Golf Events from the Weekend 24th June 2012

Well again 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 travelled to Germany for the BMW International Open and it was played on the Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof, Cologne, Germany. And it was the Golfer by the name of Danny Willett (England) who scored rounds of 65-7, 70-2, 69-3 and a final round of 73+1 for a 72 hole total of 277-11 after 72 holes. But he was tied on that score by Marcus Fraser (Australia) who scored rounds of 64-8, 74+2, 68-4 and a final round of 71-1 for also a 72 hole total of 277-11. So those two players headed back to the Par 4, 18th hole for the first playoff hole. They both made par 4’s on the first playoff hole so they headed back to the second playoff which was the Par 4, 18th hole again. This time they both made bogey 5’s, so they headed back to the Par 4, 18th hole for the third playoff hole. This time they both made Par 4’s so they head back to the Par 4, 18th hole for the fourth playoff hole. Danny Willett (England) had a magical chip from the rough behind the green to set up a tap in par as Marcus Fraser (Australia) made a three putt bogey from the right side of the putting surface. 

Danny Willett (England) poses with the BMW International Open Trophy he won

So the 24 year old Danny Willett (England) had his maiden win on the European Tour. He won € 333,330.00 for the win and moved to 18th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 567,293 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. Justin Rose (England) still leads that list with €1,765,132 earned from the 6 events he has played to date this season so far.

It was his first European Tour International Schedule victory in his 106th European Tour event. He could move to just outside the top 110 in the Official World Golf Ranking from 204th position. This victory beats his previous best European Tour performance of second in the 2010 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. This victory beats his previous best 2012 performance of tied third in the Maybank Malaysian Open. He becomes the ninth first-time winner of the 2012 European Tour International Schedule. They are: Branden Grace (RSA) (Joburg Open), Jbe’ Kruger (RSA) (Avantha Masters), Julien Quesne (France) (Open de Andalucía Costa del Sol), Thorbjørn Olesen (Denmark) (Sicilian Open), Bubba Watson (USA) (Masters Tournament),  Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) (Ballantine’s Championship), Ricardo Santos (Portugal) (Madeira Islands Open – Portugal), Webb Simpson (US Open Championship) and Danny Willett (BMW International Open). It is the second time he has led or shared the lead going into the final round of a European Tour event. The previous time was the 2010 Austrian Golf Open. He eventually finished third.

Aged 24 years and 265 days he became the second youngest winner of the BMW International Open. Martin Kaymer (Germany) is the youngest at 23 years and 177 days in 2008. This victory comes in his fourth appearance in the BMW International Open. This victory beats his previous best performance in the event of tied ninth on his debut in 2009. He follows Paul Azinger (USA) (1990), Peter Fowler (Australia) (1993), Marc Farry (France) (1996), Russell Claydon (England) (1998), Martin Kaymer (Germany) (2008) and David Horsey (England) (2010), as players making the BMW International Open their first European Tour victory. It was the 276th English victory in European Tour history. It is the 86th different English player to win on The European Tour. It was the fifth English victory of the 2012 season. They are: Robert Rock (England) (Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship), Justin Rose (England) (WGC – Cadillac Championship), Luke Donald (England) (BMW PGA Championship), Lee Westwood (England) (Nordea Masters) and Danny Willett (England) (BMW International Open). He becomes the sixth English winner of the BMW International Open. He follows: Russell Claydon (England) (1998), Lee Westwood (England) (2003), David Howell (England) (2005), Nick Dougherty (England) (2009) and David Horsey (England) (2010). He becomes the 22nd different winner of the BMW International Open in the event’s 24 year history.

It is the 14th time in the 2012 season that the 54 hole leader has go onto win. It is the 15th victory on The European Tour in 2012 by a player in their 20s, from the 25 events so far. He gains a two year European Tour exemption until the end of 2014. He gains a place in the 2012 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational, 2012 WGC – HSBC Champions and 2013 Volvo Golf Champions. And finally he gains his first victory as a professional.

