Well it was another exciting weekend on the Professional Golf Tours from around the world. First I will start with the USPGA Tour and the FedEx Cup. This week it was the 1st event in the FedEx Cup Playoff Series which was The Barclays. It was played at the Plainfield Country Club, Edison, New Jersey and it was the Golfer by the name of Dustin Johnson (USA) that won the Hurricane shortened 54 hole event. The Barclays had to be shortened to a 54 hole Tournament because the threat of Hurricane Irene that was fast moving up the East Coast of America. Dustin Johnson (USA) scored rounds of 66-5, 63-8 and a final round of 65-6 for a 54 hole total of 194-19 and won by 2 strokes. He won $US 1,440,000.00 for his efforts and moves to 3rd Position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 4,126,265 earned from the 18 events he has played to date this year. Luke Donald (England) is still leading the Money List with $US 4,618,548 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year.
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| Dustin Johnson (USA) holding The Barclays Trophy he won!! |
Dustin Johnson (USA) also won 2500 FedEx Cup points for winning The Barclays which was the 1st FedEx Cup playoff event of 4. The points are 5 times more that the regular season events in the 1st 3 playoff events before the final seedings are set heading in to the finale which is the Tour Championship by Coca – Cola played at the end of September. Dustin Johnson (USA) moves to the Number 1 position on the FedEx Cup points list with 3,691 points earned after the 1st playoff event. He has a 784 points lead over Matt Kuchar (USA) who has earned 2,907 points after the completion of the 1st playoff event.
Dustin Johnson (USA) got off to a brilliant start in his final round with birdies on the Par 4, 1st hole and Par 4, 2nd hole. He made a poor bogey on the Par 3, 3rd hole, but came storming back with a brilliant eagle on the short par 4, 4th hole where he drove his ball in the front Greenside bunker, and then holed his bunker shot than rolled in the hole just like a good putt would. He then added another birdie at the Par 5, 5th hole, and he also birdied the Par 4, 7th hole and the Par 4, 9th hole to go out in an Amazing 29-6. He was -19 heading into the back nine. But Matt Kuchar (USA) who had started the day with a 1 stroke lead at -14 too had a fine front nine. He made birdies at the Par 3, 3rd hole, Par 5, 5th hole, Par 4, 7th hole and the Par 4, 9th hole to go out in 31-4 and when he birdied the Par 3, 11th hole He and Dustin Johnson (USA) were tied at -19 with 7 holes to play.
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| Dustin Johnson (USA) in Action during the final round of The Barclays |
But Matt Kuchar (USA) made two poor bogeys on the Par 5, 12th and Par 4, 13th holes and fell back to -17. Both players then made 4 consecutive pars from holes 14 -17 and they came to the driveable short par 4, 18th hole with Dustin Johnson (USA) still leading by 2strokes on -19 and Matt Kuchar (USA) was -17. Dustin Johnson (USA) teed off 1st and flew his 3wood right over the pin on the green, but it rolled over the back of the green down the slope into a horrible lie. Matt Kuchar (USA) then teed off and hit his drive onto the front fringe just short of the green. Matt Kuchar (USA) putted for eagle first and rolled his ball 4 feet past the hole leaving him a tricky putt for birdie. Dustin Johnson (USA) then played a brilliant chip shot from the very difficult lie he was faced with and it landed 8 feet past the hole, leaving him an easy birdie putt. Matt Kuchar (USA) putted for his birdie, but just missed on the high side and tapped in for his par 4 to score 68-3 in his final round and finish on 196-17 after 72 holes. So Dustin Johnson (USA) now had 3putts to win The Barclays, he missed his 8 foot birdie putt just to the right, but tapped in for par and he won The Barclays by 2 strokes. He pumped his fist in the air in Celebration.
