Golf Events from the Weekend 21st August 2011

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 Czech Open and it was played at the Prosper Golf Resort, Čeladná, Czech Republic. And it was the Golfer by the name of Oliver Wilson (England) who scored rounds of 71-1, 67-5, 68-4 and a final round of 69-3 for a 72 hole total of 275-13 and won by 2 strokes. He won € 250,000.00 for his efforts and moves to 75th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with €271,318 earned from the 23 events he has played this year to date. Luke Donald (England) is still leading the Money list with €3,778,199 earned from the 10 events he has played to date.

It was a great win for Oliver Fisher (England) and his 1st on the European Tour ever. Before making the cut at the Nordea Masters back in late July he had missed 17 cuts in a row and was hitting rock bottom in his golf career. So it proves perseverance does pay off eventually. And now he is exempt on the European Tour till the end of 2013. He played a fine final round with birdies on holes 7-9 going out in 33-3, and then he played a shaky back nine when he bogeyed holes 11th, 13th and 15th, but redeemed himself with birdies on holes 14th, 15th and 16th. And he scored a fine round of 69-3 to win the Czech Open. It was his 1st win in 147 starts on the European Tour. Oliver Fisher (England) Moves from 507th in the Official World Golf Ranking to inside the top 240. 

Oliver Fisher (England) holding the Czech Open Trophy he won

This victory beats his previous best European Tour finishes of second in the 2008 MAPFRE Open de Andalucia by Valle Romano and the 2010 Madeira Islands Open BPI – Portugal. This victory beats his previous best 2011 performance of tied 35th in the Nordea Masters. With Keegan Bradley winning the US PGA Championship seven days ago, this is the first time The European Tour has witnessed two consecutive first-time winners since Louis Oosthuizen (2010 Open de Andalucía de Golf) and James Morrison (2010 Madeira Islands Open BPI – Portugal). He Joins Peter Teravainen (1995), Jonathan Lomas (1996) and Oskar Henningsson (2009), as players to make the Czech Open their first European Tour victory. It is the Tenth English victory of the 2011 season. They are: Paul Casey (Volvo Golf Champions), Luke Donald (WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship, BMW PGA Championship and Barclays Scottish Open), David Horsey (Trophée Hassan II), Lee Westwood (Ballantine’s Championship), Ian Poulter (Volvo World Match Play Championship), Robert Rock (BMW Italian Open presented by CartaSi), Simon Dyson (Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland) and Oliver Fisher (Czech Open). I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 season.

In 2nd place was Mikael Lindburg (Sweden), he was -11 after 72 holes. In solo 3rd place was Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) at -9 after 72 holes and had his best finish on the European Tour this season. In solo 4th place was Gary Boyd (England) at -8 after 72 holes. In tied for 5th place were Lorenzo Gagli (Italy), Steve Webster (England), David Drysdale (Scotland) and Steven O’Hara (Scotland), they were all at -7 after 72 holes. And rounding out the top 10 were Tano Goya (Argentina), Damien McGrane (Ireland) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (India), they were all -6 after 72 holes. Only New Zealander in the field this week was Mark Brown (NZL), he scored rounds of 71-1 and 77+5 for a 36 hole total of 148+4 and missed the 36 hole cut by 2 stokes. It continues on his poor form this season and he is now placed in 146th Position on the Race to Dubai Money list with €91,705 earned from the 22 events he has played to date this year. He will need to have some good finishes in the 15 remaining events this season if he has any hope of keeping his card for next year. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 season.

Oliver Fisher (England) in Action During the final round of the Czech Open

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai head to Scotland for the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and it is being played at The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland. Edoardo Molinari (Italy) will be looking to defend the title he won last year and go back to back. With a purse of £1,400,000 up for grabs it is sure to attract another great field of European Tour Professionals. It starts on Thursday 25th August and I will report back who won next week.

The 2nd tournament I am reporting on this week is on the USPGA Tour and is part of the FedEx Cup and was the Wyndham Championship and it was played on the Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina. And it was Webb Simpson (USA) that finally got his 1st win on the USPGA Tour after having some near misses this year. He scored rounds of 66-4, 65-5, 64-6 and a final round of 67-3 for a 72 hole total of 262-18 and won by 3 strokes. He won $US 936,000.00 for his weeks work and moves to 5th position on the USPGA Tour money list with $US 3,661,043 earned from the 20 events he has played to date this year. Luke Donald (England) still leads that list with $US 4,517,748 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year. Webb Simpson (USA) also gains 500 FedEx Cup points for the win and moves to 3rd on the FedEx Cup points list going into the 1st playoff event this week at the Barclays. He has 1,861 points from the 20 events he has played to date this year and is 45 points behind Nick Watney (USA) who leads the FedEx Cup points list with 1,906 earned from the 17 events he has played to date this year.

Webb Simpson (USA) holding the Wyndham Championship Trophy he won

It was a well earned win by Webb Simpson (USA) because he had had a couple of close calls earlier in the 2011 season where he finished 2nd at the Transitions Championship in mid March and lost in a playoff to Bubba Watson (USA) at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans late April. He now has a great chance to win the FedEx Cup. And he becomes the 11th 1st time winner on the USPGA Tour this season.  I wish him well with the rest of his season for 2011. In solo 2nd place was George McNeill (USA) who was -15 after 72 holes. Tommy (Two Gloves) Gainey (USA) had another fine tournament but lost his chance to win for the 1st time after sharing the 54 hole lead at -13, he scored a final round of 69-1 and finished at -14 in solo 3rd place. Tommy (Two Gloves) Gainey (USA) has now earned $US 1,902,831 and is certain to keep his card for next year. He also has 999 FedEx Cup points and is in 30th position heading into the 1st playoff event at The Barclays this week. I feel a win isn’t too far away from him.

Tied for 4th position at -13 were Vijay Singh (Fiji) and Jerry Kelly (USA), Kyung-tae Kim (South Korea), Charles Howell III (USA) and Carl Petterson (Sweden). Rounding out the top 10 at -12 were Chez Reavie (USA), Camilo Villegas (Columbia) and Jim Furyk (USA) who goes into the 1st FedEx Cup Playoff event in 60th position, but he has a long way to go if he is going to defend the FedEx Cup title he won last year. But I would like to see him defend the FedEx Cup title he won.

Webb Simpson (USA) pumps his fist in celebration after winning the Wyndham Championship

Next week on the USPGA Tour it is the 1st playoff event in the FedEx Cup and the top 125 players (Charl Schwartzel (RSA) has chosen not to play the 1st event) on the FedEx Cup points list earned the right to compete. And it is the Barclays which is being played this year at the Plainfield Country Club, Edison, New Jersey. It has a huge purse of $US 8,000,000  for the taking and the added thrill that only the top 100 players on the FedEx Cup points list after this event make it to the 2nd playoff event which is Deutsche Bank Championship. Matt Kuchar (USA) is the defending Champion and will be looking for a good performance. It starts on Thursday 25th August and I will report back who won next week.

So to the top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings this week, coming in at number 1 is Luke Donald (USA) for the 13th week in a row with 10.17 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at number 2 is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.30 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at number 3 is Steve Stricker (USA) with 6.93 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at number 4 is Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 6.86 Official World Ranking Points, and rounding out the top 5 is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 6.81 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) slips another 3 places this week to 36th position on the Official World Golf Rankings List with 3.21 Official World Ranking Points. Best New Zealander is still Danny Lee (NZL) with 0.68 Official Golf World Ranking Points which places him in 262nd Position on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list; he is down 8 places from last week.

The 3rd event I am reporting on this week is on the Champions Tour and is Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship and was played at the Westchester CC - West, Harrison, New York. Fred Couples (USA) scored rounds of 68-3, 66-5, 68-3 and a final round 71 even for a 72 hole total of 273-11. But he was tied on that score by John Cook (USA) who scored rounds of 69-2, 68-3, 66-5 and a final round of 70-1 for a 72 hole total of 273-11 and he was tied with Fred Couples (USA) on that very same score. The 2 players headed back to the Par 5, 18th hole for the 1st hole of the Sudden Death playoff. Couples and Cook parred the 18th hole, playing into stiff headwinds, twice each in the playoff. The second time around, Couples reached the green against all odds on the 532-yard par 5 with driver/3-wood only to three-putt.

On the 3rd playoff hole which was the 374-yard par 4 17th, Couples drove into the right rough. The ball found a decent lie and the rough was actually a good break because he didn't have to worry about spinning his approach from 76 yards off the false front as so many players did Sunday. Couples' shot hopped once and rolled forward, finishing three feet from the hole. After Cook two-putted for par from 25 feet, Couples holed out for the 21st time in the round and 75th time over four days, proving that his back was, indeed, up for a challenging test.

