Golf Events from the Weekend 19th February 2012

Well it was another great weekend of Professional Golf on the Major Tours from around the world. First I will start with the European Tour and the Race to Dubai. This week it was in India for the Avantha Masters and was played on the DLF G&CC, New Delhi, India. And it was the Golfer by the name of Jbe Kruger (RSA) who scored rounds of 70-2, 69-3, 66-6 and a final round of 69-3 for a 72 hole total 274-14. He won by 2 strokes and earned € 300,000.00 for the win. He moves to 4th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 341,485 earned from the 6 events he has played to date this year so far. Branden Grace (RSA) still leads that list with €584,795 earned from the 6 events he has played to date this year so far.

Jbe Kruger (RSA) in action during the final round of the Avantha Masters

It was Jbe Kruger (RSA) first European Tour International Schedule victory in his 38th European Tour event. He moves to around 110th in the Official World Ranking from 159th. This victory beats his previous best European Tour performance of third in the 2010 Africa Open. This victory beats his previous best 2012 performance of tied ninth in the Joburg Open. He becomes the second first-time winner of the 2012 European Tour season, following Branden Grace (RSA) (Joburg Open). This victory continues South Africa’s recent run of success on The European Tour. The country has won six of the last ten European Tour events. They are: Garth Mulroy (RSA) (2011 Alfred Dunhill Championship), Hennie Otto (RSA) (2011 SA Open Championship), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (2012 Africa Open), Branden Grace (RSA) (2012 Joburg Open and 2012 Volvo Golf Champions) and Jbe Kruger (RSA) (2012 Avantha Masters). This victory beats his previous best finish in the Avantha Masters of tied 16th in 2011.

He becomes the 31st different South African to win on The European Tour. It was the fourth South African victory of 2012 from the seven events so far. They are: Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (Africa Open), Branden Grace (RSA) (Joburg Open and Volvo Golf Champions) and Jbe Kruger (RSA) (Avantha Masters). He becomes the 399th different player to win on The European Tour. He is the second player to make the Avantha Masters their debut European Tour victory following Andrew Dodt (Australia) (2010). He becomes the first player to win the Avantha Masters when leading or sharing the lead going into the final round. This victory comes after leading going into the final round. This represents the first time he has led going into the final round of a European Tour event. He becomes the first South African to win the Avantha Masters. He gains his largest European Tour Prize Cheque of €300,000. He gains a European Tour exemption until the end of the 2014 season. And finally it was his third professional victory.

Jbe Kruger (RSA) holding the Avantha Masters Trophy he won

He played a fine final round of 69-3 that included a front nine of 33-3 with birdies on the Par 4, 4th hole, Par 5, 6th hole and Par 3, 8th hole. He had a solid back nine of 36 even par which included a birdie on the Par 3, 11th hole and his lone bogey of the day came at the Par 4, 17th Hole. I feel this win should do great things for Jbe Kruger’s (RSA) confidence and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he won again this year. I wish him all the best for the rest of the Season on the European Tour and Race to Dubai for the rest of 2012.

Coming in tied for 2nd position at 276-12 after 72 holes were Jorge Campillo (Spain) and Marcel Siem (Germany). Coming in tied for 4th position at 277-11 after 72 holes were Marcus Fraser (Australia) and Jose Manuel Lara (Spain). Coming tied for 6th position at 278-10 after 72 holes were Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark), Prom Meesawat (Thailand), Tano Goya (Argentina) and Jean – Baptiste Gonnet (France). Rounding out the Top 10 in tied for 10th position at 279-9 after 72 holes were Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand), Ricardo Santos (Portugal), Alejandro Canizares (Spain) and Rhys Davies (Wales).

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai head to the USA for the first World Golf Championship event of the 2012 season. It is the WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship which the top 64 players on the current Official World Golf Ranking Points list are eligible to play in. It is played on the Ritz-Carlton GC, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona, USA. It has one of the largest prize purses of the year with $US 8,500,000 for the taking. Luke Donald (England) is the defending Champion and will be keen for back to back titles. It starts on Wednesday 22nd February and I will report back who won the trophy next week.

