Golf Events from the Weekend 23rd October

Well it was another exciting weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world. First I will start with the European Tour and Race to Dubai. This week it stayed in Spain for the second of three events in Spain this month. It was the Castello Masters and was being played on the Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, Castellón, Valencia, Spain. And it was the Golfer by the name of Sergio Garcia (Spain) that scored rounds of 67-4, 63-8, 64-7 and a final round of 63-8 for a 72 hole total of 257-27 and he won by an Amazing 11 strokes. He won € 333,330.00 for the win and moves Sergio Garcia (Spain) to 11th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with €1,080,748 earned from the 11 events he has played to date this year so far. Luke Donald (England) still leads that list with €3,856,394 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this year so far.

Sergio Garcia (Spain) shakes his caddies hand after winning the Castello Masters

Sergio Garcia (Spain) just displayed amazing form this week on the course where he learnt to play on as a child. He won the Club Championships on this very course when he was only 12 years old. And it was his first time playing a tournament in Spain since the passing of Seve Ballesteros (Spain) who was a true legend in Spanish Golf and had a huge influence on Sergio Garcia’s (Spain) golf career in the early years of his career. He got off to a great start in his final round with birding the Par 5, 4th hole, Par 4, 5th hole, Par 5, 8th hole which he played in 5 under for the week and the Par 4, 9th hole to go out in 32-4 for the front nine. He then came home in 31-4 which included birdies at the Par 4, 10th hole, Par 4, 11th hole, Par 4, 14th hole, Par 4, 15th hole and Par 4, 18th hole with his lone bogey coming at the Par 4, 17th hole. And he returned a final round of 63-8.

His Father Victor was there to celebrate with him as he holed the winning putt. He dedicated the win in honour to the late Seve Ballesteros (Spain) who as I mentioned before was huge influence on his career in his early days as a Professional. The Castello Masters was Sergio Garcia (Spain) ninth European Tour International Schedule victory in his 164th European Tour event. This was the ninth time in his European Tour career, he has won more than €1 million in a single season. He moves just outside the top 30 from 49th in the Official World Golf Ranking. It was Sergio Garcia (Spain) first European Tour victory since the 2009 HSBC Champions (Nov 08). A gap of two years and 348 days. And in that time he has played in 40 European Tour events between victories. This victory beats his previous best European Tour finish since his win in the HSBC – Champions, and second in the 2011 BMW International Open. Sergio Garcia (Spain) claims his second win in the Castelló Masters, following his triumph in the first event in 2008. This victory is his third top four finish in the Castelló Masters from his four appearances. He was first in 2008, fourth in 2009 and first in 2011. Sergio Garcia (Spain) victory in the Castelló Masters marks the first European Tour event he has twice. His winning total of 257 equals the lowest winning 72 hole total of the 2011 season, established by Ernie Els (RSA) (South African Open Championship). It is also the lowest winning total in relation to par (-27), in the 2011 season, beating the 25 under total of Ernie Els (RSA) at the South African Open Championship. His 27 under par total is the lowest on The European Tour since Ernie Els (RSA) shot 29 under at the 2003 Johnnie Walker Classic.

Sergio Garcia (Spain) holding the Castello Masters Trophy he won

Sergio Garcia (Spain) winning margin of 11 shots is the largest of the 2011 season, beating the eight by Martin Kaymer (Germany) (Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship) and Rory McIlroy (NIR) (US Open Championship). Garcia’s victory margin is the largest on the European Tour since Tiger Woods (USA) won by 11 at the 2000 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational. His final 54 hole total of 190 (-23) is the lowest of the 2011 season, beating the 192 of Ernie Els (RSA) at the South African Open Championship. His final 54 hole total in relation to par of 23 under is the lowest of the 2011 season, beating the 19 under of Martin Kaymer (Germany) at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and Portugal Masters. His winning total of 257 (-27) is the lowest winning total and in relation to par, in the history of the event, beating his score in 2008 and Michael Jonzon (Sweden) in 2009 of 264 (-20). (His first 54 hole total of 194 (-19) is the lowest in the history of the event and tied the low opening 54 holes for the 2011 season, established by Ernie Els (RSA) (194 (-16) at the South African Open Championship).

