Golf Events from the Weekend 8th April 2012

Well it was another great weekend of Golf on the Professional Golf Tours from around the world. First I will start this week with the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup and the European Tour and Race to Dubai which were combined this week for the first Major Championship of the year which was the 76th Masters Tournament and it was being played at the Augusta National GC, Georgia, USA. It started on Thursday Morning when Jack Nicklaus (USA) aged 72 years who is a 6 times Masters Champion and has won it the most times in its history so far and Arnold Palmer (USA) aged 82 years who is a 4 times Masters Champion had the honour of starting the 76th Masters Tournament by hitting the opening tee shot. They played a few holes before the Tournament began properly.

The first round began in Sunny Conditions after the Par 3 Contest had to be cancelled the day before because of lightening in the Area. The first round leader was Lee Westwood (England) who scored a flawless Bogey free round of 67-5. The hard luck story of the first round was Henrik Stenson (Sweden) who came to the 18th tee at -5 for 17 holes. He pulled his drive into the left in the trees and was force to chip out, eventually getting back on the fairway in 3 shots. But then he airmailed the green with his short wedge 4th shot and was unable to chip his 5th shot from over the back of the green on the green. He putted from just off the fringe for a double bogey 6 and rolled it from just off the fringe to 6feet past the cup. And he unfortunately missed and tapped in for a Quadruple Bogey 8.

The second round began in Sunny, pleasant conditions and Fred Couples (USA) at 52 years of age was the big story of the day after it being the 20th Anniversary of his only Masters Tournament win back in 1992. He scored 67-5 for the round and was -5 after 36 holes with a share of the 36 hole lead along the 34 year old Jason Dufner (USA). Tiger Woods (USA) was the big disappointment on the day scoring a 3 over par 75 and being at +3 for tournament after 36 holes only making the 36 hole cut that fell at +5 because of the 10 shot rule by 2 strokes. 62 Players made the cut.

The third round began in the same conditions as the second with bright sun shine and a moderate wind blowing. Peter Hanson (Sweden) was the big mover on the day scoring 65-7 that included a back nine of 31-5 and he took a 1 stroke lead after 54 holes at -9 over Phil Mickelson (USA) who scored a back nine of 30-6 and card a 66-6 in his third round to be at -8. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) scored a 69-3 in the 3rd round and found himself only 2 strokes off the lead heading into the final round. Bubba Watson (USA) scored a third round of 70-2 and was -6 heading into the final round.

The final round was played in fine sunny conditions with a light wind blowing. Before the leaders even teed off there had already been some amazing golf played with Bo Van Pelt (USA) scoring the low round of the tournament which was 64-8 and it included an eagle on the Par 5, 13th hole and an Amazing Hole in One on the Par 3, 16th hole where he hit his mid iron tee shot in and caught the left slope and his ball rolled right down into the hole. The pin was in its Traditional Sunday pin placement which was on the front left hand side of the green over the front bunker but easy to get at as the ball rolled off the slope towards the hole. Adam Scott (Australia) had a brilliant final round as well scoring 66-6 and he also had a Hole in one on the 16th hole. His was different to Bo Van Pelt (USA) where he landed his Mid iron tee shot just over the bunker and his ball rolled up to the hole like a perfect putt and fell in. He was the low Australian at the 76th Masters Tournament with his 72 hole total of 284-4 and tied for 8th position.

Bubba Watson (USA) celebrates with his caddie after winning the 76th Masters Tournament

Tiger Woods (USA) and Rory McILroy (NIR) had very disappointing tournaments both finishing tied for 40th on 293+5 after 72 holes. Also on that score were Aaron Baddeley (Australia) and Henrik Stenson (Sweden) who fell away badly in the final round scoring a shocking 81+9 which included a 44+8 on the back nine.

Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) got his round off amazingly when he holed his 4iron second shot to the Par 5, 2nd hole for the first ever double eagle in Tournament history on that hole. The ball landed just before the green, then caught the slope to the right and kept rolling to the far right pin placement and fell in on its last roll. He went straight to the top of the leader board at -10 and came to the final hole all tied up at -10 with Bubba Watson (USA). Bubba Watson (USA) played a great final round with scoring 68-4 which included 4 consecutive birdies from holes 13th to 16th. On the 72nd hole both Bubba Watson (USA) and Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) landed their second shots on the green. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) had the more difficult putt but managed to two putt. Bubba Watson (USA) had his 20 foot birdie putt to win the Masters Tournament but it just missed on the left hand side. Bubba Watson (USA) scored rounds of 69-3, 71-1, 70-2 and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 278-10 but was tied on that score by Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) who had rounds of 68-4, 72 even, 69-3 and a final round of 69-3 for a 72 hole total of 278-10 also.

