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