Sergio Garcia’s (Spain) final round of 63 (-8) is the lowest final round by a winner in the event, beating the 67 (-4) of Garcia (Spain) in 2008, Jonzon (Sweden) in 2009 and Matteo Manassero (Italy) in 2010. His 11 shot winning margin is the biggest in the history of the Castelló Masters, beating the previous best of four shots by Manassero (Italy) in 2010. Sergio Garcia (Spain) is now an amazing 62 under par for his 14 rounds in the event since 2008, which equates to a stroke average of 66.57. Sergio Garcia (Spain) claims his fourth European Tour victory on Spanish soil. This win follows the 2002 Open de España, 2004 Mallorca Classic, 2008 and 2011 Castelló Masters. This victory keeps up his record of winning all four of his Spanish European Tour titles when leading or sharing the lead going into the final round. (He also led going into the final round of the 2005 (Omega European Masters). Sergio Garcia (Spain) is attached to the Club de Golf del Mediterráneo, venue for the Castelló Masters. He joins Ernie Els (RSA) as players to win an official European Tour Event twice at the club the player was attached to. Els (RSA) won the 2004 and 2007 World Match Play Championship when he was attached at Wentworth Club. He becomes the first player to win the Castelló Masters twice. It was the fourth Spanish victory of the 2011 season. They are: Pablo Martin (Spain) (Alfred Dunhill Championship, Alvaro Quiros (Spain) (Omega Dubai Desert Classic), Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) (BMW International Open) and Sergio Garcia (Spain) (Castelló Masters). It was the 160th Spanish victory in European Tour history. Sergio Garcia (Spain) gains a two year European Tour exemption until the end of 2013. And finally gains his 21st victory as a professional.

I feel this victory is just what Sergio Garcia (Spain) needed to boost his confidence and another win before the 2011 European Tour season is finished isn’t out of the question for him. I wish him all the best for the remaining events on the European Tour in 2011. Coming in at solo 2nd place was Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spain) who was on 268-16 after 72 holes. He had his best finish of the season and earned € 222,220.00 for his efforts. He moves to 89th on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 296,975 earned from the 11 events he has played to date this year and should be enough to secure his European Tour card for the 2012 season.

In tied for 3rd Position at  269-15 after 72 holes were Alexander Noren (Sweden) who had his 7th top 10 finish this season which includes wins at the Saab Wales Open in early June and the Nordea Masters in late July. Also tied for 3rd was Richie Ramsay (Scotland). In solo 5th position at 270-14 was Thomas Aiken (RSA). In solo 6th position at 272-12 was George Coetzee (RSA). In solo 7th position at 273-11 was Marcel Siem (Germany). Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 8th position at 274-10 were Marcus Fraser (Australia), Romain Wattel (France) and Ross McGowan (England).

The only New Zealand Golfer in the field this week was Mark Brown (NZL), he scored rounds of 69-2, 72+1, 74+3 and a final round of 73+2 for a 72 hole total of 288+4 and he finished in tied for 63rd position. He earned € 4,900.00 for his weeks work and now moves to 157th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with €115,805 earned from the 30 events he has played to date this year. He now has only 6 tournaments left that he is likely to get starts in to try and get inside the top 115 players on the Race to Dubai Money list that keep their European Tour cards for the 2012 season. I wish him all the best in his quest to secure that card.

       Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai stays in Spain for the Andalucia Masters and it is 

being played at the Club de Golf Valderrama, Sotogrande, Spain. With €3,000,000 up for grabs it is going to attract the very best players on the European Tour. Graeme McDowell (NIR) is the defending champion and will be looking for back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 27th October. I will report back who won the trophy next week.    

Now to the USPGA Tour and I am reporting on two tournaments this week, the first one was the PGA Grand Slam of Golf and it was played on the Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton Parish, Bermuda. It was the 29th staging of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf that sees the winners of the four Major Championships playoff over 36 holes of Stroke play to see who the PGA Grand Slam of Golf Champion is for that year. It was played on Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th October. Players competing this year were Charl Schwartzel (RSA) (Masters Tournament Winner); Rory McILroy (NIR) (US Open Championship Winner); Darren Clarke (NIR) (Open Championship Winner) and Keegan Bradley (USA) (PGA Championship Winner).

