Again it was another 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 it was the Alstom Open de France and it was played at the Le Golf National, Paris, France. And this year we had a Frenchman win. Thomas Levet (France) scored rounds of 70-1, 70-1, 67-4 and a final round of 70-1 for a 72 hole total of 277-7. He scored a fine round of 70-1 in the final round in very tough conditions. There was only one round in the 60’s in the final round and that was a 68-3 by Michael Jonzon (Sweden).
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| Thomas Levet (France) celebrating with his fellow French Professionals after winning the Alstom Open de France |
Thomas Levet (France) became only the 2nd Frenchman to win since the records began back in 1972. Jean-François Remesy (France) was the other one when he won back to back in 2004 & 2005. Thomas Levet (France) won € 500,000 for the win. Thomas Levet (France) now moves to 16th Position on the Race to Dubai Money list with €630,419 earned from the 14 events he has played this year to date. Luke Donald (England) still leads with €2,603,281 earned from the 6 events he has played this year to date. It was Thomas Levet’s (France) 6th win of his European Tour Career, his last came at the Open de España in 2009.
Thomas Levet (France) came to the 72nd hole tied at -7 with Thorbjørn Olesen (Denmark). Thomas Levet (France) managed to get his par 4, but Thorbjørn Olesen (Denmark) missed his 3 foot par putt that would have forced a playoff with Thomas Levet (France). The win also means that Thomas Levet (France) is now exempt into the 140th Open Championship (3rd Major) in 2weeks time. And in 7 years time on this same course, Le Golf National the 2018 Ryder Cup is going to be played. When Thomas Levet (France) holed out for the win, the Crowd yelled out “Captain, Captain”. This was referring to that they want Thomas Levet (France) to captain the European Team in 2018 Ryder Cup. I feel he should be the Captain because of all his fine achievements in Golf over the years has put French golf on the World Stage. Only time will tell I guess?
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| Thomas Levet (France) poses with the Alstom Open de France Trophy |
But this win should give Thomas Levet (France) the confidence to go on and have a great season. For Thorbjørn Olesen (Denmark), he would be disappointed missing that short 3 foot putt that would have got him into the playoff. But on the other hand the tied 2nd place isn’t too bad. This is his 1st full season on the European Tour after finishing 3rd on the Challenge Tour Money list in 2010 with earnings of €104,754 from the 21 events he played and he gained his full European Tour card for the 2011 season. And he has certainly made the most of it with 3 second places in the 17 starts he has had so far this season. And 2 of those 2nd place finishes have come in the last 3weeks. But he has only made 7 of 17 cuts, so perhaps he needs to improve on his consistency? But with the €520,373 he has earned from the 17 events he has played this year to date. That places him in 24th Position on the Race to Dubai Money list. He has surely done enough to keeps his card for the 2012 European Tour Season? I feel a win is not too far away for him.
Mark Foster (England) was the other player to finish tied 2nd at -6 after 72 holes. He would have been disappointed with his final round 74+3 after having 3 consecutive rounds 68-3. But the € 260,565.00 he won for coming 2nd has more than likely guaranteed him his 2012 European Tour card and may just give him the confidence boost to go on and win a tournament on the European Tour in the near future. In solo 4th position was Martin Kaymer (Germany). He finished at -4 after 72 holes and wouldn’t have been happy with his final round of 73+2. But the € 150,000.00 he won only adds to his money he has won on the Race to Dubai Money list. He now has earned € 1,514,554 from the 12 events he has played to date this year and is in 4th place on the Race to Dubai Money list. In tied 5th place were Simon Khan (England) and Richie Ramsay (Scotland) at -3.
Tied 7th at -2 were Brendan Steel (USA), Hennie Otto (RSA) and James Morrison (England) who was only 2 strokes off the lead after 54 holes, but scored a shocking final round 78+7 and also finished 72 holes at -2. Rounding out the top 10 was Anthony Wall (England) at -1 after 72 holes. Scoring proved very difficult this week with only 14 players finishing at even par or better. The 36 hole cut fell at 144+2. Michael Campbell (NZL) was the only New Zealander to make the cut. He scored rounds of 72+1, 67-4 to be -3 after 36 holes and inside the top 10. But he went onto to score 78+7 in the 3rd round and 78+7 in the final round to finish on 295+11 after 72 holes and tie for 60th place. 43+8 on his final nine holes was the real killer for him. He won € 8,250.00 for his weeks work and now moves to 174th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with €45,928 earned from the 15 events he has played this year to date. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the best placed New Zealander in 80th place with €186,308 earned from the 9 events he has played to date. And he will be back in action this week at the Barclays Scottish Open after a short injury layoff.