Another photo of Danny Willett (England) with the BMW International Open Trophy he won

It was a great final round by Danny Willett (England) in very trying conditions. He scored 73+1 in the final round that included a front nine of 35-1 with birdies on the Par 5, 3rd hole and Par 3, 4th hole. His lone bogey on the front nine came on the Par 4, 9th hole. He scored a poor back nine of 38+2 that included bogeys on the Par 4, 11th hole and the Par 4, 15th hole. But it was good enough to get him into the playoff and the rest is history as they say. This victory will give Danny Willett (England) the confidence to go onto bigger things and win more tournaments on the European Tour. And he mentioned in an interview after towards that he couldn’t have done it all without his Girl friend and his parents support. I wish Danny Willett (England) to have every continuing success on the European Tour in 2012.

Marcus Fraser (Australia) will be disappointed with his runner up finish when he came so close to winning, but at the same time he will be very happy with his year so far on the European Tour with earning € 610,190 from the 14 events he has played to date so far and that places him in 15th position on the Race to Dubai Money list standings. And 3 of those finishes have been top 5’s or better. Everything seems to be going well in his life right now with being happily married to his wife Carlie and they recently have had a young baby. He must be due a win soon?

Coming in tied for 3rd position on 278-10 after 72 holes was Paul McGinley (Ireland) who scored the low final round of 66-6. Also tied for 3rd were Gonzalo Fdez – Castano (Spain) and Chris Wood (England). Coming in tied for 6th position at 279-9 after 72 holes were Henrik Stenson (Sweden) and Marcel Siem (Germany) who was the Low German in the tournament. And rounding out the top 10 in tied for 8th position at 280-8 after 72 holes were Ross Fisher (England) who must have had the most consistent scoring throughout the tournament scoring four rounds of 70-2. Also tied for 8th position were Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) and Joel Sjoholm (Sweden).

Michael Campbell (NZL) was the only New Zealander in the tournament. He scored good rounds to start with of 70-2 in the first round and 68-4 in the second round to easily make the halfway cut. But had a shocking third round of 78+6 and a average final round of 75+3 in difficult conditions for a 72 hole total of 291+3 and finished in tied for 60th position. He earned € 5,300.00 for his efforts. That places him in 237th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 11,440 earned from the 11 events he has played to date this year so far. It was good to see him make his second cut of the year on the European Tour and have his first round in the 60’s this year as well. And his tied for 60th position was also his best finish to date this year on the European Tour. I hope he can keep making cuts in the coming events on the European Tour? I wish him all the best for the remaining events on the European Tour in 2012.

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai head to Ireland for the Irish Open and this year it is being played at the Royal Portrush GC, Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It has a large prize purse of €2,000,000 for the taking. Simon Dyson (England) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. But with the likes of Rory McILroy (NIR), Darrin Clarke (NIR), Padraig Harrington (Ireland), Graeme McDowell (NIR) and even the 2003 Champion, Michael Campbell (NZL) all competing it won’t be easy. It starts on Thursday 28th June 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 part of the FedEx Cup and was the Travelers Championship and it was played on the TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut. And it was Marc Leishman (Australia) who scored rounds of 68-2, 66-4, 70 even par and a final round of 62-8 for a 72 hole total of 266-14 and he won by one stroke for his maiden win on the USPGA Tour. He won $US 1,080,000.00 for the win and that moved him to 27th position on the current USPGA Tour Money list with $US 1,732,982 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year so far. Jason Dufner (USA) still leads that list with $US 4,077,013 earned from the 15 events he has played so far this year. He also earned 500 FedEx Cup points and moved to 23rd position on the FedEx Cup Points list with 897 points earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year so far. He is 952 points behind the current leader, Jason Dufner (USA) who has earned 1,849 points from the 15 events he has played to date this year so far.

Marc Leishman (Australia) salutes the crowd after holing out on the final green

He became the first Australian Golfer to win on the USPGA Tour in 2012. The amazing thing about his win is that he teed off two hours before the leaders did. He played a flawless final round of 62-8 that included a front nine of 30-5 with birdies on the Par 4, 2nd hole, Par 4, 4th hole, Par 5, 6th hole, Par 4, 7th hole and the Par 3, 8th hole. He played a very good back nine with scoring 32-3 that included birdies on the Par 5, 13th hole, Par 4, 14th hole and Par 4, 17th hole. Interviewed straight after his round he said he felt he was 2 – 3 strokes short of where he needed to be. But just over 2 hours later he was the Champion.