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| Dustin Johnson (USA) pumps his fist in Celebration of becoming The Barclays Champion |
It was Dustin Johnson (USA) 1st win this year and his 5th win on the USPGA Tour since he got his card at the 2007 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament where he finished tied for 14th and inside the top 25 players which earned their 2008 USPGA Tour cards. And he is the 1st player since Tiger Woods (USA) to win in every year since he gained his USPGA Tour card. He has now had 6 top 10 finishes this year to date and this win at The Barclays was a reward for his great play. I feel he has given himself a great chance to win the FedEx Cup now for the 1st time, and he is America’s next Big Thing in golf. And Major Championship wins aren’t too far away for him I feel. I wish him all the best for the remaining events in the FedEx Cup and for the rest of 2011 season.
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| Dustin Johnson (USA) looks very Happy before holing the winning putt to win The Barclays, Matt Kuchar (USA) looks on in the background |
Matt Kuchar (USA) played very well even though he ended up coming 2nd. But his rounds of 63-8, 65-6 and a final round of 68-3 for a 54 hole total of 196-17 were still good. He won $US 864,000.00 for coming 2nd and has now moved to 4th on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 3,909,075 earned from the 20 events he has played to date this year. He also moved to 2nd on the FedEx Cup points list after the 1st playoff event and now has 2,907 points from the 20 events he has played to date this year and is only 784 points behind Dustin Johnson (USA). I feel he will be a factor in the FedEx Cup and may well win it. Tied for 3rd position at -16 after 54 holes were Brandt Snedeker (USA) who scored a brilliant final round of 61-10 which included 11 birdies and a lone bogey, and Vijay Singh (Fiji) continued on his fine form he has been showing this year scoring 3 rounds in the 60’s. And he has moved to 8th position of the FedEx Cup points list with 1,778 points and is just 1,913 points behind Dustin Johnson (USA) who is leading. Maybe he can repeat what he did in 2008 and that is winning the FedEx Cup?
In solo 5th Position was Jonathan Byrd (USA) on 198-15 after 54 holes, he too scored 3 rounds in the 60’s. In tied for 6th position was Y. E. Yang (South Korea) on 197-14, he scored a brilliant final round of 63-8 that included 6 birdies in a row from holes 2-7 on the front nine. Also tied for 6th were Brian Davis (England) on 197-14 and he too had a great final round of 64-7 that was bogey free, Camilo Villegas (USA) had a big move in the FedEx Cup this week moving to 51st on the list with his total of 197-14 and also tied for 6th. And the final player to tie for 6th place was Justin Rose (England), he moved to 27th position on the FedEx Cup Points list and was also on 197-14, he too scored 3 rounds in the Mid 60’s. And rounding out the top 10 in tied for 10th position were Nick Watney (USA) on 200-13, but he lost his number 1 position on the FedEx Cup Points list to Dustin Johnson (USA) and is in 3rd position heading to the next FedEx Cup playoff event. Also tied for 10th were last week’s winner Webb Simpson (USA) and last year’s Duetsche Bank Championship winner Charley Hoffman (USA) who defends next week, they were both on 200-13 for the 54 holes.
Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup head to Massachusetts for the Duetsche Bank Championship and it is being played at the TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts. It is the 2nd of 4 events in the FedEx Cup Playoffs and only the top 100 players on the FedEx Cup Points list after The Barclays have qualified to play in it. It too has a huge Prize Purse of $US 8,000,000 up for the taking. Charley Hoffman (USA) is the defending Champion and will be looking for another good performance. And 30 players that start at the Duetsche Bank Championship will not being playing the 3rd playoff event which is the BMW Championship in 2weeks time because only the top 70 Players on the FedEx Cup Points list advance to the 3rd playoff event after the completion of the Duetsche Bank Championship. It is the only tournament on the USPGA Tour that has a scheduled Friday start because it finishes up on Labour Day Monday. It starts on Friday 2nd September. I will report back who took the Trophy home next week.
