stick to the Nationwide Tour for a few more weeks? I wish him luck for the rest of 2011.

Danny Lee (New Zealand) scored rounds of 68-4, 66-6, 70-1 and a brilliant final round of 65-6 to have a 72 hole total of 269-17 and he finished in solo 3rd position. It was his 3 consecutive top 10 finish in a row and so far his best finish ever on the Nationwide Tour. He won $US 64,800.00 for finishing 3rd and has now moved to 10th on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $84,336 earned from the 5events he has played this year to date. He is well inside the Top 25 players now that gain their cards after the final event of the season in October. Although it is still early days I feel he will get his 2012 USPGA Tour card. And I feel he will win an event on the Nationwide Tour this year. He has made every cut on the Nationwide Tour this year in the 5events he has played. The only dilemma he has now is does he concentrate solely on the Nationwide Tour? Or does he play some more events on the European Tour? As he is well placed on the Race to Dubai Money list as I mentioned earlier. I wish him luck whatever path he chooses.

Tied 4th were B. J. Staten (USA), Roberto Castro (USA), Andrew Buckle (Australia), Will Mackenzie (USA), Brent Delahoussaye (USA), and Travis Hampshire (USA) who scored 60-12 in the 1st round, they were all on -16, and rounding out the Top 10 at tied for 10th were Cliff Kresge (USA) and Brendon Todd (USA) who were both on -15. The other New Zealand players to make the cut were Bradley Iles (New Zealand) who scored rounds of 69-3, 68-3, 68-4 and a final round of 71 even for a 72 hole total of 276-10, that left him in tied 38th place and he earned $US 2,820.00 for the week. He now moves to 106th on the Nationwide Tour Money list with the $US 7,683 he has earned from the 7 events he has played this year to date. But will need some good results in the come weeks to get inside the top 25.

Tim Wilkinson (New Zealand) was the other New Zealand player to make the cut. He scored rounds of 70-2, 67-4, 69-3 and a final round of 72+1 for a 72 hole total of 278-8 and tied for 48th. He won $US 2,100.00 for his efforts and now moves to 100th place on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 8,686 earned from the 7 events he has played this year to date. He will need to have some good results in the near future to get inside the Top 25 players on the money list that gain there 2012 USPGA Tour cards at the end of the season.

The other New Zealanders that were in the field but failed to make the cut were Josh Geary (New Zealand) who scored rounds of 68-3, 70-1, and 71-1 for a 54 hole total of 209-6 and missed the cut by 1shot. And Steven Alker (New Zealand) who scored rounds of 69-2, 71-1 and 74+2 for a 54 hole total of 214-1 and missed the cut by 6shots.

The Nationwide Tour has the week off next week. It resumes on the Thursday 2nd June, and is the Melwood Prince George’s County Open Presented by Under Armour and is played at the University of Maryland GC, College Park, Maryland. With a purse of $US 600,000 up for grabs it is sure to attract another good field. And I suspect it will have a brand new champion as the defending champion Tommy (Two Gloves) Gainey (USA) is now a Full USPGA Tour member and won’t be playing? I will report back who took home the trophy in 2weeks time.

So until then remember hitting all the fairways and greens and making all your putts equals great scores!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com

     

Golf Events from the Weekend 15th May 2011

It was another exciting weekend on both major Golf Tours from around the world.

Darren Clarke (NIR) with the Iberdrola Open Trophy he won

First I will start with the European Tour and the Race to Dubai. This week it was the Iberdrola Open that was played at the Pula GC, Son Servera, Mallorca, Spain. And it was Darrin Clarke (NIR) that took home the trophy. He scored rounds of 65-5, 70even, 70even and a final round of 69-1 for a 72 hole total of 274-6 and won by 3shots. He won € 166,660 for the win and moves to 35th on the Race to Dubai Money List with €261,380 earned from the 9events he has played this year to date. Charl Schwartzel (RSA) is still leading the Race to Dubai Money list with €1,587,333 earned from the 9events he has played this year so far.

It was a great win for Darrin Clarke (NIR) and his 1st win since the 2008 The KLM Open. It was very tough conditions in the final round with a strong wind blowing making scoring difficult. Darrin Clarke (NIR) played a very steady front nine birding the par 4, 3rd hole and paring all the rest to go out in 34-1. On the back nine he made a poor double bogey at the par 4, 11th hole, but made solid birdies at the par 4, 14th hole and also the par 4, 15th hole. And he scored 35even on the back nine for a final round 69-1. On the other hand the 54 hole leader Chris Wood (England) didn’t adjust to the conditions well at all. He bogeyed the par 3, 2nd and the par 4, 3rd. But made birdies on the par 4, 4th hole and the par 4, 9th hole, but had another bogey on the Par 3, 8th hole. So he went to out in 36+1, but had a shocking back nine that ruined any chance he had of winning. He scored 40+5 with bogeys on the 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes to end up scoring 76+6 to go along with his 3 other rounds of 67-3, 65-5 and 69-1 for a 72 hole total of 277-3.

And he blew a golden opportunity to win his 1st ever European Tour event of his Career. But he did still finish tied for 2nd with David Lynn (England). And he earned himself € 86,855 which places him 32nd on the Race to Dubai Money list with €271,469 from the 11events he has played this year. But he will have to think it was great chance to win that he let slip. Let’s hope he learnt a lot for next time he is in this position. I am sure he will because he is a great talent. It was David Lynn (England) best performance on the European Tour this year and he also earned € 86,855 for his efforts. He has been one of the solid performers on the European Tour over the last 10 years, with finishing inside The European Tour’s top 90 on the Money list for a 11th consecutive season in 2010. I wouldn’t be surprised if David Lynn (England) wins a tournament this year.

