Golf Events from the Weekend 22nd July 2012

Well again it was another great weekend on the Major Professional golf 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 in England for the third major of the year which was the 141st Open Championship and it was played on the Royal Lytham & St Annes GC, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England. The first round began on Thursday 19th July in the morning and was played in relatively benign conditions and the leader after the first round was Adam Scott (Australia) who scored a fine first round of 64-6. He had a chance to score 62-8 and have the lowest score for a single round ever scored in Major Championship history if he had birdied the last hole but he made an untimely bogey. One stroke behind him on 65-5 were last week’s John Deere Classic winner, Zach Johnson (USA), 1999 Open Champion, Paul Lawrie (Scotland) and Nicholas Colsaerts (Belgium). Steve Alker (NZL) the only New Zealander in the field and he had to pre- qualify to get into the field scored a very impressive first round of 69-1 and was inside the top 10.

So to the second round on Friday 20th July and it was played in relatively benign conditions for the second straight day. Brandt Snedeker (USA) was the big mover on the day scoring a flawless second round of 64-6 equalling Adam Scott’s (Australia) first round score for the best round of the tournament so far. He finished the second round on top of the leader board with 130-10 after 36 holes. Brandt Snedeker (USA) had a 1 stroke lead over first round leader Adam Scott (Australia) who backed up his first round with a solid second round of 67-3 and was at 131-9 after 36 holes. Tiger Woods (USA) had his second consecutive round of 67-3 which included holing his bunker shot from the green side bunker at the 18th hole for a birdie 3. He was in third position at 134-6 after 36 holes. Steven Alker (NZL) the only New Zealander golfer in the field scored his second consecutive round of 69-1 and was on 138-2 for the tournament after 36 holes and in tied for 11th position with the world Number One Golfer, Luke Donald (England). It was a great effort by Steven Alker (NZL) even to make the cut considering he had to qualify to get a start. The cut fell at 143+3 after 36 holes and 83 players made it. Notable players to miss the cut were current Race to Dubai Money Leader, Justin Rose (England) 144+4, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 144+4, 2009 Open Champion, Stewart Cink (USA) 145+5, Defending Champion, Darren Clarke (NIR) 147+7 and 4 time Major Winner, Phil Mickelson (USA) 151+11.

So to the Third round on Saturday 21st July, and for the third straight day the conditions were relatively benign with little wind. Adam Scott (Australia) scored a solid third round of 68-2 to go with his first round 64-6 and his second round 67-3 and was on 199-11 after 54 holes and would take a four stroke lead into the final round over Graeme McDowell (NIR) and Brandt Snedeker (USA) who scored a poor third round of 73+3 after being the 36 hole leader. Those two Golfers were on 203-7 after 54 holes. Tiger Woods (USA) was 1 stroke further back on 204-6 after 54 holes after an up and down third round of even par 70. Zach Johnson (USA) was another stroke further back after the lowest third round of 66-4 and he was on 205-5 after 54 holes. Also on that score was 2002 Open Champion, Ernie Els (RSA). In tied for 10th position on 208-2 after 54 holes were the Current Master Tournament Champion, Bubba Watson (USA), 2010 Open Champion, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) and 1989 Open Champion, Mark Calcavecchia (USA) who is now 52 years old and plays on the Champions Tour. Steven Alker (NZL) scored his worst round of the tournament so far which was 72+2 and he fell back to 210 even par after 54 holes inside the top 20 which is a fine effort and with an under par round in the final round he could of had a top 10 finish.

So to the final round on Sunday 22nd July and it was played in strong winds which were completely different conditions to the three previous days. Nicholas Colsaerts (Belgium) who was tied for second position after the first round scored the best final round of 65-5 and set the early club house lead at 279-1 after 72 holes. He was finished over an hour before the leading group and final pairing of Adam Scott (Australia) and Graeme McDowell (NIR) teed off in their final rounds. Nicholas Colsaerts (Belgium) eventually finished in tied for 7th position which was a fine effort for him and he is exempt for the 142nd Open Championship in 2013.