Marc Leishman (Australia) first gained his USPGA Tour card in 2009 when he finished tied for 19th on the Final 2008 Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 244,224 earned from the 25 events he entered and finishing inside the top 25 on the money list gained him his USPGA Tour card for the following season. And that year he won the 2008 WNB Golf Classic by 11 strokes for his first and only win on the Nationwide Tour. In 2009 he made a flying start to his USPGA Tour Rookie Season with the highlight being the tied for 2nd position at the BMW Championship. And that same year he was voted Rookie of the Year, with three top-10s, including a runner-up finish to Tiger Woods at the BMW Championship. He backed up his rookie year with earning $US 1,488,837 in 2010, with his best finish being tied for 2nd at the Farmers Insurance Open. In 2011 he made $US 916,330 with his best finish being tied for 3rd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. But this year has been his break out year with winning the Travelers Championship where he became only the second Australian to win the Travelers Championship (Greg Norman in 1995 was the first).

Marc Leishman (Australia) holds aloft the Travelers Championship trophy he won

Marc Leishman (Australia) has a lot of things going right for him in his life right now with being happily married with a small baby. And this win is just the icing on the cake for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he won again on the USPGA Tour before the season is over. And he is still only 28 years old. I wish him all the best for the second half of the 2012 USPGA Tour season.

Coming in tied for second at 267-13 after 72 holes was the Current Masters Tournament Champion, Bubba Watson (USA) and he had consecutive rounds of 65-5 over the weekend. Also tied for second was Charley Hoffman (USA) who was at after -16 after 16 holes and looking like the player to beat. But he finished his round double bogey and a bogey to finish one stroke from getting in a playoff. Coming in tied for 4th position at 268-12 after 72 holes were Tim Clark (RSA), John Rollins (USA), Brian Davies (England) who would be disappointed with his final round of 70 even par. And Roland Thatcher (USA) who needed to birdie the 72nd hole to force a playoff, but the best he could do was a bogey 5. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 8th position at 269-11 after 72 holes were Brendon de Jonge (RSA), Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) who put in a good defence of his title and the ever consistent Matt Kuchar (USA) who is the current, Players Champion and has made the cut in every event he has entered to date this year so far.

A special mention should go to Hunter Mahan (USA) who scored his career best round on the USPGA Tour of 61-9 in the final round that included a back nine of 29-6 and he tied of 11th position at 270-10 after 72 holes. Also Webb Simpson (USA) who won the 112th US Open Championship the week before honoured his commitment to play in this tournament and returned rounds of 66-4, 69-1, 68-2 and a final round of 71+1 for a 72 hole total of 274-6 to tied for 29th position.

Danny Lee (NZL) was the only New Zealand Golfer in the field. He scored rounds of 69-1, 70 even par and a poor third round of 73+3 for a 54 hole total of 212+2 and because 88 Golfers made the 36 hole cut on Friday there had to be a second cut after the third round on Saturday to the closest 70 Golfers. Danny Lee (NZL) missed the second cut by 3 strokes and finished under the term of “Made the cut but did not finish” and his final position was tied for 81st. He won $US 10,560.00 for his weeks work and moved to 154th position on the current USPGA Tour Money list with $US 229,307 earned from the 15 events he has played in to date this year so far. He also moved to 148th position on the FedEx Cup Points list with 181 points earned from the 15 events he has played in to date this year so far. He is 1,668 points behind the current leader who is Jason Dufner (USA). Danny Lee (NZL) has now made 9 cuts from the 15 events he has played in which is okay in his rookie season on the USPGA Tour but I suggest he wouldn’t be that happy with all the talent he possess. And he will have to get a move on if he is going to keep his card for next year, because at the present time he is well outside the top 125 Money earners. He needs some top 10 finishes in the weeks to come to move up the USPGA Tour Money list and FedEx Cup Points list. I wish him all the best in the weeks to come. 