Alistair Forsyth (Scotland) finished 4th on his own at -2. Paul Lawrie (Scotland) the 1999 Open Champion finished tied 5th, along with Shane Lowery (Ireland), Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain) had his best finish on the European Tour in a long time also finishing tied 5th, how fitting it was the week after the passing of his best friend Seve Ballesteros (Spain). And the final player to finish tied 5th was Graeme Storm (England), I can remember when I did the walking scoring for him in the 2006 Blue Chip NZ Open at Gulf Harbour Country Club, Auckland, New Zealand, in the 3rd round. And he scored the best round of the day that day 65-6 that bolted him into a share of the lead. I will always remember that awesome round he had. Good to see he is still playing good golf.

In tied for 9th place was Thomas Aiken (RSA) who recently won the Open de España. Good to see he is continuing on his fine form. Also tie-in 9th place was Gregory Bourdy (France) and Damien McGrane (Ireland), they were all at even par. Next week there are 2 tournaments on the European Tour with the Volvo World Match Play Championship being played at the Finca Cortesin GC, Casares, Andalucia, Spain and is the 2nd of two tournaments that are solely Match play on the European Tour this year. And one of the biggest purses on the European Tour with €3,400,000 up for grabs. With 24 of the best players in the world competing for the Trophy. It was not played in 2010, but Ross Fisher (England) was the last player to win it in 2009. It starts on Thursday 19th May.

And the other event on the European Tour is Maderira Islands Open BPI – Portugal that is played at Porto Santo Golfe, Madeira, Portugal, all the players that aren’t in the Volvo World Match Play Championship will more than like play in this event and it is also a Challenge Tour event. It gives the Challenge Tour players a chance to play on the European Tour. With only a small purse on offer of €700,000 it may not attract the best players from the European Tour but the Challenge Tour players will jump at the chance to play for that purse because it is the largest on the Challenge Tour all year. And it could be a chance for a Challenge Tour player to jump straight on the European Tour with a win. James Morrison (England) is the defending champion. It starts on Thursday 19th May as well and I will report back who won on both tournaments next week.

K. J. Choi (South Korea) with the Players Championship Trophy and in
the Background hitting his tee shot in the playoff to the 17th green

Now to the USPGA Tour and the FedEx Cup and this week it was the PLAYERS Championship and it is the wealthiest event on the USPGA Tour and it was played at the famous TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. And K. J. Choi (South Korea) scored rounds of 70-2, 68-4, 67-5 and a final round of 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 275-13. But he was joined on that score by David Toms (USA) who scored rounds of 66-6, 68-4, 71-1 and a final round of 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 275-13 also. With 3holes to play David Toms (USA) had a 1shot lead over K. J. Choi (South Korea). David Toms (USA) was -13 and K. J. Choi (South Korea) was -12. But on the Par 5, 16th hole on the TPC Stadium course at Sawgrass K. J. Choi (South Korea) laid up, but David Toms (USA) went for it with his Rescue Wood and his ball just came up short in the water. He took his penalty drop and played his 4th shot to within 30feet of the cup. K. J. Choi (South Korea) had a very difficult chip shot for his 3rd shot. He had to keep it under a tree, and he hit a fine bump and run to within 10feet. David Toms (USA) 2putted for his bogey to fall back to -12 that meant K. J. Choi (South Korea) if he could make his short birdie putt would have a 1shot lead. But he just missed it to the right.

So he and David Toms (USA) headed to the famed 17th hole, Par 3 Island green at the TPC at Sawgrass course all tied up at -12. K. J. Choi (South Korea) hit 1st and hit a great short tee shot to 12feet short of the pin. David Toms (USA) hit 2nd and missed his tee shot just to the right and it rolled off the green just into the 1st cut of rough. David Toms (USA) played his 2nd shot 1st and used a putt from the difficult lie and it rolled about 2feet short of the cup. K. J. Choi (South Korea) then rolled his 12foot birdie putt and it looked like it was going to stop just short of the hole but to his amazement it fell in. David Toms (USA) rolled in his 2foot par putt.

So with the 72nd hole to play K. J. Choi (South Korea) was -13 and had a 1shot lead over David Toms (USA). K. J. Choi (USA) teed off 1st and hit a 3wood in perfect position just on the right side of the fairway. David Toms (USA) hit his best drive of the day. He took it right out over the water and faded it to the middle of the fairway. But he got an extremely unlucky break landing in a sand filled divot. K. J. Choi (South Korea) played his 2nd shot 1st and landed in the rough just short of the green. David Toms (USA) faced with a extremely difficult 2nd shot from the sand filled divot but played it perfect landing it pin high to the right of the pin 25feet from the cup. K. J. Choi (South Korea) played his 3rd shot chip with his 8iron to 4feet from the cup. That meant that David Toms (USA) more than likely had to hole his 25foot par putt if he was to force a playoff. And that is just what he did. So both K. J. Choi (South Korea) and David Toms (USA) were tied at -13 and were headed to the Famous 17th Hole Par 3, Island green for the 1st playoff hole.

The USPGA Tour Official got the players to draw a piece of paper with a Number from a hat. K. J. Choi (South Korea) drew 1st and David Toms (USA) 2nd. K. J. Choi (South Korea) hit 1st and pulled his tee shot and landed about 40feet from the cup to the left on the green. David Toms (USA) then hit and his tee shot and it looked like it was going to roll down the slope next to the pin. But it stayed up to the left of the pin leaving a very fast tricky downhill putt for birdie. K. J. Choi (South Korea) putted 1st and rolled his birdie putt just past the hole.

David Toms (USA) putted his birdie putt just past the hole but slightly further away than K. J. Choi (South Korea). David Toms (USA) putted his 3foot putt for par and it lipped out. That meant that K. J. Choi (South Korea) had to sink his small 2foot par putt to win his 1st ever PLAYERS Championship, and that is just what he did.

