It was another great weekend on the Professional Golf Tours from around the world.
First I will start with the European Tour and the Race to Dubai. This week it was the BMW International Open in Germany and it was played at the Golf club München Eichenried, Munich, Germany. And it was the Spanish Golfer by the name of Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) that won the trophy. He scored rounds of 68-4, 67-5, 69-3 and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 272-16. But he was tied on that score by fellow country man, Sergio Garcia (Spain). He scored rounds of 69-3, 71-1, 64-8 and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of also 272-16.
So Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) and Sergio Garcia (Spain) both headed back to the Par 5, 18th hole for the 1st playoff hole. Both players split the fairway with great drives, both to just within range of the green in two on this Par 5. Garcia hit a towering 3 wood in to the heart of the green from 284 yards which was matched by Larrazabal from 275 yards. Larrazabal's eagle putt shaves the hole, he tapped in for birdie. Garcia did the same and the players head back to the tee.
 |
| Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) celebrates after just winning the BMW International Open |
They headed back to the Par 5, 18th hole again for the second playoff hole. Garcia’s drive carried the water hazard on the corner but finished in the left hand rough. Larrazabal hit straight down the middle of the fairway. Larrazabal found the green and Garcia's second was fired out of the tricky lie with a wood, skipped over the bunker and finished just off the green. Garcia chipped close as Larrazabal laid his putt stone dead so again both players make birdie 4s.
So to the 3rd playoff hole, it was the par 3, 12th hole. Garcia's tee shot was a little long and left and finished on the fringe. Larrazabal found the green about 15 feet away. Garcia's putt looked in but lips out. Larrazabal's putt misses left; on they go to the 4th playoff hole which was the par 3, 17th hole.
Garcia hits a great tee shot pin high 15 feet left followed by Larrazabal who's straighter tee shot finishes about 12 feet behind the hole. Garcia pushes his putt and taps in for a par 3. Larrazabal also misses right, hole halved in 3.
Playing the Par 5, 18th hole for the 4th time today as the 5th playoff hole, Garcia's drive stays just out of the fairway bunker. A Perfect drive from Larrazabal landed right in the centre of the fairway. Garcia hits a magnificent 3-Wood from the edge of the bunker and is followed by Larrazabal who leaks his approach a little right but still on the green. Larrazabal plays his 22 yard putt close to the hole for his 3rd shot. Garcia's putt shaves the hole but runs a good 4 feet past. Garcia's putt lips out and Larrazabal holes out for victory.
So Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) won his 2nd event on the European Tour and his 1st since the Open de France ALSTOM that he won in 2008. For winning the BMW International Open he won € 333,330.00 and he is now in 10th place on the Race to Dubai Money list with €746,964 earned from the 16 events he has played this year to date so far. Luke Donald (England) still leads with €2,603,281 from the 6 events he has played this year to date. It will be a great boost to Pablo Larrazabal’s (Spain) confidence as he had already had 3 top 5 finishes this season. I look for him to maybe contend at the 140th Open Championship (3rd Major) that will be played in a couple of weeks. So it is good to see the 28 year doing so well. And I wish him all the best with the rest of his season. It was great to see Sergio Garcia (Spain) up there as well backing up his fine showing at the US Open Championship last week. A win must not be too far away for him? He won € 222,220 for coming 2nd and now moves to 23rd on the Race to Dubai Money list with €504,778 earned from the 7 events he has played this year. He must be due for his 9th win on the European Tour soon, because he hasn’t won since winning the HSBC Champions in China in 2009. I wish him all the best for the rest of the season. The late Seve Ballesteros (Spain) would have been proud of both players.
 |
| Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) holding the BMW International Trophy |
In tied for 3rd place at -14 were Scott Jamieson (Scotland) who scored a final round 64-8, Joost Luiton (Netherlands), George Coetzee (RSA), Retief Goosen (RSA) and Mark Foster (England) who was leading at the start of the day, but he scored an average final round of 72 even. In 8th place at -13 was Robert Coles (England). Rounding out the Top 10 in tied 9th place were Ross Fisher (England), Henrik Stenson (Sweden) and Lee Slattery (England) they were all -12.