Now to the top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list this week and coming in at Number One Position for the 4th spell of his career and the 50th week of his career is Luke Donald (England) with 9.96 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 8.89 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.33 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Tiger Woods (USA) with 6.70 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list is the 112th US Open Champion, Webb Simpson (USA) with 6.62 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the World. This week he slips 2 places to be at 184th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.97 Official World Golf Rankings Points on the list.

Remember in winter conditions take one more club than you would normally use because the air is heavy!!

Source: europeantour.com, pgatour.com

Thames Golf Club News - 26th June 2012

Thames Golf Club – Saturday Scramble

On Saturday 16th June, 30 players played in the nett scramble in conjunction with the final of the Petley Cup 4BBB with one visitor from the Lakes Resort. After a frosty start it came out a sunny day and the greens were in great condition. Sam Carswell certainly took advantage of them scoring the best round of the day which was a one under par 69 off his 4 handicap and returned a 65 nett to win the scramble.

(Full results below) (All on Nett) (Thames unless stated):

Men’s: Sam Carswell 65, Jamie Smith 66, Ike Ashworth 66, Merv Cunningham 67, Bill Rendall 67, Bob Hind 68, Herb Mabey 68, Greg Overend 69, Geoff Jewitt (Lakes Resort) 70, Murray Newby 71, Stuart Bell 71, Hayden Thomas 72, Lee Thompson 72, John Brown 72 and Darrin Marshall 72.

Two’s: Jamie Smith on the 8th and 14th holes; Ike Ashworth and Keith Williams on the 1st hole and Sam Carswell, Ian Fielder, Merv Cunningham and Judee Watene on the 14th hole.

Hidden Hole’s: Jamie Smith and Sam Carswell shared them with 11 points.

Next Saturday (23rd June) is the first round of the Clendon Cup on nett in conjunction with the usual Saturday Scramble. And on Sunday (24th June) it is the Sponsors Family Ambrose Tournament. 

Thames Golf Club – Saturday Scramble

On Saturday 23rd June, there was a field of 30 Golfers that played in the Scramble in conjunction with the first round of the Clendon Cup on nett. After overcast, cool conditions to start with it fined up to a pleasant winters day. Bill Rendall scored 87 off his 24 handicap and returned a 63 nett to easily win the scramble and take an early 3 stroke lead in the Clendon Cup with 2 rounds remaining (best 2 of 3 rounds count) in the following two weeks. Best gross score of the day was 72 returned by Steve Gooder.

(Full results below) (All on Nett):

Men’s: Bill Rendall 63, Tasi Rae 66, Bill Watene 66, Leslie Wairepo 67, Laurie Wells 67, Geoff Sainty 68, Steve Gooder 69, Hayden Thomas 69, Ian Fielder 69, Greg Overend 69, Lee Thompson 70, Don Lyon 71, Paul Hamilton 71, John Pinnell 71 and Sam Carswell 73.

Two’s: Greg Overend on the 8th hole and John Trim on the 10th hole.  

Hidden Hole’s: Don Lyon had 10 points to take home a large sum of Cash.

The final of the Petley Cup 4BBB match play was also played with Greg Overend/Neil Hall squaring off against Richard Blight/Bill Watene. In a very close fought match, Greg Overend/Neil Hall prevailed to beat Richard Blight/Bill Watene 2&1. Next Saturday (30th June) is the second round of the Clendon Cup on nett in conjunction with the usual Saturday scramble.

Golf Events from the Weekend 17th June 2012

Well it was another amazing weekend on the Major Professional Golfer tours from around the world. First I will start with the European Tour and Race to Dubai and the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup. This week it was the second Major Championship of the year which was the 112th U.S. Open Championship and it was played at the Olympic Club, San Francisco, California. So to the first round on Thursday 14th June. It was played in very difficult conditions with the course set up extremely tough. Michael Thompson (USA) scored 66-4 and had the first round lead by 3 strokes over Tiger Woods (USA), Graeme McDowell (NIR), David Toms (USA), Justin Rose (England) and Nick Watney (USA) who had the rear frill of scoring a Double Eagle on the Par 5, 17th hole, all those Golfers mentioned scored 69-1 in their first rounds. Big name players to have poor first rounds were Phil Mickelson (USA) 76+6, Rory McILroy (NIR) who was the defending champion scored 77+7; Luke Donald (England) who is the current World Number One Ranked Golfer scored 79+9 along with 2005 Champion, Michael Campbell (NZL).

