Golf Events from the Weekend 30th October

Well it was another exciting weekend of Golf on the Major Golf Tours from around the World. First I will start with the European Tour and the Race to Dubai. This week it was in Spain for the final event in mainland Europe for 2011. It was the Andalucia Masters and was played on the Club de Golf Valderrama, Sotogrande, Spain. And it was the Golfer by the name of Sergio Garcia (Spain) who scored rounds of 70-1, 70-1, 67-4 and a final round of 71 even for a 72 hole total of 278-6 and won by 1 stroke for his second win on the European Tour in as many weeks. Sergio Garcia (Spain) won € 500,000 for the win and moves to 7th on the Race to Dubai Money list with €1,580,748 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this year so far. Luke Donald (England) still leads with €3,856,394 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this year so far.



Sergio Garcia (Spain) and his caddie shake hands after winning the Andalucia Masters



It was just a really great week for Sergio Garcia (Spain) and he continued on his fine form from last week. After starting the final round with a 2 stroke lead he got off to a poor start to his final round with bogeys at the par 3, 6th hole and par 4, 7th hole to go out in 37+2. His fellow country man Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) got off to a good start in his final round and made birdies at the Par 4, 2nd hole and Par 3, 3rd hole, he suffered his lone bogey at the Par 4, 5th hole to go out 34-1 and have a 1 stroke lead over Sergio Garcia (Spain). Sergio Garcia (Spain) started the back nine with a hiss and a roar birding the Par 5, 11th hole and Par 4, 14th hole to get back to -6 with four holes to play. Mean while Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) started to stumble on the back nine with bogeys on the Par 4, 13th hole and Par 3, 15th hole to fall back to -3 and 3 strokes behind Sergio Garcia (Spain) with 3 holes to play. But then Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) proceeded to birdie the Par 4, 16th hole and Par 5, 17th hole. He was now only 1 stroke behind Sergio Garcia (Spain) with just the 72nd hole left to play. Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) hit a fine drive down the 18th hole that landed right in the middle of the fairway, and then he hit his approach 10 feet past the pin. He was unable to make the birdie putt because he left it 6inches short and had to settle for his par 4 and finished on 279-5 for 72 holes in solo 2nd place.

Sergio Garcia (Spain) now had a tricky up and down for par on the 72nd hole to win the Andalucia Masters. He hit a fine chip out of the thick green side rough that almost went in the hole but rolled 4 feet past the cup. But he calmed his nerve and easily rolled in the 4foot par putt for the win. It was Sergio Garcia (Spain) tenth European Tour International Schedule victory in his 165th European Tour event. He moves back into the top 20 on the Official World Golf Ranking. It was Sergio Garcia’s (Spain) second consecutive victory, following the Castelló Masters. It was the first time in his European Tour career he has won back-to-back European Tour victories. Sergio Garcia (Spain) became the second player to win consecutive European Tour events this season, following Thomas Björn (Denmark) at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and the Omega European Masters. Sergio Garcia (Spain) becomes the eighth multiple winner of the season. They are: Luke Donald (England) (WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship, BMW PGA Championship and Barclays Scottish Open), Thomas Björn (Denmark) (Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy, Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and Omega European Masters), Charl Schwartzel (RSA) (Joburg Open and Masters Tournament), Darren Clarke (NIR) (Iberdrola Open and The 140th Open Championship), Alex Noren (Sweden) (Saab Wales Open and Nordea Masters), Simon Dyson (England) (Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland and KLM Open), Michael Hoey (NIR) (Madeira Islands Open and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship), and Sergio Garcia (Spain) (Castelló Masters and Andalucia Masters).

