Golf Events from the Weekend 24th July 2011

It was another exciting weekend on the Professional Golf Tours from around the world. 1st I will start with the European Tour and the Race to Dubai. And this week it was the Nordea Masters and it was played at Bro Hof Slott GC, Stockholm, Sweden. And it was Alexander Noren (Sweden) who played some awesome golf to become the 2nd consecutive Swedish player in as many years to win this tournament. And he is the 5th Swedish Golfer ever to win this event. He scored rounds of 67-5, 66-6, 63-9 and a final round in very tough conditions of 77+5 for a 72 hole total of 273-15 and he won by an amazing 7strokes. He won € 250,000.00 for the win and that now places him in 8th place on the Race to Dubai Money list with €912,564 earned from the 18 events he has played to date this year. Luke Donald (England) is still number 1 with €3,156,696 earned from the 8 events he has played to date this year.

Alexander Noren (Sweden) also had won the Saab Wales Open in early June. So it was the 2nd win of the year for him and this was the 4th European Tour win of his career. He is starting to show the promise that everyone knew he would eventually show. He had an Amazing 11 stroke lead after 54 holes after breaking the course record for the 3rd consecutive day running. That was the largest lead on the European Tour after 54 holes this season.  He played just a brilliant 3rd round when he scored 63-9 which included birdies at the Par 4, 5th and Par 4, 6th holes and when he hit a brilliant 4 iron for his 2nd shot on the Par 5, 9 hole and it landed 4feet for the hole leaving him an easy 4foot eagle putt which he made. He scored 32-4 going out. On the inward nine he scored 31-5 which included birdies on the Par 4, 10th hole, then another two birdies on the Par 5, 12th hole and the Par 5, 13th hole. Another birdie on the Par 5, 15th hole and finally the icing on the cake was a birdie on the Par 4,18th hole for his round of 63-9.

The final round was a different story though as the extremely strong winds caused havoc to the 65 players that made the cut. With Richard Finch (England) being the only player to break par, he scored 69-3 and that was enough to move him up to solo 2nd place at -7. And Victor Dubuisson (France) was the only other player to score par or better scoring 72 even par. There were 20 players that scored in the 80’s and two unlucky players had the unfortunate experience of scoring in the 90’s. So Alexander Noren’s (Sweden) round of 77+5 was not as bad as it sounded. On the 72nd hole he had a 7 stroke lead over Richard Finch (England) who had finished earlier. They both birdied the Par 4, 18th hole. So Alexander Noren (Sweden) was ecstatic with his win and happy that most of his family and friends were there to witness it. He is now exempt on the European Tour till the end of 2013 season. I feel this win should give him huge confidence and wouldn’t be surprised if he challenges for the Race to Dubai Trophy at the end of the season. I wish him all the best for the rest of 2011 season.

Alexander Noren (Sweden) holding the Nordea Masters Trophy he won

In solo 3rd place was Niklas Lemke (Sweden) he was -5 after 72 holes. He was only playing in this tournament because he had been given a sponsor’s exemption, and with this 3rd place finish he earns € 93,900 for his efforts and a place in the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland which is next week’s tournament. This may be his chance to make a mark on the European Tour, because before this week he was playing on the Challenge Tour which is equal to the Nationwide Tour in the America. In tied 4th position was Scott Hend (Australia) who had his best finish this year on the European Tour and earned € 69,300.00 for his weeks work. Also in tied for 4th position was Pablo Martin (Spain) who too was -4 after 72 holes. He is continuing on his fine season after winning the 1st event of the season back in December last year at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa. Tied for 6th at -3 were Dustin Johnson (USA), Seung-yul Noh (South Korea), Jeev Milkha Singh (India) and Bubba Watson (USA). Rounding out the top 10 at tied for 10th position were Tano Goya (Argentina), John Parry (England) and Jamie Donaldson (Wales) they were all -2 after 72 holes.

The only Amateur to make the cut was Robert Karlsson (Sweden) who has the same name as the Famous Swedish Golfer. He was tied for 24th position at +2 after 72 holes. The Famous Robert Karlsson (Sweden) finished at even par in tied 16th place. There were two New Zealand Golfers in the field; both of them missed the 36 hole cut. Best of them was Michael Campbell (NZL) he scored rounds of 75+3 and 71-1 for a 36 hole total of 146+2 and missed the cut by 1stroke. Mark Brown (NZL) continued on his bad run of form scoring rounds of 72 even and 75+3 for a 36 hole total of 147+3 and missed the 36 holes cut by 2strokes.

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai head to Ireland for the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland and is being played at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club, Killarney, Co Kerry, Republic of Ireland. With €1,500,000 as a prize purse it is sure to attract another great field. And with 3 Northern Irishman winning Majors in the past 13 months, Rory McILroy (NIR), Graeme McDowell (NIR) and Darren Clarke (NIR) will be dead keen to add the Irish Open to their win lists. But there will be a lot of competition from the best players in Europe. It starts on Thursday 28th July and I will report back who took home the trophy next week.

Now to the 2nd event I am reporting on this week and it is the on the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup and was the RBC Canadian Open and was played at the Shaughnessy G&CC, Vancouver, B.C. Canada and two golfers tied for the lead after 72 holes of regulation play and they were Sean O’Hair (USA) who scored rounds of 69-1, 73+2, 66-4 and a final round of 68-2 for a 72 hole total of 276-4. But he was tied on that score by Kris Blanks (USA) who scored rounds of 67-3, 71+1, 69-1 and a final round of 69-1 for a 72 hole total of 276-4. So both players headed back to the 18th tee for the 1st playoff hole. Sean O’Hair (USA) drew 1 out of the hat and teed off 1st. He pulled his drive left and it landed in the left rough in a terrible lie. Kris Blanks (USA) hit 2nd and he too pulled his drive and in landed in the left rough as well just a little further than Sean O’Hair’s (USA) ball.

Sean O’Hair (USA) hit his 2nd shot 1st and just laid it up with a short iron in the fairway about 100yards from the green. Kris Blanks (USA) went for the green with a mid iron trying to draw it in from a bad lie as well. He got it pin high to the right, but it rolled into the same bunker he was in when he played the hole in regulation play about half an hour earlier. Sean O’Hair (USA) played his 3rd shot with a wedge to 20 feet short of the hole. Kris Blanks (USA) then hit is bunker shot out slightly too hard and it rolled off the green into the fringe. This may have been caused by leaving the same shot short of the hole when he played it in regulation. Sean O’Hair (USA) then struck his 20 foot par putt and it rolled just past the hole and came to rest 18 inches past the hole. He tapped in for an easy bogey. Kris Blanks (USA) now had a chip to win his 1st ever USPGA Tour event. But he rolled his par chip from just off the fringe 6feet past the cup, and he missed the return putt handing the RBC Canadian Open title to Sean O’Hair (USA). It was the 1st time he has ever won the RBC Canadian Open and his 4th win of his USPGA Tour Career. And it was his 1st win since he split from his coach who was Sean Foley.