He became the 1st ever Asian Player to win the PLAYERS Championship which is a great achievement for him. He was a little disappointed that Y. E. Yang (South Korea) beat him to become the 1st Asian Player to win a Major back in 2009 at the PGA Championship. That really annoyed him so it was great for him to get the win here. He got 600 FedEx Cup points for the win which moves him to 6th on the FedEx Cup points list with 1,161 points earned from the 11 events he has played this year. He is now only 222 points behind the leader on the list Bubba Watson (USA). He has earned 1,383 points from the 12 events he has played this year so far.

He also won the 1st prize Cheque of $US 1,710,000.00 which is the largest 1st Prize Cheque that is on offer on the USPGA Tour this year. He moved to 3rd on the Money List with $US 2,915,049 earned from the 12 events has played to date this year. Luke Donald (England) still leads the Money List with $US 3,344,867 earned from the 8 events he has played this year to date. It was also K. J. Choi (South Korea) 8th USPGA Tour win, and his 1st since the 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii. I look for him to maybe win his 1st major this year now. I wish him luck for the rest of the season.

It was a great result for David Toms (USA) even though he didn’t win. He still won $US 1,026,000.00 for coming 2nd which will do the world of good for his confidence. And he also got 330 FedEx Cup points and he now has earned 729 points from the 10 events he has played this year to date and that places him 22nd on the list. I hope this gives him the confidence to go on and win an event this year. In 3rd place was Paul Goydos (USA) on -11, Tied in 4th = place on -10 were Luke Donald (England) and Nick Watney (USA). Tied 6th place on -9 were Jason Day (Australia), Aaron Baddeley (Australia) who the lowest Australian finishers. Also tied 6th were Hunter Mahan (USA), J. B. Holmes (USA), Alvaro Quiros (Spain), and Jason Dufner (USA). The notable players that had to withdraw due to injury were Tiger Woods (USA) who scored 42+6 on the front nine of the 1st round and in the 2nd round Tim Clark (RSA) the defending Champion also had to withdraw.

Next week the USPGA Tour heads to Texas for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and it is played at Colonial CC, Ft. Worth, Texas. It has a purse on $US 6,200,000 up for grabs and is sure to attract a fine field as it always does. Zach Johnson (USA) will be looking to defend his title. The tournament starts on Thursday 19th May. I will report back who won next week.

Now to the World Golf Rankings this week and Lee Westwood (England) is still number 1 with 8.10 Official World Ranking points, 2nd is Luke Donald (England) with 7.52 Official World Ranking points he is up one place this week from Martin Kaymer (Germany) who is 3rd with 7.25 Official World Ranking points, in 4th place is Phil Mickelson (USA) with 6.41 Official World Ranking points, and rounding out the top 5 is Graeme McDowell (NIR) with 5.62 Official World Ranking points. Tiger Woods (USA) is in 8th place this week with 5.20 Official World Ranking points. Best New Zealander is still Danny Lee (NZL), he has .42 Official World Ranking points and is in 362nd on the Official World Ranking points list.

Well that is about it for this week. So until my next report next week, remember Fairways and Greens hit in regulation means lots of chance for birdies!!

 Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com

Golf Events from the Weekend 8th May 2011

It was another exciting weekend on the Professional Golf Tours around the world with 4 Big Tournaments being played on the various tours in Europe and America.

Thomas Aiken (RSA) with the Open De Espana Trophy,
and the late Seve Ballesteros (Spain)  in the background

First I will start with the European Tour and the Race to Dubai. Before I start I must mention on Friday 6th May it was a very sad day for the European Tour with the passing of the Legendary Golfer Seve Ballesteros (Spain) after a long illness from a Brain Tumour that was discovered in 2008. I send my condolences to the whole of the Ballesteros Family.

So how fitting this weekend it was the Open De Espana and it was played at the Real Club de Golf El Prat, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain. And the winner was the young South African Golfer Thomas Aiken (RSA). He scored rounds of 68-4, 68-4, 72even and 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 278-10 and won by 2shots over Anders Hansen (Denmark). In his final round he was very steady with birdies on holes 2nd & 6th to turn in 34-2, at that point he was -10 with 9holes to play. He birdied the par 3, 11th hole to get to -11, but gave the shot back at the Par 3, 13th hole, but got the shot back again at the par 4, 14th hole where he made birdie. But then gave the shot back again at the Par 4, 15th hole where he made a bogey 5 on the short par 4. He finished with 3 solid pars which was enough to win by 2shots.

He won € 333,330.00 for his win that places him in 6th place on the Race to Dubai Money list with €666,848 earned from the 10events he has played this year. In 1st place is Charl Schwartzel (RSA) who has won €1,587,333 from the 9events he has played this year to date. It was also Thomas Aiken (RSA) 1st ever win on the European Tour having gained his European Tour card at the 2007 Tour School Finals. This win should do the world of good for his confidence and now he is exempt on the European Tour till the end of 2013. I feel he will only go from Strength to Strength on the European Tour now. He is just another fine Golfer that is coming out of South Africa and showing his skills on the world stage.

In 2nd place was Anders Hansen (Denmark) at -8, it was another good finish from him, and his 2nd, 2nd place of the season for him. He has now earned € 799,531, from 8 events he has played this year to date and places him 4th on the Race to Dubai Money list. A win can’t be too far away for him in the near future. Scott Jamieson (Scotland) and Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) finished tied 3rd at -7. It was good to see at least one Spanish Player finished in the top 10. Simon Dyson (England), Gregory Havret (France), David Horsey (England), Paul Laurie (Scotland), Philip Price (Wales) and Romain Wattel (France) all finished at -6 in tied 5th place. Mark Brown (NZL) was the only New Zealand player in the field. But he had rounds of 74+2 and 77+5 to have a 36 hole total of 151+7 and miss the cut by 6shots.

Next week the European Tour stays in Spain for the Iberdrola Open that is played at the Pula GC, Son Servera, Mallorca, Spain. Peter Hanson (Sweden) will be looking to defend the title he won last year. And with €1,000,000 up as the prize money it is sure to attract another fine field. It starts on Thursday 12th May.  I will report back who won next week.