Keegan Bradley (USA) (PGA Championship Winner) scored rounds of 67-4 and 71 even for a 36 hole total of 138-4 after 36 holes and won by 1 stroke. His win was set up by his first round 67-4 that included two eagles, one at the par 5, 2nd hole and another at the Par 5, 7th hole. He also birdied the par 3, 3rd hole, Par 4, 6th hole and Par 4, 9th hole. And he made his lone bogey on the Par 4, 1st hole, so he went out in an amazing 30-6. He came home in 37+2 which included bogies at the Par 4, 14th and Par 3, 16th holes. In the 2nd round he got off to a shocking start recording bogies on the Par 4, 1st, 5th and 6th holes, but made a fine birdie on the Par 5, 7th hole to go out in 38+2. He came in with a 33-2 that included birdies on the Par 4, 10th hole and also the Par 5, 17th hole. He won his first ever PGA Grand Slam of Golf title at his first appearance and earned the winner’s cheque of $US 600, 000 for his efforts. It capped off a great year for Keegan Bradley (USA) with winning his maiden USPGA Tour Event at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in late May. Then he won his first Major Championship in Mid August at the PGA Championship. He earned an Amazing $US 3,758,600 from the 28 events he played in 2011 which placed him in 13th position on the final USPGA Tour Money list Standings. Look for Keegan Bradley (USA) to keep on improving in 2012 USPGA Tour Season. And I suggest he must be in line for the USPGA Tour player of the year award.

Keegan Bradley (USA) posing with the PGA GrandSlam of Golf Trophy he won

Coming in 2nd was Charl Schwartzel (RSA) (Masters Tournament Winner) who scored 74+3 and 65-6 for a 36 hole total of 139-3. He fell one stroke shy of Keegan Bradley (USA) (PGA Championship Winner) but his final round of 65-6 included a front nine of 31-5 with 5 consecutive birdies from holes 5-9. He then came home in 34-1 which included birdies at the Par 4, 15th hole and the Par 5, 17th hole. And he forced Keegan Bradley (USA) to have to hole a 5 foot putt for par which he did to win.

Coming in 3rd was Rory McILroy (NIR) (US Open Championship Winner) with rounds of 67-4 and 75+4 for a 36 hole total of 142 even par. He was tied for the lead with Keegan Bradley (USA) after the first round. But suffered a shocking second round of 75+4 with bogies at the 7-9 holes, going out in 39+3 and he came home in 36+1 with a lone bogey at the Par 4, 16th hole. And finally Darrin Clarke (NIR) had a tournament he would rather forget and finished in 4th position with rounds of 77+6 and 74+3 for a 36 hole total 151+9. The 2012 PGA Grand Slam of Golf will be played at the same time next year.

The 2nd event I am reporting on was the 4th and final event of the Fall Series and the final event for players to make it inside the top 125 players on the Final USPGA Tour Money list. It was the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic and it was played at the Magnolia GC, Lake Buena Vista and Palm GC, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. And it was the Golfer by the name of Luke Donald (England) who scored rounds of 66-6, 71-1, 70-2 and a final round of 64-8 for a 72 hole total of 271-17 and he won by 2 strokes. He earned $US 846,000.00 for the win. And winning this Tournament meant he also won the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 6,683,214 earned from the 19 events he has played this year on the USPGA Tour. He beat Webb Simpson (USA) by $US 335,861 which is the closest gap between the first and second player has been in years. With winning the Money Title he gains a five year exemption on the USPGA Tour meaning he is exempt till the end of 2016. And Luke Donald (England) becomes the first player since Tom Lehman (USA) in 1996 to be second on the Money list coming into the final event of the season and go on to the win the Money List title. It was his 4th USPGA Tour win with having won the 2002 Southern Farm Bureau Classic, 2006 The Honda Classic, and earlier this year won the 2011 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Luke Donald (England) holding the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic Trophy

Luke Donald (England) played an awesome Final Round and proved why he has been World Number 1 Golfer for the past 21 weeks in a row. He went out in 34-2 which included birdies at the Par 4, 1st hole, Par 4, 2nd hole, Par 3, 6th hole and Par 4, 7th hole. But he made to poor bogeys at the Par 4, 5th hole and Par 5, 8th hole. But from holes 10-16 he made 6 consecutive birdies which were just amazing to watch. And then he pared holes 16-18 and scored 30-6 coming in. And returned a final round of 64-8. Out of the Top 5 players on the final USPGA Tour Money list for 2011, Luke Donald (England) played the least amount of Tournaments but recorded the most Top 10 finishes which was 14 from the 19 events he entered. And he proved he was the most consistent player on the USPGA Tour in 2011. He also won the Vardon Trophy for the player with the lowest scoring average. His scoring average of 68.86 for the 73 rounds he played this season was just awesome.