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

 

Sergio Garcia (Spain) moves into fourth place in the all-time list of most prolific Spanish winners on The European Tour, courtesy of his tenth win. He has won exactly half of his ten European Tour titles on Spanish soil. They are: 2002 Open de España, 2004 Mallorca Classic, 2008, 2011 Castelló Masters and 2011 Andalucia Masters. Sergio Garcia (Spain) has now won €833,330 in his last two European tournaments, €333,330 at the Castelló Masters and €500,000 at the Andalucia Masters. He becomes the 29th different player to win back-to-back European Tour titles. He becomes the fourth Spanish player to win back-to-back European Tour events, following Seve Ballesteros (Spain), José Maria Olazábal (Spain) and Manuel Piñero (Spain). He becomes the first player since José Maria Olazábal (Spain), at the 1992 Tenerife Open and Open de Mediterrania, to win back-to-back events on Spanish soil. It is the first time Sergio Garcia (Spain) has recorded multiple European Tour victories in the same season since 1999, his rookie year. This victory keeps up Sergio Garcia’s (Spain) record of winning all five 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). It was Sergio Garcia’s (Spain) first victory at Valderrama. He was second at the Volvo Masters at this venue in 2004, 2005 and 2006. It was the fifth 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 and Andalucia Masters). It was the 161st Spanish victory in European Tour history. Sergio Garcia (Spain) gains a place in the 2011 WGC – HSBC Champions. Sergio Garcia (Spain) becomes the eighth player to win more than €16 million in European Tour Official Career Earnings. And finally he gains his 22nd victory as a professional.

I feel this win will give Sergio Garcia (Spain) a huge boost of Confidence and he also moves to the top of the Ryder Cup standings. And he now may even be a threat to Luke Donald (England) in the Race to Dubai Money list if he can win a couple more tournaments. And in 2012 he must be a favourite to finally win his first Major Championship. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 season on the European Tour and to have a great 2012 season as well.

Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) will be disappointed at finishing in solo 2nd place in his home town, but he will still be pleased with the € 333,330 he earned and it moved him to 11 position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 1,240,710 earned from the 25 events he has played to date this year. At age 47 years he is just playing amazing golf.  And now he is inside the Top 15 on the Race to Dubai Money list he is in with a chance of winning some of the bonus money that is on offer at the conclusion of the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World in early December. I wish all the best with the rest of the 2011 season. Coming solo 3rd position was Richie Ramsay (Scotland) at 280-4 after 72 holes. He earned another nice pay cheque of € 187,800 and it was his 5th top 10 finish of the season. He has now earned € 712,554 from the 28 events he has played to date this year so far. And that placed him in 29th position on the Race to Dubai Money list. In solo 4th position was Shane Lowry (Ireland) at 281-3 after 72 holes. It moves him to 43rd position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 558,417 earned from the 23 events he has played to date this year so far. In solo 5th position at 282-2 after 72 holes was Steve Webster (England) he won € 127,200 for his efforts and moves to 67th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 391,959 earned from the 29 events he has played to date this year so far. It was his 2nd top 10 finish as well. Coming sole 6th position at 283-1 after 72 holes was Gregory Havret (France); he won € 105,000 for his efforts and moves to 35th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 649,316 earned from the 25 events he has played to date this year so far.

In tied for 7th position at 284 even par after 72 holes was Alejandro Canizares (Spain) and Christian Nilsson (Sweden). In solo 9th position at 285+1 after 72 holes was Stephen Dodd (Wales). And rounding out the top 10 in tied for 10th position at 286+2 after 72 holes was Peter Hanson (Sweden) and Francesco Molinari (Italy). The cut fell at 149+7 after 36 holes which was one of the highest of the 2011 European Tour season; it proved how hard the course was playing. There were no New Zealander Golfers in the field.

Next week the European Tour and the Race to Dubai head to Shanghai, China for the final World Golf Championship event of 2011 which is a Co-Sanctioned event with all the Major Golf Tours from around the World. It is the WGC – HSBC Champions and is being played at the Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China. As invitation is only by invite and only the very best players from the each of the Major Golf Tours will being playing. It has a huge prize purse of $US 7,000,000 on offer. Defending Champion is Francesco Molinari (Italy) and will be looking to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 3rd November. I will report back who took home the trophy next week.   