So to the USPGA Tour and this week it was the Wells Fargo Championship that was played at the Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, North Carolina. And there were two players tied for the lead with after 72 holes. They were Lucas Glover (USA) who scored rounds of 67-5, 68-5, 69-3 and 69-3 for a 72 hole total of 273-15. But Jonathan Byrd (USA) had rounds of 66-5, 68-4, 67-5 and a final round 72 even par to also finish at 273-15 after 72 holes. Jonathan Byrd (USA) had a great finish to his final round. After falling back to -13 after bogeying the short par 4, 14th hole, he made a good birdie 4 on the Par 5, 15th hole. Then he hit into the trees on the difficult par 4, 16th hole and had to chip out side ways. But hit a brilliant short iron approach shot to within 4feet of the hole and made par. He got a solid par on the par 3, 17 hole, and knew he had to make a birdie 3 on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Lucas Glover (USA). He hit a brilliant drive down the centre of the fairway, and then a fine mid iron approach shot to 18feet pin high and sank the birdie putt. So that meant it was playoff time. The 3rd one in as many weeks on the USPGA Tour.



Lucas Glover (USA) Pumps his fist in Celebration after holing
the winning putt to win the Wells Fargo Championship



Earlier Lucas Glover (USA) had hit his 2nd shot on the 72nd hole just though the back of the green from a very tough downhill lie in the rough after pulling his tee shot off the tee, which was very lucky not to roll back into the hazard. It was saved but a spectator because the ball rolled against his back. The Tour Official gave Lucas Glover (USA) a free drop and just when he was setting up to play his 2nd shot the ball rolled down the hill into a much better lie. It was no penalty because he hadn’t grounded his club.  He hit a good shot to the back of the green as I mentioned earlier. And holed a 10foot putt for a par. So it was back to the 18th hole for the 1st playoff hole. The funny thing was they both went to Clemson University and were on the same collage Golf team in the late 1990’s.

And they are good friends with each other as well. Well on the 1st playoff hole Lucas Glover (USA) hit a fine drive right down the centre of the Fairway. Jonathan Byrd (USA) hit his drive down the right side and landed in the fairway bunker. He had a good lie but unfortunately hit his mid iron 2nd shot left of the green narrowly avoiding the water hazard but leaving a extremely difficult up and down for par. Lucas Glover (USA) hit a great mid iron to 20feet past the pin on the green. Jonathan Byrd (USA) played his 3rd shot 1st, but he was unable to get it close leaving himself a slippery 25footer for par. He putted 1st and almost holed the curling right to left putt missing it by inches. So all Lucas Glover had to do was 2putt from 20feet and the title was his. But he left the 1st putt 5feet short. But he was able convert the par putt and gets his 1st win since the 2009 US Open.

He won $US 1,170,000.00 for his win and it is a big turnaround for him because he had missed his last 3cuts and his form wasn’t great leading into this tournament. He got 500 FedEx Cup points for his win and moves to 27th on the FedEx Cup points list with 622 Points from the 8 events he has played this year to date. He is 737 points behind the leader Bubba Watson (USA) who has 1,359 points from the 11 events he has played this year to date. It was his 3rd win of his USPGA Tour Career and should be a real boost to his confidence because he had been struggling after his unexpected 1st Major Championship win at the 2009 US OPEN Championship which was played at Beth Page Black Course. He also moves to 25th on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 1,291,905 from the 8 events he has played this year. Luke Donald (England) is still leading with $US 2,926,867 from the 7events he has played this year. I hope this win can give him confidence to keep on improving.

Jonathan Byrd (USA) continued on his fine season with his 2nd place finish. He is now placed 7th on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 2,106,148 from the 11 events he has played this year to date. He also has 1,005 FedEx Cup points from the 11 events he has played this year. That places him 9th on the list. He will be looking to keeping up the good form for the rest of the 2011 season. In solo 3rd place was Rory Sabbatini (RSA) who scored the best final round of 65-7 to finish 72 holes at -14. Bill Haas (USA) was in solo 4th place at -13 after 72 holes; Kevin Na (USA) had another good finish and was in solo 5th at -12 after 72 holes. Tied for 6th was Zach Johnson (USA), Tour rookie Bobby Gates (USA) who won the 2010 Michael Hill NZ Open, and Pat Perez (USA) who dropped back on the final day scoring 75+3 in the final round, They were all -11. Phil Mickelson (USA), Padraig Harrington (Ireland), Vijay Singh (Fiji), Robert Garrigus (USA), Carl Pettersson (Sweden), J. B. Holmes (USA) and Stewart Cink (USA) all finished -10 in tied for 9th position rounding out the top 10 places.

The next event on the USPGA Tour is one of the biggest of the season and is The PLAYERS Championship and it is being played at TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. It has the largest prize purse on the USPGA Tour with a whopping $US 9,500,000 up for grabs. It will be Tiger Woods (USA) 1st tournament back since the Master Tournament in mid April. And Tim Clark (RSA) will be looking to defend the title he won last year. The surprising thing is that Rory McILroy (NIR) and the number 1 player in the World Rankings, Lee Westwood (England) have chosen not to play. The Tournament starts on Thursday 12th May. I will report back who won next week.

So to the Official World Golf Rankings this week and Lee Westwood (England) is still on top with 8.08 World Golf Ranking Points, 2nd is Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 7.42 World Golf Ranking Points, 3rd is Luke Donald (England) with 7.33 World Golf Ranking Points, 4th is Phil Mickelson (USA) with 6.60 World Golf Ranking Points and in 5th is Graeme McDowell (NIR) with 5.66 World Golf Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) has fallen down to 8th this week with 5.37 World Golf Ranking Points. Best New Zealander this week is Danny Lee (NZL) in 341st position with 0.48 World Golf Ranking Points.