So Fred Couples (USA) who is the 2011 US Team Captain for the Presidents’ Cup Team had won the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. It was Fred Couples (USA) 1st win this year after having 2 months and half months off from a back injury. He wins $US 405,000.00 for the win and that moves him to 22nd position on the Champions Tour money list with $US 522,032 earned from the 5 events he has played to date this year. Tom Lehman (USA) still leads that list with $US 1,636,609 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year so far. He also moves to 11th position on the Charles Schwab Cup Points list with 880 points earned from the 5 events he has played to date this year. He is 1,105 points behind Tom Lehman (USA) who leads that list on 1,985 points that he has made from the 15 events he has played to date this year.

Fred Couples (USA) holding the Constellation Engery Seniors Players Championship Trophy he won

So Fred Couples (USA) has now won 5 events is his short Champions Tour Career, and with his back issues now sorted out I wouldn’t be surprised if he won another event before the 2011 Champions Tour Season is finished. He also gets a start in the 2012 Players Championship on the USPGA Tour which he has won twice before. I wish him well for the rest of the 2011 Champions Tour Season.

John Cook (USA) would be disappointed with his 2nd place finish after coming so close to victory. But he won $US 237,600.00 for his weeks work and now moves to 2nd position on the Champions Tour Money list with $US 1,322,547 earned from the 17 events he has played to date this year. And he has had 3 wins this season as well. He has 1,344 Charles Schwab Cup points and moves to 4th place on the list. He is 641 points behind the leader Tom Lehman (USA). Peter Senior (Australia) had another fine finish in solo 3rd place at -10 and was very unlucky not to make the playoff. He won $US 194,400.00 for his efforts and it was his 9th Top 10 finish of the year with including two 2nd place finishes. He must be due to win his Maiden Champions Tour Event soon. He has now won $US 1,004,229 from the 16 events he has played to date this year and moves to 7th on the Champions Tour Money List. And he also moves to 2nd position on the Charles Schwab Cup Points list with 1,419 points earned from the 16 events he has played to date this year and is just 566 points behind the leader Tom Lehman (USA).

In solo 4th place was Tom Lehman (USA) at -9, he is the Champions Tour Money Leader and also the Charles Schwab Cup Leader. Mark O’Meara (USA) was in solo 5th place on -8. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 6th place at -7 were Chip Beck (USA), John Huston (USA), Bernhard Langer (Germany), Hal Sutton (USA), Tommy Armour III (USA) and Jeff Sluman (USA).

Next week the Champions Tour heads to Washington for the playing of the Boeing Classic and it is being played at the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, Snoqualmie, Washington. It has a large purse of $US 2,000,000 up for the taking and will attract a very good Champions Tour field. Bernhard Langer (Germany) is the defending Champion and will be keen to win again. It starts on Friday 26th August and I will report back next week who took the trophy home.

So to the last event I am reporting on this week and it was on the Nationwide Tour and was the Midwest Classic Presented by Time Warner Cable and it was played on the Nicklaus GC at LionsGate, Overland Park, Kansas. And it was the Golfer by the name of James Nitties (Australia) who scored rounds of 65-6, 63-8, 65-6 and a final round of 65-6 for a 72 hole total of 258-26 and he won by 5 strokes for his maiden win on the Nationwide Tour and earned $US 99,000.00 for his weeks work. He moves to 12th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 150,537 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year. There is a new leader of the Nationwide Tour Money list with J.J. Killeen (USA) having earned $US 349,320 from the 17 events he has played to date this year. He surpasses Mathew Goggin (Australia) who has earned $US 343,852 from the 12 events he has played to date this year so far.

James Nitties (Australia) in action during the final round of Midwest Classic Present by Time Warner Cable

It was a great win for James Nitties (Australia) and I feel this win will give him confidence to regain his USPGA Tour card for the 2012 season. He has played on the USPGA Tour before from 2009-2010 when he gained his playing status by finishing 2nd at the 2008 USPGA Final Qualifying School Tournament. With earning $US 931,532 in his rookie season in 2009, but only made $US 525,034 in the 2010 season and lost his playing status. I can first remember seeing James Nitties (USA) play when he was an Amateur playing the 2004 Holden New Zealand Open at the Grange Golf Club in Auckland. He was playing with Michael Campbell (NZL) that week, and all the professionals on the Australasian PGA Tour said he was a Superstar in the making and had a really bright future. He turns 29 in October and I feel he is just coming into his Golfing Prime and I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 Nationwide Tour season.

In tied 2nd place at -21 were Jonas Blixt (Sweden) and Nick Flanagan (Australia) who had his best finish on the Nationwide Tour this year. After getting his Battlefield Promotion straight on to the USPGA Tour in 2007, by winning 3 events on the Nationwide Tour in a single season. But he lost his USPGA Tour card in 2008 and since then has been struggling on the Nationwide Tour. Maybe this finish can have a positive impact on his golf game? In Tied for 4th position were Jason Kokrak (USA) at -20, Josh Geary (NZL) had his best ever finish on the Nationwide Tour, he scored rounds of 70-1, 64-7, 61-10 and a final round of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 264-20 and he won $US 22,733.33 for his weeks work and moves to 50th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 74,041earned from the 17 events he has played to date this year. He now is in position with a few more top 10 finishes this year to move inside the top 25 players that gain their USPGA Tour cards for the 2012 season. And his 61-10 in the 3rd round was the best round scored all tournament. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 Nationwide Tour season. Also in tied for 4th place and was at -20 was J.J. Killeen (USA) who had an excellent chance to win his 3rd event on the Nationwide Tour this year and gain his Battlefield Promotion straight onto the USPGA Tour but it wasn’t to be. But as I mentioned earlier he is now leading the Nationwide Tour Money list.

In solo 7th place was Andrew Svoboda (USA) at -19, and rounding out the top 10 in tied for 8th place at -18 were Miguel Angel Carballo (Argentina), Jeff Brehaut (USA) and Roberto Castro (USA). The other New Zealander in the field that made the cut was Brad Iles (NZL), he scored rounds of 68-3, 64-7, 70-1 and a final round of 67-4 for a 72 hole total of 269-15 and tied for 22nd place. He won $US 5,720.00 for his efforts and moves to 102nd position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 29,263 earned from the 17 events he has played to date this year. He will need a huge improvement in form if he is going to get inside the top 25 players by season’s end that get their 2012 USPGA Tour cards. Other New Zealanders in the field but missed the 36 hole halfway cut were Steve Alker (NZL) who scored rounds of 69-2 and 69-2 for a 36 hole total of 138-4 and missed the cut by 1 stroke that had fallen at -5. Danny Lee (NZL) scored rounds of 71 even and 70-1 for a 36 hole total of 141-1 and missed the cut by 4strokes. And with not missing a cut in his 1st 9events of the Nationwide Tour season he has now missed his last 2. But I am sure it is a minor speed bump and he will bounce back strong next week. The final New Zealander to miss the cut was Tim Wilkinson (NZL), he scored rounds of 69-2 and 73+2 for a 36 hole total of 142 even par and missed the 36 hole cut by 5 strokes.

Next week the Nationwide Tour heads to Tennessee for the News Sentinel Open Presented by Pilot and it is being played on the Fox Den CC, Knoxville, Tennessee. It has a purse of $US 500,000 for the taking and the defending champion is Chris Kirk (USA) but he is now on the USPGA Tour and won’t be able to defend his title so there will be a new Champion. It starts on Thursday 25th August. I will report back who took home the trophy next week.

So until then remember hit the Fairways, Greens and make all your putts!!

Source: pagtour.com, europeantour.com

Golf Events from the Weekend 14th August 2011

It was another exciting Weekend on the Professional Golf tours from around the world. And this week the European Tour and Race to Dubai and the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup were both in America for the final major of the year which was the 93rd PGA Championship which is known as “Glories Last Shot”. It was played at Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Georgia. And it was the player by the name of Keegan Bradley (USA) who is only 25 years old that won his 1st ever Major Championship in his 1st ever Major Championship he had played in. He scored rounds of 71+1, 64-6, 69-1 and a final round of 68-2 for a 72 hole total of 272-8, but he was tied on that score by Jason Dufner (USA) who scored rounds of 70 even, 65-5, 68-2 and a final round of 69-1 for a 72 hole total of 272-8 and he and Keegan Bradley (USA) were headed back to the 16th tee for a 3 hole aggregate playoff which consisted of playing holes 16-18 and the player with the lowest score would win the 93 rd PGA Championship.