The win was even more special because he came to this tournament with one purpose and that was to get a Victory and win the USPGA Tour Money title, and he achieved both of those goals. And his Wife Dianne is due to give birth to their second child this coming week. His next goal will be to win the European Tour, Race to Dubai Money list which he already has a huge lead in as I Mentioned earlier. If he does that he will become the first player to win both of the USPGA Tour Money list and Race to Dubai Money list titles in the same year. He must be the best player to have never of won a Major Championship? I feel that should happen within the next couple of years. I wish him all the best for the remaining events he plays in 2011.

Luke Donald (England) holding the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic Trophy he won with Donald Duck along side

In solo 2nd place with a total of 273-15 was Justin Leonard (USA), he had his best Tournament this year. He finished up earning $US 507,600.00 for his weeks work and record his first top 10 finish of the year. He end up 91st on the USPGA Tour Final Money list with $US 952,962 earned from the 26 events he played this year. Look for Justin Leonard (USA) to have a much better season in 2012. In tied for 3rd position with a 72 hole total of 274-14 were Tom Pernice Jr. (USA) who kept his playing status for the USPGA Tour in 2012 with earning $US 694,981 from the 12 events he played in to finish in 121st position on the Final USPGA Money list for 2012. Not too bad for a man who is 52 years old and only plays the USPGA Tour part time because the Champions Tour is his main focus. Also tied for 3rd was Sunghoon Kang (South Korea) who earned $US 244,400.00 for his weeks worked and keep his card for the 2012 USPGA Tour season earning $US 702,382 from the 21 events he played in and finished in 120th position on the Final USPGA Money list. Not too bad for the 24 year old rookie. And the 3rd player to tie for 3rd was Kevin Chappell (USA) who ended up in 66th position on the Final USPGA Tour Money list with $US 1,339,640 earned from the 26 events he entered, not bad for his rookie season on the USPGA Tour.

Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 6th position at 275-13 were John Rollins (USA), Webb Simpson (USA) who would be disappointed he couldn’t have won after being in great position to do so. And if he had won he would have won the money list title. But he had to settle for 2nd position on the Money list with $US 6,347,353 earned from the 26 events he entered. But it was still a career year from him with getting his first win at the Wyndham Championship in late August and then winning the 2nd FedEx Cup playoff event which was the Deutsche Bank Championship in early September. And he also recorded 12 top 10 finishes and only missed 3 cuts. He has his Presidents Cup debut for the United States Team down at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia to look forward to next month. I also look for him to contend in Major Championships in 2012. I wish him all the best with his Golf Career. Also tied 6th was Trevor Immelman (RSA) who had his 2nd top 10 finish in as many weeks and finished in 81st Position on the Final USPGA Tour Money list with $US 1,165,604 earned from the 25 events he entered. Also tied for 6th was Nick O’Hern (Australia), and the final player to tie for 6th was Billy Mayfair (USA) who coming into the week was outside the Top 125 players on the Money list, but his great play this week meant he earned $US 147,110.00 and he ended up finishing in 109th position on the Final USPGA Tour Money list for 2011 with $US 780,578 earned from the 29 events he entered. So he is fully exempt for the 2012 USPGA Tour season which would be a huge relief to him.

The player to finish in the all important 125 position on the final USPGA Tour Money list for 2011 was D. J. Trahan (USA) with $US 668,166 earned from the 30 events he entered. And he is fully exempt for the 2012 USPGA Tour season. And the unlucky player to just miss out and finish in 126th position on the final USPGA Tour Money list for 2011 was Robert Gates (USA) who won the 2010 Michael Hill New Zealand Open. He earned $US 666,735 from the 29 events he entered. He will now head back to the finals of USPGA Tour qualifying School which are on in early December and hope to finish inside the top 25 players and ties there that earn tour cards for the 2012 USPGA Tour Season.