Adam Scott (Australia) got off to a shaky start in his final round with scoring a two over par front nine of 36+2 which included bogeys on the Par 3, 1st hole, Par 4, 3rd hole and Par 4, 6th hole. His lone birdie came on the Par 4, 2nd hole. But he still had a 4 stroke lead over his nearest competitor who was Ernie Els (RSA) who too had a poor front nine of 36+2 which included bogeys on the Par 4, 2nd hole and Par 3, 9th hole. But the back nine was a different story for Ernie Els (RSA), he started off with a birdie on the Par 4, 10th hole, made another birdie on the Par 3, 12th hole to get to -5 with 6 holes to play. When he birdied the short par 4, 14th hole he was now -6 with 4 holes to play and 3 strokes behind his good friend, Adam Scott (Australia). Adam Scott (Australia) made a strong start to his back nine with paring holes 10 – 13. Then he too birdied the short Par 4, 14th hole and as I mentioned before he had a 3 stroke lead over Ernie Els (RSA) and it appeared it was only a formality that he was going to win the 141st Open Championship and claim his first Major Championship.

Ernie Els (RSA) prepares to throw his ball into the crowd after holing his birdie putt on the 72nd hole

Ernie Els (RSA) pared holes 15 – 17 and came to the 72nd hole -6 for the Championship needing a birdie for any hope of getting into a playoff even if the chances still were extremely slim. He struck brilliant drive and landed it right in the centre of the fairway. Then struck his mid iron second shot pin high 15 feet to the left of the pin. Now he had a putt for birdie and to get to -7 and set the club house lead. It was virtually a straight putt with a slight left to right break. He hit a perfect putt and it rolled right in the centre of the cup for his birdie 3 and he scored 68-2 in the final round which was a brilliant round under the circumstances. Adam Scott (Australia) now knew what he had to do and that was to play the last four holes in no more than two over par and he would win the 141st Open Championship. He played the Par 4, 15th hole very poorly landing his second shot in the green side bunker and he failed to get up and down and made a bogey 5. Now back at -9 with 3 holes to play he seemed to still have the tournament well in his grasp. He hit a long iron off the short par 4, 16th hole which left a short wedge shot for his second to the green. He must off been pumped up because he struck it a little hard and landed in about 30 feet past the pin on the green. He rolled his birdie putt up to within 4 feet of the cup on the left. Then he lipped out his par putt and had to settle for his bogey 5. Wayne Grady (Australia) who was commentating for the BBC Sports commented “That putt just came from total nerves”. Now he was -8 with two holes to play and he now needed two pars to win the 141st Open Championship. He hit a fine drive down the long Par 4, 17th hole and landed it right in the centre of the fairway. His second shot with his long iron was playing right into the teeth of the head wind. He struck a very poor shot and it landed left of the left hand front green side bunker. Now he faced a third shot from thick rough with not much green to work with. He struck his short chip shot from the thick rough and it landed on the green but rolled 25 feet past the pin. Now he faced a putt to keep his lead in the 141st Open Championship heading to the 72nd hole. Adam Scott (Australia) struck a good putt but it just didn’t take the slight left to right break and just missed on the left hand side. He tapped in for his bogey 5 and was now tied with Ernie Els (RSA) on -7 with the 72nd hole to play.

Adam Scott (Australia) was told by his caddie, Steve Williams (NZL) to hit his 3 wood off the 18th tee for accuracy. He slightly pulled it to the left of the fairway and it rolled into one of the pot bunkers meaning the best he could do was advance his ball 20 metres down the fairway. He managed to do that with his second shot from the bunker. He was left with an 8 iron for his third shot and struck it very well and it landed 10 feet short of the pin. He now was left with that 12 foot putt to getting into a playoff with Ernie Els (RSA). Sir Nick Faldo (England) who was commentating for the BBC Sports and had won the Open Championship on three previous occasions commented “If Adam Scott (Australia) misses this putt he will be scared mentally for life”. Adam Scott (Australia) steadied himself and then struck a good putt but it just missed on the left hand side by an inch. So that meant the Ernie Els (RSA) had won the 141st Open Championship by 1 stroke.