The second event I am reporting on this week was on the USPGA Tour and was part of the FedEx Cup and was the Northern Trust Open and it was played on the Riviera CC, Pacific Palisades, California. And it was the Golfer by the name of Bill Haas (USA) that scored rounds of 72+1, 68-3, 68-3 and a final round of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 277-7 after 72 holes. But he was tied on that score by Phil Mickelson (USA) who scored rounds of 66-5, 70-1, 70-1 and a final round of 71 even for a 72 hole total of 277-7 after 72 holes. The final player to tie on that same score was Keegan Bradley (USA) who scored rounds of 71 even, 69-2, 66-5 and a final round of 71 even for a 72 hole total of 277-7 after 72 holes. Keegan Bradley (USA) and Phil Mickelson (USA) both birdied the 72 hole to get into the Playoff in front of a huge Gallery.

So those 3 players headed back to the 18th hole for the first playoff hole. They all made Par 4’s to advance to the Par 4, 10th hole which was the second playoff hole. Bill Haas (USA) drove his ball through the back of the Short Par 4. But Phil Mickelson (USA) and Keegan Bradley (USA) both came up short leaving difficult chip shots to the green. Phil Mickelson (USA) played first and struck what he thought was a good chip shot but it rolled through the green and into the back bunker. Bill Haas (USA) played next and hit a safe shot on the green about 40 feet from the cup. Keegan Bradley (USA) played his 2nd shot last and hit what he thought was a good shot but it rolled into the back fringe. Bill Haas (USA) struck his 43 foot right to left breaking birdie putt and it rolled right into the centre of the cup. That meant that Phil Mickelson (USA) who was next to play had to hole his bunker shot. But he was unable to. So Keegan Bradley (USA) had to hole his birdie putt from just off the fringe to keep the playoff alive, he struck a good putt but it just missed on the right hand side.

Bill Haas (USA) poses with the Northern Trust Open trophy he won

So that meant that Bill Haas (USA) had won the Northern Trust Open and it was his first win of the 2012 season and the 4th of his USPGA Tour Career. He won $US 1,188,000.00 for the win and moves to 4th position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 1,616,659 earned from the 5 events he has played to date so far this year. Kyle Stanley (USA) leads that list with $US 1,843,515 earned from the 5 events he has played to date this year so far. Bill Haas (USA) gained 500 FedEx Cup points for the win and now is in 4th position on the FedEx Cup points list with 729 points earned from the 5 events he has played to date this year so far. He is 160 points behind Kyle Stanley (USA) who leads that list with 889 points earned from the 5 events he has played to date this year so far.

It was a steady final round for Bill Haas (USA) with scoring 69-2; it included a front nine of 33-2 with birdies on the Par 5, 1st hole and the Par 3, 6th hole. He scored 36 even par on the back nine with birdies on the Par 4, 10th hole and Par 5, 17th hole but had poor bogeys on the Par 4, 12th hole and Par 4, 13th hole. He is well on his way to defending the FedEx Cup title he won last year and I wouldn’t be surprised if he contended in the Majors this year as well. I wish him all the best for continued success on the USPGA Tour throughout 2012.

Coming in tied for 2nd were Phil Mickelson (USA) and Keegan Bradley (USA) as I mentioned above they fell short in the playoff. But it is a great it was a great start to the season for both of them. And Phil Mickelson (USA) just missed out on back to back wins having won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro – Am last week. Coming in tied for 4th position at 279-5 after 72 holes was Sergio Garcia (Spain) who scored 64-7 in the final round which was the low round of the day. Also tied for 4th position was Jimmy Walker (USA), Jarrod Lyle (Australia) and Dustin Johnson (USA). Rounding out the Top 10 in tied for 8th position at 280-4 after 72 holes were Bo Van Pelt (USA), J. B. Holmes (USA) and Jonathan Byrd (USA).