So to the 2nd event I am reporting on this week. It was on the European Tour and was part of the Race to Dubai. It was the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and was played at The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland. And there was an amazing 5 players that tied on 277-11 after 72 holes and they were Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) who scored rounds of 68-4, 69-3, 71-1 and a final round of 69-3 for a 54 hole total of 277-11, next player on that same scored was George Coetzee (RSA) who scored rounds of 77+5, 66-6, 67-5 and a final round of 67-5 for a 72 hole total of 277-11, another player on that same score was Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) who scored rounds of 70-2, 68-4, 70-2 and a final round of 69-3 for a 72 hole total of 277-11, also on that same score was Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) who scored rounds of 69-3, 71-1, 68-4 and a final round of 69-3 for a 72 hole total of 277-11 and the final player on that same score was Mark Foster (England), he scored rounds of 66-5, 71-1, 68-4 and a final round of 72 even par for a 72 hole total of 277-11. Mark Foster (England) came to the 72nd hole which is a relatively easy Par 5 only needing a Par 5 to win. But he made an untimely bogey 6 and was forced into a five man playoff.
Those 5 players headed back to the Par 5, 18th hole for the 1st playoff hole. So to the 1st playoff hole and Larrazabal had the advantage after the tee shots, while Weisberger had to take a drop. Bjorn was in the bunker just off the green in 3, while Weisberger was just off the green in 4. Coetzee, Foster and Larrazabal all found the green in 3 shots. Weisberger played a beautiful chip shot that stopped inches before the hole and scored a 6, while Bjorn almost chipped in for a 4. Larrazabal, Foster and Coetzee all had birdie putts of a similar length for 4. Coetzee holes out for a par 5, which eliminated Weisberger. Larrazabal, Foster and Bjorn also made 5.
So the 4 players that survived the 1st playoff hole headed back to the 18th hole for the 2nd playoff hole. This time Foster and Bjorn both find the left side of the fairway. Coetzee’s tee shot drifts out to the left side rough, while Larrazabal once again has the advantage as he finds the centre of the fairway. All 4 players get into position with their second shots as they lay up. Coetzee’s third shot finds the green but some distance from the hole, while Larrazabal’s third shot finds the bank of rough at the back of the green. Foster’s third shot from 82 yards lands some 20 feet from the hole. Bjorn has the advantage as his third shot landed 15 feet from the pin. Coetzee’s birdie putt stops 2 feet short of the hole, while Larrazabal’s chip from the rough clips the edge of the hole but runs 4 feet past. Foster’s birdie putt never really threatens the hole, while Bjorn’s attempt also stops short. Coetzee, Foster and Bjorn all make par but Larrazabal misses his par putt to drop out.
So the 3 players that survived the 2nd playoff hole head back to the 18th hole for the 3rd playoff hole and this time all three remaining players played perfect tee shots. All 3 second shots are laid up and are a similar distance from the green. Bjorn plays a beautiful third shot to within 2 and a half feet of the cup. Coetzee responds with a wonderful wedge shot of his own to within 4 feet. Foster does even better with his third as his lands just 2 feet from the hole. Wonderful stuff. All 3 players hole their birdie putts as we move on to playoff hole 4.
So the 3 players head back to the Par 5, 18th hole to play it as the 4th playoff hole and for 8th time in the tournament. This time Foster finds the rough with his tee shot, while Bjorn finds the centre of the fairway. Coetzee also finds the thick rough so advantage the Dane. All Foster can do with his second shot is hack it out on to the fairway. Coetzee, from a slightly better lie is able to move his ball up the fairway. Bjorn’s retains the advantage after his second shot lays up some 85 yards from the pin. Foster, from 217 yards, drifts out to the right with his third shot and once again finds the thick rough short of and to the right of the green. Coetzee’s third shot finds the green some 12 feet from the hole. Bjorn’s approach to the green once again peppers the flag as it stops just 3 feet from the pin. Foster’s fourth shot runs 10 feet past the hole and comes to rest on the back fringe. Foster ends with a bogey 6 and drops out. Coetzee sinks his birdie effort and Bjorn responds with a birdie of his own. Two players remain as we move on to play off hole 5.