For the win Sean O’Hair (USA) wins $US 936,000.00 and that moves him to 45th on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 1,263,731 earned from the 18 events he has played to date this year. Nick Watney (USA) is still leading with $US 4,189,233 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year. He also earns 500 FedEx Cup points and moves to 43rd place on the FedEx Cup points list with 709 points earned from the 18 events he has played to date this year. He is 1,089 FedEx Cup points behind Nick Watney (USA) who has earned 1,798 FedEx Cup points from the 15 events he has played this year to date.

Sean O'Hair (USA) in action in the final round of the RBC Canadian Open

This win should really lift Sean O’Hair’s (USA) confidence, and now he has got the winning feeling I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins again soon. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 season. In 3rd place on his own was Andres Romero (Argentina) who was -3 after 72 holes. He had a share of the lead playing the 72nd hole but made a bogey. It was Andres Romero (Argentina) best finish of the 2011 season. In tied for 4th place at -2 after 72 holes was Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) and the Low Canadian Golfer at the RBC Canadian for the 2nd year running and was Adam Hadwin (Canada). After being +5 after 11 holes in his final round, he made 3 straight birdies from holes 12-14 and he got back to -2, but he made 4 consecutive pars to finish. It was a fine effort from the 23 year old who isn’t even exempt on the USPGA Tour and has only ever played in 3 events on the USPGA Tour in his career. He earned $US 228,800.00 for the tied for 4th place and gets a start next week at the Greenbrier Classic. He must be Canada’s next big thing in Golf? I wish him well for the future years.

In tied 6th place at -1 were Woody Austin (USA), Scott Piercy (USA) and Bo Van Pelt (USA) who was leading outright heading into the back nine at -5, but then ended up scoring 39+4 on the Back Nine to eventually ended up scoring a final round of 74+4. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th place at even par was Charl Schwartzel (RSA) who is the current Master Champion, Spencer Levin (USA), Patrick Cantlay (USA) the Amateur who has now played in 4 USPGA Events and made the cut in all of them. He is going back to university soon to study. But some people in the know say he should turn professional soon. And the final player in tied for 9th place was John Daly (USA), It was his 1st top 10 finish on the USPGA Tour since he finished 2nd at the WGC-American Express Championship in September 2005. I hope he can continue on this fine form next week.

So it proved a very difficult to score low at the RBC Canadian Open with the cut falling at 144+4. And only 12 players finishing at even par or better. Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup head to West Virginia for the Greenbrier Classic and it is being played at the Old White TPC, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. It has a huge purse of $US 6,000,000 on offer which will attract the best players on the USPGA Tour. Stuart Appleby (Australia) last year scored 59-11 in the final round and won by 1stroke, and he is back to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 28th July and I will report back who won next week.

Now to the top 5 on the Official World Rankings Points list this week. Still coming in at Number 1 on the list is Luke Donald (England) with 9.60 Official World Ranking Points, coming at number 2 is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.33 Official World Ranking Points, coming at Number 3 is Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 7.26 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at Number 4 is Rory McILroy (Northern Ireland) with 7.06 Official World Ranking Points and rounding out the Top 5 is Steve Stricker (USA) with 6.94 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week slips another place to Number 21 on the Official World Ranking Points list with 3.64 Official World Ranking Points. Best New Zealand Golfer on the list is still Danny Lee (NZL); he is in 307th Position with 0.57 Official World Ranking Points.

Now to the 3rd event I am reporting on this week and it was on the Champions Tour and this week it was played in conjunction with the European Senior Tour and was The Senior Open Championship and was played at Walton Heath G.C., Surrey, Surrey, England. And it was the American Golfer by the name of Russ Cochran (USA) who came away with the Trophy. He scored rounds of 72 even par, 70-2, 67-5 and a final round of 67-5 for a 72 hole total of 276-12 and won by 2 strokes. He won € 220,962 for the win and moves to 4th position on the Champions Tour Money list $US 918,367 earned from the 9 events he has played to date this year. Tom Lehman (USA) still is number 1 on the list with $US 1,320,270 earned from the 12 events he has played this year to date.

Russ Cochran (USA) holding the Senior Open Championship Trophy

Russ Cochran (USA) is also 2nd on the Charles Schwab Cup Points list with 1,163 points earned from the 9 events he has played to date this year. He is 370 points behind Tom Lehman (USA) who leads with 1,533 points earned from the 12 events he has played this year to date. Russ Cochran (USA) played a brilliant front nine in his final round scoring 31-5 which included birdies at the Par 4, 1st hole and Par 5, 2nd hole. And 3 more straight birdies at the Par 5, 6th hole, Par 4, 7th hole and Par 5, 8th hole. He birdied the Par 4, 10th hole to get to -6 for the round. He made his lone bogey for the round on the Par 4, 14th hole. But he then pared the next 3 holes and came to the 72nd hole with a 2 stroke lead over Mark Calcavecchia (USA). He made a solid par on the Par 4, 18th hole and finished -12. He became the 2nd left hander to win the Senior Open Championship. The 1st was Bob Charles (NZL) who won this Championship Twice. Once in 1989 and for the 2nd time in 1993. It was Russ Cochran’s (USA) 1st Champions Tour Major Championship win and his 3rd win on the Champions Tour for his Career. I hope he goes on and wins more tournaments this year and I wish him all the best for the rest of 2011 season.

Mark Calcavecchia (USA) was solo 2nd on -10; he will be ruing the 4 putt he suffered on the Par 3, 9th hole. But it is still a fine showing for him. Tied for 3rd on -9 were two Famous American Golfers by the name of Tom Watson (USA) who is 61 years old and Corey Pavin (USA). In Solo 5th position was Barry Lane (England) at -8, in solo 6th position was David Frost (RSA) at -7. Rounding out the top 10 in tied 7th position were Fred Funk (USA), Peter Fowler (Australia), Lee Rinker (USA) and Mike Goodies (USA) they were all they were all -6.

Next week it is the 3rd Major of the Champions Tour season which is the US Senior Open Championship and it is being played at the Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio, USA. Bernhard Langer (Germany) is the defending Champion and will be looking to defend his title. With a purse of $US 2,600,000 to play for it is going to attract the very best players on the Champions Tour. It starts on Thursday 28th July and I will report back who won next week.

The final event I am reporting on this week is on the Nationwide Tour and was the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational and it was played on the OSU Golf Club - Scarlet, Columbus, Ohio. And it was the Amateur Golfer by the name of Harris English (USA) that scored rounds of 66-5, 66-5, 68-3 and a final round of 70-1 for a 72 hole total of 270-14 and won by 1 stoke. Harris English (USA) of University of Georgia became the 2nd Amateur golfer to win on the Nationwide Tour this year with Russell Henley (USA) who is also from the University of Georgia won the Stadion Classic at UGA in early May this year. So whatever they are doing in the Golf programme at the University of Georgia it is certainly working.