Danny Lee (NZL) was the only New Zealander in the field. But he scored rounds of 75+4 and 74+3 for a 36 hole total of 149+7. He missed the 36 hole cut by 4 strokes which was disappointing for him. He is now in 115th Position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 62,408 earned from the 6 events he has played to date this year so far. But he has only made 2 cuts from the 6 events he has entered so far this year. I don’t think he will be that Happy with his early performances on the USPGA Tour to date this year. He also has 47 FedEx Cup points from the 6 events he has played to date this year so far that places him in 125th position on that list. He is 842 points behind Kyle Stanley (USA) who leads that list as I mentioned earlier. I hope Danny Lee (NZL) can have some better performance in the weeks to come on the USPGA Tour.

Next week there are two tournaments on the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup. The first one is co – Sanctioned with the European Tour and is the first World Golf Championship event of the 2012 season. It is the WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship which the top 64 players on the current Official World Golf Ranking Points list are eligible to play in. It is played on the Ritz-Carlton GC, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona, USA. It has one of the largest prize purses of the year with $US 8,500,000 for the taking. Luke Donald (England) is the defending Champion and will be keen for back to back titles. It starts on Wednesday 22nd February and I will report back who won the trophy next week.

And the second event is Mayakoba Golf Classic and it is played on the El Camaleon, Riviera Maya, Mexico. It has a smaller prize purse of $US 3,700,000 for the taking and it is mainly for the players who haven’t qualified for the WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship event. The course was designed by Greg Norman (Australia) who is going to play in the event. Johnson Wagner (USA) is the defending Champion and will be looking for back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 23rd February. I will report back who took the trophy home next week.

The third event I am reporting on this week is on the Champions Tour and was the ACE Group Classic and it was played on the TwinEagles GC (Talon Course), Naples, Florida. And it was Kenny Perry (USA) that scored rounds of 64-8, 62-10 and a final round of 70-2 for a 54 hole total of 196-20 and won by 5 strokes. It was his 2nd win on the Champions Tour having won the 2011 SAS Championship as his maiden win last year. He won $US 240,000.00 for the win and moves to 4th on the Champions Tour Money list with $US 266,420 earned from the 3 events he has played to date this year so far. Dan Forsman (USA) still leads that list with $US 330,893 earned from the 3 events he has played to date this year so far. Kenny Perry (USA) is also in 4th Position on the Charles Schwab Cup Points list with 240 points earned from the 3 events he has played to date this year so far. He is 67 points behind Dan Forsman (USA) who leads that list with 307 points earned from the 3 events he has played in to date this year so far.

Kenny Perry (USA) in action during the final round of the ACE Group Classic

It was a solid win by Kenny Perry (USA) after playing such Awesome Golf in the first two rounds he played a steady final round of 70-2 that included a front nine of 33-3 with birdies on the Par 5, 3rd hole, Par 5, 6th hole and Par 4, 8th hole. He played the back nine in 36+1 with a lone birdie on the Par 5, 13th hole and had poor bogeys on the Par 4, 10th hole and Par 4, 18th hole. But it was understandable with the big lead he had. I look for Kenny Perry (USA) to have a big season in 2012 on the Champions Tour and maybe even win the Charles Schwab Cup? I wish him every Success for the rest of the 2012 Champions Tour Season.

Coming in solo 2nd at 201-15 after 54 holes was two time US Master Tournament winner, Bernhard Langer (Germany). Tied for 3rd position at 202-14 after 54 holes were Bill Glasson (USA), Mike Goodes (USA) and the 2011 Charles Schwab Cup Champion, Tom Lehman (USA). In solo 6th position at 203-13 after 54 holes was Jay Haas (USA). In solo 7th position at 204-12 after 54 holes was the 1987 US Masters Tournament Winner, Larry Mize (USA). In solo 8th position at 205-11 after 54 holes was David Frost (RSA). And rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th position at 206-10 after 54 holes were Rod Spittle (Canada), Jeff Sluman (USA) and Russ Cochran (USA).

The Champions Tour takes a month break now before it recommences in California for the Toshiba Classic and it is being played on the Newport Beach CC, Newport Beach, California. It has a prize purse of $US 1,750,000 for the taking and will attract most of the leading Champions Tour Players. Nick Price (Zimbabwe) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Friday 16th March and I report back who won the trophy once the result is know.   