So those 2 players head back to the Par 5, 18th hole for the 6th time on the day and the 9th time in the whole tournament. This time both players found trouble off the tee and end up in thick rough. Coetzee, playing on a steep down slope has the tougher shot. Bjorn, using a rescue club manages to advance his second up the fairway. Meanwhile, the South African Coetzee is only able to chip it out and advance a fairly short distance. Coetzee, using a six iron, finds the green but ends up some 40 feet from the flag. Bjorn, with an 8 iron, once again turns on the magic and lands his ball 3 feet from the hole. Coetzee’s brave birdie putt goes 3 feet past the hole and he holes out for par. Bjorn then secures his second win of the season by holing his birdie putt. It was a great win by Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) and he becomes the 2011 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles Champion.
He won € 266,628.52 for the win and it is the 2nd time he has won this year having won the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy in early February. It is also his 12 win of his European Tour Career. He moves to 8th Position on the Race to Dubai Money list with €1,048,114 earned from the 16 events he has played to date this year. Luke Donald (England) is still leading with €3,778,199 earned from the 10 events he has played to date this year. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the highest ranked New Zealander having earned €186,308 from the 12 events he has played to date this year so far. But he is focusing more on securing his USPGA Tour card for next year now and playing more Nationwide Tour events where he currently sits in 11th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list well inside the top 25 players that earn their 2012 USPGA Tour cards after the final event on the Nationwide Tour in 2011.
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| Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) holding the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles Trophy |
So Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) continues on his great season, and I hope he continues on his fine form he has shown this year. And he will be a player to watch at the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World that is played in early December and is the finale and Climax to the Race to Dubai. Who knows, he might win that too? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 season.
George Coetzee (RSA), Pablo Larrazabal (Spain), Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) and Mark Foster (England) will all be disappointed from coming tied for 2nd, but will be happy with the € 106,429 they earned. In tied for 6th position was Joel Sjoholm (Sweden) and Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) who were on 278-10 after 72 holes. Rounding out the Top 10 on 279-9 after 72 holes and in tied for 8th place were Victor Dubuisson (France), Kenneth Ferrie (England) and Ignacio Garrido (Spain). The only New Zealander in the field this week was Mark Brown (NZL), he scored rounds of 75+3 and 74+2 for a 36 hole total of 149+5 and missed the 36 hole cut by 5 strokes. It was another disappointing performance from him and he is now in 148th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 91,705 earned from the 23 events he has played to date this year. He will need to earn about another 120,000 Euros in the remaining 14 events that he is eligible to play in if he is going to get inside the top 115 players on the Race to Dubai Money list that keep their European Tour Full Playing Status for the 2012 European Tour Season. I wish him all the best in his challenge to keep his card for next season.
Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai head to Switzerland for the Omega European Masters and it is played at the Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans Montana, Switzerland. It has a purse of €2,000,000 up for the taking that will attract some of the best players on the European Tour. Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) is the defending Champion and will be looking to win back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 1st September and I will report back who won next week.
So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings this week and coming in at number 1 for the 14th week running is Luke Donald (England) with 10.13 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at number 2 is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.15 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at number 3 is Steve Stricker (USA) with 6.90 Official World Ranking Points, coming in at number 4 is Dustin Johnson (USA) with 6.79 Official World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 is Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 6.74 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week slips a further 2 places to 38th in the Official Golf World Ranking Points list with 3.12 Official World Ranking Points. Best New Zealander is still Danny Lee (NZL) with 0.67 Official World Ranking Points which places him in 265th position on the Official Golf World Rankings Points list; he is down 3 places from last week.