Keegan Bradley (USA) was -9 standing on the difficult Par 3, 15th Hole with the pin cut near the right hand side of the green, and water on the right as well. He slightly pulled his tee shot and it landed in a terrible lie on the left hand side of the green. He was too aggressive on his 2nd shot pitch and it rolled through the green and into the water. He then had to go to the drop zone and play his 4th shot which was still a difficult chip over water. He hit it on the green and 2putted for a triple bogey 6. He had slipped back to -6 and it seemed that his dream of winning the 93rd PGA Championship was now gone. But he came back strong with a brilliant birdie on the Par 4, 16th hole, and when he holed a brilliant putt downhill right to left breaking 40 footer on the extremely hard Par 3, 17th hole he was now -8. So to the 72nd hole, Keegan Bradley (USA) hit a brilliant drive right down the centre of the fairway. He had 190 yards to the green with his 2nd shot and chose a 6iron which he hit a sensible shot on the green, but it was 40 feet past the hole leaving a difficult 2putt to post a score of -8 for the 72 holes. But he was up to the task rolling his birdie putt within 3 feet of the cup and easily tapping in for his par.

Jason Dufner (USA) on the other hand had what seemed the PGA Championship in his hands. He stood on the Par 3, 15th tee at -11 and had a 4 shot lead over the rest of the field. He chose to hit a 5wood off the long Par 3, which was playing over 230 yards and hit a fade that turned into a slice and landed in the water to the right. He took his penalty drop and went to the drop zone and hit a fine chip shot to 15 feet. Then he holed that bogey putt which was a good result. So he was -10 with 3 holes to play and now only had a 3shot lead. He hit a good drive in the fairway on the Par 4, 16th hole and was left with a mid iron to the green. He pushed it slightly and it landed in the right hand green side bunker. He hit an average bunker shot out to 8 feet above the hole and missed his tricky downhill putt for par, but made the return one for a bogey 4. So he was now -9 with 2 holes to play. On the Par 3, 17th hole he hit a nice tee shot that just carried the water and landed on the green leaving him a 20 foot birdie putt. He hit his uphill birdie putt a touch hard and it rolled 7 feet past the cup and he was unable to make the return putt for par. So he headed to the Par 4, 72nd tee at -8 and was now tied with Keegan Bradley (USA) who was already in the club house at -8. He hit a fine drive down the Par 4, 72nd hole that landed in the right hand side of the fairway. He hit his mid iron shot 40 feet from the pin in the same place that Keegan Bradley (USA) had landed his ball earlier. He too rolled his ball down to within 4 feet of the cup. And sank his Par putt to force the 3 hole aggregate playoff which consisted of playing holes 16-18 and the player with the lowest score would win the 93rd PGA Championship.

Keegan Bradley (USA) celebrates after winning the 93rd PGA Championship

 

The 2 players were driven back out to the 16th tee in Golf Carts. When they got there PGA of America official let Jason Dufner (USA) choose a number from the hat. He chose number 2 and teed off 2nd. Keegan Bradley (USA) hit 1st and landed his drive right in the middle of the fairway. Jason Dufner (USA) hit his drive too down the middle of the fairway just behind Keegan Bradley (USA). Jason Dufner (USA) then hit a stunning 2nd shot mid iron that landed 20 feet short of the pin on the green and roll past the hole just missing going in for an eagle 2 by inches, it eventually settled 8feet past the pin, unfortunately leaving a tricky birdie putt. Keegan Bradley (USA) responded to Jason Dufner’s (USA) fine 2nd shot with a great 2nd shot of his own and brought it in high to land his ball 6feet below the cup leaving an easier putt. Jason Dufner (USA) missed his 8 foot birdie putt to the left and tapped in for par. Keegan Bradley (USA) rolled his birdie putt straight in the cup.

So they headed to the 17th tee with Keegan Bradley (USA) taking a 1shot lead over Jason Dufner (USA). Keegan Bradley (USA) hit a good mid iron to the Par 3, that required a carry over the water, and it landed 20 feet under the hole. Jason Dufner (USA) hit a conservative tee shot out to the right hand side of the green. The pin was tucked well left, and he had a 35 foot putt for birdie that was extremely fast. He put a nice roll on it but the speed of the downhill putt fooled him just as it had done to every other player in the field that had left there ball in that same position on the green and it rolled 15feet past the cup. Keegan Bradley (USA) putted his 20 footer up the hill and rolled it 6feet past the hole. Jason Dufner (USA) then put a good stroke on his 15 foot return par putt and it just missed to the left leaving him with a tap in for a bogey 4. Keegan Bradley (USA) then rolled in his 6 foot par putt to take a 2stroke lead to the 18th tee and the final hole of the 3 hole aggregate playoff.

Keegan Bradley (USA) took 3wood off the 18th tee and landed his ball in the middle of the fairway. Jason Dufner (USA) hit driver and landed it in the fairway as well further up than Keegan Bradley (USA). Keegan Bradley (USA) then hit a fine mid iron shot that landed to the left of the pin 18 feet from the hole. Jason Dufner (USA) with nothing to lose hit his 2nd shot in the same place about 20 feet from the hole. Jason Dufner (USA) putted for his birdie and rolled the tricky downhill left to right putt in to the cup for a birdie 3 and finished the 3 hole aggregate playoff at even par. That meant all Keegan Bradley (USA) had to do was 2putt from 20 feet and he was the 93rd PGA Champion. He rolled his putt that was also down hill on a perfect line and it just missed on the right hand side, but rolled 3feet by. He calmed his nerve and holed that 3 foot par putt to finish -1 in the 3 hole playoff and win the 93rd PGA Championship and become the 1st player since Ben Curtis (USA) in the 2003 Open Championship to win his 1st major in the 1st Major he had ever made an appearance in. He pumped his fist in the air to celebrate.

Keegan Bradley (USA) very Happy after winning the 93rd PGA Championship

 

It was his 2nd win of the year in his rookie year on the USPGA Tour having won the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas, Texas in late May. That was also in a playoff. Keegan Bradley (USA) won $US 1,445,000.00 for his win and moves to 5th position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 3,432,200 earned from the 24 events he has played to date this year. Luke Donald (England) is leading the Money list with $US 4,517,748 earned from 14 events he has played to date this year. Keegan Bradley (USA) also got 600 FedEx Cup points for his win and moves to 4th position on the FedEx Cup Points list with 1,621 points earned from the 24 events he has played to date this year. He is 285 points behind Nick Watney (USA) who leads with 1,906 points earned from the 17 events he has played to date this year.

Keegan Bradley (USA) holds the Wanamaker Trophy aloft as he celebrates being the Champion

 

It was the 14th playoff on the USPGA Tour this year. It is amazing to think that last year at this time Keegan Bradley (USA) was playing on the Nationwide Tour and had never even played in a USPGA Tour event. He finished in 14th position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list in 2010 with $US 264,760 earned from the 28 events he played and gained his 2011 USPGA Tour card. And he has certainly grabbed the opportunity with both arms. And he was only out in New Zealand in January (2010) playing in the Michael Hill New Zealand Open at the Hills Course that was co – sanctioned with the Nationwide Tour, where he finished tied for 32nd at 286-2 and earned $US 3,720.00 for his efforts. He also broke the Americans drought on Majors wins and became the 1st American to win a Major since Phil Mickelson (USA) won the 2010 Masters Tournament.

He also moves to 18th position on the Presidents Cup Points list with 6,864,399 points earned to date and with 4 more events before the top 10 players on the list gain their places in the US Presidents Cup Team he must like his chance of getting in the Top 10 and going down to play at the Royal Melbourne Course, Melbourne, Australia. Even if he doesn’t get inside the top 10 that automatically qualify, Fred Couples (USA) who is the USA Team Captain would be stupid to leave him out in my opinion from his 2 Captains Picks. I feel the USPGA Tour has found a New American Star, and he is a breath of fresh air to the USPGA Tour. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 USPGA Tour Season and hope he wins many more USPGA Tour events and many more Major Championships in the years to come.