So to the second round on Friday 15th June, the conditions were just as hard as the first round. At the end of the day 3 golfers were leading by 2 strokes on 139-1 after 36 holes and they were Tiger Woods (USA) who scored a 2nd round 70 even par, David Toms (USA) who scored a 2nd round 70 even par as well and Jim Furyk (USA) who scored a 2nd round 69-1. Best round of the day was returned by the unknown Golfer, Hunter Hamrick (USA) which was 67-3. Big Name players to miss the 36 hole cut that fell at 148+8 were current Masters Tournament Champion, Bubba Watson (USA) on 149+9; last week’s winner, Dustin Johnson (USA) on 149+9; Defending Champion, Rory McILroy (NIR) on 150+10; World Number One, Luke Donald (England) on 151+11 and 2005 US Open Champion, Michael Campbell (NZL) on 153+13.

So to the third round on Saturday 16th June, the conditions were a little easier as the USGA had decided to water the greens. Graeme McDowell (NIR) scored 68-2 and was -1 after 54 holes and had a share of the 54 hole lead with Jim Furyk (USA) who scored an even par round of 70. They were 2 strokes ahead of Fredrik Jacobsen (Sweden) who was +1 after a third round 68-2. Tiger Woods (USA) fell off the pace with a shocking 3rd round of 75+5 and was +4 for the tournament. Lee Westwood (England) and Casey Wittenburg (USA) returned the best rounds of the day which were 67-3. There were 13 rounds in the 60’s recorded proving that the course was playing easier than the first two days. The leading Amateur was Beau Hossler (AM) (USA) who was +3 after 54 holes.

So to the final round on Sunday 17th June (Fathers Day in the USA). The conditions were very misty and cool with fog rolling in off the Pacific Ocean. The course was playing a lot harder than the day before with the greens running at 13 on the stimp meter and the fringes running at 12 on the stimp meter. Michael Thompson (USA) who had the first round lead set the early pace on the final round. He record the low final round of 67-3 that included a front nine of 33-1 with birdies on the very difficult Par 4, 5th hole and short driveable Par 4, 7th hole. He had a poor bogey on the Par 4, 9th hole. He played an awesome back nine with scoring birdies on Par 4, 11th hole and on the extremely long Par 5, 16th hole where he hit his third shot inside 5feet. And he posted 282+2 after 72 holes to set the mark for the leaders still on the course.

The next player to have a fine final round was Webb Simpson (USA) who scored a 68-2 in the final round. He got off to a bad start in what they are saying was the toughest 6 holes to start with on a US Open Course in the history of the US Open Championship. He bogeyed the Par 4, 2nd hole and the difficult Par 4, 5th hole. But he made an awesome birdie on Par 4, 6th hole; he also birdied the short Par 4, 7th hole and the difficult Par 3, 8th hole. That hat trick of birdies brought him into contention from being +5 after 6 holes to +2 after 8 holes. He returned a front nine of 33-1. He birdied the Par 4, 10th hole after hitting his 2nd shot within 6 feet of the flag. Now he was 1 over and in real contention for his first Major Championship. He made 7 consecutive pars from holes 11-17. He came to the 18th hole and now was tied for the lead with Jim Furyk (USA) at +1. He pulled his tee shot on the short par 4, and it came to rest in the left rough but was in a good lie. He struck his short iron 2nd shot and it landed in the thick rough on the right hand side of the green. He got a ruling from the USGA Rules Official to try and get relief for GUR but was denied it. His caddie told him to land the ball just on the green and let it trickle to the hole. He did just that and it rolled down to rest 4 feet from the cup. And he confidently rolled the par putt in to post 281+1 after 72 holes and became new leader in the Club House. 