Tom Lehman (USA) with the Regions Tradition Trophy that he won

So to the Champions Tour and this week they played their 1st Major Championship of the year that was the Regions Tradition and was played on the same course that hosted the 1990 USPGA Championship which was Shoal Creek Country Club, Shoal Creek, Alabama. And it was the hottest player on the Champions tour this year that won the trophy, and he was Tom Lehman (USA). He scored rounds of 67-5, 71-1, 68-4 and 69-3 for a 72 hole total of 275-13. But Peter Senior (Australia) also scored rounds of 70-2, 69-3, 68-4 and a final round of 68-4 to also score 275-13 for 72 holes.

So both players headed back to the 18 hole for the 1st playoff hole. Tom Lehman (USA) and Peter Senior (Australia) both parred the Par 4, 18th on the 1st playoff hole. But when they went back to the 18th Hole again for the 2nd playoff hole Tom Lehman (USA) made par to a Peter Senior (Australia) bogey. So Tom Lehman (USA) had won his 1st Major of the year on the Champions Tour the Regions Tradition and also his 3rd tournament win of the year having won the Allianz Championship in Mid February and the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in early April. The win increases his lead in the Charles Schwab Cup with 1,432 points from the 7events he has played this year. He is 734 points ahead of Nick Price (Zimbabwe) who is in 2nd place. He also leads the Money List with $US 1,151,595 earned from the 7events he has played this year. He is really enjoying his time on the Champions Tour and must be the real favourite to win the Charles Schwab Cup even though the season is barely started. I hope he continues the great form for the rest of the year.

Peter Senior (Australia) had another fine finish in only his 2nd season on the Champions Tour finishing in solo 2nd place; in fact it was his best ever. His previous best was a tied 2nd place at the Regions Charity Classic in May 2010. He now has 472 Charles Schwab Cup Points from the 6events he has played this year which places him 6th on the points list. And he has earned $US 359,641 from the 6 events he has played this year to be 8th on the money list. I look for him to only keep on improving and I am sure he will win his 1st Champions Tour event soon. He is too good of player not to.

In solo 3rd place was the Boss of the Moss otherwise known as Loren Roberts (USA) on -11, in solo 4th place was Michael Allen (USA) on -10, Tied for 5th were Eduardo Romero (Argentina), Nick Price (Zimbabwe), Kenny Perry (USA), Mark Calcavecchia (USA) and Jay Haas (USA), they were all on -9, and round out the Top 10 in solo 10th place was Tom Pernice, Jr. (USA), he was -8. The Champions Tour has a 2week break now and recommences on Thursday 26th May where the 2nd Major of the year is being played and it is the Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid and is being played at Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky where the USPGA Championship on the USPGA Tour has been played many times in the past. Tom Lehman (USA) is the defending Champion and with $US 2,000,000 as the prize purse it is sure to have most of the best Champions Tour players wanting to get a share of it. I will report back results soon.



Russell Henley (USA) with the Stadion Classic Trophy he won



My final tournament this week I am reporting on is the Stadion Classic at UGA and it was played at the University of Georgia GC, Athens, Georgia. And an unusual thing happened, an Amateur who is attending University of Georgia, senior Russell Henley (USA) beat all the Professionals at their own game. He became only the 2nd Amateur to win on the Nationwide Tour ever. With rounds of 72+1, 66-5, 66-5 and 68-3 for a 72hole total of 272-12 he won by 2shots. It was just an Amazing Victory after a poor 1st round; he played 3 great rounds in the 60’s. He now has 60days to join the Nationwide Tour and play the rest of the season as a professional, but he says he is going to remain Amateur for the rest of the year, because he has some more Amateur Tournaments to win before he makes the move to turn Professional. He can turn professional at the end of the year and still be exempt on the Nationwide Tour for 2012 Season. Maybe he will do that?

That just shows me that these young players coming out of the US Collage golf circuit have no fear and aren’t scared to win against the Professionals. Coming in at 2nd was Troy Kelly (USA). He scored rounds of 71 even, 67-4, 66-5 and a final round of 70-1 for a 72 hole total of 274-10. Troy Kelly (USA) took the 1st Prize Cheque because Amateurs aren’t allowed to earn Money. He won $US 99,000.00 for his efforts that places him in 5th Position on the Nationwide Tour Money List with $US 107,642 from the 3events he has played this year to date. The 2nd place should give him a lot of confidence to get back on the USPGA Tour in 2012.  In tied for 3rd place were Monday Qualifier Will Wilcox (USA), and Matt Hendrix (USA) who both were -9 after the 72 holes. Tied for 5th on -8 were Matt Davidson (USA), Brad Elder (USA), Bubba Dickinson (USA), and Danny Lee (NZL) had his 2nd top 10 finish of the year scoring rounds of 72+1, 70-1, 66-5, and a final round of 68-3 for a 72 hole total of 276-8. He won $US 21,656.25 for his efforts and is now in 23rd position on the Nationwide Tour Money List with $US 43,536 he has earned from the 4events he has played this year.

He is now inside the top 25 players on the Money list and if he stays there he will gain his 2012 USPGA Tour card at the end of the season. I hope he continues to improve and even gets a win soon. I not quite sure which tour he has decided to play now. But he is now doing well on both tours and I guess he will keep playing both the European Tour and the Nationwide Tour for now until he really starts to excel on one. I wish him luck for the rest of the season. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th place were Jeff Grove (USA), John Mallinger (USA) and Won Joon Lee (Australia), they were all at -7.

The other New Zealander that made the cut was Josh Geary (NZL), he scored rounds of 72+1, 69-2, 72+1 and 72+1 for a 72 hole total of 285+1 and was tied 55th. He earned $US 1,773.75 for his efforts and is now in 119th place on the Money List with $US 4,744 earned from the 6events he has played this year to date. He has had a rather poor start to the season, and will be looking for some much better results in the near future. Other New Zealander players that were in the field but unable to make the 36 hole cut were, Bradley Iles (NZL) had rounds of 73+2 and 72+1 for a 36 hole total of 145+3 and miss the cut by 1shot. And Tim Wilkinson (NZL) had rounds of 74+3 and 72+1 for a 36 hole total of 146+4 and missed the cut by 2shots.