Harris English (USA) came to the 72nd hole 1 stroke behind another Amateur from the University of Louisiana, John Peterson (USA) who was -14 and 1 stroke ahead of Kyle Reifers (USA) who was -12. Harris English (USA) made an awesome birdie 3 on the 72nd hole to finish -14 and win the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational. So did Kyle Reifers (USA) to get to -13. But John Peterson (USA) could only manage a bogey 5 and he fell back into a tie for 2nd with Kyle Reifers (USA) at -13. It was unfortunate for John Peterson (USA) from the University of Louisiana and the bogey he made on the 72nd hole because he had been the player to beat all tournament. But it was great to see two Amateur Golfers perform so brilliantly on the professional stage.

Harris English (USA) in action during the final round of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational

So the 22 year old Harris English (USA) got a late birthday present because it was his Birthday a day before on the Saturday. Harris English (USA) has decided not to turn pro right away, and stay at University with his studies and play some more tournaments on Amateur Circuit in the USA. He has the option to turn professional in 2012 and will be fully exempt on the Nationwide Tour with this win. He also becomes the 3rd Amateur ever to win on the Nationwide Tour. Daniel Summerhays (USA) was the 1st in 2007 when he won this same event Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational. The only thing was that Harris English (USA) being an Amateur couldn’t claim the $US 144,000 first prize reward. I wish him well with the rest of his season on the Amateur Circuit in the USA. And hope he has a great professional Career once he turns professional.

So tied for 2nd were John Peterson (USA) the Amateur from the University of Louisiana. He will be disappointed with 2nd but when he reflects on the week he will be very pleased with how he played. He too is going to remain Amateur till at least next year anyway. Also tied for 2nd at -13 was Kyle Reifers (USA) and because Amateurs Harris English (USA) and John Peterson (USA) could earn any prize money the 1st prize cheque of $US 144,000.00 when to him. It was his best finish on the Nationwide Tour this year to date and it moved him to 5th on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 187,205 earned from the from the 12 events he has played to date this year. Mathew Goggin (Australia) still leads that list having won $US 336,964 from the 11 events he has played in. Kyle Reifers (USA) now has a great chance to get back on the USPGA Tour for the 2012 season; he last played there in 2007.

Tied for 4th were Josh Broadaway (USA) and Brian Smock (USA) at -12. Tied for 6th at -12 was Ted Potter, Jr. (USA), Brett Wetterich (USA) and Mathew Goggin (Australia) they were -11. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th place were Matt Hendrix (USA), Peter Uihlein (USA) who is the current US Amateur Champion, Aaron Watkins (USA) and James Sacheck (USA) they were all -10. Best of the New Zealanders was Danny Lee (New Zealand), he scored rounds of 72+1, 69-2, 68-3 and a final round of 70-1 for a 72 hole total of 279-5 and he finished in tied for 26th place. He won $US 7,440.00 for his weeks work and that places him in 24th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 97,100 earned from the 7events he has played to date this year. He has also made all 7 cuts in the 7 events he has played this year. He will need to keep playing well to stay inside the top 25 players on the Nationwide Tour Money list that get their 2012 USPGA Tour cards at the end of the season.

Next best New Zealand Golfer was Tim Wilkinson (NZL), he scored rounds of 71 even, 71 even, 74+3 and a final round of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 285+1 and he finished in tied for 54th position. He earned $US 2,640.00 for the week and is now in 84th Position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 27,617 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this year. The last New Zealander to make the cut was Josh Geary (NZL) he scored rounds of 71 even, 70-1, 77+6 and a final round of 73+2 for 72 hole total of 291+7 and was in solo 68th place. He earned $US2, 200.00 for the week and is now in 50th position on the Nationwide Tour money list with $US 51,308 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year. There were two other New Zealand Golfers in the field; they were Bradley Iles (NZL) who scored rounds of 70-1 and 73+2 for a 36 hole total of 143+1 and missed the halfway cut by 1 stroke. Also Steve Alker (NZL) scored rounds of 72+1 and 72+1 for a 36 hole total of 144+2 and miss the halfway cut by 2 strokes.

Next week the Nationwide Tour heads to Utah for the Utah Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission and it is being played at the Willow Creek CC, Sandy, Utah. It has a smaller purse on offer of $US 550,000. Michael Putnam (USA) is the defending Champion but because he is now playing the USPGA Tour, there will be a new Champion this week. It starts on Thursday 28th July. I will report back who took home the trophy next week.

So until then remember to Hit all your Fairways and Greens and make all your putts!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com

The 3rd Hole at Whangamata Golf Club – Titoki Course

The 3rd hole at Whangamata Golf Club – Titoki Course is a great hole and is worthy of being the number one stroke hole off the Men’s Tees and the number 3 stroke hole off the Women’s Tees. It plays to a length of 403 metres off the Men’s Blue Championship Tees and 340 metres off the Ladies Tees. It has sharp dog leg left at about the 220 metre mark which can cause some problems to the single figure player if you hit the ball too straight. Hence the name for this hole is “Devil’s Elbow”!

The perfect shot off the tee for the right handed player is a slight draw off the right hand side of the fairway to the middle of the fairway. And the left handed player it would be a slight fade. But it is not to say that the good player with a fade can’t take the ball down the left hand tree line and fade it back to the middle of the fairway. Or the Left handed player can’t play a draw down the Left hand tree line and draw it back to the middle of the fairway. But it is just a little more risky. 
  



From behind the 3rd tee looking
towards the fairway

There is a tidal creek that runs down the whole left side of the fairway right up to the green. It is a Lateral Water Hazard, and any ball hit in there is almost certain to need a penalty drop. So my advice is to avoid the left side completely. To the mid to high handicap player the tee shot off the 3rd tee is very intimidating. But to the Professional or very low handicap player it is just a good challenge. And if you miss it on the right side of the fairway the trees are too high to hit over so you will more than likely be just chipping back to the middle of the fairway.



From the 3rd fairway looking
towards the green

The 2nd shot is everything from a mid iron for the low handicapper to a rescue or 3wood for the higher handicap. And sometimes the higher handicap won’t even be able to reach the green. And into the Northerly Wind even the lower handicap player may have trouble reaching the green. Like every course the hole plays a lot different from winter to summer. In the summer the lower handicapper may have as low as a 9 iron in off a huge drive, but in the winter it could be unreachable even with two well struck shots. 
 

Looking from just short of
the 3rd Green


 Once near the green you will see it is sloped from back to front. So leaving the ball underneath the hole for an uphill putt is a must. And that will ensure you are able to have a real go at making your putt whatever it is for. It you do have the unfortunate experience of having a downhill putt you will just have to be extremely careful and hope it doesn’t get away on you. And a side hill putt on this green is just as hard as well.

This hole can be mastered with a well placed drive, to give yourself the best chance of hitting the green with your 2nd shot. And if you leave your 2nd shot underneath the hole you could even make a birdie 3, if you hole the uphill putt you left yourself. But they are extremely rear. A par is a great score and you should never be disappointed with it. A bogey is even okay.

The 3rd hole at the Whangamata Golf Club – Titoki Course is just another example of some of the great holes the Thames Valley, Greater Waikato and South Auckland Regions have to offer.