Webb Simpson (USA) in action during the final round

Meanwhile, Jim Furyk (USA) was still on the course at even par with 7 holes to play. He missed the green with his 2nd shot on the Par 4, 12th hole and found himself with a green side bunker shot for his 3rd shot that he couldn’t even aim at the hole. He managed to get it on the green about 40 feet from the cup. And he hit a brilliant putt to get his par. So he still had a 1 shot lead with 6 holes to play. He hit a poor tee shot to the par 3, 13th hole and it landed in the right green side rough. He hit a poor chip shot and it rolled 10 feet past the pin. He was unable to get the par putt, but managed to get the bogey putt. So now he was tied for the lead with Webb Simpson (USA) with 5 holes to play. He pared the 14th and 15th holes to remain tied for the lead with 3 holes to play. A USGA Rules Official had a chat to Jim Furyk (USA) on the Par 3, 15th hole to tell him that his group was playing slow and he will be given a warning if he doesn’t get back into position. I feel that USGA Rules Official put Jim Furyk (USA) off his game. Because on the 16th tee he hit a 3 wood to put the ball in play on the long par 5 and hit his worst drive of the whole tournament. He hooked it way left into the left trees. He was thinking of trying to hit through the trees for his 2nd shot but decided against it and punched the ball out into the fairway. He hit a rescue wood for his 3rd shot for position because he was unable to reach the green. That left him with a short wedge shot for his 4th shot. He didn’t quite get the contact he wanted and it landed short of the green and spun back off. But he was able to get up and down for his bogey 6.

So with two holes left to play, Jim Furyk (USA) was now 1 stroke behind. He struck a good drive down the short par 5, 17th hole that rolled into the right hand first cut of rough. He hit a poor long iron 2nd shot that landed in the first bunker short right of the green. He then hit a poor bunker shot for his 3rd shot, 25 feet short of the hole. He left his birdie putt 3feet short and tapped in for his par. Meanwhile his playing partner, Graeme McDowell (NIR) slotted his birdie putt from 20 feet and got back to +2 and tied with Jim Furyk (USA) for 2nd. So those two Golfers head to the short par 4, 72nd hole know they had to make birdie to force an 18 hole playoff with Webb Simpson (USA) the following day. Graeme McDowell (NIR) teed off first and hit rescue wood that came to rest in the right hand first cut of rough. Jim Furyk (USA) teed off next and landed his long iron just in front of Graeme McDowell’s (NIR) ball. Graeme McDowell (NIR) played his short wedge 2nd shot first and landed it on the green 20 feet past the pin. Jim Furyk (USA) played next and pulled his short wedge into the left hand green side bunker and it plugged leaving an impossible bunker shot. Jim Furyk’s (USA) 3rd shot from the bunker came out strong as expected and rolled into the front bunker ending his chances of winning his 2nd US Open Championship. He was able to play a good bunker shot for his 4th shot and rolled in the bogey putt from 5 feet and finished on 283+3 in a tie for 4th position. Graeme McDowell (NIR) now had a 20 foot birdie putt to get into an 18 hole, Monday play off with Webb Simpson (USA). He struck a good put but just choose the wrong line and it missed by at least 6 inches on the left hand side. And that meant that Webb Simpson (USA) had won the 112th US Open Championship.

He and his wife Dowd who is 7 months pregnant with their 2nd child were watching in the Club House on TV. Webb Simpson (USA) was overcome with excitement after winning his first major championship. He scored rounds of 72+2, 73+3, 68-2 and a final round of 68-2 for a 72 total of 281+1 and won by 1 stroke. He won $US 1,440,000.00 for the win and moves to 9 position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 2,735,197 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year so far. Jason Dufner (USA) still leads that list with $US 4,077,013 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year so far. Webb Simpson (USA) also earned 600 FedEx Cup points for the win and moves to 9th position on the FedEx Cup Points list with 1,259 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year. He is 590 points behind the current leader who is Jason Dufner (USA) with 1,849 points earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year.