Ernie Els (RSA) kisses the Claret Jug that he won for the 2nd time in his Career

Ernie Els (RSA) scores during the week were 67-3, 70 even par, 68-2 and a final round of 68-2 for a 72 hole total of 273-7. He won € 1,136,880.00 for the win and moved to second position on the Race to Dubai Money list with € 1,674,725 earned from the 6 events he has played to date this year so far. Justin Rose (England) still leads that list with €1,836,334 earned from the 8 events he has played to date this year so far. Ernie Els (RSA) also moved to 8th position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 3,050,548 earned from the 14 events he has played to date so far this year. Tiger Woods (USA) leads that list with $US 4,685,123 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year so far. He also moves to 7th position on the current FedEx Cup points list with 1,402 points earned from the 14 events he has played in to date this year so far. He is 730 points behind the current leader who is Tiger Woods (USA) who has earned 2,132 points from the 13 events he has played to date this year so far.

Ernie Els (RSA) claimed a number of notable milestones with his victory in the 141st Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes by claiming his fourth Major Championship title. It was his 27th European Tour International Schedule victory in his 269th European Tour event. It is the 11th time in his European Tour career he has passed €1 million in a single season. He moves to 15th of the Official World Golf Ranking from 40th. It was his first European Tour victory since the 2011 South African Open Championship (Dec 2010). It was his fourth Major Championship victory in his 79th Major Championship appearance. It was also his first Major Championship victory since the 2002 Open Championship. He has played in 37 Major Championships since his last win in the 2002 Open Championship. He has won the US Open Championship twice, once in 1994 and the other time was 1997 and The Open Championship twice, in 2002 and 2012. It was his second victory in The Open Championship in his 22nd appearance. It was his second consecutive top ten finish in a Major Championship, after a tie for ninth at the US Open Championship last month. His gap of ten years between wins is the second longest gap between victories in Open Championship history. Sir Henry Cotton (USA) holds the record with 11 years, between 1937 to 1948. It was his 13th top ten finish in The Open Championship from his 22 appearances. At age 42 years and 279 days he becomes the second consecutive 42 year old to win The Open Championship, following Darren Clarke. (NIR) (Clarke was 42 years 337 days).

 His victory means that European Tour Members have won seven of the last ten Major Championships, dating back to Graeme McDowell (NIR) at the 2010 US Open. It was the 16th consecutive Major Championship won by a different player. This sequence began with Padraig Harrington at the 2008 US PGA Championship. His six shot final round winning comeback is the largest in The Open Championship since Padraig Harrington (Ireland) in 2007.  His six shot final round winning comeback is the largest in a Major Championship since Padraig Harrington (Ireland) at the 2007 Open Championship. His six shot final round winning comeback is the largest on The European Tour in 2012, beating the five shot come back of Jeev Milkha Singh (India) at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. It was the 44th Major Championship victory by a European Tour Member since Seve Ballesteros (Spain) won The Open Championship in 1979. It was third European Tour Member to win four or more Major titles, following Sir Nick Faldo (England) (six) and Seve Ballesteros (Spain) (five). He moves into joint second place in the list of most Majors won by South Africans. He would join Bobby Locke (RSA) on four.

 This victory represents the 15th different European Tour season he has won in. This victory is the eighth for South Africa on The European Tour in 2012. They are: 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) and Darren Fichardt (RSA) (SAINT-OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC) and Ernie Els (RSA) (The 141th Open Championship). This is the most of any country so far this season. It was the 109th South African victory in European Tour history. It was his third European Tour victory over the age of 40, following the 2010 WGC – Cadillac Championship and 2011 South African Open Championship (Dec 2010). He has now won over €28 million in European Tour Official Career Earnings. It was his 66th win as a professional worldwide. He gains a European Tour exemption until the end of the 2019 season. He gains a five year exemption into the Masters Tournament, US Open Championship and US PGA Championship. And finally gains a place in the 2012 Grand Slam of Golf, 2012 WGC – HSBC Champions and 2013 Volvo Golf Champions.