Keegan Bradley (USA) with the Wanamaker Trophy beside him answering questions in the press conference

Jason Dufner (USA) must feel he threw the 93rd PGA Championship away with having that 4 stoke lead with 4 holes to play and then losing the playoff to Keegan Bradley (USA). And he is still to win his maiden USPGA Tour Event.  But I feel he will gain a lot from this experience and will be a much better player for it. He won $US 865,000.00 for coming 2nd and moves to 16th Position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 2,543,060 earned from the 18 events he has played to date this year. And he is also in 25th position on the FedEx Cup Points list with 1,143 points earned from the 18 events he has played to date this year which is 763 points behind Nick Watney (USA) who is leading. He has also had 5 top 10 finishes this year to date with two 2nd places both losing in playoffs. I feel he could be a real factor in the up and coming FedEx Cup Playoffs.

In 3rd place was Anders Hansen (Denmark) he was -7 after 72 holes and had his best ever Major Championship finish and also had the equal best final round that was 66-4 along with Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) he finished at +5 in tied for 45th place. Anders Hansen (Denmark) moves to 6th place on the Race to Dubai Money list with €1,588,340 earned from the 17 events he has played to date this year. And he was also the low European Tour Golfer in the 93rd PGA Championship. In Tied for 4th place at -5 was Robert Karlsson (Sweden) who had another good finish on the USPGA Tour and continued on the fine form he has been showing this year. Also tied for 4th was David Toms (USA) who won his only Major Championship on this very course in the 83rd PGA Championship 10 years ago in 2001 and he now has won $US 3,404,230 from the 17 events he has played to date this year and is in 6th place on the USPGA Tour Money list. He is also in 8th position on the FedEx Cup points list with 1,487 points earned from the 17 events he has played to date this year and is only 419 points behind Nick Watney (USA). The 3rd player to finish tied for 4th was Scott Verplank (USA), who had his best ever Major Championship finish which is hard to believe. Because he always seems to be in contention in the Majors.

In solo 7th place was Adam Scott (Australia) at -4 after 72 holes, backing up his great win from last week at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational. In tied for 8th place was Lee Westwood (England) who was -3 after 72 holes and had another top 10 finish in a Major Championship. And Luke Donald (England) the number 1 player in the World was also tied for 8th position at -3 after 72 holes. Rounding out the Top 10 in tied for 10th place at -2 were Kevin Na (USA) and D. A. Points (USA). Rory McILroy (NIR) had rather a poor PGA Championship after injuring his wrist early in the 1st round, he eventually finished up in tied for 64th place at 291+11. Tiger Woods (USA) had a shocking PGA Championship scoring 77+7 in the 1st round after a good start of -3 after 5 holes he dropped 10 strokes in the next 13 holes. And in round 2 he scored 73+3, so his 36 hole total was 150+10 and he missed the cut by 6 strokes. It was the time he had ever missed the cut in the PGA Championship since 1st playing in it in 1997. He isn’t expected to play any more golf in American on the USPGA Tour until early in 2012 season. And it is the 1st time since the FedEx Cup began in 2007 that he has failed to make the playoffs. The real question is will Fred Couples (USA) the US Team Presidents Cup Captain pick him as one of his 2 Captain’s Picks for the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Melbourne, Australia in mid November?

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to North Carolina for the Wyndham Championship and is being played at the Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina. With a purse of $US 5,200,000 up for grabs it is sure to attract a fine field of USPGA Tour Golfers, and it is also the last chance to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs with only the Golfers inside the Top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list at the completion of the Wyndham Championship will be eligible to play in the 1st FedEx Cup playoff which is the Barclays. It is played the week after the Wyndham Championship. Arjun Atwal (India) is the defending Champion and will be looking to go for back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 18th August and I will report back who won next week.

So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Ranks this week, coming at Number 1 for the 12th week in a row is Luke Donald (England) with 10.28 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at Number 2 is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.44 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at Number 3 is Steve Stricker (USA) with 7.03 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at Number 4 is Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 6.98 Official World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 6.91 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week slips a further 3 places to 33rd on the Official World Rankings Points list with 3.31 Official World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the highest ranked New Zealander Golfer with 0.69 Official World Ranking Points and places him in 254th position on the Official World Rankings Points list.

The 2nd and final tournament I am reporting on this week was on the Nationwide Tour and was the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper and it was played on the Highland Springs CC, Springfield, Missouri. And it was the Golfer by the name of Steve Friesen (USA) who scored rounds of 62-10, 68-4, 68-4 and a final round of 64-8 for a 72 hole total of 262-26 and won by 5 strokes for his 1st ever Nationwide Tour event. The amazing thing was he made 1 eagle, 25 birdies and just the one lone bogey for the 72 holes. He won $US 112,500.00 for the win and moves to 23rd position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 114,911earned from the 2 events he has played to date this year. Mathew Goggin (Australia) is leading the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 343,852 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this year.

Steve Friesen (USA) in Action during the final round of the Price Cutter Charity Presented by Dr Pepper

Steve Friesen (USA) played flawless golf all week. And he totally deserved the win. And he wasn’t even sure he was in the field before the Tournament began. He has only had conditional status on the Nationwide Tour this season after starting the 2011 season on a minor medical exemption. He got his 1st start of the year last week where he finished tied for 49th position at the Cox Classic in Omaha and won $US 2,411 for his efforts and that was enough to give him a start this week. And the funny thing is he only got his start last week due to a sponsor’s exemption. This win will do Steve Friesen’s (USA) confidence the world of good, and after playing the Nationwide Tour on and off for the last 10 years without much success he now has a great chance to gain his 2012 USPGA Tour card if he can earn $US 100, 000 before the Nationwide Tour season is over and get inside the top 25 money earners that gain their 2012 USPGA Tour cards. I wish him all the best for the rest of the Nationwide Tour season and hope he has another win in the coming months.

Gavin Coles (Australia) was solo 2nd at -21 after 72 holes. Tied for 3rd place were Paul Claxton (USA), Cliff Kresge (USA), Ted Potter, Jr. (USA),  Josh Broadway (USA) and Travis Hampshire (USA), they were all -20 after 72 holes. In solo 8th place was Justin Bolli (USA) at -19 after 72 holes. And rounding out the top 10 were Jay Williamson (USA), Michael Sims (Bermuda) and Casey Wittenberg (USA), they were all -18 after 72 holes. None of the New Zealand Golfers made the cut this week. The best of them was Josh Geary (NZL) who scored rounds of 73+1 and 68-4 for a 36 hole total of 141-3 and missed the cut by 2 strokes which fell at -5. Next best New Zealand Golfer was Bradley Iles (NZL) who scored rounds of 70-2 and 73+1 for a 36 hole total of 143-1 and missed the cut by 4 strokes. And Danny Lee (NZL) also scored rounds of 72 even and 71-1 for a 36 hole total of 143-1 also and missed the cut by 4 strokes as well. But still remains in 10th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 159,800 earned from the 10 events he has played to date this year. But he suffered his 1st missed cut of the year last week, having made the previous 9.

Next week the Nationwide Tour heads to Kansas for the Midwest Classic Presented by Time Warner Cable and it is being played at Nicklaus GC at LionsGate, Overland Park, Kansas. It has a purse of $US 550,000 to play for and will attract another good field of Nationwide Tour players. Michael Sim (Australia) is the defending Champion but because he now has his USPGA Tour card he won’t be defending so there will be a new Champion. It starts on Thursday 18th August and I will report who took home the trophy next week.

So until then remember to keep hitting the ball long and straight and hole all your Putts!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com

Golf Events from the Weekend 7th August 2011

It was another great weekend on the Professional Golf Tours from around the world, this week all the action was in America. 1st I will start with the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup and this week it combined with the European Tour and Race to Dubai for the World Golf Championship – Bridgestone Invitational and was played at Firestone CC (South Course), Akron, Ohio. And this week it was the Golfer by the name of Adam Scott (Australia) who scored rounds of 62-8, 70 even, 66-4 and a final round of 65-5 for a 72 hole score of 263-17 and he won by 4 strokes. It was his 1st win with having his new caddie on the bag, Steve Williams (NZL), and he has made a real positive impact on him. And it was his 1st ever World Golf Championship win.

Adam Scott (Australia) in action during the final round of the WGC - Bridgestone Invitational

Adam Scott (Australia) won $US 1,400,000.00 for the win and now moves to 10th Position on the Official USPGA Tour Money list with $US 2,941,477 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year. Luke Donald (England) retakes the lead at the top of the Money list with $US 4,293,248 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year. Adam Scott (Australia) also earned 550 FedEx Cup points for the win and now moves to 15th position on the FedEx Cup Points list with 1,232 points earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year. He is 612 points behind Nick Watney (USA) who is leading the list with 1,844 points earned from the 16 events he has played to date this year.

