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