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