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| Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) kisses the ISPS Handa Wales Open Trophy he won |
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 the Race to Dubai. And this week it was in Wales for the ISPS Handa Wales Open and it was played on the Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales. And it was the Golfer by the name of Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) who scored rounds of 71 even, 68-3, 67-4 and a final round of 72+1 for a 72 hole total of 278-6 and won by 1 stroke. He earned € 372,720.02 for the win which moved him to 18th position on the current Race to Dubai Money list with € 475,014 earned from the 10 events he has played to date this year so far. Justin Rose (England) still leads that list with €1,695,687 earned from the 5 events he has played to date this year so far.
It was his fifth European Tour International Schedule victory in his 225th European Tour event. He could move to around 110th in the Official World Golf Ranking from 199th position. It was his first European Tour victory since the 2009 Ballantine’s Championship.He has played in 78 European Tour events between victories. It was his first European Tour victory outside of Asia. His previous four wins were at the 2004 and 2005 Malaysian Open; 2009 Indonesia Open and the 2009 Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea. This victory beats his previous best 2012 performance of tied 20th in the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy. This victory represented his first top ten finish on The European Tour since the 2010 Dubai World Championship presented by: DP World, where he finished eighth.
This victory came in his seventh appearance in the ISPS Handa Wales Open. This victory beats his previous best performance in the event of tied 26th in 2009. At the age of 42 years and 208 days becomes the oldest winner of the ISPS Handa Wales Open, beating the previous record of Miguel Angel Jiménez, of 41 years and 151 days in 2005. He becomes the second player over 40 to win on The European Tour in 2012. He follows Paul Lawrie (Scotland) (43 years and 35 days at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy). Thailand becomes the tenth different country to win the ISPS Handa Wales Open. He becomes the 13th different winner from the 13 editions of the event.
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| Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) during the final round checking his yardage |
It was the seventh Thai victory in European Tour history. It was the first Thai victory on The European Tour since Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) won the 2009 Ballantine’s Championship. He extends his record at the top of the list of most European Tour victories by an Asian player. He gained his largest European Tour prize of €372,720. He moved over €6 million in European Tour Official Career Earnings. He gained a European Tour exemption until the end of 2014. He gained a place in the 2012 WGC – HSBC Champions and 2013 Volvo Golf Champions. And finally he gained his 16th win as a professional.
Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) played a steady final round in trying conditions scoring 72+1 which included a front nine of 39+3 with a bogey on the Par 4, 4th hole and a double bogey on the Par 5, 9th hole. He scored 33-2 on the back nine which included 3 birdies in a row from Par 3, 10th hole, Par 5, 11th hole and Par 4, 12th hole and he added another birdie at the Par 4, 15th hole. He suffered bogeys at the Par 4, 16th hole and Par 5, 18th hole. This win should give him a lot of confidence and I wouldn’t be surprised if he won again before the end of the 2012 European Tour season is finished. He has always been one of the top Asian Players and now he has cemented his place on the European Tour for the next few years. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2012 European Tour season.
Coming in tied for 2nd position at 279-5 after 72 holes were Gonzalo Fdez – Castano (Argentina), Richard Sterne (RSA), Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) and Joost Luiten (Netherlands). Coming it tied for 6th position at 280-4 after 72 holes were Paul McGinley (Ireland) who had the lowest final round of 65-6 and Ross Fisher (England). Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 8th position at 281-3 after 72 holes were Peter Lawrie (Ireland), Joel Sjoholm (Sweden) and Romain Wattel (France).
Michael Campbell (NZL) was the only New Zealander in the field, he scored rounds of 73+2 and 75+4 for a 72 hole total of 148+6 to missed the 36 hole cut by a single stroke. He must be cursing his play on the Par 4, 14th hole because he made double bogey 6 there both days. This was the third straight cut he has missed in a row and he has only made one cut in the 9 events he has entered to date this year so far. He has earned € 4,531.76 in the 9 events on the European Tour he has played in to date this year so far and that places him in 267th position on the current Race to Dubai Money list. I hope his form can improve soon and at least he can start making some more cuts? 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 heads to Sweden for the Nordea Masters and it is being played at the Bro Hof Slott GC, Stockholm, Sweden. It has a prize purse of €1,500,000 for the taking. Alexander Noren (Sweden) is the defending Champion and will be keen to win back to back titles. It starts a day earlier than usual on Wednesday 6th June so the players playing in the US Open Championship have and extra day to get to America. 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. This week the tour moved north to Ohio for Jack Nicklaus own tournament which was the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance and it was played on the Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio. And it was Tiger Woods (USA) who scored rounds of 70-2, 69-3, 73+1 and a brilliant final round of 67-5 for a 72 hole total of 279-9 to win by 2 strokes. He won $US 1,116,000.00 for the win and moved to 7th position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 2,964,050 earned from the 9 events he has played in to date this year so far. Jason Dufner (USA) still leads that list with $US 3,800,172 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year so far. Tiger Woods (USA) also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points and is now in 3rd position on the current FedEx Cup points list with 1,404 points earned from the 9 events he has played to date this year so far. He is 331 points behind the current leader who is Jason Dufner (USA) who has earned 1,735 points from the 14 events he has played to date this year so far.