The next Nationwide Tour event is in 2 weeks time and it is BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation and it is being played at 3 courses which are Thornblade Club, Greer, South Carolina. Bright's Creek Golf Club, Mill Spring, North Carolina. The Carolina Country Club, Spartanburg, South Carolina. And with a purse of $US 600,000 up for the taking, it is sure to attract the best players on the Nationwide Tour. It starts on Thursday 19th May and Justin Hicks (USA) will be looking to defend his title. I will report back who won in 2 weeks time.

So until next week, keep hitting it long and straight and make all your Putts!!

 Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com

Golf Events from the Weekend 1st May 2011

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

Lee Westwood (England) with the Ballantine's Championship Trophy

First I will start with the European Tour and the Race to Dubai. This week it was the 3rd of 3 tournaments in the 1st Asian Swing of the season. It was the Ballantine’s Championship and was played at Blackstone Golf Club, Icheon, Seoul, Korea Republic. And it was the World Number 1 ranked golfer Lee Westwood (England) who showed us all why he is Number 1 in the World Rankings.

Lee Westwood (England) scored rounds of 72 even, 68-4, 69-3 and 67-5 in the final round to score a 72 hole total of 276-12 and win by one shot. It was his 2nd win in two weeks in Asia having won the Indonesian Masters on the Asian Tour last week to regain his Number 1 World Ranking off Martin Kaymer (Germany). This win at the Ballantine’s Championship should only increase his lead in the World Ranking Points. But it didn’t come easy as he was 3shots back starting the final round. But he shot a bogey free round of 67-5 in the Final Round that included birdies on the 4th and 8th holes to go out in 34-2 strokes and then coming home he made birdies on holes 14th and 15th holes and a great birdie 4 on the Par 5, 18th Hole to post -12 for the round.

The only player left in the field that could force a playoff with Lee Westwood (England) was Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain). He came to the 72nd hole needing an eagle to win and a birdie to force a playoff. He hit his drive straight down the middle of the fairway. But his Fairway Wood 2nd shot landed on the green and then rolled into the back bunker leaving him a difficult up and down to make the playoff. He hit a good bunker shot out that left him a 12foot birdie putt to get to -12 and force the playoff with Lee Westwood (England). But unfortunately he just missed the putt to the right of the Cup. And he finished up at -11 after 72holes. And that meant he finished in 2nd place on his own.

But for Lee Westwood (England) just played too steady in the final round and his victory was well deserved. He won € 367,500 for his win and that puts him in 6th Position on the Race to Dubai Money List with €653,508 earned from the 7events he has played this year. Charl Schwartzel (RSA) is still leading with €1,587,333 from the 9events he has played this year. I look for Lee Westwood (England) to be one of the Favourites for the Players Championship that is being played in Florida at the TPC at Sawgrass course in 2weeks time. Maybe if he does win there he can silence his critic’s that say even though the Official World Rankings say he is the Number 1 player in the World, they don’t believe he is because he has not won a Major Championship yet. Me personally I feel he deserves his number 1 ranking because he has played the most consistent golf over the last 2years of any player on the European Tour or USPGA Tour.

Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) can’t be too disappointed with his 2nd place. But would have loved to have won. But at age 47 he is still very competitive and he has won most of his tournaments since he has turned 40.  The € 245,000.00 he won for coming 2nd on Sunday is his biggest cheque this year so far and places him 4th on the Race to Dubai Money list with €707,156 earned from the 9events he has played this year. I expect him to win at least 1 tournament this year going on previous year’s results. Korean player Sang-hyun Park (South Korea) had the best finish of his short European Tour playing career. The 26 year old finished -10 after 72holes and in sole 3rd place which earned him € 138,033.00. In 4th place was Dustin Johnson (USA) who was having his 1st tournament in the Korea Republic. He finished -9 and won € 110,250 for his efforts. Good showing by him outside his home tour and in a foreign Country. 

In tied 5th place was Soon-sang Hong (South Korea) and Alexander Noren (Sweden) on -8, tied 7th were Jbe Kruger (RSA), James Morrison (England) and Brett Rumford (Australia) on -7. Tied for 10th were 3 Korean Golfers Dae-hyun Kim (South Korea), Kyung-tae Kim (South Korea) and Joong-Kyung Mo (South Korea) they were all -6. The New Zealand Golfers didn’t fare so well this week. They all unfortunately missed the 36 hole cut. Best of them was Mark Brown (NZL) at +3. He missed the cut by 2 strokes. Michael Campbell (NZL) was +4 to miss the cut by 3shots, but at least he scored 70-2 in the 2nd round, but his 78+6 in the 1st round ruined his chances. And the final New Zealand Player to miss the cut was Danny Lee (NZL) he was +6 to miss it by 5shots. It was a shame after his tied for 2nd place in China last week. I feel he may head back to the Nationwide Tour next week where he is already well placed on their Money List.

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai head back to mainland Europe for the Open De Espana and it is played at Real Club de Golf El Prat, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain. And with €2,000,000 to play for Defending Champion Alvaro Quiros (Spain) will be looking to win the title again. I will report back who won next week.