Golf Events from the Weekend 17th July 2011

Well this week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup and the European Tour and the Race to Dubai staged the 3rd Major of the year. It was the 140th Open Championship and was played at Royal St George’s GC, Sandwich, Kent, England. And it was Darren Clarke (Northern Ireland) that scored rounds of 68-2, 68-2, 69-1 and a final round 70 even par for a 72 hole total of 275-5. He won by 3 shots for his 1st ever major win at age 42 years old. And he became the 2nd Northern Irishman to win a major this year, after Rory McILroy (NIR) won the US Open Championship last month.

He won € 999,540.00 for his 1st Major win and it was the 14th win on the European Tour for his career and his 2nd this year having won the Iberdrola Open in mid May. He is now in 6th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with €1,303,927 earned from the 15 events he has played this year to date. Luke Donald (England) still leads with €3,156,696 earned from the 8 events he has played this year to date. He didn’t add to his total this week because he missed the 36 holes halfway cut. It was just an amazing week for Darren Clarke (Northern Ireland). And after all he has gone through in the past 5years from losing his wife to breast cancer in 2006. This is a great reward for him.

Darren Clarke (NIR) celebrates after holing the winning putt to win the 140th Open Championship

After scoring rounds of 68-2 and 68-2 he was tied for the lead after 36 holes with the American Golfer, Lucas Glover (USA) on 136-4. But the conditions in the 3rd round turned nasty as a huge storm passed over the course with rain falling horizontally into the player’s faces. He was a touch lucky with his late tee time, as his last few holes were played in sun shine as the Storm had passed. But that was to take nothing away with how he played his 3rd round. With birdies at the 1st and 7th holes and bogeys at the 5th and 8th holes he went out in a fine score of 35 even par. And on the back nine he birdied the 12th hole and parred the rest. He scored a 3rd round 69-1 and that was only beaten by Dustin Johnson (USA) and Rickie Fowler (USA) who scored 68-2 in their 3rd rounds. In the 3rd round those were the only 3 players that were able to break par proving how hard the conditions were playing. So after the 3rd round Darren Clarke (NIR) had a 54 hole total of 205-5 and had a 1 stroke lead over Dustin Johnson (USA) who was -4.

Darren Clarke (NIR) got off to a fine start in his final round with birding the Par 4, 2nd hole and making an amazing eagle on the Par 5, 7th hole which brought a Huge Roar from the huge British Crowd that was watching him in the Gallery. He made his lone bogey on the front nine at the Par 4, 4th hole. He went out in 33-2 and was at -7 with the final 9 holes to play. Meanwhile Phil Mickelson (USA) who teed off about an hour earlier than Darren Clarke (NIR) had got off to a dream start. He birdied the Par 4, 2nd and the Par4, 4th hole and also the Par 3, 6th hole. Then he holed an amazing eagle putt on the Par 5, 7th hole to get to -5 for the tournament. He missed a short birdie putt on the Par 4, 9th hole and the chance of going out in 29-6. But 30-5 was just an awesome front nine and he was starting to put the pressure on Darren Clarke (NIR). 

Phil Mickelson (USA) then birdied the par 4, 10th hole to get to -6. But the pressure of the Open Championship then got to him as he charged his birdie putt at the short par 3, 11th hole, then he lipped out the return par putt. So an unplanned bogey there killed his momentum. He then made a poor bogey at the Par 4, 13th hole and two more bogeys at the Par 4, 15th and Par 3, 16th holes meant that his Open Championship chances were over for another year. But the tied for 2nd place with his 4 rounds of 70 even par, 69-1, 71+1 and a final round of 68-2 for a 72 hole total of 278-2 was still a fine effort. Maybe he will win this championship next year?

Also now Dustin Johnson (USA) who was in the final group with Darren Clarke (NIR) was starting to make a charge of his own at Darren Clarke (NIR). After a poor start to his final round with bogeys at the Par 3, 3 rd hole and the Par 3, 6th hole. He then birdied the Par 4, 10th hole and the Par 4, 12th hole to get to -5 and was only 2 strokes behind Darren Clarke (NIR). But he too fell away badly when he hit his 2nd shot to the Par 5, 14th hole and if flew Out of Bounds in the strong left to right cross wind. He ended up holing out for a Double Bogey 7. So he fell back to -3. Another bogey at the Par 4, 18th hole meant he ended up scoring a final round 72+2. So his 4 rounds for the week were 70 even par, 68-2, 68-2 and a final round 72+2 for a 72 hole total of 278-2. He too finished in tied for 2nd place with Phil Mickelson (USA). They both earned € 474,782 for their weeks work.

Darren Clarke (NIR) played a very steady back nine under the circumstances. He made 7 pars in a row from holes 10th to 16th. On the 17th tee he had a 4 stroke lead over Dustin Johnson (USA) who he was playing with and a 5 shot lead over Phil Mickelson (USA) who was in the Clubhouse at -2. So he could afford to bogey the last 2holes. He missed a short putt on the Par 4, 17th for Par, but tapped in for his Bogey 5. He came to the 72nd hole with a 3 stroke lead over Dustin Johnson (USA). Darren Clarke (NIR) then hit an excellent drive down the Par 4, 18th hole that drew back into the right side of the fairway. He hit a wind cheating mid iron that was slightly pulled, it hit the green but rolled onto the back left fringe just passed pin high. He rolled his birdie putt from just off the fringe passed the hole to about 10feet from the cup. He missed his par putt short just to the right of the cup, but the bogey on the 72nd hole was irrelevant. He pumped his fists in the air as he now was the new Open Champion for 2011. 

Darren Clarke (NIR) kisses the Claret Jug in Celebration of winning the Open Championship

It was great to see Darren Clarke (NIR) finally win a Major at this late stage of his career. And as he said in an Interview afterwards he was going to celebrate this win long and hard. He may never win another major, but at least he has this moment always to saviour in his memory forever. And everything is going right in his life right now, because he is going to get married again in a few weeks time to his Fiancée Alison. I wish him well for the rest of 2011 season, and maybe he can go on and win the Race to Dubai Title in December?

In solo 4th place was the 1st round co – leader Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) at -1 and the last player to finish under par. He must like the Royal St George’s GC because in 2003 when the Open Championship was last played there he finished tied for 2nd with Vijay Singh (Fiji). And he only got in to the Open Championship because Vijay Singh (Fiji) had to withdraw. In tied for 5th place was Chad Campbell (USA), Anthony Kim (USA) and Rickie Fowler (USA) who had his best finish in a major in his very young career, they were all at even par. In solo 8th place was Raphael Jacquelin (France) at +1. Rounding out the top 10 in tied 9th place was Sergio Garcia (Spain), Simon Dyson (England) and Davis Love III (USA) at +2. Steve Stricker (USA) had another fine finish in a major finishing at +3 in tied 12th place. Charl Schwartzel (RSA) who is the Master Champion finished at +5 in tied for 16th place. The Amazing Tom Watson (USA) at 61 years old finished at +6 in tied for 22nd place. He scored 70 even par in the 2nd round that included a Hole in One at par 3, 6th hole. Tom Lehman (USA) who is leading the Champions Tour Money list and was the Open Champion is 1996 also finished in Tied for 22nd place at +6.  Rory McILroy (NIR) after winning the US Open Championship in such convincing fashion last month had a rather poor Open Championship by his standards. He scored rounds of 71+1, 69-1, 74+4 and a final round of 73+3 for a 72 hole total of 287+7 and tied for 25th place.