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| Tiger Woods (USA) with the Memorial Tournament Trophy he won along with Jack Nicklaus (USA) the tournament host |
Tiger Woods (USA) started the final round 4 strokes off the lead at -4. He got off to a fast start in his final round with making birdie on the Par 4, 2nd hole. Then he made 3 birdies in a row on the Par 5, 5th hole, Par 4, 6th hole and the Par 5, 7th hole. So he was now at -8 and 1stroke off the lead. He made a poor bogey on the Par 3, 8th hole and went out in 33-3 for the front nine. He made a silly bogey on the Par 4, 10th hole after pulling his 2nd shot from the middle of the fairway and was unable to get up and down. That dropped him back to -6 and it looked like his challenge had faded. But he had other ideas. He made solid pars on holes 11-14 then he struck a brilliant drive down the par 5, 15th hole and hit his mid iron 2nd shot on the green within 35 feet of the cup and he 2 putted for a birdie 4. He hit his tee shot on the Par 3, 16th hole through the green into the rough. But what happened next was the big turning point of the whole tournament. Faced with an impossible chip shot from a very difficult lie he just played the perfect shot and flopped his ball up in the air, landed it on just the place he had to on the green and it trickled towards the hole at perfect speed and fell in. Tiger Woods (USA) did his usual fist pump that he is famous for. Jack Nicklaus (USA) who is the host of the Tournament was in the CBS Sports commentary box with Sir Nick Faldo (England) and Jim Nantz (CBS Sports frontman) at the time and said “it was the best ever shot he had seen under the Circumstances in the tournaments history”.
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| Tiger Woods (USA) celebrates after holing his chip shot on the Par 3, 16th hole |
Tiger Woods (USA) now was -8 and tied for the lead with Rory Sabbatini (RSA). Tiger Woods (USA) made a solid par on the Par 4, 17th hole. He hit a long iron off the 18th tee and landed it right in the middle of the fairway. He hit a 9 iron for his 2nd shot and landed it on the back of the green and it rolled down to within 12 feet of the hole. He rolled the birdie putt straight in the middle of the cup to scored 34-2 on the back nine and scored 67-5 in the final round which equalled the low round of the day. He was greeted by Jack Nicklaus (USA) on the final green to congratulate him and how fitting it was because it was Tiger Woods (USA) 73rd win on the USPGA Tour and that is the same number of wins Jack Nicklaus (USA) achieved in his whole career on the USPGA Tour. It was the 5th time in his career he has won the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance.
It was also Tiger Woods (USA) 2nd win on the USPGA Tour this year having won the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard in late March earlier this year. Here is all Tiger Woods (USA) 73 USPGA Tour wins since he turned professional at the end of 1996 USPGA Tour season: 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic. 1997 Mercedes Championships, Masters Tournament, GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic, Motorola Western Open.1998 BellSouth Classic.1999 Buick Invitational, Memorial Tournament, Motorola Western Open, PGA Championship, World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, National Car Rental Golf Classic/Disney, THE TOUR Championship, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. 2000 Mercedes Championships, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Bay Hill Invitational, Memorial Tournament, U.S. Open Championship, British Open Championship, PGA Championship, World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, Bell Canadian Open. 2001 Bay Hill Invitational, THE PLAYERS Championship, Masters Tournament, Memorial Tournament, World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational. 2002 Bay Hill Invitational presented by Cooper Tires, Masters Tournament, U.S. Open Championship, Buick Open, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. 2003 Buick Invitational, World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, Bay Hill Invitational presented by Cooper Tires, 100th Western Open presented by Golf Digest, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. 2004 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. 2005 Buick Invitational, Ford Championship at Doral, Masters Tournament, British Open Championship, World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. 2006 Buick Invitational, Ford Championship at Doral, British Open Championship, Buick Open, PGA Championship, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Deutsche Bank Championship, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. 2007 Buick Invitational, World Golf Championships-CA Championship, Wachovia Championship, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship, BMW Championship, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. 2008 Buick Invitational, World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, U.S. Open Championship. 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, the Memorial Tournament, AT&T National, Buick Open, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, BMW Championship. 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance.
Tiger Woods (USA) is now only 9 USPGA Tour wins away from the all time leader who is Sam Snead (USA) with 82 Official USPGA Tour wins. I feel he will beat that record of Sam Sneads (USA) in the next 4-5 years. And of course the real record he is after is to equal and better the 18 Major Championships that Jack Nicklaus (USA) won in his career. He has won 14 Major Championships and I feel that his 15th Major Championship win may come at the US Open Championship is two weeks time? But this week on the USPGA Tour, Tiger Woods (USA) proved all the Short Knockers wrong and that he will be a force to be reckoned with for a long time to come. I wish him every continuing success in the rest of the 2012 season.