Also this week it was the finale of the Kodak Challenge. The Kodak Challenge is a fun event started by the Kodak Company in 2009 with 30 holes select from various USPGA Tour tournaments. Players must play 18 of the 30 Kodak Challenge holes to be eligible to win. Players will post their lowest scores relative to par on 18 of the Kodak Challenge holes to compete for the Kodak Challenge title and $1 million. Once a player has played more than 18 of the 30 holes it will be his best 18 hole scores that count hence the more holes you play the better your score should be. The player that is the most under par wins the $US1million and in the event of a tie the players tied will have a sudden death playoff on the final Kodak Challenge hole of the season which for the first 3 years has been the Par 4, 17th hole at the Magnolia GC, Lake Buena Vista, Florida where the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic is staged.  Kevin Streelman (USA) was the inaugural winner in 2009, Troy Merritt (USA) won in 2010. And this year the $US 1Million went to Bill Lunde (USA) who played 23 of the 30 Kodak Challenge Holes and was -19 for those holes and won by 2 strokes over Josh Teater (USA) who played 24 out the 30 holes and was -17, Cameron Tringale (USA) who played 24 holes also out of the 30 holes and finished -17 for them and finally Fabian Gomez (Argentina) who played 19 holes out of the 30 and finished -19 for them. It was funny how Bill Lunde (USA) won the US$ 1Million for winning the Kodak Challenge but finished 130th on the Final USPGA Tour Money list and will have to head back to the USPGA Tour qualifying School in December to get his card back. I wish him all best with that.

Bill Lunde (USA) with the Kodak Challenge Trophy he won

Next week it is the first of the Un-Official featured Events on the USPGA Tour with the playing of the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia and it is being played on the MINES Resort & Golf Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With a large purse of $US 6,100,000* un-official money up for grabs it will attract another fine field. Ben Crane (USA) is the defending Champion and will be trying to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 27th October and I will report back who won next week.

Now to the top 5 players on the Official World Golf Rankings and coming in at Number 1 for the 22nd week running is Luke Donald (England) with 10.75 Official World Ranking Points which is just over a 3 point lead over Lee Westwood (England) who comes in 2nd with 7.48 Official World Ranking Points, Coming in at Number 3rd in the Official World Golf Rankings is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 7.31 Official World Ranking Points, Coming in at Number 4 in the Official World Golf Rankings is Steve Stricker (USA) with 6.24 Official World Ranking Points and rounding out the Top 5 players on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list is Dustin Johnson (USA) with 6.24 Official World Golf Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week remains in 55th Position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 2.55 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Best New Zealand Golfer on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list is still Danny Lee (NZL), he moves up 17 places this week with his top 5 finish in the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters and is now the 192nd best ranked Golfer on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.95 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Now to the Nationwide Tour and this week it was the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters and it was played on the Dye's Valley Course, Ponte Vedra, Florida. It was the final event of the regular season with the top 60 players on the Nationwide Tour Money list going on to play the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island the following week. And it was the golfer by the name of Gavin Coles (Australia) who scored rounds of 70 even, 64-6, 69-1 and a final round of 71+1 for a 72 hole total of 274-6 and won by a single stroke. It was his 5th win on the Nationwide Tour that last came 3 years ago the Chitimacha Louisiana Open Pres'd by Dynamic Industries. He earned a winner’s cheque of $US 108,000.00 and moved to 15th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 226,404 earned from the 23 events he has played to date this year so far. J.J. Killeen (USA) still leads with $409,473 earned from the 24 events he has played to date this year so far.

Gavin Coles (Australia) with the Winn - Dixie Jacksonville Open Presented by Planters Trophy he won

It was a great week for Gavin Coles (Australia) who scored an average final round of 71+1 that included a Bogey at the Par 4, 4th hole to go out in 36+1. He came home it 35 even par which included birdies at the Par 5, 16th hole and Par 4, 17th hole. But he made poor bogeys at the Par 4, 15th hole and Par 4, 18th hole. But this tournament win was really set up by the 64-6 he scored in the second round. In that round he birdied the Par 4, 3rd hole, Par 4, 4th hole, Par 4, 6th hole and Par 4, 7th hole on the front nine to go out in 31-4. He came home with birdies on the Par 4, 10th hole, Par 3, 11th hole and Par 4, 13th hole with a lone bogey on the Par 3, 14th hole to score 33-2. The win should give Gavin Coles (Australia) a lot confidence heading into the final event of the season next week at the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island. I hope he has another good finish to move himself up even higher on the money list. And he is now almost guaranteed a 2012 USPGA Tour card. I wish him all the best for the remainder of the season on the Nationwide Tour and 2012 on the USPGA Tour.