22 year old Tom Lewis (England) was the low Amateur and had an amazing 1st round of 65-5 to lead with Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), he then went on to score 74+4, 76+6 and a final round of 74+4 for a 72 hole total of 289+9 and took the Amateur Medal from the current US Amateur Champion Peter Uihlein (USA) who was in tied 48th place at +12. The defending Champion Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) had a disappointing defence of his title and finished up in tied 54th place and +13. The 36 hole cut on Friday night fell at 143+3 and some big name players missed the cut including World Number 1, Luke Donald (England) at +6 and World Number 2, Lee Westwood (England) at +4.

Next week the European Tour and the Race to Dubai head to Sweden for the Nordea Masters which is being played at the Bro Hof Slott GC, Stockholm, Sweden. With €1,500,000 up for grabs it is sure to attract a great field of European Tour Players and some USPGA Tour players that are staying on in Europe after the Open Championship like Dustin Johnson (USA). With Richard S Johnson (Sweden) as the defending champion and will be looking to win again. It starts on Thursday 21st July and I will report back who won next week.

Now to the 2nd event on the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup this week and it was the Viking Classic and it was played at Annandale GC, Madison, Mississippi. With most of the Big name players on the USPGA Tour over in England at the Open Championship it gave the lesser name players a chance to shine. And that is exactly what Chris Kirk (USA) did. He scored rounds of 67-5, 67-5, 64-8 and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 266-22 and won by 1 stroke. It was his 1st ever win in his Rookie season on the USPGA Tour after gaining his 2011 USPGA Tour Card by finishing in the Top 25 on the 2010 Nationwide Tour money list when he finished in 2nd place with $US 411,206 earned from the 21 events he played.

 

Chris Kirk (USA) holding the Viking Classic Trophy

For the win at the Viking Classic he earned 250 FedEx Cup points and that moves him to 902 FedEx Cup Points earned from the 21 events he has played to date this year and into 27th Position on the FedEx Cup points list.  He is 896 points behind Nick Watney (USA) who is still leading on 1,798 points from the 15 events he has played this year to date. He also won $US 648,000.00 for the win and that moves him to 27th position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $1,730,397 earned from the 21 events he has played this year to date. Nick Watney (USA) is still leading with $US 4,189,233 earned from the 15 events he has played this year to date. Chris Kirk (USA) now has his USPGA Tour card till the end of the 2013 season and gets a start in the 2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions in early January 2012. Chris Kirk (USA) has now made a big name for himself in his rookie season on the USPGA Tour and can only keep going from strength to strength from here on in.

Chris Kirk (USA) came to the 72nd hole with a 1 shot lead over Tom Pernice, Jr. (USA) and George McNeill (USA). But all 3 players could only manage pars on the short par 5, 18th hole. This win will be huge boost to Chris Kirk’s (USA) confidence and I wouldn’t be surprised if he won again soon. In tied for 2nd place at -21 was Tom Pernice, Jr. (USA) who is 52 years old and was playing on USPGA Tour because there was no Champions Tour event to play this week, it proves he still has what it takes to compete with the best on the USPGA Tour. And George McNeill (USA) who had his best finish of the year to date. He also has 2 other top 10 finishes from the 12 events he has played to date this year. And has now wrapped up his card for the 2012 USPGA Tour season.

In tied 4th place were Bud Cauley (USA) who Monday qualified for this event and earned $US 148,800.00 and also gets into the field for next week’s RBC Canadian Open, also tied for 4th was Hunter Haas (USA) and Jim Renner (USA) who got his USPGA Tour card at the 2010 qualifying school last December also had his best finish in his rookie season and also earned $US 148,800.00 for his efforts, these players were all at -20. In tied for 7th place were Tommy (Two Gloves) Gainey (USA) who had his 5th Top 10 finish of the season and has now earned $US 1,457,851 from 23 events he has played to date this year which guarantees his card for the 2012 USPGA Tour Season, also tied for 7th was Sunghoon Kung (South Korea) who had his best finish of the season and his 1st top 10 of the year.  He too got his 2011 USPGA Tour card at the 2010 USPGA Tour Qualifying School when he finished tied 16th. They were both -19 after 72 holes. Rounding out the Top 10 in tied 9th Position were Shane Bertsch (USA), Blake Adams (USA), Peter Lonard (Australia) who had his best finish on the USPGA Tour this year after losing his card last year, he will also get a start next week at the RBC Canadian Open. Also tied for 9th was D. J. Trahan (USA), they were all -18.

There were two New Zealanders in the field but unfortunately both missed the cut. Grant Waite (NZL) playing in his 1st USPGA Tour event of 2011 scored rounds of 70-2 and 72even for a 36 hole total of 142-2 and he missed the cut by 2 strokes. The other New Zealand Golfer in the field was Phil Tataurangi (NZL) who too was making his 1st start on the USPGA Tour for 2011. He scored rounds of 76+4 and 69-3 for a 36 hole total of 145+1 and missed the cut by 5 strokes.

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads north of the boarder to Canada for the RBC Canadian Open and it is being played at the Shaughnessy G&CC, Vancouver, B.C. Canada. The huge purse of $US 5,200,000 will attract the best players from the USPGA Tour and the Canadian Tour. Carl Pettersson (Sweden) is the defending champion and will be looking to win back to back titles. But the Canadian Fans will be looking for a Canadian Golfer to win. It starts on Thursday 21st July and I will report back who took home the trophy next week.

So to the Top 5 in the Official World Golf Rankings this week, coming in at Number 1 is still Luke Donald (England) with 9.64 Official World Ranking Points, at Number 2 is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.48 Official World Ranking Points, at Number 3 is Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 7.38 Official World Ranking Points, at Number 4 is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 7.16 Official World Ranking Points, and rounding out the Top 5 is Steve Stricker (USA) on 7.05 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week slips another place to 20th on the list with 3.78 Official World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the best New Zealand Golfer on the Official World Rankings Points list with 0.59 Official World Ranking Points that places him 301st position on the Official World Rankings Points list

Now to the last event I am reporting on this week and it is on the Nationwide Tour and was Chiquita Classic and was played at the TPC River's Bend, Maineville, Ohio. And it was the Scottish Golfer Russell Knox (Scotland) that scored rounds of 68-4, 66-6, 63-9 and a final round of 66-6 for a 72 hole total of 263-25 and won by 3 strokes. He earned $US 99,000.00 for the win, and it was his 1st ever win on the Nationwide Tour in his rookie season. He moves to 5th on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 169,947 earned from the 9 events he has played to date this year. Mathew Goggin (USA) is still number one on the money list with $US 303,898 earned from the 10 events he has played to date this year. Russell Knox (Scotland) is looking good at the moment to gain his 2012 USPGA Tour card, because the players that finish inside the Top 25 on the final Nationwide Tour Money list get their USPGA Tour Cards the following Season.