Adam Scott (Australia) pumps his fist in the air after winning the WGC - Bridgestone Invitational

This is his 8th Official USPGA Tour win and he also won the Northern Trust Open in 2005 when it was reduced to 36 holes because of bad weather, but that win was classed as an unofficial win. The only thing he is lacking now is a Major Championship win. Perhaps that will happen next week which is the playing of 93rd PGA Championship that is the last Major of the year. Adam Scott (Australia) played flawless golf all tournament, from the 62-8 he scored in the 1st round that was bogey free. To the back nine 32-4 he scored in the 3rd round which gave him a 1 stroke lead at -12 heading into the final round. He played a solid front nine in the final round with scoring 34-1 which included 8 pars and a birdie on the Par 5, 2nd hole. He birdied the Par 4, 10th hole to get to -14 for the tournament and had a 1 stroke lead over Ryo Ishikawa (Japan). Adam Scott (Australia) made further birdies at the Par 3, 12th hole when he chipped in from just off the fringe, and on the Par 4, 14 hole. Coming to the long Par 5, 16th hole he had a 4 Stroke lead over Rickie Fowler (USA), Luke Donald (England), Jason Day (Australia) and Ryo Ishikawa (Japan). He laid up with his 2nd shot and made an easy 2putt par; Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) who he was playing with made a birdie 4, and he was now 3 strokes behind at -13.

Adam Scott (Australia) with the Gary Player Cup he won for winning the WGC - Bridgestone Invitational

Steve Williams, Adam Scott’s caddie convinced him to hit 3wood off the short par 4, 17th hole and he hit the ball right down the centre of the fairway. He was going to hit a 9 iron for his 2nd shot, but Steve talked him into hitting a hard wedge, which he hit pin high to the right about 10 feet from the pin. And he just missed the putt for birdie, but tapped in for an easy par. So Adam Scott (Australia) stood on the 18th tee with a 3 stroke lead over Rickie Fowler (USA) who was already in the Club House at -13 after scoring a final round of 66-4, and Luke Donald (England) was also in the Club House at -13 after he too scored 66-4 in the final round. And also his playing partner Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) who was -13. Again, his caddie Steve Williams convinced him to hit 3wood off the 18th tee. He nailed it right down the centre of the fairway. The Tournament was basically his at this stage. Again, Steve Williams had an influence on his 2nd shot to the green. Adam was just going to hit a 7 iron somewhere on the green. But Steve told him to hit a 6 iron and go for the pin. He hit a brilliant shot from just over 200 yards; it landed 20 feet short of the pin and rolled up to the hole almost going in. It stopped 5 feet past the hole. And he rolled that birdie putt into the centre of the cup. Then both hugged each other to celebrate the win. So I feel Adam Scott (Australia) will go from strength to strength with this win. I feel he will win one of the next 4 Majors, and he is certainly a player to watch out for in the FedEx Cup playoffs that are only a few weeks away. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 USPGA Tour season.

In tied for 2nd place at -13 were Rickie Fowler (USA) who must be going to win his 1st USPGA Tour event very soon and Luke Donald (England) who is proving why he is the best player in the Official  World Golf Rankings right now. Tied for 4th place was Jason Day (Australia) who continued on his fine form he has been showing this year. He too will be a player to watch in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. And Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) also finished tied for 4th as well, and if he had won he would of been the youngest player in 100 years to win on the USPGA Tour, he is just 19 years of age. And Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) is donating all his prize money won in 2011 to the Tsunami refund in his home country. They both finished -12 after 72 holes.

In tied for 6th place were Kyung-Tae Kim (South Korea), Zach Johnson (USA) and the reigning US Open Champion, Rory McILroy (NIR), they were all at -10. Rounding out the Top 10 in tied for 9th place was Lee Westwood (England) the World Number 2 player and David Toms (USA) who is continuing on his fine form of this season, they were all -9. Tiger Woods (USA) had his 1st tournament back since he had to withdraw from the Players Championship in early May with injury. He scored rounds of 68-2, 71+1, 72+2 and a final round of 70 even par for a 72 hole total of 281+1 and he tied for 37th place. He earned $US 58,500.00 for his weeks work and moves to 106th position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 629,863 earned from the 7 events he has played to date this year. He is also in 129th Position on the FedEx Cup Points list with 318 points earned from the 7 events he has played to date this year. He will need to have a solid performance this week at the 93rd PGA Championship if he is going to make it into the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list, because that will be his last chance for him before the 1st playoff event in the FedEx Cup which starts on  Thursday 25th August which is the Barclays. If Tiger Woods (USA) doesn’t make the FedEx Cup 1st playoff event, it will be the 1st year since it started in 2007 that this has happened to him. I wish him all the best this week at the 93rd PGA Championship, and hope to see him back to his best soon.

The 2nd event on the USPGA Tour this week was Reno – Tahoe Open and it was played at the Montreux G&CC, Reno, Nevada. And it was the Golfer by the name of Scott Piercy (USA) who claimed his maiden USPGA Tour win. He scored rounds of 72 even, 70-2, 61-11 and 70-2 in the final round for a 72 hole total of 273-15 and won by 1 stroke. He earned $US 540,000.00 for the win and is now in 80th Position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 905,162 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year. He also moves to 80th Position on the FedEx Cup Points list with 529 points earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year. And has secured his place in the 1st FedEx Cup event which is The Barclays. It was a great win for Scott Piercy (USA) as he lost his full playing Status on the USPGA Tour last year when he finished in 136th Position on the money list with $US 676,432 earned from the 28 events he played in. With only conditional status on the USPGA Tour in 2011 season, he has had to make the most of the chances he has had to play. But with this win he is exempt till the end of the 2013 season. He also becomes the 11th, 1st time winner on the USPGA Tour this year.

He really set up this win with an amazing course record round in the 3rd round of 61-11 that included a front nine of 28-8 and he birdied every hole from the 2nd to the 9th hole. That is 8 consecutive birdies, just amazing really. He calmed down on the back nine with Pars from the 10th to the 13th holes. But 2 more birdies on holes 14th and 15th meant he was -10 with 3 holes to play and had a realistic chance to break 60. But a bogey on the Par 4, 17th hole ruined it all. But he then went on to eagle the Par 5, last hole and had to settle for a 61-11. In the final round he was in a very close battle with Pat Perez (USA). They were both tied at -14 with 2 holes to play. But Pat Perez (USA) bogeyed the Par 4, 17th hole to a Scott Piercy (USA) par, So Scott Piercy (USA) had a 1 stroke lead with the 72nd hole to play. Scott Piercy (USA) hit a terrible tee shot on the par 5, 18th hole and found himself faced with a 7foot par putt to win his 1st ever USPGA Tour event. He calmly rolled it right into the centre of the cup. And he had won his Maiden USPGA Tour event. I wish him well for the rest of the 2011 season and hope he finishes really high up in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Scott Piercy (USA) in Action during the final round of the Reno - Tahoe Open

In solo 2nd place was Pat Perez (USA) at -14 after 72 holes, Tied for 3rd were Steve Flesch (USA) and Blake Adams (USA), they were both -13 after 72 holes. In solo 5th place was Jim Renner (USA) who was -12. In tied for 6th place were Matt McQuillan (Canada) who has turned his season around in the last few events and has now earned $US 423,620 from the 16 events he has played this year to date and is in 137th Position on the USPGA Tour Money list and has a better than average chance of making the top 125 on the money list and keeping his card for the 2012 USPGA Tour season. Also tied for 6th place were Ben Martin (USA), Steve Elkington (Australia) and Nick O’Hern (Australia), they were all at -11. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 10 place were Billy Horschel (USA), Bryce Molder (USA), Hunter Haas (USA), Michael Letzig (USA) and Josh Teater (USA), they were all at -10.

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup head to Georgia for the 4th Major of the year which is the 93rd PGA Championship and is known as Glories Last Shot. This year it is being played at the Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Georgia. With a huge prize purse of $US 7,500,000 on offer it will attract the very best golfers in the world to play. Last time it was played on this very course was 2001 and David Toms (USA) defeated Phil Mickelson (USA) by 1 stroke. The defending Champion is Martin Kaymer (Germany), and he will be looking to win back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 11th August and I will report back next week who took home the Wanamaker Trophy next week.

So to the top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings this week, coming in at number 1 for the 11th week running and increasing his lead at the top is Luke Donald (England) with 10.10 Official World Golf Ranking Points, coming at number 2 is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.26 Official World Ranking Points, Coming in at Number 3 is Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 7.10 Official World Ranking Points, Coming in at Number 4 is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 6.98 Official World Ranking Points, and rounding out the Top 5 is Steve Stricker (USA) with 6.91 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week comes in at 30th position in the Official World Rankings with 3.43 Official World Rankings Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the best New Zealand Golfer with 0.71 Official World Ranking Points which places him in 248th place on the Official World Golf Rankings list. He is up 47 places this week with his tied for 2nd place at the Cox Classic Presented by Lexus of Omaha.