Coming in solo 2nd with a 72 hole total of 275-5 was Jonas Blixt (Sweden), it was another fine finish for him and his 7th top 10 of the Nationwide Tour season. He now moves to 5th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 299,020 earned from the 22 events he has played to date this year so far. Coming in Solo 3rd at 276-4 was David Lingmerth (Sweden); it was his best finish of the season to date this year so far. And it was enough to get him into this week’s Nationwide Tour Championship. It moved him to 50th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 112,980 earned from the 25 events he has played to date this year so far. A win this week could see him earn a USPGA Tour card for 2012.

Coming in tied for 4th place was Danny Lee (NZL) who scored rounds of 71+1, 71+1, 67-3 and a final round of 68-2 for a 72 hole total of 277-3 and he earned $US 26,400.00 for his weeks work. He has now had 8 top 10 finishes this year including a win at the WNB Golf Classic earlier this month. He now has earned $US 298,100 from the 17 events he has played to date this year so far. That places him 6th on the Nationwide Tour Money list. Maybe he can win the Nationwide Tour Championship next week? Also tied for 4th was Tommy Biershenk (USA) who moved to 28th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 156,413 earned from the 24 events he has played to date this year so far. A top 10 finish at the Nationwide Tour Championship next week should secure his 2012 USPGA Tour card.

In solo 6th place was Brian Stuard (USA) who was on 278-2 after 72 holes. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 7th position were at 280 even par were Mark Anderson (USA), John Kimbell (USA), Ted Potter, Jr. (USA) who is now in 3rd position on the Nationwide Tour Money list and Scott Gardiner (Australia) was also tied or 7th position. Tim Wilkinson (NZL) was the other New Zealand Golfer in the field to make the cut. He scored rounds of 67-3, 67-3, 72+2 and a final round of 75+5 for a 72 hole total of 281+1 and tied for 11th position. He didn’t quite do enough and make the Top 60 players that qualified for the Nationwide Tour Championship next week. His final position on the Nationwide Tour Money list for 2011 was 63rd and his final earnings were $US 92,747 from the 23 events he entered. So his season didn’t quite turn out like he had hoped for. He will now head to the 2nd stage of USPGA Tour School in Mid November and hope to qualify for the final stage in early December to regain his USPGA Tour card he lost in 2010. I wish him luck with that.

Other New Zealand Golfers in the field but missed the 36 hole cut were Bradley Iles (NZL) who scored rounds of 74+4 and 72+2 for a 36 hole total of 146+6 and missed the cut by 3 strokes. His final position on the 2011 Nationwide Tour Money list is 107th with $US 38,769 earned from the 24 events he played in. It brings to an end a poor season for him. He too now heads to the 2nd stage of USPGA Tour School in Mid November and hopes to qualify for the final stage in early December. I wish him all the best with that. Josh Geary (NZL) was the other NZ Golfer to miss the 36 hole cut. He scored rounds of 80+10 and 74+4 for a 72 hole total of 154+14 and missed the cut by 11 strokes. His final position on the 2011 Nationwide Tour Money list is 74th with $US 79,586 earned from the 25 events he played in. But it was quite a good rookie season for him on the Nationwide Tour. He too now heads to the 2nd stage of USPGA Tour School in Mid November and hopes to qualify for the final stage in early December.

Steve Alker (NZL) had a shocking season with earnings of $US 16,904 from the 13 events he played in and finished in 153 rd position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list and he too will be heading to the 2nd stage of USPGA Tour School in Mid November and hopes to qualify for the final stage in early December.

Next week it is the finale of the 2011 Nationwide Tour with the top 60 players on the Nationwide Tour Money list getting invitations to play in the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island and it is being played at the Daniel Island Club - Ralston, Charleston, South Carolina. It has the largest prize purse of the season which is $US 1,000,000 up for the taking. Brendan Steele (USA) is the defending Champion, but because he now is on the USPGA Tour it means there will be a new Champion. It starts on Thursday 27th October. I will report back won the Trophy and who the 25 players are that earned their 2012 USPGA Tour cards next week.

So until then remember to keep hitting it the fairways on the greens and hole the putts!!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com