Both New Zealanders in the field missed the cut. Best of them was Michael Campbell (NZL) who scored rounds of 77+5 and 67-5 for a 36 hole total of 144 even and he missed the cut by 2shots. But at least the 67-5 second round should give him some confidence for next week. Mark Brown (NZL) scored rounds of 76+4 and 70-2 for a 36 hole total of 146+2 and missed the cut by 4shots, but again his 2nd round would give him hope for the next tournament.
Next week the European Tour heads to France for the Alstom Open de France and it is being played at the Le Golf National, Paris, France. With a huge prize purse of €3,000,000 to play for it is going to attract the European Tours best players. Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) is the defending champion and will be keen to win again. It starts on Thursday 30th June and I will report back who won next week.
The 2nd event I am reporting on this week is the CVS Caremark Charity Classic and was played at the Rhode Island CC, Barrington, Rhode Island. It was a fun tournament which was played last Monday (20th June) and Tuesday (21st June) and it was played in the Four ball Best ball format. This year it was won by Matt Kuchar (USA) and Zach Johnson (USA). They scored a record-setting two-round total of 24-under-par 118. The previous record in the best-ball format was 119 -23 set in 2001. Morgan Pressel (USA) and Davis Love III (USA) finished second at 120-22 for the 36 holes. So Matt Kuchar (USA) and Zach Johnson (USA) will back to defend their title next year for sure.
The 3rd event I am reporting on this week is the Travelers Championship and was played at TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut. And it was the Swedish Professional by the name of Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) playing in his 188th USPGA Tour event and he finally got his 1st win of his career. He scored rounds of 65-5, 66-4, 63-7 and a final round of 66-4 for a 72 hole total of 260-20 and won by 1shot. The amazing thing is that in the 72 holes he played he only made 1 bogey. Coming up the 72nd hole he believed he was tied for the lead with Ryan Moore (USA), because he never knew that Ryan Moore (USA) had made a bogey 5 on the 18th hole. He hit a good drive down the 18th hole and got a nice bounce into the fairway off the slope to the right of the fairway. He then hit a fine short iron into 20 feet short of the hole. And that left him 2putts for his 1st USPGA Tour win. He rolled his birdie putt to within inches of the cup and tapped in for his Par 4.
 |
| Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) holding the Travelers Championship Trophy he won |
For the win he earned 500 FedEx Cup points and that moves him to 18th on the FedEx Cup Points list with 1,112 points earned from the 18 events he has played this year to date. He is now 343 points behind Luke Donald (England) who is still leading on 1,455 points earned from the 10 events he has played this year to date. But his margin is very slim because Bubba Watson (USA) is in 2nd position on 1,448 points that he has earned from the 15 events he has played this year to date, he is now only 7 points behind Luke Donald (England).
Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) won $US 1,080,000.00 for the win and now moves to 20th on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 2,026,682 earned from the 18 events he has played this year to date. Luke Donald (England) still leads with $US 3,550,248 earned from the 10 events he has played this year to date. Since gaining his USPGA Tour Status in 2003 he has performed consistent every year since. Winning at least $US 1, 000, 000 each year since 2007 and he went very close to winning some of those events. So I am so happy for him to finally get his 1st win. And I hope he wins again soon and challenges in the coming Major Championships this year. I wish him all the best for the 2011 season.
 |
| Another Photo of Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) holding the Travelers Championship Trophy |
Ryan Moore (USA) wouldn’t have been happy with bogeying the last hole, but his round of 63-7 in the final round to finish at -19 after 72 holes must give him a lot of confidence. And he tied for 2nd with John Rollins (USA) who was also -19. They both earned $US 528,000.00 which will be well appreciated by both of them. Michael Thompson (USA) shot the best final round of 62-8 and finished at -18 in solo 4th place. It was his best finish on the USPGA Tour after gaining his card at the USPGA Tour Qualifying School last year (2010). He has now earned $US 438,291 from the 13 events he has played this year to date. And that places him in 119th Position on the USPGA Tour Money list. He is in good position to keep his card for the 2012 USPGA Tour season. But will need about $US 800, 000 to be sure of it because on the 2010 USPGA Tour final money list, Troy Merritt (USA) had earned $US 786,977 was in 125th Position, and only the top 125 on the money list keep their full playing status for the following season.