Webb Simpson (USA) poses with the US Open Championship Trophy he won

Webb Simpson (USA) turned just an average year around in one week after his break out year last year where he won $US 6,347,353 to finish 2nd on the USPGA Tour Money list and also won two tournaments that included the 2011 Wyndham Championship, Deutsche Bank Championship. I feel he will go forward in big leaps in his golf career now he has won his first Major Championship. I wish him all the best in the last two major championships of the year and the rest of the USPGA Tour events in 2012.

Coming in tied for 2nd position at 282+2 after 72 holes was the 2010 US Open Champion, Graeme McDowell (NIR) and Michael Thompson (USA) who has now secure his USPGA Tour card for 2013;has now earned $US 1,215,966 for the 16 events he has played to date this year so far. Coming in tied for 4th position at 283+3 after 72 holes were David Toms (USA) who had a great final round of 68-2. Padraig Harrington (Ireland) was also tied for 4th position and he too scored a final round 68-2. John Peterson (USA) was another player to tie for 4th position along with Jason Dufner (USA) who continued on his awesome form after a 2 week layoff. The last player to tie for 4th position was 2003 US Open Champion, Jim Furyk (USA), he will be disappointed with his final round after playing the first 54 holes in one under par. In solo 9th position on 284+4 after 72 holes was Two Time US Open Champion, Ernie Els (RSA). Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 10th position at 285+5 after 72 holes were Casey Wittenberg (USA), Two time US Open Champion, Retief Goosen (RSA), Kevin Chappell (USA), John Senden (Australia) who was the highest placed Australian and Lee Westwood (England) who let another chance to win his maiden major championship slip though his fingers.

Best New Zealander was Michael Campbell (USA), but he couldn’t repeat what he did 7 years ago and win it. He scored rounds of 79+9 and 74+4 for a 36 hole total of 153+13 and missed the 36 hole halfway cut 5 by strokes. He earned € 1,608.49 for his weeks work and finished in 123rd equal position. He now is placed in 266th position on the current Race to Dubai Money list with € 6,140 earned from the 10 events he has played into to date this year so far. He has still only made one cut from 10 events he has entered this year. He will be looking to make the cut in the next events he plays on the European Tour to gain some confidence. And at least he can play in the US Open Championship till 2015 because winners of the event get an exemption to play in it 10 years after the year they won it.

Tiger Woods (USA) after scoring excellent rounds for the first 36 holes of 69-1 and 70 even par, played terrible golf on the weekend. With scoring a 75+5 on Saturday in the third round and got off to the worst possible start on Sunday when he was +6 after 6 holes. He managed to play the last 12 holes in -3 to score a final round 73+3 and finished 72 holes on 287+7 to tie for 21st position. So the first two majors of the year he has had below par performances. I hope he can play much better at the Open Championship next month?

The low Amateur for the week was Jordan Spieth (AM) (USA), he scored rounds of 74+4, 74+4 to make the cut on the number at +8. But he had a brilliant weekend when he scored 69-1 on Saturday and 70 even par on Sunday for a 72 hole total of 287+7 and tied for 21st position. Beau Hossler (USA) was next best Amateur, he was only 17 years old and playing in his first ever US Open Championship. He scored 70 even par in the first round and when he birdied his 1st hole that was his 10th hole on Friday afternoon he actually had sole procession of the lead at -2 in the 2nd round. But it was short-lived and he finished with a 73+3. On Saturday he scored another round of 70 even par. And in the final round on Sunday coming to the 72nd hole he was tied for the lead for leading Amateur with Jordan Spieth (AM) (USA), at +7. But he suffered an unfortunate Double Bogey 6 at the last hole and scored a final round of 76+6 to finish with a 72 hole total of 289+9 and tied for 29th position. But I am sure he gained a lot of experience and made a lot of friends during his week playing at the US Open Championship.

Next week on the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup it heads to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship and it is being played on the TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut. It has a large prize purse of $US 6,000,000 up for the taking. Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) is the defending champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 21st June and I will report back who won the trophy next week.