So to 3rd event I am reporting on this week and it was on the Champions Tour and was the 3M Championship and it was played at the TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota. And it was Jay Haas (USA) who scored rounds of 64-8, 69-3 and a final round of 68-4 for a 54 hole total of 201-15 and won by 1 stroke. He earned $US 262,500.00 for the win and that moves him to 12th position on Champions Tour Money list with $US 753,422 earned from the 16 events he has played to date this year. Tom Lehman (USA) still leads the list with $US 1,474,609 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year. He also moves to 16th position on the Charles Schwab Cup Points list with 651 points earned from the 16 events he has played to date this year. He is 1,010 points behind Tom Lehman (USA) who leads that list as well with 1,661 points earned from the 14 events he has played this year to date.

Jay Haas (USA) Celebrates after he holed the winning putt to claim the 3M Championship

The win was Jay Haas (USA) 1st in 2 years on the Champions Tour and his 15th of his career on the Champions Tour. He played a steady final round, and came to the 72nd hole needing a birdie to win. He hit the Par 5, 18th hole in 2 strokes and knew all he needed to do was 2 putt from 30 feet and the title was his. And that is just what he did. The win should do the world of good for Jay Haas (USA) confidence and it makes up for the lead he blew after leading Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach in early July. I hope he has another win before the 2011 season is over.

Jay Haas (USA) in action during the final round of the 3M Championship

In tied 2nd place was Kenny Perry (USA), Tom Lehman (USA) who is leading the Charles Schwab Cup and the Champions Tour Money list and Peter Senior (Australia) who must be due to win his Maiden Champions Tour event soon, they were all at -14 after 54 holes. In solo 5th place was the 2000 Players Championship winner, Hal Sutton (USA), he was at -13 after 54 holes. Tied for 6th position was the legendary Tom Watson (USA) and Mark O’Meara (USA), a former Masters Champion they were both -12 after 54 holes. Rounding out the Top 10 in tied for 8th position were Olin Browne (USA) who just last week won the US Senior Open Championship, Joey Sindelar (USA), The evergreen Hale Irwin (USA), Larry Mize (USA) who won the Masters in 1987, Jay Don Blake (USA), David Eger (USA), Mark Calcavecchia (USA) who won the 1989 Open Championship, Tommy Armour III (USA) and John Huston (USA) a recent winner on the Champions Tour, they were all at -11 after 54 holes.

The Champions Tour takes a break next week and resumes on Thursday 18th August and it is the final Major of the Champions Tour season. It is the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship and it is being played at the Westchester CC - West, Harrison, New York. With a huge purse of $US 2,700,000 up for grabs it is sure to attract a brilliant field of Champions Tours Players. Mark O’Meara (USA) is the defending Champion and will be looking for back to back wins. I will report back in a couple of weeks who won.

My 4th and final event I am reporting on this week was on the Nationwide Tour and was the Cox Classic presented by Lexus of Omaha and it was played at Champions Run, Omaha, Nebraska. And it was the Golfer by the name of J. J. Killeen (USA) that became the 1st player to win back to back tournaments on the Nationwide Tour in 2011. He 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 he won by 1 stroke. For the win he earned $US 130,500.00 and that moves him to 2nd on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 326,586 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year. Mathew Goggin (Australia) is still leading the money list with $US 343,852 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this year. Mathew Goggin (Australia) and J.J. Killeen (USA) are the only players on the Nationwide Tour to win twice this year. If they win another tournament before the 2011 season is over they gain a battlefield promotion straight to the USPGA Tour.

J. J. Killeen (USA) in action during the final round of the Cox Classic presented by lexus of Omaha

J. J. Killen (USA) came to the 72nd hole at -22 and had a 1 stroke over Jonas Blixt (Sweden), Ken Duke (USA) and Gary Christian (England) who were all in the Club House on -21. His playing Partner, Danny Lee (NZL) was -20 but made birdie on the 18th hole to finish at -21. So J.J. Killen (USA) knew what he had to do, and that was to make a Par 4. He hit his 2nd shot on the Par 4, 18th hole to 90 feet from the cup. J. J. Killeen (USA) then calmly two-putted from 90 feet on the 72nd hole to prevent a five-man playoff and add more hardware to his suddenly-bulging trophy case. The former TCU standout eased a downhill 5-footer into the cup for par and a one-stroke victory over a quartet of others. The 5 footer he holed to claim his 2nd straight win in as many weeks will be boost confidence for when he plays the USPGA Tour, whether it is this year or 2012 USPGA Tour season.

I hope he can win another tournament before the Nationwide Tour Season is finished because I want to see how he fears on the USPGA Tour, and maybe he can do what Jason Gore (USA) did in 2005, and that is win 3 tournaments on the Nationwide Tour and then going on and win a tournament on the USPGA Tour. I wish him all the best for the rest of the Nationwide Tour season. In tied for 2nd place were Jonas Blixt (Sweden), Ken Duke (USA), Gary Christian (England) and Danny Lee (NZL) who scored rounds of 64-7, 67-4, 66-5 and a final round of 66-5 for a 72 hole total of 263-21. He earned $US 47,850.00 for his weeks work and now moves to 10th Position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 159,800 earned from the 9 events he has played to date this year. And he has made every cut this year which is great. He needs to make about another $US 50,000 if he is going to be certain to keep gain his USPGA Tour Card for the 2012 Season. I feel he should do it, but he needs to get a few more top 10 finishes or even a win if he is going to guarantee it. But he played amazing golf this week with having 22 birdies and only 1 bogey over the 72 holes. This also is his best ever finished on the Nationwide Tour. All the players I mentioned above finished at -21.

In solo 6th place was Matt Davidson (USA) at -20, tied for 7th position were Matt Wiebring (USA) and Russell Knox (Scotland) on -19, And rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th Position were Marco Dawson (USA), Adam Bland (Australia) and Troy Kelly (USA), they were all at -18. The other New Zealander to make the cut was Tim Wilkinson (NZL), he scored rounds of 67-4, 68-3, 70-1 and a final round of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 274-10 and tied for 59th place. He earned $US 2,193.13 for his weeks work and stays in 86th place on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 31,557 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year. He will have to get a move on soon if he is going to reach the Top 25 money earners by season’s end though.

The other New Zealand Golfers that were in the field but failed to make the cut were Bradley Iles (NZL) who scored consecutive rounds of 70-1 for a 36 hole total of 140-2 and missed the very low cut that fell at -6 by 4 shots. Steven Alker (NZL) scored rounds of 70-1 and 71 even for a 36 hole total of 141-1 and missed the cut by 5 strokes and Josh Geary (USA) scored rounds of 70-1 and 71 even for a 36 hole total of 141-1 and he also missed the cut by 5 strokes as well.

Next week the Nationwide Tour heads to Missouri for the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper and is being played on the Highland Springs CC, Springfield, Missouri. It has a good purse of $US 625,000 on offer that will again attract a great field of Nationwide Tour players. Hunter Haas (USA) is the defending Champion, but he won’t be defending his title because he is now playing on the USPGA Tour. It starts on Thursday 11th August and I will report back who took home the Trophy next week.

So until then remember to keep hitting you Iron shots crisp and make all your Putts!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com

Golf Events from the Weekend 31st July 2011

It was another great weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world. 1st I will start with the European Tour and Race to Dubai. This week it was in Ireland for the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland and it was played at the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club, Killarney, Co Kerry, Republic of Ireland. And this week it was Simon Dyson (England) that scored rounds of 70-1, 65-6, 67-4 and a final round of 67-4 for a 72 hole total of 269-15 and he won by 1stroke over Richard Green (Australia). He played a fine final round with scoring 34-1 on the front nine with a birdie on the par 4, 8th hole. He then played an even better back nine, scoring 33-3 which included birdies at the Par 3, 10th hole and the Par 4, 11th hole. 2 more birdies on the Par 5, 16th hole and the par 4, 17th hole with a lone bogey on the Par 4, 14th hole. And that added up to a round of 67-4.