In tied 6th position on -15 were Kevin Streelman (USA), Andres Romero (Argentina) and Bryce Molder (USA). Rounding out the top 10 at -14 in tied for 9th place were Tom Gillis (USA), Brian Davies (England), John Merrick (USA) and Blake Adams (USA). The scoring this week was extremely low with -4 being the lowest 36 hole cut of the 2011 USPGA Tour season so far.
Next week the USPGA Tour heads to Pennsylvania for the AT&T National and it is being played at Aronimink Golf Club, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania and Tiger Woods (USA) although he is not playing is hosting this tournament with the money raised all going to the Tiger Woods Foundation and it also supports the Armed Force from the USA. It is always played around the 4th July which is American Independence Day. With a purse of $US 6,200,000 to play for it always has a brilliant field. Justin Rose (England) is the defending champion and will be keen to get his 1st win on the USPGA Tour in 2011. It starts on Thursday 30th June and I will report back who won next week.
So to the Top 5 in the Official World Golf Rankings this week. Still Number 1 is Luke Donald (England) with 9.14 Official World Ranking Points. At Number 2 is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.66 Official World Ranking Points. At Number 3 is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 7.23 Official World Ranking Points and it is the first time since the Official World Golf Rankings began in 1985 that 3 Golfers from the United Kingdom have occupied the top 3 rankings on the Official World Golf Rankings, a fine achievement for them I say. At Number 4 is Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 7.14 Official World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 is Steve Stricker (USA) with 6.39 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) remains in 17th position this week with 4.22 Official World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the best New Zealander with .60 Official World Ranking Points, but he slips 2 places this week and is now at 284th on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list.
The 3rd tournament I am reporting on this week is on the Champions Tour and is the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open and it was played at En-Joie GC, Endicott, New York where the old B. C. Open used to be played for years on the USPGA Tour before it folded. And this week it was the recently turned 50 year old John Huston (USA) that got his 1st win on the Champions Tour in just his 3rd start. He scored rounds of 65-7, 70-2 and a final round of 65-7 for a 54 hole total of 200-16, and that gave him a 3shot victory. It was a great start to his Champions Tour Career to get a win so early in his career. And considering he has won 7 times in his USPGA Tour Career, I expect him to win many more times on the Champions Tour before his Champions Tour Career is finished.
 |
| John Huston (USA) in action during the final round of the Dick's Sporting Goods Open |
So I wish John Huston (USA) all the best for the rest of the year on the Champions Tour and hope he wins some more tournaments. In 2nd place was Nick Price (Zimbabwe), he was -13 after 54 holes. I can still remember watching Nick Price (Zimbabwe) win the 1992 Air NZ Shell Open at the Grange Golf Club, in Auckland. That year he beat Lucas Parson’s (Australia) on the 1st playoff hole, after scoring 63-7 in the final round to get in the playoff. In 3rd place was Mark Wiebe (USA) who finished on -12. He was looking like the player to beat after taking the lead into the final round. But he hit a speed bump when he made 3 bogies in a row from holes 12 to 14. But it was still another fine finish for him. In tied 4th place were Jim Gallagher, Jr. (USA) and Joey Sindelar (USA), they were both -11, Peter Senior (Australia) was tied for 6th at -10, he continued on his fine form in his 2nd full season on the Champions Tour and he has had 6 top 10 finishes from the 10 events he has entered to date this year, which included a tie for 2nd at the Regions Tradition which was the 1st Major Championship of the Champions Tour season back in early May. He has earned $US 547,441 that places him in 9th position on the Champions Tour Money list and he also has earned 717 Charles Schwab Points and that places him in 4th position on the list. He is 777 points behind Tom Lehman (USA) who is the Charles Schwab Points leader. A win on the Champions Tour isn’t too far away I suggest?
