Well it was another exciting weekend on the professional Golf Tours from through the world. First I will start with the European Tour and the Race to Dubai. This week it was the Joburg Open and it was played on the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club, Johannesburg, South Africa. And it was the Golfer by the name of Branden Grace (RSA) that scored rounds of 67-5, 66-5, 65-7 and a final round of 72 even par for a 72 hole total of 270-17 and won by 1 stroke. It was his maiden win on the European Tour after gaining his card at the Qualifying School last month. He won € 206,050.00 for the win and moves to number one position on the Race to Dubai Money list € 220,000 earned from the 2 events he has played this year so far.
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| Branden Grace (RSA) celebrates after winning the the Joburg Open |
Branden Grace (RSA) played a solid final round of 72 even par which included a front nine of 37 even par where he birdied the Par 4, 9th hole but made a poor bogey at the Par 3, 2nd hole. He played a very solid back nine of 35 even par which included nine consecutive pars. With this win he gains his first European Tour International Schedule victory in his 50th European Tour event. He moves to just outside the top 160 on the Official World Golf Ranking, from 258th. This victory beats his previous best European Tour performance of tied sixth in the 2009 South African Open Championship. He becomes the first, first-time winner of the 2012 season. This victory is the third consecutive South African victory in the Joburg Open, following Charl Schwartzel (RSA) in 2010 and 2011. Branden Grace (RSA) graduated from the 2011 European Tour Qualifying School. He becomes the first Qualifying School graduate to win on The European Tour, the year after graduation since Simon Khan (England) at the 2010 BMW PGA Championship. This victory continues with South Africa’s recent run of wins on The European Tour. They have now won four of the last six European Tour events. They are: Garth Mulroy (RSA) (2011 Alfred Dunhill Championship – Nov 11), Hennie Otto (RSA) (2011 South African Open Championship – Nov 11), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (2012 Africa Open) and Branden Grace (RSA) (2012 Joburg Open).
Branden Grace (RSA) becomes the 30th different South African to win on The European Tour. He also becomes the 103rd South African victory in European Tour history. He becomes the 399th different player to win on The European Tour. He becomes the third different South African to win the Joburg Open, following Richard Sterne (RSA) (2008) and Schwartzel (RSA) (2010-2011) and for the fourth time out of the six it has been played, dating back to the 2007 season. He joins Ariel Canete (Argentina) (2007) as players to make the Joburg Open their first European Tour victory. This victory sees the Joburg Open follow the Africa Open from seven days ago in producing three consecutive South African winners of these two events, dating back from the 2010 season. Branden Grace (RSA) becomes the 34th different player to win on The European Tour Qualifying School, the year after graduation. He gains his largest European Tour prize of €206,050. He gains a European Tour exemption until the end of 2013. He gains a place in the 2012 Volvo Golf Champions and finally he gains his second victory as a professional.
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| Branden Grace (RSA) holding the Joburg Open Trophy he won |
This win at the Joburg Open will give Branden Grace’s (RSA) professional golf career a huge boost of confidence and I wouldn’t be surprised if he won again this year. I wish him all the best for the remaining events on the European Tour and Race to Dubai in 2012.
Coming in solo second with a 72 hole total of 271-16 and a brilliant final round of 63-9 which included one eagle and seven birdies was Jamie Elson (England). He earned € 149,500.00 for his effort and moves to 3rd position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 153,020 earned from the 2 events he has played to date this year so far. Coming in at tied for 3rd position at 273-14 after 72 holes were David Drysdale (Scotland), Jaco Van Zyl (RSA), Marc Warren (Scotland), Trevor Fisher Jnr (RSA), Dawie Van Der Walt (RSA) and Michiel Bothma (RSA). They all won € 53,972 for their efforts. Rounding out the Top 10 in tied for 9th position at 274-13 after 72 holes were George Murray (Scotland), Bernd Wiesberger (Austria), Robert Rock (England) and Jbe Kruger (RSA).
Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai stays in South Africa for the final event of the South African swing for this part of the season and it is the Volvo Golf Champions and it is being played at the Links at Fancourt, George, South Africa which is where the 2003 Presidents Cup was staged. It has a prize purse of €2,000,000 for the taking. Paul Casey (England) is the defending Champion and will be looking for back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 19th January and I will report back who took home the trophy next week.