Bubba Watson (USA) with the Zurich Classic of New Orleans Trophy

So to the USPGA Tour and this week it was the Zurich Classic of New Orleans that was played at TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana. And it was the big hitting Bubba Watson (USA) who scored rounds of 66-6, 68-4, 70-2 and a final round of 69-3 to finish 72 holes at -15. But Webb Simpson (USA) also finished -15 after 68-4, 69-3, 67-5 and a final round of 69-3 for a 72 hole total of -15 after 72 holes also. He was the only player in the field to score 4 rounds in the 60’s. At the beginning of the back nine Webb Simpson (USA) had a 3shot lead after Bubba Watson (USA) double bogeyed the short par 3, 9th hole. Then Webb Simpson (USA) birdied the 10th. But poor bogeys by Webb Simpson (USA) on 12th and 15th holes, the bogey on the Par 4, 15th was unfortunate for Webb Simpson (USA) as he rolled his 30foot birdie putt to tap in range, but when he grounded his putter before he tapped in for par the ball moved. Hence has was assessed a 1 shot penalty and had to replace the ball to its original position and holed it for his bogey. But I admire him for the honesty and integrity he showed by calling a penalty shot on himself.

Bubba Watson (USA) had birdied the 13th hole so with 3holes to play they were tied at -15. On the 72nd hole they both had birdie putts to get to -16.  Webb Simpson (USA) putted 1st from 15feet and missed to the left. So he was first in at -15. Then Bubba Watson (USA) from 10feet left his birdie putt inches short that was to win the Tournament and had to settle for par on the Par 5. So all tied up at -15 it was back to the 18th for the 1st playoff hole. On the 1st playoff hole Webb Simpson (USA) hit it right down the middle on the fairway, but Bubba Watson (USA) missed it to the left. Bubba Watson (USA) hit his mid iron 2nd shot 1st and landed just short of the green on the par 5, Webb Simpson (USA) hit an excellent Fairway wood 2nd shot just over the back of the green and came to rest in a sprinkler head, which was a great break that made up for the bad luck he had 15th hole in regulation play. Bubba Watson (USA) had a difficult chip over the bunkers at the front of the green. His chip came to rest 10feet above the hole. Webb Simpson (USA) after getting a free drop from the sprinkler head used the Texas wedge to putt his ball to within 4feet of the hole. That meant Bubba Watson’s (USA) putt was now a must make. And that is just what he did putting the pressure back on Webb Simpson (USA). But Webb Simpson (USA) was always going to make the 4footer and they had both made birdies. So it was back to the 18th hole again for the 2nd playoff hole.

Webb Simpson (USA) again hit an excellent drive down the centre of the fairway. But Bubba Watson (USA) who was fading it in off the water didn’t get enough fade on it and it landed in the Right fairway bunker narrowly avoiding the water. He played his 2nd shot 1st and with over 220yards left he hit a brilliant 5iron on the front of the green 50feet from the pin. Webb Simpson (USA) then hit a poor fairway wood that landed in one of the front bunkers. He played his 3rd shot 1st and landed it 12feet short of the hole. Bubba Watson (USA) then putted his 50footer for eagle and left it 10feet short. Webb Simpson (USA) just missed his 12foot birdie putt. Bubba Watson (USA) had his 10foot birdie putt for Victory and he calmly rolled it in to claim the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and his 2nd win on the USPGA Tour this year having also won the Farmers Insurance Open in late January. He and Mark Wilson (USA) are the only 2 players so far to win twice on the USPGA Tour in 2011.

He hugged his Mother in celebration that he had brought down for the week to watch him play at this tournament. And his wife gave him a kiss to celebrate as well. It is also the 3rd win of his USPGA Tour career. Bubba Watson (USA) got 500 FedEx Cup points for the win and he moves to 1st on the FedEx Cup Points standings with 1,339 points from the 10events he has played this year to date. He surpasses Mark Wilson (USA) who was the leader for nearly 3months straight. He also earns $US 1,152,000.00 for the win that place him 2nd on the Money list with $US 2,904,817 from the 10events he has played this year so far. Luke Donald (England) now leads the money list with $US 2,926,867 so far from the 7events he has played.

So Bubba Watson (USA) must be the 2nd best left hander player on tour now behind Phil Mickelson (USA)? And he is exempt on the USPGA Tour till the end of 2013. He has only improved since he 1st got full USPGA Tour playing status off the nationwide Tour in 2005. He has made at least $1million in earnings each year to date with earning $US 1,019,264 in his rookie season in 2006, in 2007 he earned $US 1,654,807, in 2008 he earned $US 1,533,523, in 2009 he earned $US 1,430,244 and in 2010 he had his best year of earnings on USPGA Tour to date earning $US 3,198,998 that included his 1st ever win that came at the Travelers Championship and he also finished 2nd in the PGA Championship which is his best finish in a Major Championship so far in his Career. And finished 22nd in the FedEx Cup points standings as well. I look for him to maybe even winning a Major this year. And with his huge hitting and his fearless attitude to playing shots he is always going to be a fan favourite. I hope he has a career year this year. I personally love to watch him every time he is on TV.

Jason Dufner (USA) shot a fine final round 66-6 and finished at -13 in tied for 3rd place. He must be close to getting his 1st win soon and has already secured his playing Status for next year with $US 1,221,685 earned so far this season. Also tied for 3rd at -13 was Tommy (Two Gloves) Gainey (USA) who I mentioned last week as well. He keeps going from strength to strength with his fine play on the USPGA Tour this year. He has now gone over the $US1million in earnings this season with $US 1,250,497 from the 14 events he has played this year. I would love to see him have a win this year. But at least he knows he is guaranteed a 2012 USPGA Tour card. And the final player to tie for 3rd was K. J. Choi (South Korea) at -13. This was the tournament he had won 9years earlier in 2002 for his 1st USPGA Tour win of his career and also in 2002 he became the 1st Korean Golfer to win on the USPGA Tour ever. So the tournament must bring back good memories for him. And he is having another fine season with already having 4 top tens in the 10 events he has play this year so far and earnings of $US 1,205,049 to date so far this season. But he hasn’t won since the 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii. So he will be looking to fix that as soon as possible I feel. And I am looking for him to finally break through and win a Major this year as well.