It was great to see Ernie Els (RSA) finally get a win in the 2012 season because he has been playing good golf for the last 3 months on both the USPGA Tour and European Tours with no trophy to show for it. But now he has the Claret Jug to hold for his 141st Open Championship Victory. He has also been recently working with an eye doctor in South Africa that is helping him putt much better. He was very gracious in victory when interviewed by the BBC Sports straight afterwards saying he believes this is just a minor setback in Adam Scott’s (Australia) career and he believes he will win at least two Open Championships before his career is done. His win went down really well with the fans because he always is a crowd favourite because of his long easy swing and his attitude towards the game of Golf. It was a shame his wife,  Liez and two children Samantha who is now 13 and Ben who is now 10 couldn’t be there to share in his success. But Ernie Els (RSA) said he was travelling back to their family home in London later on in the evening to celebrate his success with them. He has now won 27 tournaments on the European Tour in his career and they are in order from the first to the 27th: 1994 Dubai Desert Classic; 1994 U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP; 1995 Lexington S.A. PGA; 1997 Johnnie Walker Classic; 1997 U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP; 1998 South African Open; 1999 Alfred Dunhill S.A. PGA; 2000 Standard Life Loch Lomond; 2002 Standard Life Loch Lomond; 2002 Heineken Classic; 2002 Dubai Desert Classic; 2002, 131st OPEN GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP; 2003 Heineken Classic; 2003 Johnnie Walker Classic; 2003 The Barclays Scottish Open; 2003 Omega European Masters; 2004 Heineken Classic; 2004 WGC - American Express Championship; 2004 HSBC World Match Play Championship; 2005 Dubai Desert Classic; 2005 Qatar Masters; 2005 BMW Asian Open; 2006 dunhill championship; 2007 South African Airways Open; 2007 HSBC World Match Play Championship; 2010 WGC - CA Championship; 2011 South African Open Championship and the 141st OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP. 

Another photo of Ernie Els (RSA) posing with the Claret Jug

Ernie Els (RSA) has now also won 19 times on the USPGA Tour and here are his 19 wins on that tour from very first to the most recent: 1994 U.S. Open Championship, 1995 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic, 1996 Buick Classic, 1997 U.S. Open Championship, Buick Classic. 1998 Bay Hill Invitational, 1999 Nissan Open, 2000 The International Presented by Qwest, 2002 Genius Championship, British Open Championship, 2003 Mercedes Championships, Sony Open in Hawaii, 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii, the Memorial Tournament, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship, 2008 The Honda Classic, 2010 World Golf Championships-CA Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and the 2012 The Open Championship. As you can see he has had an unbelievable career and he fully deserved his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in May on the Monday prior to THE PLAYERS Championship of 2011. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he won another Major Championship in the next couple of years. I wish him all the best for the rest of his 2012 season on both the USPGA Tour and European Tour.

Adam Scott (Australia) who finished in solo second position after 72 holes after rounds of 64-6, 67-3, 68-2 and a final round of 75+5 for a 72 hole total of 274-6. But even though he said when interviewed by the BBC Sports straight after his round that he will not let this defeat bring him down and he will only remember the good shots, I tend to disagree with this because this was his best chance to win his first Major Championship so far in his career and he was unable to get the job done. But I do think he will learn a lot from the loss as well and he has a very experienced caddie, Steve Williams (NZL) who will guide him through this tough time for him. The best thing he can do now in my opinion is get back on the horse and play in his next scheduled tournament and put in a good performance to silence his critics. And the € 656,864.00 he won for coming in solo 2nd position can only help him get over it. But because he is only focusing on the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup in the 2012 season he doesn’t have a money list ranking on the Race to Dubai Money list. But he won $US 812,292.00 on the USPGA Tour for coming second and is now in 27th position on the current USPGA Tour Money list with $US 1,993,191 earned from the 10 events he has played to date this year so far. And he also has earned 876 FedEx Cup points from the 10 events he has played to date this year so far which places him in 31st position on the current FedEx Cup Points lists. He is 1,256 points behind the current leader who is Tiger Woods (USA).

Adam Scott (Australia) now has two second place finishes in Major Championships which include his second placing in the 141st Open Championship and his tied for 2nd position in the 2011 Masters Tournament. And of course he won the 2004 THE PLAYERS Championship; 2006 THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and the 2011 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. This proves he can perform on the stage just below Major Championships. A chat with  Kyle Stanley (USA) who is a fellow USPGA Tour player could do him the world of good, because he lost the Farmers Insurance Open in similar fashion in late January this year but came straight back the following week and won Waste Management Phoenix Open in great style. Also a chat with his fellow country man and Golf Hero, Greg Norman (Australia) will help him stay positive. I wish Adam Scott (Australia) all the best for the rest of the 2012 USPGA Tour Season.