The second event I am reporting on this week was on the USPGA Tour and was one of the featured events which was an un-official prize money. It was the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia and it was played on the MINES Resort & Golf Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. And Bo Van Pelt (USA) scored rounds of 66-5, 64-7, 67-4 and a final round of 64-7 for a 72 hole total of 261-23 and won by 6 strokes. He won $US 1,300,000.00 for the win. It was his 3rd win of his career on any tour. But was Un-Official Money so it doesn’t count towards the money list. But it was a great win for him and he played flawless golf all week. He recorded 1 eagle, 25 birdies, 42 pars and 4 bogeys. He played a brilliant final round of 64-7 which included birdies at the Par 5, 3rd hole and Par 4, 4th hole to go out in 33-2. He came home strong with birdies on the Par 5, 11th hole, Par 4, 13th hole, Par 3, 14th hole, where hit his 2nd shot inside a foot both times, and he also birdied Par 4, 15th hole and Par 5, 17th hole and had a 31-5 coming in. This win just confirms the great season that Bo Van Pelt (USA) has had because he finished 29th on the Final USPGA Tour Money list with $US 2,344,546 earned from the 27 events he played. He also finished 23rd in the Final FedEx Cup Standings with 610 points. And he also finished tied for 8th position in the Masters Tournament which was his best finish in a Major. I wish him all the best for 2012 season on the USPGA Tour and hope he can win some more Tournaments. In solo 2nd place at 267-17 after 72 holes was Jeff Overton (USA), he is still yet to win a tournament on the USPGA Tour but he is still young at only 28 years of age. I feel he will win on the USPGA Tour in 2012.

Bo Van Pelt (USA) with the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia Trophy he won

Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) was in solo 3rd position at 268-16 after 72 holes. He too had a fine season on the USPGA Tour with finishing 26th on the Final USPGA Tour money list with earning $US 2,488,325 from the 25 events he entered. And he had his first USPGA Tour win at the Travelers Championship in late June. He also finished in 29th position in the Final FedEx Cup standings with 488 points from the 25 events he entered. In tied for 4th position at 269-15 after 72 holes were Cameron Tringale (USA), Camilo Villegas (Columbia) and Mark Wilson (USA). In tied for 7th position at 270-14 after 72 holes were John Senden (Australia), Vijay Singh (Fiji) and Ryan Palmer (USA). And rounding out the top 10 in tied for 10th position at 271-13 were Jeev Milkha Singh (India), Jerry Kelly (USA) and Jason Dufner (USA). There was no cut so the 48 players in the field all played the 72 holes.

Bo Van Pelt (USA) in action during the final round of the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia

Next week the USPGA Tour has it’s the second of the featured events. It is the final World Golf Championship event of 2011 which is a Co-Sanctioned event with all the Major Golf Tours from around the World. It is the WGC – HSBC Champions and is being played at the Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China. As invitation is only by invite and only the very best players from the each of the Major Golf Tours will be playing. It has a huge prize purse of $US 7,000,000 on offer. Defending Champion is Francesco Molinari (Italy) and will be looking to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 3rd November. I will report back who took home the trophy next week.  

So to the top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings this week. Still coming in at Number one for the 23rd week in a row is Luke Donald (England) with 10.62 Official World Ranking Points, Coming in at Number 2 is Lee Westwood (England) with 7.49 Official World Ranking Points, Coming in at Number 3 is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 7.33 Official World Ranking Points, Coming in at Number 4 is Dustin Johnson (USA) with 6.15 Official World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 is Steve Stricker (USA) with 6.13 Official World Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week slips one more place and is 56th on the Official Golf World Rankings Points list with 2.49 Official World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the best ranked New Zealand Golfer. He is ranked 182nd on the Official Golf World Rankings Points list with 1.00 Official World Ranking Points. He moves up 10 places from last week. He now has a 2012 USPGA Tour card after finishing 6th on the Final Nationwide Tour Money list. Look for a huge improvement in his ranking next year.