Russell Knox (Scotland) played a great final round with birdies on holes 3rd, 4th , 6th, 7th and 8th on the front nine and the lone bogey coming on the 5th, and that meant he went out in 32-4, with birdies on 11th and 15th he came home in 34-2 to score 66-6. He held off the fast charging Billy Hurley III (USA) who scored a 64-8 in his final round that included 3consecutive birdies to finish his round. But he still finished 3 strokes back in solo 2nd at -22. This win should be a big boost to Russell Knox’s (Scotland) confidence, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he won again this year. I wish him luck for the rest of the 2011 season.

Russell Knox (Scotland) holding the Chiquita Classic Trophy

Tied 3rd were Brian Stuard (USA) and Greg Owen (England) who were -20. In tied 5th position at -19 were Chris Nallen (USA), Josh Broadaway (USA) and B. J. Staten (USA). In tied 8th place were Roberto Castro (USA) and Aaron Goldberg (USA) at -18. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 10th position were Jonas Blixt (Sweden), David Lingmerth (Sweden), Will Dodson (USA) and Wes Homan (USA), they were all at -16.

There were 5 New Zealand Golfers in the field and 4 of them made the cut, best of them was Bradley Iles (NZL) who finished tied for 14th. He scored rounds of 67-5, 71-1, 67-5 and 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 273-15. He earned $US 9,900.00 for his weeks work and now moves to 90th Position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 23,543 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this year. But he still has a lot of work to do to get into the Top 25 by the end of the season to earn his USPGA Tour card for 2012. Next best New Zealander was Danny Lee (NZL) who was playing for the first time since his wrist injury he suffered back in late May. He scored 70-2, 70-2, 67-5 and a final round of 68-2 for a 72 hole total of 275-13 and he tied for 22nd place. He won $US 5,324.00 for his efforts and now moves to 21st position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 89,660 earned from the 6 events he has played to date this year. At the moment he looks like securing his USPGA Tour card for 2012 season.

 Josh Geary (NZL) was the next best New Zealander, he scored rounds of 67-5, 70-2, 72 even and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 277-11 and he tied for 33rd place. He earned $US 2,915.00 for his efforts and now is in 42nd position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 49,108 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this year. He has made his last 4 cuts and if he keeps this form up will soon be in the Top 25 on the money list. The final New Zealander to make the cut was Tim Wilkinson (NZL), he scored rounds of 67-5, 70-2, 73+1 and a final round of 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 280-8 to tied for 48th position. He earned $US 1,911.25 for his efforts and now is placed in 87th Position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 24,977 earned from the 11 events he has played this year to date. The other New Zealander in the field was Steve Alker (NZL), but he missed the halfway cut with rounds of 74+2 and 68-4 for a 36 hole total of 142-2 to miss the 36 hole cut by 2 strokes.

Next week the Nationwide Tour is in Ohio again for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational and it is being played at the OSU Golf Club - Scarlet, Columbus, Ohio. It has a larger than normal purse with $US 800,000 up for the taking and it is sure to attract the very best players on the Nationwide Tour. D.J. Brigman (USA) is the defending Champion. But there will be a new Champion because D. J. Brigman (USA) is now on the USPGA Tour. I will report back next week who won the Trophy.

So until then remember keep hitting the ball long and straight and make all your putts inside 15 feet!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com

8th Hole at Maramarua Golf Club

The 8th hole at Maramarua Golf Club is a very challenging hole. Hence why it is rated the Number 1 Stroke hole on both the Men’s and Women’s scorecards. The tee shot is not that tight around the tee leaving you a chance to draw or fade the ball to land it in the fairway. But if you slice or hook the ball too much your will be in serious trouble. There are hazards on both the right and left sides of the fairway around the areas where the single figure handicap player lands the ball.

It you hit the ball in the left hazard you basically have to take a penalty drop or try to hit a miracle shot out, and nine times out of ten those shots never come off. And if you hit it in the right hazard you will properly have to lay up short of the water hazard that is in front of the green. You will want to position your ball in the right centre of the fairway, because a well stuck drive in the left side of the fairway can sometimes mean you are blocked out by the tall trees that separate the 8th and 5th fairways. Once you have positioned your ball in the fairway you face a medium to long iron depending on what level of Golfer you are and what time of year you are playing the hole. In Summer the low handicap player can have as little as a pitching wedge to the green, but in winter you can have a long iron or even a rescue or fairway wood to the green and sometimes it is out of reach. And the wind can also be a factor in what club you chose to play. To the higher handicap the water hazard that is just short of the green is a real problem. Most high handicaps lay up to the right side of the fairway just short of the green, so they can try and make their par with a short iron pitch shot.

The 8th Hole at Maramarua Golf Club looking from the fairway to the green

Positioning the ball on the right tier of the green is a must because it has two tiers to it. If you land your ball on the bottom tier and the pin is on the top tier it will be a very hard two putt. But it will be even more difficult if you land your ball on the top tier and the pin is positioned on the bottom tier. Sometimes you will have trouble even keeping the ball on the green when the greens are fast.  Once you are putting you will find the green has some tricky breaks in the putts. Best to have an uphill putt as you can attack it more. Downhill putts can be extremely quick and very frustrating!!

Birdies on this hole are very rare, Pars are a fine Achievement and walking off this hole with a bogey is nothing to be ashamed of.  This is just another example of the fine holes the Thames Valley and Greater Waikato and South Auckland Region has to offer.

Golf Events from the Weekend 10th July 2011

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 the European Tour headed to Scotland for the Barclays Scottish Open and this year it was played at a brand new venue which was Castle Stuart Golf Links, Inverness, Scotland. It is always played the week before the 3rd Major of the year which is the Open Championship. And it was Luke Donald (England) that come out on top in the shortened 54 hole event.

The Event was shortened to 54 holes because play was completely washed out on Saturday due to the course being unplayable because of a huge storm that battered Northern Scotland. Luke Donald (England) scored rounds of 67-5, 67-5 and a brilliant final round of 63-9 for a 54 hole total of 197-19 and he won for the 3rd time on the European Tour this year by 4 strokes. He got off to a great start in his 3rd and final round with 4 straight birdies on holes 4th to 7th and another one on the 9th hole to go out in 31-5 strokes. Then he came home in 32-4 strokes which included birdies on the 10th, 15th, 16th and 18th holes. He won € 550,249.99 for the win. That increases his lead at Number One on the Race to Dubai Money list with €3,153,531 earned from the 7 events he has played this year to date. It was also his 6th win of his career on the European Tour in 98th starts on the European Tour. Prior to winning this event he had won the World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championship in late February and the BMW PGA Championship in late May. So it is the first time in his European Tour career he has recorded three victories in the same season.