The other New Zealander in the field was Mark Brown (NZL) but he scored 2 poor rounds of 79+7 for a 36 hole total of 158+16 and missed the cut by 14 strokes. He has now only made 9 cuts from the 18 events he has entered this year so far. And he is yet to record a top 10 finish this year. He has earned € 66,580 from the 18 events he has played this year to date and that places him at 155th Position on the Race to Dubai Money list. He will need to pull finger if he is going to keep his card for 2012 European Tour season.
Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai heads to Scotland for the Barclays Scottish Open and this year it is being played at a new venue which is Castle Stuart Golf Links, Inverness, Scotland. It being the tournament before the 3rd Major of the year which is the 140th Open Championship, with a purse of £3,000,000 up for grabs, it will attract some big name American Golfers including Phil Mickelson (USA). Edoardo Molinari (Italy) is the defending Champion and it starts on Thursday 7th July. I will report back who won next week.
Now to the USPGA Tour and the FedEx Cup, this week it was the AT&T National and was played at Aronimink Golf Club, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. And it was Nick Watney (USA) who won for the 2nd time on the USPGA Tour this year. And also it was his 4th Career USPGA Tour win and it came on the 4th July Weekend that Celebrates the American Independence Day. He scored rounds of 70 even, 69-1 and amazing 62-8 in the 3rd round which set a new course record, and in that round his back nine was 27-8 which was just amazing. And in the final round he played a flawless round of 66-4, he finished 72 holes at 267-13 to win by 2 strokes and tie Tiger Woods (USA) record of the lowest total in this tournament since it started back in 2007.
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| Nick Watney (USA) celebrates after winning the AT&T National |
Nick Watney (USA) got 500 FedEx Cup points for the win and now moves to 1st on the FedEx Cup points list with 1,798 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year. So it is a great achievement for his great play this year so far. He also won $US 1,116,000.00 for the win. That places him in Number 1 position on the USPGA Tour money list with $US 4,189,233 earned from the 14 events he has played this year to date. Nick Watney (USA) and K. J. Choi (South Korea) were tied for the lead after 14 holes on -12, but on the long par 4, 15th hole, K. J. Choi (South Korea) struck trouble when he sailed his 3rd shot over the green from the fairway bunker. Nick Watney (USA) hit just short of the green in 2 shots and chipped and putted for his par 4. K. J. Choi (South Korea) was unable to get up and down for his bogey and 2putted for a Double Bogey 6. That meant that Nick Watney (USA) now had a 2 shot lead with 3 holes to play.
They both birdied the short par 5, 16 hole, so Nick Watney (USA) still had his 2 shot lead with 2 holes to play. On the difficult par 3, 17th hole, Nick Watney (USA) hit a good tee shot but it pitched pin high and ran through the green into the rough at the back of the green. K. J. Choi (South Korea) hit a fine tee shot into 15 feet pin high. But Nick Watney’s (USA) 2nd shot chip was very good and rolled down next to the hole, stone dead for an easy tap in par 3. K. J. Choi (South Korea) was unable to convert his birdie putt and also tapped in for his par 3. So on to the 72nd hole which was the par 4, 18th hole. Both players reached the green in regulation 2 shots. Nick Watney (USA) putted 1st from 25feet for birdie and left it 5feet short. K. J. Choi (South Korea) putted for his birdie from 20 feet and it shave the hole. So Nick Watney (USA) now had 2putts to win from 5feet and he only needed 1.
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| Nick Watney (USA) with the AT&T National Trophy he won |
Nick Watney (USA) might be the Young American Superstar that the American Golf fans are looking for to start contending in Major Championships. He has learnt a lot about himself after shooting a disappointing 81 in the USPGA Championship final round and blowing the 3rd round lead last year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was to contend in the last two majors this year. He is a fine Young Man with a great head on his young shoulders. I wish him all the best for the rest of the year. In tied 3rd place was Charles Howell III (USA), Jeff Overton (USA) and Adam Scott (Australia) who had Tiger Wood’s Caddie (Steve Williams) as his caddie because Tiger Woods (USA) is still injured. I feel he is doing a good Job with Adam Scott (Australia), I’m sure he has made a positive impact on Adam. Those 3 players were all -9. In tied 6th place was Robert Allenby (Australia) who scored a brilliant final round of 65-5, Chris Stroud (USA) was also in tied 6th at -9. Rounding out the top 10 in tied 8th place were Bryce Molder (USA), Chris Kirk (USA) and Webb Simpson (USA), they were all -7.