Now to the 3rd and final event I am reporting on this week and it is on the Nationwide Tour and was the finale to the 2011 season. It was the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island and was played at the Daniel Island Club - Ralston, Charleston, South Carolina. And it was the Golfer by the name of Ken Duke (USA) that scored rounds of 72 even, 68-4, 70-2 and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 278-10. He won by 2 strokes and earned a cheque of $US 180, 000 for his efforts. He moved to 7th position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 313,241 earned from the 24 events he played in 2011. J. J. Killeen (USA) topped the final Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 414,273 earned from the 25 events he played that included 2 wins. He has now earned the right to play in the 2012 Players Championship. And has a 2012 USPGA Tour card



Ken Duke (USA) in action during the final round of the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island



Ken Duke (USA) would have known that the only way to guarantee his 2012 USPGA Tour card prior to the Nationwide Tour Championship was to win it and that is just what he did. He came in to this final tournament ranked 36th on the money list but climbed up 29 places on the money list with this victory. It was his second win on the Nationwide Tour having won the 2006 BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs.  He has played the USPGA Tour before in the 2004 season and then from years 2007 – 2009. So he has 4 years of USPGA Tour experience to draw on when he starts his 2012 campaign in early January next year.

Ken Duke (USA) holding the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island Trophy he won

He played consistent golf all week with not having one single round over par. And his final round of 68-4 was all class with going out in 32-4 that included birdies on the Par 5, 3rd and Par 4, 7th holes, and an eagle on the Par 5, 6th hole. He then birdied the Par 3, 12th hole and Par 4, 14th hole, but had poor bogeys on the Par 5, 11th hole and Par 4, 16th hole to come in with 36 even par. I wish him well on the USPGA Tour next year and hope he keeps his card for the 2013 season and perhaps he can even get his maiden USPGA Tour victory?

In solo 2nd place at 280-8 after 72 holes was Scott Brown (USA), the 28 year has now earned a 2012 USPGA Tour card as he finished in 8th position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 282,502 earned from the 26 events he entered. Tied for 3rd at 282-6 after 72 holes were the two Swedish Golfers and they were David Lingmerth (Sweden) who finished in 27th position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 170,980 earned from the 26 events he entered which wasn’t quite enough to finish in the Top 25 on the final Nationwide Tour Money list. He will have to go to the final stage of USPGA Tour Qualifying School in early December to earn his 2012 USPGA Tour card now. Daniel Chopra (Sweden) was the other player to tie for 3rd. He finished in 19th position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 225,637 earned from the 23 events he entered and he has his 2012 USPGA Tour card. He played on the USPGA Tour from 2004-2010 after he finished in 6th position at the 2003 PGA TOUR Final Qualifying Tournament. So it is good to see he has quickly got back on the USPGA Tour where he belongs.

Tied for 5th on 284-4 after 72 holes were Jeff Grove (USA) who finished in 30th position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 166,440 earned from the 20 events he played in. He will now have to go to the final stage of USPGA Tour Qualifying School in early December to earn his 2012 USPGA Tour card. Also tied for 5th was Camilo Benedetti (Colombia) who finished in 35th position on the final nationwide Tour Money list with $US 151,654 earned from the 23 events he played this year. He too will now have to go to the final stage of USPGA Tour Qualifying School in early December to earn his 2012 USPGA Tour card. The final player to tie for 5th was Jason Kokrak (USA), he finished in 4th position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 338,092 earned from 16 events he played in. He now has his 2012 USPGA Tour card for the first time in his career. And it is well deserved as he won twice on the Nationwide Tour this year with winning the 2011 Albertsons Boise Open Pres'd by Kraft and Miccosukee Championship. 

Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 8th position at 285-3 was Jonas Blixt (Sweden) who finished in 5th position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 327,020 earned from 23 events he entered. He now has a 2012 USPGA Tour card and it will be the first time he has ever made the USPGA Tour in his career. Also in tied for 8th position was New Zealand’s Number one golfer, Danny Lee (NZL), he scored rounds of 72 even, 65-7, 76+4 and a final round of 72 even for a 72 hole total of 285-3. He finished in 6th position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 326,100 earned from the 18 events he played in, that included a win at the 2011 WNB Golf Classic. And he now has his 2012 USPGA Tour card. So New Zealand finally has a player on the USPGA Tour again. Let’s hope he gets off to a fast start in his maiden year on the USPGA Tour in 2012. I suspect his first tournament will be the Sony Open in Hawaii in early January?

 Steve Wheatcroft (USA) also tied for 8th position and finished in 20th position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 225,054 earned from the 23 events he played in. He too now has his 2012 USPGA Tour card. He played on the USPGA Tour in 2007 after finishing in 7th position at the 2006 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. But he didn’t have a good season in 2007, his maiden year on the USPGA Tour and only made $US 153,246 from the 25 events he played in. He made $US 213,165 on the 2009 final Nationwide Tour Money list and regained his 2010 USPGA tour card. But in 2010 he only made $US 408,595 on the USPGA Tour and lost his card again. So this is his 3rd campaign on the USPGA Tour. Let’s hope he can keep his card this time for more than one season. The final player to tie for 8th position was Alistair Presnell (Australia), he finished in 49th position on the final Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 125,525 earned from the 24 events he played in this year. He will now have to go to the second stage of USPGA Tour Qualifying School in the middle of November because he finished outside the top 40 players on the final Nationwide Tour Money list.

The 25 players who earned their 2012 USPGA Tour cards

So now here are the 25 players that earned their 2012 USPGA Tour Cards: Winning the 2011 Nationwide Tour Money list, J. J. Killeen (USA) with $US 414,273, 2nd was Ted Potter, Jr. (USA) with $402,470, 3rd was Mathew Goggin (Australia) with $US 378,492, 4th was Jason Kokrak (USA) with $US 338,092, 5th was Jonas Blixt (Sweden) with $US 327,020, 6th was Danny Lee (NZL) with $US 326,100, 7th was Ken Duke (USA) with $US 313,241, 8th was Scott Brown (USA) with $US 282,502, 9th was Gary Christian (England) with $US 260,054, 10th was Miguel Angel Carballo (Argentina) with $US 258,833, 11th was Troy Kelly (USA) with $US 248,064, 12th was Russell Knox (Scotland) with $US 242,821, 13th was Erik Compton (USA) with $US 239,737, 14th was John Mallinger (USA) with $US 237,779, 15th was Kyle Thompson (USA) with $US 233,949, 16th was Kyle Reifers (USA) with $US 233,677, 17th was Gavin Coles (Australia) with $US 229,991, 18th was Matt Every (USA) with $US 229,066, 19th was Daniel Chopra (Sweden) with $US 225,637, 20th was Steve Wheatcroft (USA) with $US 225,054, 21st was Garth Mulroy (RSA) with $US 201,732, 22nd was Mark Anderson (USA) with $US 188,550, 23rd was Roberto Castro (USA) with $US 186,563, 24th was Martin Flores (USA) with $US 182,612 and 25th was Billy Hurley III (USA) with $US 180,191.

The Nationwide Tour will now start up again in 2012 with its first tournament being held in late February. It is a great way for players to get some really hard four round 72 hole stroke play competition and earn a nice living at the same time. And it has proved to be a great breeding ground for young up and coming golfers who haven’t yet made it on to the USPGA Tour. And also for players that have lost their USPGA Tour Status and still want somewhere to play to try and get back to the USPGA Tour. And over the past 10 years it has really grown as a Tour. I say long may the Nationwide Tour continue to be a huge success.

So until my next report remember the ground is drying out now so allow for the extra run on the ball when it hits the ground.

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com