Luke Donald (England) in action during the Barclays Scottish Open

It is the 1st win he has had while being the World Number One Golfer. And he increases his world ranking points as the Number One Golfer in the World. He extends his wonderful record in the Barclays Scottish Open. He was tied fifth in 2005, tied second in 2006, tied fourth in 2007 and first in 2011. His final round of 63 (-9) equals the lowest final round by a winner of the 2011 season, established by Ernie Els (RSA)  at the South African Open Championship. So Luke Donald (England) is just having a great year with also placing in 4th position on the USPGA Tour FedEx Cup Points list and also is 3rd on the USPGA Tour Money list. I wouldn’t be surprised if he won the 3rd Major of the year which is the 140th Open Championship that is been played next week at the Royal St. George's Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent, England. He is certainly due to win one soon. I wish him luck for the rest of the 2011 season.

Luke Donald (England) with the Barclays Scottish Open Trophy he won!!

In 2nd place at -15 after 54 holes was Fedrik Andersson Hed (Sweden), he scored the lowest round of the Championship in the final round with 62-10. That included 1 eagle and 8 birdies which was just amazing!! And he is having another great season, backing up from where he left off in 2010 when he had his 1st win on the European Tour at the BMW Italian Open. So far this year he has earned € 492,116 from the 15 events he has entered and is in 32nd position on the Race to Dubai Money list. I wish him luck for the rest of the 2011 season and hope he can get that 2nd win soon.

In tied 3rd place was Martin Wiegele (Austria), Lorenzo Gagli (Italy), Mark Tullo (Chile), George Coetzee (RSA), Angel Cabrera (Argentina), Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) and Scott Jamieson (Scotland) who with this finish got his place in the Open Championship next week, they were all on -14. Rounding out the Top 10 in tied 10th place were Robert Coles (England), Matt Kuchar (USA), Jamie Donaldson (England), and Peter Hanson (Sweden) they were all -13 after the 54 holes.

Best of the New Zealand Golfers in the field was Michael Campbell (NZL). He scored rounds of 68-4, 71-1 and a 3rd and final round of 69-3 for a 54 hole total of 208-8 and he tied for tied for 49th place in the very low scoring event. He won € 12,875.85 for his weeks work and he is now placed in 165th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with €58,804 earned from the 16 events has played to date this year. With his last 2 cuts made he is starting to show some form. I hope he can have some top 10 finishes soon and get back to the form he showed in 2005 when he won the US Open Championship. I wish him well for the rest of the 2011 season.

Danny Lee (NZL) was the next best New Zealander, but he scored rounds of 76+4 and 71-1 for a 36 hole total of 147+3 and missed the 36 hole cut by 7shots. It was his 1st tournament back since he played in the Saab Wales Open in early June because he has been injured. He is now placed in 90th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with €186,308 earned from the 10 events he has played this year to date. I expect him to improve on that position in the next few weeks, now he is back to full health. The other New Zealander in the field was Mark Brown (NZL), he scored rounds of 77+5 and 78+6 for a 36 hole total of 155+11 and missed the cut by 15 shots. He is on a real bad run of form at the moment, missing the last 4 cuts on the European Tour. He is now in 157th Position on the Race to Dubai Money list with €66,580 earned from the 19 events he has played this year to date. He is going to need a big turnaround if he is going keep his card for the 2012 European Tour season. But I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 season.

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai heads to England for the 3rd Major of the year. And that it is the 140th Open Championship and this year it is being played at the Royal St George’s GC, Sandwich, Kent, England. With a Purse of £5,000,000 for the taking it is going to attract the very best players in the world. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) is the defending Champion and will be looking to do what Padraig Harrington (Ireland) did in 2008, and that is win the Open Championship in back to back years. It starts on Thursday 14th July. I will report back next week who took home the Claret Jug which is the trophy the Champion is presented with on Sunday evening.

Now to the second event I am reporting on this week. It was on the USPGA Tour and is part of the FedEx Cup. It was the John Deere Classic and was played at TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois. And it was the Amazing play of Steve Stricker (USA) who is a native of Illinois, who scored rounds of 66-5, 64-7, 63-8 and a final round of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 262-22 and won by 1 stroke. It was the 3rd Straight year he had won this tournament. He becomes the 1st player to win the same tournament for 3 consecutive years since Tiger Woods (USA) did at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2007 for the 2nd time at that tournament. For the win Steve Stricker (USA) wins 500 FedEx Cup points that places him in 2nd place on the FedEx Cup Points list with 1,673 points earned from the 12 events he has played to date this year. He is 125 points behind the current FedEx Cup Points leader Nick Watney (USA) who has earned 1,798 points from the 14 events he has played to date this year. He also becomes the 4th player to win 2 tournaments on the USPGA Tour this year to date. The other 3 are Mark Wilson (USA), Bubba Watson (USA) and Nick Watney (USA). And it is his 11th Career win on the USPGA Tour.  He also won $US 810,000.00 for the win, and now moves into 4th position on the USPGA Tour money list with $US 3,371,139 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this year. Nick Watney (USA) still leads that list with $US 4,189,233 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year.

Steve Stricker (USA) Celebrates winning the John Deere Classic for the 3rd Straight year in a row!!

The win may have seemed easy for Steve Stricker (USA) but it was far from it. Steve Stricker (USA) seemed to be cruising to an easy win after the front nine holes of his final round he was -22 and had a had a 4 stroke lead over Kyle Stanley (USA) heading into the Back nine. But Kyle Stanley (USA) hit a purple patch early in his back nine. He birdied the 10th hole to get to -18. Then he made 4 straight birdies on holes 12 to 15 and suddenly he was at -22 with 3holes to play. Steve Stricker (USA) then started to struggle and could only manage 5 straight pars in a row to start the back nine. With a really poor drive into the hazard on the left on the Par 4, 15th hole. That meant he was only able to chip out sideways and he was unable to get up and down. So Steve Stricker (USA) was now -21 with 3 holes to play and 1 stroke behind Kyle Stanley (USA). Kyle Stanley (USA) hit a fine tee shot to the Par 3, 16th hole but he just missed the birdie putt. Steve Stricker (USA) hit a poor tee shot that plucked under the lip of the front bunker. It took him two shots to get it out and he tapped in for bogey to fall back to -20. So Kyle Stanley (USA) now had a 2 stroke lead with 2holes to play. He hit a poor tee shot on the Par 5, 17th hole that rolled in to the right hazard. He managed to chip his ball out but it rolled into the fairway bunker about 150 yards short of the green. But he hit a fine fairway bunker shot for his 3rd with a Pitching Wedge and landed on the green 25 feet from the hole. He 2 putted for his par 5.