Rickie Fowler (USA) who was tied for the lead after 54 holes at -9, scored a shocking final round of 74+4 and tied 13th at -5. So his 1st win will have to wait for another day. But I feel it isn’t too far around the corner for him. And it was another fine performance by the Amateur Patrick Cantlay (USA) who finished at -3 after 72 holes scoring a final round 67-3 and he tied for 20th place. Tiger Woods (USA) was the host of the Tournament this week, and all the proceeds went to his foundation for the kids. He still doesn’t know when he can return to the USPGA Tour from injury.
Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup head to Illinois for the John Deere Classic and it is being played at TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois. Steve Stricker (USA) is the defending champion. With a lesser prize purse of $US 4,500,000 for the taking it won’t attract the very best players on the USPGA Tour, but will give the less players a chance to shine. It starts on Thursday 7th July. I will report back who took home the trophy next week.
So to the top 5 in the Official World Rankings this week. Coming in at Number 1 is Luke Donald (England) with 9.04 Official World Ranking Points, In Number 2 Position is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.69 Official World Ranking Points, In Number 3 Position was Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 7.25 Official World Ranking Points, and In Number 4 Position was Rory McILroy (NIR) with 7.13 Official World Rankings Points, and finally coming in at Number 5 Position is Steve Stricker (USA) with 6.27 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week still remains in 17th Position with 4.07 Official World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the highest ranked New Zealander with .61 Official World Ranking Points and is in 284th Position.
The final event I am reporting on this week is on the Champions Tour and was the Montreal Championship presented by Desjardins and it was played at Club de Golf Fontainebleau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. And it was John Cook (USA) that scored rounds of 63-9, 66-6 and a final round of 66-6 for a 72 hole total of 195-21 to win by 3strokes. John Cook (USA) played a flawless final round of 66-6 that included birdies on the 1st, 2nd, 7th and 9th hole to go out in 32-4 and with 2 more birdies on 10th and 17th holes, he came home in 34-2. It was John Cook (USA) 3rd win on the Champions Tours this season having won the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in Mid – April and the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in early January. So he is just having a dream season.
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| John Cook (USA) in Action during Montreal Championship presented by Desjardins |
He moves to 3rd on the Champions Tour Money List with $US 986,962 earned from the 12 events he has played this year to date. Tom Lehman (USA) still leads with $US 1,298,270 earned from the 11 events he has played to date this year so far. He also moves to 4th position on the Charles Schwab Cup Points list with 830 points earned from the 12 events he has played so far this year so far. He is 703 points behind the Charles Schwab Cup Points leader who is Tom Lehman (USA) with 1,533 points earned from the 11 events he has played so far this year. Since joining the Champions Tour in 2008 he has made at least a million dollars in 2008-10 seasons, and he is going to make well over a million dollars this current season as well. And now he has won his 8th event on the Champions Tour. I wish him well for the rest of the season and hope he wins the Charles Schwab Cup for 2011.
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| John Cook (USA) with the Montreal Championship presented by Desjardins Trophy he won |
In 2nd place was Chien Soon Lu (Taiwan) at -18 after 72 holes. He played great 1st and 2nd rounds scoring 65-7 and 63-9 and was -16 after 36 holes and took the lead into the final round. But he could only manage a 70-2 in the final round. Since joining the Champions Tour last year this is his equal best finish, having finished tied for 2nd in the JELD-WEN Tradition in August 2010. Lets home he can finally get a win this season. In 3rd place was Joey Sindelar (USA) he was -17.
Tied 4th were Bill Glasson (USA), Corey Pavin (USA) and Dan Formans (USA) they were all -16. In tied 7th Position were Rod Spittle (Canada) who scored the lowest final round of 62-10, Larry Mize (USA) who won the 1987 Masters Tournament, Jeff Sluman (USA) were all -15. Rounding out the top 10 were Joe Ozaki (Japan), Mike Goodes (USA), Tom Lehman (USA) the Charles Schwab Cup Points Leader, Chip Beck (USA), Jay Haas (USA) and last week’s winner John Huston (USA), they were all -14. Peter Senior (Australia) had another good tournament finishing in tied 23rd place at -11.
Next week the Champions Tour moves to California for the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach and it is being played at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula, and Del Monte Golf Course, Monterey, California. Ted Schulz (USA) is the defending champion and will be looking to win again. With a purse of $US 1,600,000 for the taking it is sure to attract another fine field of Champions Tour players. It starts on Friday 8th July and I will report back who won next week.
So until then remember to keep hitting it long and straight and making all your Putts!!
Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com
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