Tied for 6th was Matt Jones (Australia) at -12, It is his best finish on the USPGA Tour this year to date. And he has now earned $US 391,297 so far this year, but will need some more good finishes if he is going to keep his card for next year. He is coming off his best year on the tour so far because he made $US 1,215,743 for the 27 events he entered last year. Also tied for 6th was George McNeill (USA) at -12, it was his 2nd top 10 of the year having finished 5th at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com back in Mid March. But he will need to improve on his $US 385,004 he has earned so far this year, because he isn’t exempt on the USPGA Tour this year since finishing outside the top 125 on the money list last year.

Tied for 8th at -10 was Billy Mayfair (USA) who had to go back to the USPGA Tour Final Qualifying School last year because he lost his playing Status, and might I say he was the Medallist there and gained his full status back for 2011 USPGA Tour season. But will need to keep on improving because he has only made $US 380,358 this year so far. I feel he will keep his card because he is too good of a play not too. Also tied for 8th was David Mathis (USA) at -10, it was his best finish of the year to date. But he is struggling again this year like previous years with only $US 290,727 earned from 10 events played. And will need some more good finishes if he wants to keep his card for the 2012 USPGA Tour season. Also tied for 8th on -10 was Andres Romero (Argentina). It was his 1st top 10 of the 2011 USPGA Tour season. Also tied for 8th on -10 was Luke Donald (England), it was just another top 10 for him and shows that he is right on top of his game at the moment. He is now leading the USPGA Tour Money List as I mentioned earlier. And the final player to tie for 8th place at -10 was Greg Chalmers (Australia). It was his 2nd top 10 of the season.

Next week the USPGA Tour heads to North Carolina for the Wells Fargo Championship and it is being played at the Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, North Carolina. Rory McILroy (NIR) will be looking to defend his title he won last year. And with even a bigger purse this week of $US 6,500,000 it is sure to attract the leading players on the USPGA Tour. It starts on Thursday (5th May). I will report back results in next week’s report.

So to the Top 5 in the Official Golf World Rankings this week. And Lee Westwood (England) extends his points total with 8.22 World Ranking Points to extend his lead at the Top. Martin Kaymer (Germany) is 2nd at 7.55 World Ranking Points, Luke Donald is 3rd with 7.28 World Ranking Points, Phil Mickelson (USA) is 4th with 6.55 World Ranking Points and rounding out the Top 5 is Graeme McDowell (NIR) in 5th with 5.65 World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) is 7th on the list with 5.54 World Ranking Points. He will more than likely slip further down the list as a knee injury has ruled him out of the next two tournaments he was scheduled to play. And Bubba Watson (USA) gains 6places this week and moves into 10th place on the list with 5.24 World Ranking Points, his highest Official World Ranking of his Career so far.  



Ted Potter Jr. (USA) with the South Georgia Classic Trophy

 So to the final tournament I am report on this week. It is the on the Nationwide Tour and is the South Georgia Classic Pres’d by First State bank and Trust Company and it was played at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, Valdosta, Georgia. And the Monday qualifier Ted Potter Jr (USA) became the 1st Monday Qualifier to win on the Nationwide Tour since 2006. The young 27th year old Left hander scored rounds of 70-2, 69-3, 65-7 and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 272-16 and he won by 3 shots over Mathew Goggin (Australia). He won $US 112,500.00 for his Victory and now has Nationwide Tour Membership for the rest of this season and till the end of the 2012 season. So it could be the start of some really big things for him. The win moves him to 4th on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 112,500.00 earned from the 1event he has played this year. Mathew Goggin (Australia) has increased his lead at the top with $192,475 earned for the 5events he has played this year.

It just shows us all how a player with no playing Status the Nationwide Tour can have an excellent score in the Monday Qualifying and continue that form in the Tournament and go on and win the whole event. I hope this win gives Ted Potter Jr (USA) the confidence to finish in the Top 25 on the Nationwide Tour and earn his USPGA Tour card for the 2012 season. Mathew Goggin (Australia) finished sole 2nd at -13 after 72 holes, he has almost guaranteed his USPGA Tour Card for 2012 season now with the $192,475 he has earned from the 5events he has played this year to date. I feel he belongs on the USPGA Tour, because he has had some great finishes on that tour in the past with the best being tied for 2nd at the 2006 Cialis Western Open and also tied for 2nd at the 2008 Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley. So I wish him luck for the rest of his season on the Nationwide Tour.

Tied for 3rd were Brent Long (USA) and Charles Warren (USA) at -10. Tied 5th were Mark Anderson (USA), Major Manning (USA) and Rob Oppenheim (USA), they were all at -9. Tied 8th were Martin Flores (USA) and Jonas Blixt (Sweden) at -8 and rounding out the top 10 were Brad Elder (USA), Matt Hendrix (USA) and Matt Davidson (USA) on -7. Bradley Iles (NZL) was the only New Zealander in the field to make the cut. He scored rounds of 71-1, 70-2, 72 even and 74+2 for a 72 hole total of 287-1, and finished tied for 38th which earned him $US 2,937.50. He has now earned $US 4,863 from the 5events he has played this year to date which place him in 106th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list. Although it is early in the season he will need some good results to move him up into the top 25 money earners that earn a 2012 USPGA Tour card after the final event of the season which is the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in late October. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the best New Zealander on the Money list with $US 21,880 earned from the 3events he has played so far this year which puts him in 42nd position.

Josh Geary (NZL) was +2 after 36 holes to miss the cut by 2shots and Tim Wilkinson (NZL) was +5 after 36 holes to miss the cut by 5shots. Next week the Nationwide Tour stays in Georgia for the Stadion Classic at UGA and is played at University of Georgia GC, Athens, Georgia. With a purse of $US 550,000 to be played for it will attract another good field. Martin Piller (USA) is the defending champion. It starts on Thursday (5th May). I will report back final results next week.

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

Source: europeantour.com, pgatour.com