Coming in tied for 3rd position at 277-3 after 72 holes was Brandt Snedeker (USA) who will be disappointed with his play on the weekend after leading the Open Championship after 36 holes. Tiger Woods (USA) was also tied for 3rd position. He will also be disappointed with his final 36 holes. Especially his final round of 73+3 in which included a Triple bogey 7 on the Par 4, 6th hole where he took 2 shots to get out of the green side bunker. And on the back nine he suffered 3 bogeys in a row from holes 13 – 15. But he said afterwards when interviewed that he is getting closer to winning his 15th Major Championship. In tied for 5th position at 278-2 after 72 holes was the 2010 US Open Champion, Graeme McDowell (NIR) and he will be disappointed with his final round of 75+5. Also tied for 5th position was the current World Number One Golfer, Luke Donald (England) and he will be pleased with his final round of 69-1. Coming it tied for 7th position at 279-1 after 72 holes was Thomas Aiken (RSA) and Nicholas Colsaerts (Belgium) who I mentioned earlier. And rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th position at 280 even par after 72 holes were last week’s winner, Zach Johnson (USA), Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark), 1989 Open Champion, Mark Calcavecchia (USA), Long hitting, Dustin Johnson (USA), Current Players Champion, Matt Kuchar (USA), three time Major Winner, Vijay Singh (Fiji), Alexander Noren (Sweden), Highly successful English Professional, Ian Poulter (England), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) and the 2006 US Open Championship winner, Geoff Ogilvy (Australia).

There was only one New Zealander in the field and he was Steve Alker (NZL); he scored rounds of 69-1, 69-1, 72+2 and a final round of 71+1 for a 72 hole total of 281+1 and tied for 19th position, a fine effort considering he had to qualify for the Open Championship. He won $US 79,276.58 for his efforts. But because he isn’t a member of the USPGA Tour he doesn’t have a ranking on either the USPGA Tour or FedEx Cup Points list. And he isn’t a member of the European Tour as well so he doesn’t appear on the Race to Dubai Money list. This finish should give him some confidence when he heads back to the Web.com tour in the coming weeks. I wish him all the best with his golf for the remaining events in the 2012 season.

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai heads to Austria for the Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity and it is being played on the Diamond CC, Atzenbrugg, Austria. It has a prize purse of €1,000,000 for the taking. Kenneth Ferrie (England) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts a day earlier than usual on Wednesday 25th July and I will report back who took home the trophy next week.

The final event I am reporting on this week was on the USPGA Tour and was part of the FedEx Cup and it was the True South Classic and it was played on the Annandale GC, Madison, Mississippi. This tournament was for the Golfers on the USPGA Tour that hadn’t qualified for the 141st Open Championship. And it was the Golfer by the name of Scott Stallings (USA) who scored rounds of 68-4, 64-8, 64-8 and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 264-24 to win by 2 strokes for his second win on the USPGA Tour having won the Greenbrier Classic in 2011 as his maiden tour win. He won $US 540,000.00 for the win and moved to 94th position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 741,005 earned from the 19 events he has played in to date this year so far. He is also earned 250 FedEx Cup points for the win and moved to 98th position on the FedEx Cup Points list with 414 points earned from the 19 events he has played to date this year so far. He is 1,718 points behind the current leader who is Tiger Woods (USA). 

Scott Stallings (USA) in action during the final round

Scott Stallings (USA) played a steady fine round of 68-4 which included a front nine of 34-2 with birdies on the Par 4, 3rd hole and Par 5, 5th hole. He scored 34-2 on the back nine as well with birdies on the Par 5, 11th hole, Par 4, 16th hole and Par 4, 17th hole and his lone bogey came on the Par 4, 14th hole. It was good to see Scott Stallings (USA) finally get a good result this season because before this win his best result was tied for 22nd at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and he had also missed 12 cuts out of the 18 events he had played in before this tournament. He set the tournament scoring record at Annandale GC with a 24-under 264 to claim his second career PGA TOUR title as I mentioned earlier, by two strokes over Jason Bohn. It was his first start in the event. And the win put him in prime position to make the Playoffs. En route to the winning he posted back-to-back, 8-under 64s in the second and third rounds. Following the win, Scott Stallings (USA) announced to television crews and the crowd the pregnancy of his wife with their first child. Stallings told his wife, Jennifer, that if he won, he was going to announce the news a week before originally planned. I sure this win will give him the confidence to have many more top finishes on the USPGA Tour in the 2012 season. I wish him all the best and every continuing success on the USPGA Tour in 2012.