Bubba Watson (USA) who won the 76th Masters Tournament

Those two players headed back to the 18th hole for the first playoff hole. Both hit the fairway and on the green in two shots. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) putted for his birdie first from 20 feet and just missed on the right hand side but tapped in for an easy par 4. Bubba Watson (USA) now had his 10 foot birdie putt and his 2nd chance to win the 76th Masters Tournament. But he just missed his birdie putt as well. So those two players head to the 10th tee for the 2nd playoff hole. Bubba Watson (USA) teed off first and hooked it well to the left in the trees. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) hit 3wood and came off it to the right but got a break when his ball hit a tree and bounced out to the first cut of rough. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) played his 2nd shot first and struck his 4iron from over 230 yards to just short of the green. Bubba Watson (USA) found his ball on the pine straw to the left of the fairway and had the trees blocking his second shot. He played a brilliant 40 yard hooking Wedge from 155 yards that landed on the front of the green and skipped up to the back pin placement to within 15 feet below the cup leaving him an uphill putt for birdie. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) chipped his 3rd shot from just short of the green too hard and it rolled through the green to the back fringe. He didn’t lose his turn and was left with a tricky downhill left to right breaking par putt from just off the green. He put a nice stroke on the left to right breaking putt but it just missed on the right hand side and he tapped in for his Bogey 5. Bubba Watson (USA) now had two putts from less than 15 feet to win his first Master Tournament and Major of his career. He hit his first putt perfectly and rolled it 1 foot past the cup. He then calmed his nerve, steadied himself and tapped in for his Par 4 and he was the 2012 Masters Tournament winner. He broke down in tears of Joy and his Mother was there to give him a Hug. And soon afterwards he was sitting in Butler Cabin chatting with CBS Sports, front man Jim Nantz and receiving his Green Jacket from last year’s Masters Champion, Charl Schwartzel (RSA).

Bubba Watson (USA) won $US 1,440,000.00 for winning the Masters Tournament and now is on top of the USPGA Money list with $US 3,124,138 earned from the 8 events he has played in to date this year so far. He also earns 600 FedEx Cup points for the win and moves to 2nd position on the FedEx Cup points list with 1,322 points earned from the 8 events he has played to date this year so far. He is 56 points behind the current leader, Hunter Mahan (USA) who has earned 1,378 points to date this year so far from the 8 events he has played. It was also Bubba Watson’s (USA) 4th win on the USPGA Tour having won previously the 2010 Travelers Championship, 2011 Farmers Insurance Open and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. I feel Bubba Watson (USA) will take a lot of confidence out of this win. And after all he is now a Major Championship Winner. And he has never had a Golf lesson in his life. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2012 USPGA Tour season and hope he has many more wins.

Bubba Watson (USA) receiving his Green Jacket for winning the Masters Tournament

Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) will be disappointed with 2nd position as he went so close to winning his 2nd Major Championship having won the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews, but Happy at the same time. But I am sure he will come back strong and win his 2nd Major Championship soon. Coming in tied for 3rd position at 280-8 after 72 holes was Lee Westwood (England) who had another good finish in a Major Championship but is still yet to win one. Also tied for 3rd position was Matt Kuchar (USA) who had his best ever finish at the Masters Tournament, Peter Hanson (Sweden) who also had his best finish as well but will disappointed with his final round after being the 54 hole leader. The final player to tie for 3rd position was Phil Mickelson (USA); he will be ruing the 2 triple bogey’s he made in the tournament. The first one came on the Par 4, 10th hole in round one when he lost a ball and the second one came on the Par 3, 4th hole in the final round. In solo 7th position at 283-5 after 72 holes was Ian Poulter (England). And rounding out the top 10 on 284-4 after 72 holes and in tied for 8th position were Adam Scott (Australia) who I mentioned earlier, Justin Rose (England) and Padraig Harrington (Ireland).

The following Golfers earned an invite to the 77th Masters Tournament in 2013 by finishing inside the Low 16 and ties, they were: Jim Furyk (USA), Kevin Na (USA), Graeme McDowell (NIR), Sergio Garcia (Spain), Fred Couples (USA) and Hunter Mahan (USA).