Steve Stricker (USA) on the Par 5, 17th hole hit a great drive down the middle of the fairway. He pulled his fairway wood 2nd shot to the left, but it landed pin high leaving an easy chip shot. He hit his 3rd shot chip to about 18 feet from the pin. But then rolled the birdie putt right into the middle of the cup for his birdie 4, and he moved to within 1stroke of Kyle Stanley (USA) at -21. Kyle Stanley (USA) hit a long iron for accuracy on the short par 4, 18th hole, but missed it in the right rough leaving him a very difficult 2nd shot. He hit a fine 2nd shot over the trees and into the right green side bunker just short of pin high. He then hit a fine bunker shot out to about 10feet from the hole. His 10 foot par putt was a good attempt, but just lipped out on the left hand side and he tapped in for his bogey 5 on the Par 4 and posted -21 after 72 holes. So Steve Stricker (USA) now knew what he had to do on the Par 4, 18th hole. And that was make a birdie 3 to win or a Par 4 to force a playoff. He hit his drive into the left hand side fairway bunker. That left him a tricky stance for his 2nd shot with the ball well below his feet. He eventually chose to hit a 6 iron from about 170 yards out. He couldn’t of hit it better and it pitched pin high and roll just through the green into the fringe. After lining up the 18 foot birdie putt from just off the fringe he stuck it knowing if he holed it, it would give him his 3rd straight win at this tournament. He hit a perfect putt and it rolled to the hole with perfect speed, caught the left side of the cup and fell in!! He gave a great big Fist Pump!! And it brought a huge smile to his face. He high fived his caddie Jimmy Johnston and the Huge Crowd surrounding the green let out huge Cheers!!He finished -22 to win by 1stroke.  I feel Steve Stricker (USA) must be closed to winning a Major very soon. Maybe it will be at the 140th Open Championship this week? I wish him well for the rest of the 2011 season.

Kyle Stanley (USA) can’t be two disappointed with his 2nd place finish and the $US 486,000.00 he earns for coming 2nd. It is his best finish to date in his rookie season on the USPGA Tour. And he also gains a start in the 3rd Major of the year which is the 140th Open Championship next week. He has now earned $US 912,828 that places him in 62nd position on the USPGA Tour Money list from the 20 events he has played to date this year and that will be enough to keep his card for the 2012 USPGA Tour season. It is a good effort after gaining his card at the 2010 Q-school last December where he finished tied 9th.  I feel he is not far away from winning and it may well happen this year.

In tied 3rd position was Matt McQuillan (Canada) who made his 2nd cut after missing the last 10. Also in tied for 3rd position was Zach Johnson (USA) who is also an Iowa Native, they were both -17. In tied for 5th position was Chez Reavie (USA) and Charles Howell III (USA), they were both -16. In tied for 7th position were Cameron Percy (Australia) who had his best finish on the USPGA Tour this year and Brendon De Jonge (Zimbabwe) they were both -15. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th place were Briny Baird (USA), Brian Gay (USA) and Cameron Tringale (USA) who were all -14.

Next week there are 2 tournaments on the USPGA Tour and they are the 140th Open Championship which is being played at the Royal St George’s GC, Sandwich, Kent, England. With a Purse of £5,000,000 for the taking it is going to attract the very best players in the world. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) is the defending Champion and will be looking to do what Padraig Harrington (Ireland) did in 2008, in that is win the Open Championship in back to back years. It starts on Thursday 14th July. I will report back next week who took home the Claret Jug which is the trophy the Champion is presented with on Sunday evening.

And the other tournament is the Viking Classic that is being played at Annandale GC, Madison, Mississippi. It has a smaller purse on offer of $US 3,600,000 and will give the lesser known USPGA Tour players a chance to shine. Bill Haas (USA) is the defending Champion. But won’t be able to defend his title because this year because he has qualified to play in the 140th Open Championship. So there will be a New Champion. It starts on Thursday 14th July and I will report back next week who took home the trophy.

So to the Top 5 in the Official World Golf Rankings this week, coming in at Number 1 is Luke Donald (England) who extends his lead as the Number 1 Golfer on the Official World Golf Rankings with 9.74 Official World Ranking Points, at Number 2 is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.62 Official World Ranking Points, at Number 3 is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 7.27 Official World Ranking Points, at Number 4 is Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 7.17 Official World Ranking Points, and rounding out the Top 5 is Steve Sticker (USA) fresh off his John Deere Classic win with 6.89 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) slips 2 more places this week to come in at 19th on the Official Golf World Rankings Points list with 3.93 Official World Ranking Points. Best New Zealander is still Danny Lee (NZL), he is in 294th Position with .61 Official World Ranking Points, that is 10 places worse than last week.

Now to the final event I am reporting on this week, and it is on the Champions Tour and was the Nature Valley First Tee Open at  Pebble Beach and it was played at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula and the Del Monte Golf Course, Monterey, California. And Jeff Sluman (USA) who won the 1988 US PGA Championship at Oak Tree Golf Club prevailed to win. He scored rounds of 68-4, 68-4 and a final round of 70-2 for a 54 hole total of 206-10 and won by 2 strokes for his 1st win of the 2011 season and for his 3rd win in 4 years in this very tournament which is a great achievement. He must love the Pebble Beach Golf Links because in 1992 he finished 2nd in the US Open Championship at this very course. Jeff Sluman (USA) wins $US 240,000.00 for the win and is now in 4th position on the Champions Tour Money list with $US 893,535 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year. Tom Lehman (USA) is 1st with $US 1,298,270 earned from the 11 events he has played to date this year. Jeff Sluman (USA) moves to 6th on the Charles Schwab Cup Points list with 769 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year. He is 764 points behind Tom Lehman (USA) who has earned 1,533 points from the 11 events he has played to date this year, and leads the Charles Schwab Cup Points list.

Jeff Sluman (USA) in action during the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach which he won!!

Jeff Sluman (USA) played a steady final round, with birdies on the 3rd, 6th and 8th holes and the lone bogey coming at the 5th. He went out in 34-2 Strokes. He came in with birdies on the 13th and 14th holes and bogeyed the 10th and 15th holes to scored a back nine of 36 even par. He scored a final round of 70-2. He proved his experience and patience on the Pebble Beach Golf Links was too good and out lasted the rest of the leaders. So it sets up a platform to have a fine 2nd half of the season and maybe even with the Charles Schwab Cup? I wish him all the best for the rest of 2011 season.

In tied for 2nd place were David Eger (USA), Bart Bryant (USA) and Jay Haas (USA) who were all -8. And it could be said that they all blew their chance of winning in the final round. In Tied for 5th position were Mark Wiebe (USA), Steve Lowery (USA), Mark Brooks (USA) and Bobby Clampett (USA), they were all on -7. Rounding out the top 10 in Tied for 10th place were last week’s winner John Cook (USA), Jay Don Blake (USA) and Russ Cochran (USA), they were all -6.

Next week the Champions Tour takes the week off. But it returns the following week for the Senior Open Championship and this year it is being played at Walton Heath GC, England. It has a huge purse of $US 2,000,000 for the taking. Bernhard Langer (Germany) is the defending champion and will be looking to win back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 21st July and I report back who took home the Trophy once the result comes to hand.

So until next week remember to keep hitting the ball long and straight and make all your Putts!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com