The 3rd event I am reporting on this week is on the Champions Tour and was the Boeing Classic and it was played at the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, Snoqualmie, Washington. And it was the Golfer by the name of Mark Calcavecchia (USA) that prevailed on the 1st playoff hole to win his maiden Champions Tour event. He scored rounds of 70-2, 67-5 and a final round of 65-7, for a 54 hole total of 202-14, but he was joined on that score by Russ Cochran (USA) who scored rounds of 66-6, 71-1 and a final round of 65-7 that included an eagle on the Par 5, 18th hole to make the playoff for a 54 hole total of 202-14. So those two players headed back to the Par 5, 18th hole for the 1st playoff hole. Mark Calcavecchia (USA) played the hole very well and made a birdie 4 to Russ Cochran’s (USA) bogey 6 and that meant that Mark Calcavecchia (USA) had won the Boeing Classic. He won $US 300,000.00 for the win and that moves him to 3rd position on the Champions Tour money list with $US 1,294,141 earned from the 17 events he has played to date this year. Tom Lehman (USA) is still number 1 on the Champions Tour Money list with $US 1,643,009 earned from the 16 events he has played to date this year.
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| Mark Calcavecchia (USA) in action during the final round of the Boeing Classic |
Mark Calcavecchia (USA) also moves to 2nd position on the Charles Schwab Cup Points list with 1,578 points earned from the 17 events he has played to date this year. He is 407 points behind the Charles Schwab Cup Points leader who is Tom Lehman (USA) who has earned 1,985 points from the 16 events he has played to date this year. It was hardly a surprise for me to see Mark Calcavecchia (USA) win because he had had 9 top 10 finishes this year on the Champions Tour prior to this event. And since he joined the Champions Tour in 2010 he has accumulated 16 top 10 finishes from the 31 Champions Tour events he has played including this maiden win. This win should do Mark Calcavecchia’s (USA) confidence the world of good and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he won another Champions Tour event soon. And he is now in position to take a run at Tom Lehman (USA) in the Charles Schwab Cup point’s race. I wish him all the best for the rest for the 2011 Champions Tour season.
For Russ Cochran (USA) 2nd place will be a disappointment to him as he knows he wasn’t far away from winning. But the $US 176,000.00 he earned for coming 2nd will come in handy. And he now moves to 4th on the Champions Tour money list with $US 1,181,355 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year. And he is already having a great year having won The Senior Open Championship in July.
Chip Beck (USA) was in solo 3rd place at -9 and his big claim to fame was scoring 59 in the Las Vegas Invitational way back in 1991. In solo 4th place was Jeff Sluman (USA) he was -8. In tied for 5th place were Bob Gilder (USA) and Kenny Perry (USA) at -7. Bill Glasson (USA) was in solo 7th place at -6, Gary Halberg (USA) was in solo 8th place at -5, in solo 9th place was Steve Lowery (USA) at -4 and rounding out the top 10 was D. A. Weibring (USA) in solo 10th place at -3.
The next 3 weeks the Champions Tour has the week off and it recommences in South Korea on Friday 16th September for the Songdo IBD Championship Presented by Korean Air and it is being played at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, Songdo City, Korea. It has the largest purse of the Champions Tour season with $US 3,000,000 up for the taking and will attract the very best players on the Champions Tour. Russ Cochran (USA) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. I will report back in 3 weeks time who took home the trophy.
So to the final event I am reporting on this week and it was on the Nationwide Tour, it was the News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot and was played at the Fox Den CC, Knoxville, Tennessee. And it was Kirk Triplett (USA) who scored rounds of 67-5, 64-8, 68-4 and a final round 68-4 for a 72 Hole total of 267-21 and he won by 2 strokes for his maiden Nationwide Tour win. He won $US 90,000.00 for the win and that moves him to 33rd on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 110,523 earned from the 5 events he has played to date this year. Mathew Goggin (Australia) regains the lead on top of the money list with $US 357,352 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year.