Coming in tied for 2nd position at 281-7 after 72 holes were Andres Romero (Argentina) who also had the equal best final round of 67-5 and Rory Sabbatini (RSA) who was leading in the early stages of the back nine. Coming in tied for 4th position at 283-5 after 72 holes were Daniel Summerhays (USA) who had his best finish of his USPGA Tour season so far this year and Spencer Levin (USA) who was the 54 hole leader, and for the second time this year he blew the 54 hole lead with the other time being earlier this year at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in early February. But he has already won over a $US1million this year, like he has done the previous 2 seasons. Perhaps the 3rd time he is in this position he will be able to get his 1st USPGA Tour win? Coming in tied for 6th position at 284-4 after 72 holes was Matt Every (USA) who with this finish has secured his card for the 2013 USPGA Tour season. The other player to tie for 6th position was Jonathan Byrd (USA) who is having another steady season. Coming in solo 8th position at 285-3 after 72 holes was Justin Rose (England) who is performing great both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th position at 286-2 after 72 holes was Greg Owen (England) having had to go back to tour school to regain his playing status for this season. Also tied for 9th position was Aaron Baddeley (Australia) who is continuing on his great form he has displayed lately. The last player to tie for 9th position was Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) who recorded his second top 10 finish of the season. The big surprise of the final round for me was the final round score of Rickie Fowler (USA) who played with Tiger Woods (USA); he scored his worst round of the USPGA Tour season which was 84+12. It is just a minor setback for him. But I am sure he will bounce back quickly.
Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to Memphis for the FedEx St. Jude Classic and it is being played at the TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee. It has a prize purse of $US 5,600,000 for the taking. Harrison Frazar (USA) is the defending Champion and will be keen for back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 7th June. I will report back who won trophy next week.
The final event I am reporting on this week is on the Champions Tour and was the Principal Charity Classic and was played on the Glen Oaks CC, West Des Moines, Iowa. And it was the Golfer by the name of Jay Haas (USA) that scored rounds of 66-5, 65-6 and a final round of 66-5 for a 54 hole total of 197-16 after 54 holes to win by 5 strokes and win the Principal Charity Classic for the third time in his career. He won $US 262,500.00 for the win and moves to 4th position of the Champions Tour Money list with $US 640,525 earned from the 10 events he has played to date this year so far. Michael Allen (USA) is the leader of that list with $US 1,011,882 earned from the 9 events he has played to date this year so far. He has also earned 566 Charles Schwab Cup Points from the 9 events he has played to date this year so far which places him in 5th position on the Charles Schwab Cup Points list. He is 357 points behind Michael Allen (USA) who leads that list with 923 points earned from the 9 events he has played to date this year so far.
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| Jay Haas (USA) in action during the final round |
This win just validates Jay Haas (USA) fine play this season because before he won this tournament he had already record 5 top 10 finishes. I wouldn’t be surprised if he won again before the year is finished. I wish him all the best with his continuing success for the rest of the 2012 season.
Coming in tied for 2nd position at 202-11 after 54 holes were Kirk Triplett (USA) and 1987 Masters Tournament Winner, Larry Mize (USA). Coming in tied for 4th position at 203-10 after 54 holes was the Straight hitting, Fred Funk (USA) and the 1996 Open Championship winner, Tom Lehman (USA). Coming in solo 6th position at 204-9 after 54 holes was Andrew Magee (USA). Coming tied for 7th position at 205-8 after 54 holes were David Eger (USA), Jeff Freeman (USA) and Kenny Perry (USA). And rounding out the top 10 in tied for 10th position at 206-7 after 54 holes were Mark Wiebe (USA), 1989 Open Champion, Mark Calcavecchia (USA), Two Time Masters Tournament Winner, Bernhard Langer (Germany) and Lonnie Nielsen (USA).
Next week the Champions Tour heads to Alabama for the Regions Tradition and it is being played at the Shoal Creek Country Club, Shoal Creek, Alabama. It is the 2nd Major Championship of the Champions Tour Season. It carries a prize purse of $US 2,200,000. Tom Lehman (USA) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 7th June and I will report back who won the trophy next week.
So to the top 5 on the Official Golf World Rankings this week and coming in Number One Position for the 4th spell of his career and the 47th week his career is Luke Donald (England) with 10.43 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 9.06 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Lee Westwood (England) with 7.91 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Tiger Woods (USA) fresh off his Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance victory with 6.78 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points is Bubba Watson (USA) with 6.16 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the World. This week he slips 6 places to be at 177th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 1.01 Official World Golf Rankings Points on the list.
Remember when playing in the wind the best motto is “When it is breezy, swing easy”.
Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com
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