Simon Dyson (England) takes his hat off to acknowledge the crowd as he walks to the trophy presentation

But it could be said the Tournament was handed to Simon Dyson (England), because Richard Green (Australia) came to the last green all tied up with Simon Dyson (England) on -15. He hit the Par 4, 18th hole in 2shots but was 45 feet short of the hole. He rolled his birdie putt 8feet past and missed his return par putt to force a playoff. But that is just the way it goes sometimes. Simon Dyson (England) earned € 250,000.00 for the win and it moves him to 9th on the Race to Dubai Money list with €892,840 earned from the 18 events he has played to date this year. Luke Donald (England) still leads with €3,156,696 earned from the 8 events he has played to date this year. It was Simon Dyson’s (England) 5th European Tour International Schedule victory in his 319th European Tour event. He moves just inside the top 50 on the Official World Golf Rankings from 67th position last week. It was Simon Dyson’s (England) 1st European Tour win since the 2009 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. And he had played 50 European Tour events between this win and his last win.

This win beats his previous best performance since his 2009 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship win which was a tie for 2nd in the 2010 UBS Hong Kong Open. This win beats his previous best performance in 2011 of 3rd in the BMW PGA Championship in May early this year. He becomes the 2nd consecutive English man to win the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland following Ross Fisher (England) who won in 2010. This victory by Simon Dyson (England) means that English golfers have won the event every time it has been held at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club. The previous 3 winners were Sir Nick Faldo (England) 1991 and 1992 and Ross Fisher (England) 2010. This victory beats his previous best performance in the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland which was a tie for 7th in 2007.

Simon Dyson (England) kiss the Irish Open presented by discover Ireland Trophy

Simon Dyson’s (England) win here is the 9th English Victory on the European Tour for 2011. His win becomes the 265th English victory in European Tour history. Also gains a European Tour exemption till the end of 2013. And he gains a place in the 2011 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and WGC – HSBC Champions. And this is Simon Dyson’s (England) 8th win as a professional worldwide. I wish Simon Dyson (England) all the best for the rest of the 2011 season on the European Tour.

Richard Green (Australia) will be disappointed with coming 2nd.  But the 2nd place cheque of € 166,660 will keep him happy and he now is in 42nd Position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 397,578 earned from the 13 events he has played this year to date. I hope he does win another tournament on the European Tour this year. In Solo 3rd place was Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) on -12, In Solo 4th place was the young Professional from Austria, Bernd Wiesberger (Austria), he finished -11 and earned € 75,000.00 for his efforts which is the largest pay cheque he has got this year to date. And he has now earned € 191,127 from the 22 events he has played so far which places him in 98th Position on the Race to Dubai Money list. He gained his card from finishing 5th on the Challenge Tour in 2010 with €99,989 earned from the 22 events he played last season. I hope he builds on this finish at the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland and maybe he can have a win before the year is out.

Tied for 5th were Ignacio Garrido (Spain), Alexandre Kaleka (France) and Soren Hansen (Denmark) who is now placed in 99th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 189,510 earned from the 20 events he has played to date this year. They were all on -10. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 8th position were Lorenzo Gagli (Italy), Peter Lawrie (Ireland) and David Howell (England) they were all -9. Best New Zealander this week was Mark Brown (NZL), he scored rounds of 71 even, 67-4, 68-3 and a final round of 70-1 for a 72 hole total of 276-8 and he finished in tied for 11th position. He earned € 25,125.00 for his weeks work and it was his best finish on the European Tour for the year. He has now earned € 91,705 from the 21 events he has played to date this year, and he is placed in 142nd position on the Race to Dubai Money list. It will do great things for his confidence after missing his last 5 cuts. But he will need to have some more Top 10’s in the weeks to come if he is going to keep his card for the 2012 European Tour Season. But I wish him well for the rest of the 2011 season.

The other New Zealander in the field was Michael Campbell (NZL), he scored a great 1st round of 66-5 that placed him well inside the top 10. But a shocking 2nd round of 77+6 meant he scored a 36 hole total of 143+1 and missed the cut by 2 strokes. He has now missed his last 3 cuts after having a promising Scottish Open where he finished in tied 49th position in early July. He has only made 7 cuts from the 19 events he has played to date this year. And he is in 169th Position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 58,804 earned from the 19 events he has played to date this year. I hope he can improve on that position because we all know he is a better player than this, and just over 6 years ago he won the 2005 US Open Championship. So I wish him well for the rest of the 2011 European Tour Season.

Next week the European Tour and the Race to Dubai head to America for the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and it is being played at the Firestone CC, Akron, Ohio, USA. There is a huge prize purse of $US 8,500,000 up for the taking, there will be the very best players in the world there as it is co-sanctioned with USPGA Tour and the FedEx Cup. Tiger Woods (USA) is even making an appearance after coming back from injury. Hunter Mahan (USA) is the defending Champion and will be looking to win back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 4th August. I will report back who next week.

The 2nd event I am reporting on this week is on the USPGA Tour and is part of the FedEx Cup and it was the Greenbrier Classic and was played at the Old White TPC, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. And it was the rookie professional by the name of Scott Stallings (USA) that came away with the Trophy. He scored rounds of 70 even, 65-5, 66-4 and a final round of 69-1 for a 72 hole total of 270-10. But two other players also finished on that score and they were Bill Haas (USA) who scored rounds of 71+1, 67-3, 65-5 and 67-3 for a 72 hole total of 270-10, and Bob Estes (USA) who scored rounds of 69-1, 72+2, 65-5 and a great final round of 64-6 which was the lowest final round of the day. His 72 hole total was also 270 -10. So those 3 players went back to the Par 3, 18th hole for the 1st playoff hole. And it must be the year of the playoff on the USPGA Tour because so far out of the 33 events played there has been 13 playoffs.

Scott Stallings (USA) in action during the final round of the Greenbrier Classic

Bill Haas (USA) drew 1 out of the hat and teed off 1st. He hit his short iron shot to about 25 feet short of the hole but got it over the ridge that was in the middle of the green, so he had a flat putt. Bob Estes (USA) drew the 2 out the hat and he hit a better short iron shot just short of pin high 12 feet to the right of the pin. Scott Stallings (USA) hit last, and he hit a brilliant short iron to 7 feet just left but short of the pin. Bill Haas (USA) putted 1st for his birdie from 25 feet, but he just missed to the left and tapped in for his par. Bob Estes (USA) was next from 12 feet and he too missed his birdie putt when he pushed it to the right, and he tapped in for an easy par. So the Stage was set for Scott Stallings (USA), and he rolled in his left to right breaking 7 foot birdie putt and had won his 1st ever USPGA Tour event. He pumped his fist in the air to celebrate. It was an amazing comeback after starting the final round at -9, he went out and scored a shocking front nine of 38+4 and was well of the pace at -5. But he had just an awesome back nine with birdies on holes 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th and 16th. A silly bogey on the Par 5, 17th hole when he hit his drive in the right hazard, meant he came to the 72nd hole needing a birdie to force a playoff. But that is exactly what he did, by hitting his tee shot within 5 feet of the hole and making the small tricky putt for birdie to force the playoff. He scored 31-5 on the back nine for a final round 69-1.

For the win he earned $US 1,080,000.00 for his weeks work and moves him to 25th Position on the USPGA Tour money list with $US 1,823,325 earned from the 21 events he has played to date this year. Nick Watney (USA) still leads with $US 4,189,233 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year. He also gains 500 FedEx Cup points which places him in 26th position on the FedEx Cup Points list with 952 points earned from the 21 events he has played to date this year. He is 846 points behind the leader who is Nick Watney (USA) who has earned 1,798 points from the 15 events he has played to date this year. And he gets to fulfil his lifelong dream as a Golfer, and that is to play in the Masters Tournament at Augusta in 2012. He was a spectator there in 2009 and swore he would never go back until he gained an invitation to play. It is amazing to think he has almost won $US 2million with missing 12 cuts from the 21 events he has played. But it proves that a player can gain his card from the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament and go on and win on the USPGA Tour the following year. Because that is exactly what he has achieved. He finished tied for 11th at the 2010 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, which gave him his USPGA Tour Card for the 2011 season. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 season, and I hope he does well in the FedEx Cup playoffs that are less than a month away.

Scott Stallings (USA) with the Greenbrier Classic Trophy he won

For Bill Haas (USA) he will be disappointed he let this tournament slip from his grasp. But he is still having a great season with earnings of $US 2,278,741from the 19 events he has played to date. He has had 6 top 10 finishes and 2 of them have been in playoffs. The only thing he needs now is a win and I feel it will happen soon. Bob Estes (USA) had his best finish on the USPGA Tour in a long time. The $US 528,000.00 he earned for coming tied for 2nd is only the 2nd cheque he has made this year. He lost his playing status last year finishing outside the top 125 on the 2010 money list. So I hope this fine finish can give him confidence to go on and earn enough money to finish inside the top 125 on the money list and keep his card for the 2012 USPGA Tour season.