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| Kirk Triplett (USA) holding the News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot |
The win really came out of nowhere for Kirk Triplett (USA) because he had only played 5 events all year on the Nationwide Tour. The last couple of years Kirk Triplett (USA) has been playing a few Nationwide Tour Events along with a few USPGA Tour events that he can get starts in. He lost his full status on the USPGA Tour in 2007 and this was only his 12th ever start on the Nationwide Tour having started playing on it in 2010. At 49 years of age the 3 time winner on the USPGA Tour is only really trying to keep his game in shape for the Champions Tour where he will make his debut when he turns 50 on 29th March next year (2012). But he just played flawless golf this week with having 23 birdies and only 2 bogeys in the 72 holes. I wish Kirk Triplett (USA) all the best with his remaining events on the Nationwide Tour in 2011. And wish him to have a great start to his Champions Tour career when it begins in late March 2012.
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| Kirk Triplett (USA) in action during the final round of the News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot |
In 2nd place was Marco Dawson (USA) on 269-19 after 72 holes. Tied for 3rd were Ted Potter, Jr. (USA) and John Mallinger (USA) who backed up his fine finish he achieved last week when he tied for 12th at the Wyndham Championship on the USPGA Tour, they were both on 270-18. In tied for 5th position on 271-17 were Martin Flores (USA), Paul Claxton (USA) and Aaron Goldberg (USA), rounding out the top 10 in tied for 8th position on 272-16 were Josh Broadaway (USA), Brian Vranesh (USA), Brian Bateman (USA), Scott Gutschewski (USA) and Mathew Goggin (Australia) who with this tied for 8th position regained his Number 1 position on the Nationwide Tour Money list.
Best of the New Zealand Golfers this week was Josh Geary (NZL) he scored rounds of 73+1, 65-7, 70-2 and a final round of 71-1 for a 72 hole total of 279-9 and was in tied for 42nd position. He earned $US 2,100.00 for his weeks work and now is in 52nd position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 76,141 earned from the 18 events he has played to date this year. With 8 events left in the 2011 Nationwide Tour Season he is a fighting chance to get inside the Top 25 on the Final Money list and gain his 2012 USPGA Tour status. I few more Top 10 finishes would be a big help to him. I wish him all the best for the final events on the Nationwide Tour in 2011.
There were 4 other New Zealand Golfers in the field, but unfortunately they all missed the 36 hole cut. The best of them was Danny Lee (NZL) who scored rounds of 68-4 and 72 even par for a 36 hole total of 140-4 and missed the cut by a single stroke. The cut fell at -5. After a brilliant start to his rookie season on the Nationwide Tour of making the 1st 9 cuts in a row, and recording 5 top 10 finishes, he has now missed the last 3cuts in a row. He is still in 11th Position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 159,800 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this year. And his USPGA Tour card for the 2012 season looks secure at the moment. But I suggest he has a couple more Top 10 finishes before the season is finished to really make sure his USPGA Tour card for 2012 is set in concrete. I wish him luck with that. Next best New Zealander was Steve Alker (NZL) who scored rounds of 72 even and 69-3 for a 36 hole total of 141-3 and he missed the 36 hole cut by 2 strokes, as did Tim Wilkinson (NZL) who scored rounds of 71-1 and 70-2 for a 36 hole total of also 141-3 to miss the 36 hole cut by 2 strokes. And finally Bradley Iles (NZL) scored rounds of 77+5 and 69-3 for a 36 hole total of 146+2 and missed the 36 hole cut by 7 shots.
Next week the Nationwide Tour heads to Pennsylvania for the Mylan Classic and it is played at the Southpointe Golf Club, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. It has a purse of $US 600,000 up for the taking that will attract another great field of Nationwide Tour Players. Kevin Kisner (USA) is the defending Champion and will be looking to go for back to back wins, it starts on Thursday 1st September and I will report back who won the Trophy next week.
So until then remember to keep hitting fairways and greens and hole all your putts!!
Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com
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