Also tied for 6th on -10 were Peter Jacobson (USA), who just last week was commentating for NBC Sports at the US Open Championship, Ted Schulz (USA) and Jay Don Blake (USA) were also -10 in tied 6th place. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 10th position on -9 was Jim Rutledge (Canada) who won ING New Zealand PGA Championship in 2006 on the Nationwide Tour, and spent 2007 on the USPGA Tour with little success. Also tied for 10th was 67 year old Hale Irwin (USA) who recorded his 203rd top-10 of his Champions Tour career, just amazing really. Lee Rinker (USA), David Frost (South Africa) and Mark Calcavecchia (USA) were also tied for 10th on -9.
Next week the Champions Tour heads to Canada for the Montreal Championship presented by Desjardins and it is being played at Club de Golf Fontainebleau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With $US 1,800,000 to play for it is sure to attract another fine field. Larry Mize (USA) the 1987 Master Tournament Champion is the defending champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Friday 1st July and I will report back who took home the Spoils next week.
The final event I am reporting on this week is on the Nationwide Tour and was the 53rd Mexico Open Presented by Banamex and it was played at El Bosque Golf Club, Leon, GTO, Mexico. And it was Erik Compton (USA) a twice a heart transplant recipient that prevailed to win his 1st ever Nationwide Tour event. He scored rounds of 68-4, 70-2, 68-4 and a final round of 65-7 for a 72 hole total of 271-17 and won by 2shots in the rain interrupted event. He is just an amazing story with all the health issues he has had in his life. He wins $US 126,000.00 for the win which places him in 2nd on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 215,709 earned from the 9events he has played this to date and now is virtually assured of getting his 2012 USPGA Tour card by finishing inside the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour’s final 2011 Money list. Mathew Goggin (Australia) is still leading with $US 303,898 he has earned from the 9events he has played to date this year.
 |
| Erik Compton (USA) in action 53rd Mexico Open present by Banamex |
In 2nd position was Richard H. Lee (USA) on -15, in 3rd position was Will Wilcox (USA) on -14. Tied for 4th were James Nitties (Australia), Roberto Castro (USA), Chris Baker (USA), Kyle Thompson (USA) and Matthew Giles (Australia), they were all -13. Rounding out the top 10 at -12 in tied 9th place were Justin Bolli (USA) and Casey Wittenberg (USA). Best of the New Zealanders in the field this week was Josh Geary (NZL), he scored rounds of 72 even, 70-2, 69-3 and a final round of 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 281-7 and he tied for 29th place. He won $US 4,573.34 for his weeks work and is now in 39th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 46,193 earned from the 11 events he has played this year to date. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the best positioned New Zealander on the Money list with $US 84,336 earned from the 5 events he has played this year to date. That puts him in 19th position. But he hasn’t played since finishing 3rd in the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation in late May because of injury.
But Josh Geary (NZL) after having a slow start to his season has had a great month in June, making every single cut in the four events he played and he had two top 10 finishes as well. He is now well on his way to getting in the Top 25 Money earners that get their 2012 USPGA Tour cards after the final event on the Nationwide Tour which is the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island in late October. I wish him all the best for the rest of the season. The other New Zealander in the field was Bradley Iles (NZL) and he scored rounds of 73+1 and 74+2 to be a 147+3 after 36 holes and miss the halfway cut by 4strokes. It continues on the poor form he has been showing this season on the Nationwide Tour, with out of the 11 events he has played he has only made 5 cuts. And has only earned $US 13,643 from those 11 starts that places him in 112th Position on the Nationwide Tour Money list. He will need a major improvement to make the USPGA Tour next year. But I hope he returns to top form soon.
The Nationwide Tour now takes a 2week break before it returns in Ohio, for the Chiquita Classic that is played at the TPC River's Bend, Maineville, Ohio. It has a purse of $US 550,000 up for the taking. It will have a new Champion because Tommy (Two Gloves) Gainey (USA) is now playing on the USPGA Tour after getting his card from this win last year. It starts on Thursday 14th July and I will report back who the new Champion is soon as the results come in.
So until next week and my next report, remember in the winter conditions fly the ball right to the flags stick because it is guaranteed to stop dead once it lands!!
Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com
No comments:
Post a Comment