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