Scott Stallings (USA) poses with the True South Classic Trophy he won

Coming in solo 2nd position at 266-22 after 72 holes was Jason Bohn (USA) who had his best finish to date this year on the USPGA Tour and has now won $US 603,472 which is well on his was to keeping his card for the 2013 USPGA Tour season. Coming in Solo 3rd position at 268-20 after 72 holes was Billy Horschel (USA) and it was his career best finish on the USPGA Tour to date so far. Coming in solo for 4th position at 269-19 after 72 holes was Bud Cauley (USA), it was his third top 10 finish in his rookie season on the USPGA Tour and he has now won $US 956,012 which means he will easily keep his playing Status for the 2013 season. He was just the 7th player to earn their USPGA Tour card by earning enough money in the Tournaments he got sponsor’s exemptions into in 2011 to be inside the top 125 money earners that year and avoided the dreaded Qualifying School.

 Coming in tied for 5th position at 270-18 after 72 holes was Scott Brown (USA) who returned his second top 10 finish of the season. Also tied for 5th position were, Will Claxton (USA) and William McGirt (USA). In solo 8th position at 271-17 after 72 holes was the 2011 Web.com tour Money list winner, J. J. Killeen (USA), and it was his best career finish to date on the USPGA Tour in a rookie season that he has really struggled in. Coming in solo 9th position at 272-16 after 72 holes was Josh Teater (USA), and this finish was his first top 10 of the season. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 10th position at 273-15 after 72 holes were Hunter Hamrick (USA), Chris Kirk (USA) who was the defending Champion and had a fine defence of his title. The last player to tie for 10th position was Ryuji Imada (Japan) and it was his first top 10 finish on the 2012 USPGA Tour season that has so far been a real struggle for him.

Grant Waite (NZL) was the best of the New Zealanders in the field. He scored rounds of 69-3 and 73+1 for a 36 hole total of 142-2 to miss the 36 hole cut by a single stroke. As it was his first appearance on the USPGA Tour this season and he doesn’t yet have a USPGA Tour Money list ranking or a ranking on the FedEx Cup points list. Danny Lee (NZL) was the other New Zealand Golfer in the field. He scored rounds of 74+2 and 70-2 for a 36 hole total of 144 even par and miss the 36 hole halfway cut by 3 strokes. He has now made only 10 cuts from the 19 events he has played in to date this year with his best finish being tied for 19th in the HP Byron Nelson Championship in late May. He moved to 161st position on the USPGA Tour Money list with $US 257,252 earned from the 19 events he has played to date this year so far. He also has 219 FedEx Cup Points from the 19 events he has played to date this year so far which places him in 151st position on the current FedEx Cup Points list, he is 1,913 points behind the current leader, Tiger Woods (USA).

 I feel he will be disappointed with this result because I saw this tournament as a real chance for him to gain his first top 10 finish of the year as the top players were away playing in the 141st Open Championship. He now has even more work to do to get inside the top 125 players on the FedEx Cup Points list that qualify for the first FedEx Cup Playoff event in late August which is The Barclays. He will likely get a start in three of the remaining five FedEx Cup regular season events in the weeks to come and top 10 finishes are essential if he is going to make it. He also has at least seven events left in the USPGA Tour season for 2012 that he is likely to get starts in to try and earn about $US 670,000.00 that is required to finish inside the top 125 Money earners on the Final USPGA Tour Money list in 2012, and keep his full playing Status for the 2012 season. I wish him all the best for the remaining events on the USPGA Tour in 2012.

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup head to Canada for the RBC Canadian Open and it is being played at the Hamilton G&CC, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. It has a large prize purse of $US 5,200,000 for the taking. Sean O'Hair (USA) is the defending Champion and will be keen for back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 29th July and I will report back who won the trophy 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 54th week of his career is Luke Donald (England) with 9.81 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Tiger Woods (USA) with 8.45 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 8.41 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Lee Westwood (England) with 7.89 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 6.47 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is still the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the World. This week he slips 5 places to be at 193rd position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.94 Official World Golf Rankings Points on the list.

Remember in winter to take two to three more clubs than usual because the air is heavy!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com