Luke Donald (England) had a poor Masters Tournament by his standards scoring rounds of 75+5, 73+1, 75+3 and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 291+3 and tied for 32nd position. The Low Amateur Golfer was Patrick Cantlay (Am) (USA), he scored rounds of 71-1, 78+6, 74+2 and a final round of 72 even which included playing the last 4 holes in -4 with an eagle 3 on the Par 5, 15th hole, Birdie 2 on the Par 3, 16th hole and birdie 3 on the Par 4, 17th hole. He finished the 72 holes at 295+7 and tied for 47th position. As tradition he got to sit in Butler Cabin with Bubba Watson (Masters Champion), Charl Schwartzel (RSA) (2011) Masters Champion) and Jim Nantz (CBS Sport Host) had a chat with him before he talked with Bubba Watson (USA).

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup head to South Carolina for the RBC Heritage and it is being played at the Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina. It has a large prize purse $US 5,700,000 up for grabs and Brandt Snedeker (USA) is the defending Champion and will be looking for back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 12th April and I will report back who won the trophy next week.

So to the top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings this week and coming in as the Number One Golfer in the world for the 4th straight week of his 2nd spell at Number One and the 44th week in his Career is Luke Donald (England) with 9.61 Official World Golf Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 9.53 Official World Golf Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.23 Official World Golf Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is the brand new Masters Champion, Bubba Watson (USA) with 6.53 Official World Golf Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 is Hunter Mahan (USA) with 5.89 Official World Golf Ranking Points. Tiger Woods (USA) this week slips one place to be at 8th position on the Official World Golf Ranking Points list. He now has 5.54 Official World Golf Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the World. This week he moves down 3 places to be at 163rd position on the Official World Golf Ranking Points list with 1.07 Official World Golf Rankings Points on the list.

Now to the final event I am reporting on this week and it was on the Nationwide Tour. It was the Soboba Golf Classic Presented by Hub International and it was played on the CC at Soboba Springs, San Jacinto, California. And the Golfer by the name of Andres Gonzales (USA) scored rounds of 67-4, 70-1, 68-3 and a final round of 71 even for a 72 hole total of 276-8 and won by 2 strokes. He won $US 135,000.00 for the win and moved to Number One position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 195,810 earned from the 5 events he has played to date this year so far. It was Andres Gonzales (USA) maiden Nationwide Tour win. He played a steady final round scoring 71 even par that included a front nine of 34-2 that included birdies on the Par 5, 5th hole and Par 3, 8th hole. He played a poor back nine of 37+2 that included alone birdie on the Par 4, 11th hole, but he had poor bogeys on the Par 4, 10th hole, Par 3, 15th hole and Par 4, 16th hole.

Andres Gonzales (USA) holding Soboba Golf Classic Trophy he won

I feel Andres Gonzales (USA) has now secured his USPGA Tour card for the 2013 season and I hope he can win his 2nd tournament soon and perhaps even win 3 tournaments to gain a Battlefield Promotion straight to the USPGA Tour. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2012 Nationwide Tour Season.

Coming in solo 2nd position at 278-6 after 72 holes was Andrew Svoboda (USA). Coming in tied for 3rd position at 279-5 after 72 holes were Alistair Presnell (Australia) and Michael Letzig (USA). Coming in tied for 5th position at 280-4 after 72 holes were Justin Hicks (USA), Camilo Benedetti (Colombia) and Adam Hadwin (Canada). In solo 8th position at 281-3 after 72 holes was Nicholas Thompson (USA). And rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th position at 282-2 after 72 holes was Philip Pettitt, Jr (USA), Luke List (USA) and Jim Renner (USA).

Tim Wilkinson (NZL) scored rounds of 69-2, 74+3, 68-3 and a final round of 76+5 for a 72 hole total of 287+3 and tied for 32nd Position. He won $US 4,200.00 for his efforts and moved to 28th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 29,505 earned from the 5 events he has played to date this year so far. The other New Zealand Golfer to make the cut was Steven Alker (NZL), he scored rounds of 70-1, 75+4, 72+1 and a final round of 72+1 for a 72 hole total of 289+5 and tied for 45th position. He won $US 2,756.25 for his efforts and moved to 31st position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 27,556 earned from the 5 events he has played to date this year so far.

Next week the Nationwide Tour heads to California for the TPC Stonebrae Championship and it is being played at the TPC Stonebrae, Hayward, California. It has a prize purse of $US 600,000 for the taking and Daniel Chopra (Sweden) is the defending Champion and will be looking for back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 12th April. And I will report back who won the trophy next week.

Remember in breezy conditions take less club and swing easy.

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com