The final event I am reporting on this week was co- sanctioned by the European Tour and Challenge Tour and was part of the Race to Dubai. It was the SAINT – OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC and was played on the Aa Saint Omer GC, Lumbres, France. And it was the Golfer by the name of Darren Fichardt (RSA) who scored rounds of 68-3, 69-2, 69-2 and a final round of 73+2 for a 72 hole total of 279-5 after 72 holes and won by 3 strokes. He earned € 83,330.00 for the win and moves to 79th position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 148,915 earned from the 10 events he has played in to date this year so far. Justin Rose (England) is the current leader of that list with €1,765,132 earned from the 6 events he has played to date this year so far.

Darren Fichardt (RSA) claimed his third European Tour victory in the Saint-Omer Open presented by Neuflize OBC. Here are the key facts and figures from Aa Saint Omer Golf Club... He gains his third European Tour International Schedule victory in his 211th European Tour event. He wins his 19th professional title. He wins his first European Tour event since the 2003 Qatar Masters - a gap of nine years and 123 days. He played in 147 European Tour events between those victories. He graduated from the 2011 European Tour Qualifying School and is the second 2011 graduate to win on The European Tour in 2012, following countryman Branden Grace (RSA), who won the Joburg Open, Volvo Golf Champions and Volvo China Open. He is the first South African to win the Saint-Omer Open presented by Neuflize OBC. He becomes the first player to win the event having previously won on The European Tour. He becomes the 13th different winner in the 13th edition of the event. He maintains his 100% record of winning on The European Tour titles when leading or sharing the lead going into the final round, having done so in the 2001 Sao Paulo Brazil Open and the 2003 Qatar Masters.

 

Darren Fichardt (RSA) thinking about his next shot during the final round

 His five shot 54 hole lead matched the largest on The European Tour in 2012, established by Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) (Ballantine’s Championship). His 54 hole lead is the largest in the history of the Saint-Omer Open presented by Neuflize OBC. This victory is the seventh for South Africa on The European Tour in 2012. He follows:  Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (Africa Open and Maybank Malaysian Open), Branden Grace (RSA) (Joburg Open, Volvo Golf Champions and Volvo China Open) and Jbe Kruger (RSA) (Avantha Masters). This is the most of any country so far this season. It is the 108th South African victory in European Tour history. He becomes the 35th different Qualifying School graduate to win on The European Tour the year after graduation. And finally gains a European Tour exemption until the end of 2013.

It was a steady final round for Darren Fichardt (RSA) who scored 73+2 in very windy conditions and that included a front nine of 36 even with a lone birdie on the Par 5, 9th hole and a silly bogey on the Par 4, 5th hole. He played a average back nine that was understandable with the large lead he had in which he scored 37+2 with bogeys on the Par 3, 11th hole and the Par 5, 14th hole. It must have been the highest scoring event on European Mainland this year? There were only 3 golfers under par after 72 holes. The win should give Darren Fichardt (RSA) a lot of confidence heading into the second half of the season. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2012 European Tour season.

Darren Fichardt (RSA) poses with the SAINT – OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC Trophy he won

Coming in solo 2nd position at 282-2 after 72 holes was Gary Lockerbie (England). Coming in solo 3rd position at 283-1 after 72 holes was Simon Wakefield (England). Coming in tied for 4th position at 286+2 after 72 holes were Charlie Ford (England), Adam Gee (England), Pelle Edberg (Sweden) and Wil Besseling (The Netherlands). And rounding out the top 10 in tied for 8th position at 287+3 after 72 holes were Bjorn Akesson (Sweden), Magnus A Carlsson (Sweden) and James Heath (England).

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai head to Germany for the BMW International Open and it is being played at the Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof, Cologne, Germany. It has a large prize purse of €2,000,000 for the taking. Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) is the defending champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 21st June and I will report back who won next week.

So to the top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list this week and coming in at Number One Position for the 4th spell of his career and the 49th week of his career is Luke Donald (England) with 10.12 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 8.86 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Lee Westwood (England) with 8.28 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Tiger Woods (USA) with 6.78 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list is the 112th US Open Champion, Webb Simpson (USA) with 6.66 Official Golf World 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 182nd position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.98 Official World Golf Rankings Points on the list.

Remember the old saying “You drive for show and putt for dough”.

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com