In tied 4th position was Andres Romero (Argentina) who had another great finish after finishing in solo 3rd in the RBC Canadian Open last week. He has now secured his card for the 2012 USPGA Tour season with $US 1,210,353 earned from 18 events he has played to date. Also tied in 4th position were Brendon De Jonge (Zimbabwe), Cameron Tringale (USA), Jim Walker (USA) and the long hitting Gary Woodland (USA), they were all on -9 after 72 holes. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th position were Kyle Stanley (USA) and Webb Simpson (USA) at -8 after 72 holes.

Next week on the USPGA Tour there are two tournaments. The 1st one is the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and it is being played at the Firestone CC, Akron, Ohio, USA. There is a huge prize purse of $US 8,500,000 up for the taking, there will be the very best players in the world there. Tiger Woods (USA) is even making an appearance after coming back from injury. Hunter Mahan (USA) is the defending Champion and will be looking to win back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 4th August. I will report back who won next week. And the other tournament is for the players that aren’t playing in the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and is the Reno – Tahoe Open and it is being played at the Montreux G&CC, Reno, Nevada. It has a smaller than usual purse of $US 3,000,000 up for grabs. But will give the lesser names a chance to shine. Matt Bettencourt (USA) is the defending Champion and is back to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 4th August. I will report back who took home both trophies next week.

So to the top 5 in the Official World Golf Rankings this week, and still the Number 1 Golfer in the World is Luke Donald (England) with 9.49 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at Number 2 is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.18 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at Number 3 is Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 7.15 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at Number 4 is Steve Stricker (USA) with 6.83 Official World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 6.82 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) slips 7 places this week to 28th on the Official World Golf Rankings with 3.49 Official World Golf Ranking Points. Best New Zealander Golfer is still Danny Lee (NZL), he moves up 12 places this week to 295th Position on the Official World Golf Rankings. He has .60 Official World Golf Ranking Points.

Now to the 3rd event I am reporting on this week and it is on the Champions Tour and was the 4th of 5 majors of the season which was the U. S. Senior Open Championship and it was played at the Inverness GC, Toledo, Ohio. And it was the Golfer by the name of Olin Browne (USA) that scored rounds of 64-7, 69-2, 65-6 and a final round of 71 even for a 72 hole total 269-15 to win his 1st ever U. S. Senior Open Championship by 3strokes. And it was also his maiden Champions Tour Victory after joining the Champions Tour in May 2009.  He won $ US 500,000.00 for his win and that moves him to 4th on the Champions Tour Money list with $US 968,238 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year. Tom Lehman (USA) is still leading with $1,346,276 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year.

Olin Browne (USA) with the U. S. Senior Open Championship Trophy he won

He also moves to 2nd on the Charles Schwab Cup Points list with 1,330 points earned from the 15 events he has played this year to date. He is 203 points behind Tom Lehman (USA) who is on top of the list with 1,533 points earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year. Olin Browne (USA) played a great final round under the pressure. In the final round he played an average front nine of 38+1 with 8 pars and alone bogey on the Par 5, 8th hole. But he played a great back nine under the circumstances with making 8 Straight pars and came to the 72nd hole with a 2 stroke lead over Mark O’Meara (USA). Olin Browne (USA) was -14 and Mark O’Meara (USA) was -12. But Olin Browne (USA) holed his 30 foot birdie putt for the icing on the cake, and scored 71 even par. I feel this win is well deserved as he had had 5 other Top 10 finishes before this win. I hope he can win again before the season is finished. I wish him all the best for the rest of 2011.

Mark O’Meara (USA) was in solo 2nd place at -12 after 72 holes. He would be pleased with that finish. Mark Calcavecchia (USA) was in solo 3rd at -11, which was also a final showing from him. In tied for 4th Position at -10 after 72 holes was Joey Sindelar (USA) and the evergreen Hale Irwin (USA) who is 66 years old, proving that age is just a number. In Solo 6th position was Peter Senior (Australia) who had another fine showing in a Champions Tour Major finishing -9 after 72 holes. In tied for 7th position was Michael Allen (USA) and Corey Pavin (USA), they were both -8. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th position were Nick Price (Zimbabwe), the defending Champion, Bernhard Langer (Germany), John Huston (USA) and Steve Pate (USA), they were all -7 after 72 holes. 

Next week the Champions Tour heads to Minnesota for the 3M Championship and it is being played at the TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota. David Frost (RSA) is the defending Champion and will be trying for consecutive titles. With a large Prize Purse of $US 1,750,000 for the taking it will attract another fine field of Champions Tour Players. It starts on Friday 5th August and I will report back who won next week.

The last event I am reporting on this week is on the Nationwide Tour and it was the Utah Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission. And it was played at the Willow Creek CC, Sandy, Utah. And it was the professional by the name of J. J. Killeen (USA) that scored rounds of 62-9, 67-4, 68-3 and a final round of 65-6 for a 72 hole total of 262-22 and he won by 4 strokes. He won $US 99,000.00 for coming first. He moves to 5th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 196,086 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year. Mathew Goggin (Australia) is still on top with $US 336,964 earned from the 11 events he has played to date this year. I feel J. J. Killeen (USA) has almost earned enough now to gain his USPGA Tour card for the 2012 Season. But another win in the months to come will confirm that. He played brilliant golf from the word go when he scored a 62-9 in the 1st round.  The round included 10 birdies and 1 solo bogey. He backed that brilliant round up with a 2nd round 67-4 and a 3rd round 68-3, and then played a flawless final round of 65-6 that was bogey free. I feel this win will do a lot of good things for J. J. Killeen’s (USA) confidence. And I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 season on the Nationwide Tour.

J. J. Killeen (USA) in action during the final round of the Utah Championship presented by the Utah Sports Commission

In solo 2nd place was Jeff Gove (USA) who was at -18. Casey Wittenberg (USA) was in solo 3rd place at -16. Tied for 4th place were James Hahn (USA) and Bud Cauley (USA) at -15. Tied for 6th position was Steve Wheatcroft (USA), Mark Anderson (USA) and David Lingmerth (Sweden) they were all on -14 after 72 holes. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th position was Stephen Gangluff (USA), Danny Lee (NZL) who scored rounds of 71 even, 66-5, 65-6 and a final round of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 271-13. He won $US 14,850.00 for his efforts and that moves him to 19th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 111,950 earned from the 8 events he has played to date this year. If he remains healthy and he can have a few more top 10’s or even gain a win, I feel he will be on the USPGA Tour for the 2012 season. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 season on the Nationwide Tour. And the final player tied for 9th was Jason Kokrak (USA); they were all -13 after 72 holes.

Next best New Zealander to make the cut was Steven Alker (NZL) scored rounds of 67-4, 71 even, 71 even and a final round of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 278-6 and he tied for 45th position. He earned $US 1,955.25 for his weeks work and moves to 116th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 16,904 earned from the 9 events he has played to date this year. At least he has made 3 cuts this year, because last year he made none. But he will need a lot of top 10 finishes if he has any hope of moving in to the top 25 money earners that earn their USPGA Tour cards for the 2012 USPGA Tour season. But I wish him all the best for the rest of the season. The final New Zealand Golfer to make the cut was Tim Wilkinson (NZL), he scored rounds of 67-4, 68-3, 78+7 and a final round of 66-5 for a 72 hole total of 279-5 and finished in tied for 55th Position. He earned $US 1,746.25 for his efforts and moves to 86th on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 29,364 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year.

2 other New Zealand Golfers were in the field but missed the 36 hole halfway cut. The 1st one was Bradley Iles (NZL) who scored rounds of 68-3 and 73+2 for a 36 holes total of 141-1, he missed the 36 hole cut by 2 strokes. The other New Zealand Golfer to miss the cut was Josh Geary (NZL) who scored rounds of 72+1 and 69-2 for a 36 hole total of 141-1 and he to missed the 36 cut by 2 strokes. Next week the Nationwide Tour heads to Nebraska for the Cox Classic presented by Lexus of Omaha and it is being played on the Champions Run, Omaha, Nebraska. There is a large purse of $US 725,000 for the taking. Martin Piller (USA) is the defending Champion. But there will be a new Champion because Martin Piller (USA) who is on the USPGA Tour now. It starts on Thursday 4th August and I will report back who won next week.

So until then remember hitting Fairways and Greens and making lots of putts is the recipe for great Golf Scores!!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com