The final event I am reporting on this week is on the Nationwide Tour and was the first event of the 2012 season. It was the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship presented by Samsung. And it was Skip Kendall (USA) that scored rounds of 70-1, 67-4, 66-5 and a final round of 71 even par for a 72 hole total of 274-10 to win by 1 stroke. It was his 4th win on the Nationwide Tour having previously won the 1994 NIKE Inland Empire Open, 1994 NIKE Carolina Classic, 2007 Chitimacha Louisiana Open Pres'd by Dynamic Industries. He won $US 108,000.00 for his efforts and is at the top of the 2012 Nationwide Tour Money list after the very first event.

It was a great win for Skip Kendall (USA) who turns 48 in September and will be playing on the Champions Tour within 3 years. He has been on and off the USPGA Tour throughout his career and may well be remembered as one of those nearly made it Men in Golf with four 2nd place finishes achieved so far in his USPGA Tour Career and they were 2nd at Buick Invitational, Canon Greater Hartford Open, Southern Farm Bureau Classic, Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He may well get a chance next year to improve on that with getting a victory if he is able to finish in the Final Top 25 Money earners on the Nationwide Tour and earn his 2013 USPGA Tour card. I feel he should achieve this.

Skip Kendall (USA) poses with the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship presented by Samsung Trophy he won

He played a steady final round of 71 even par which included a front nine of 36+1, with a lone birdie on the par 5, 8th hole and two poor bogeys on the Par 4, 1st hole and Par 4, 2nd hole. He played the back nine in 35-1 that included a birdie on the Par 5, 18th hole that in the end won him the Tournament and another nice birdie on the Par 4, 13th hole. His lone bogey on the back nine was at the Par 4, 16th hole. I hope Skip Kendall (USA) can win another 2 events on the Nationwide Tour and gain a Battlefield Promotion straight to the USPGA Tour this year.

Coming in tied for 2nd at 275-9 after 72 holes were Andres Gonzales (USA) and Andrew Svoboda (USA). In tied for 4th position at 276-8 after 72 holes were James Hahn (USA) and Kirk Triplett (USA). In tied for 6th position at 277-7 after 72 holes were Kevin Johnson (USA), Bronson La’Cassie (Australia), Tom Hoge (USA) and Charles Warren (USA) and rounding out the top 10 in solo 10th position at 278-6 after 72 holes was Michael Connell (USA). Best New Zealand player in the Tournament was Tim Wilkinson (New Zealand) he scored rounds of 71 even par, 70-1, 73+2 and a final round of 72+1 for a 72 hole total of 286+2 and tied for 50th position. He earned $US 1,995.00 for his weeks work and is in tied for 50th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list after the first event.

The other New Zealander’s in the Tournament but missed the 36 hole halfway cut were Steve Alker (New Zealand) who scored rounds of 73+2 and 71 even par for a 36 hole total of 144+2 and missed the 36 hole cut by 1 stroke. Josh Geary (New Zealand) scored rounds of 78+7 and 69-2 for a 36 hole total of 147+5 and missed the 36 hole cut by 4 strokes. Both those players are yet to earn any money on the Nationwide Tour in 2012.

The Nationwide Tour has the week off next week but recommences the following week for the Panama Claro Championship and it is being played at the Panama GC, Panama City, Panama. It has a Prize Purse of $US 550,000 for the taking and Mathew Goggin (Australia) is the defending Champion and will be looking for back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 1st March. I will report back who won the trophy soon as the result is known.

So to the top 5 players on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list this week and for the 39th week in a row Luke Donald (England) is in Number One with 9.26 Official Golf World Ranking Points, Coming in 2nd on the Official World Golf Rankings is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 7.81 Official World Golf Ranking Points, Coming in 3rd on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list is Lee Westwood (England) with 7.80 Official World Golf Ranking Points, Coming in 4th on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list is Martin Kaymer (Germany) with 5.96 Official World Golf Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 is Steve Stricker (USA) with 5.68 Official World Golf Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week slips two places to 20th on the Official World Golf Ranking Points list with 3.77 Official World Golf Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the World. This week he slips 3 places to be at 161st position on the Official World Golf Ranking Points list with 1.13 Official World Golf Rankings Points on the list.

Remember the best way to get low scores is to play the game one shot at time and not get too far ahead of yourself.

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com