Now to the final event I am reporting on this week and it was the first regular season event on the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup for 2012 and was the Sony Open in Hawaii and was played on the Waialae CC, Honolulu, Hawaii. And the Golfer by the name of Johnson Wagner (USA) scored rounds of 68-2, 66-4, 66-4 and 67-3 for a 72 hole total of 267-13 and won by 2strokes. He won $US 990,000.00 for the win and he moved to Number One position on the 2012 USPGA Tour Money list with $US 1,155,000 earned from the two events he has played in so far this year. He also leads the FedEx Cup points list with 575 points from the 2 events he has played to date this year so far. He leads by 45 points over Steve Stricker (USA) who won last week.
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| Johnson Wagner (USA) pumps his fist in celebration |
Johnson Wagner (USA) played a steady final round of 67-3 which included a front nine 34 -1 with birdies on the Par 4, 2nd hole, Par 3, 7th hole and Par 5, 9th hole. He played a great back nine of 33-2 which included birdies on the Par 4, 10th hole and Par 4, 15th hole. It was Johnson Wagner’s (USA) 3rd win on the USPGA Tour having previously won the 2008 Shell Houston Open and the 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun. He is now in the Masters Tournament and secures his place in the 2013 Hyundai Tournament of Champions. This win will give him a huge boost of confidence and I look for him to continue on his good form throughout the 2012 season. I wish him all the best in the future.
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| Johnson Wagner (USA) holds aloft the Sony Open in Hawaii Trophy he won |
Coming in tied for 2nd place at 269-11 after 72 holes were Carl Pettersson (Sweden), Sean O’Hair (USA), Harrison Frazer (USA) and Charles Howell III (USA). Coming in tied for 6th position at 270-10 after 72 holes were Michael Thompson (USA), Brian Gay (USA), D. A. Points (USA) and the 54 hole Co – Leader, Matt Every (USA) who scored a disappointing final round of 72+2 but he will learn a lot from it in the future. Rounding out the Top 10 in tied for 10th position at 271-9 after 72 holes were John Rollins (USA), David Hearn (Canada) and Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe). Steve Stricker (USA) had a surprisingly poor final round of 74+4 and finished 72 holes on 276-4 in tied for 38th position. He might have been a bit tired from last week’s win at the 2013 Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Danny Lee (NZL), in his first USPGA Tour event as a Full Member of the USPGA Tour scored rounds of 72+2 and 71+1 for a 36 hole total of 143+3 and he missed the cut by 4 strokes. The cut fell at 139-1. It was a shame because I would have liked to see Danny Lee (NZL) start off with a top 10 finish and gain some real confidence in his first event. I hope for better results when he tees off in the Humana Challenge in Partnership with the Clinton Foundation which starts on Thursday (19th January).
Next week the USPGA Tour and the FedEx Cup head to Mainland USA for the Humana Challenge in Partnership with the Clinton Foundation and it is being played on the PGA West (Palmer Course), La Quinta, California. PGA West (Nicklaus Course), La Quinta, California and La Quinta CC, La Quinta, California. It has a prize purse of $US 5,600,000 for the taking and will attract some of the best USPGA Tour players. Jhonattan Vegas (Columbia) is the defending Champion and will be looking for back to back titles. Danny Lee (NZL) is also entered and will be looking for a better performance than he showed last week. It starts on Thursday 19th January and I will report back who won next week.
Now to the Top Golfers 5 in the World this week. Coming in at Number One for the 33rd straight week in a row as the World Number One Golfer on the Official World Golf Rankings is Luke Donald (England) with 10.05 Official World Golf Ranking Points, Coming in at World Number Two Golfer is Lee Westwood (England) with 7.78 Official World Golf Ranking Points, Coming in at World Number Three Golfer on the list with 7.53 Official World Golf Ranking Points is Rory McILroy (NIR), Coming in at World Number Four Golfer in the World is Martin Kaymer (USA) with 6.32 Official World Golf Ranking Points and rounding out the Top five is Steve Stricker (USA) with 5.92 Official World Golf Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week remains in 25th position on the Official World Golf Ranking Points list with 3.49 Official World Golf Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the highest ranked New Zealander in the World. This week he slips down 4 places to be at 153rd position in the Official World Golf Ranking Points list with 1.16 Official World Golf Rankings Points on the list.
So until my next blog next week remember the key to any successful Golf Swing is to keep the head still.
Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com
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