Golf Events from the Weekend 19th August 2012

Well it was another great weekend of golf on the on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world. First I will start with the USPGA Tour and the FedEx Cup and this week it was the final regular season event for the FedEx Cup and the top 125 players on the FedEx Cup Points list after this event will qualify for the first FedEx Cup Playoff event which is the Barclays played the following week. And it was the Wyndham Championship and it was played on the Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina. And it was the golfer by the name of Sergio Garcia (Spain) who scored rounds of 67-3, 63-7, 66-4 and a final round of 66-4 for a 72 hole total of 262-18 to win by 2 strokes for his first win on the USPGA Tour since the 2008 Players Championship. He won $US 936,000.00 for the win and moved to 35th position on the current USPGA Tour Money list with $US 1,805,316 earned from the 13 events he has played in to date this year so far. Tiger Woods (USA) still leads that list with $US 4,957,158 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year so far. Sergio Garcia (Spain) also got 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to 33rd position on the Final Regular Season FedEx Cup points list with 935 points earned from the 13 events he has played in to date this year so far. He is 1,334 points behind the current FedEx Cup Points leader who is Tiger Woods (USA) with 2,269 points earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year so far. 

Sergio Garcia (Spain) in action during the final round

Sergio Garcia (Spain) played awesome golf in the final round that had to be played over two days due to the heavy rain that fell on Sunday Afternoon. It was the first unscheduled Monday finish since the 2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open. He played an awesome final round of 66-4 in which he scored a front nine of 34-1 with his lone birdie coming on the Par 3, 3rd hole. He played an awesome back nine with some excellent iron play that included birdies on the Par 4, 11th hole and Par 4, 13th hole. He then had three birdies in a row from the Par 5, 15th hole where he got up and down from the green side bunker for his birdie. On the short par 3, 16th hole he struck his short iron into within 2feet of the cup and easily made the birdie putt. And on the Par 4, 17th hole he hit an awesome second shot into within 7 feet of the cup and easily made the birdie putt to move to -18 for the Tournament. He took a four shot lead into the Par 4, 72nd hole. He hit a poor drive to the left of the fairway that found the pine needles in the left trees. He chipped out and left himself a mid iron to the green from the middle of the fairway. He struck it well but it landed 40 feet past the pin. He knew that now he could 3 putt and still win but struck a brilliant putt from 40 feet that almost went in the hole for his par. It rolled 2 feet past and he easily tapped that putt in for bogey and the win. He scored 32-3 on the back nine. 

Sergio Garcia (Spain) poses with the Sam Snead Trophy he won

He now should of secured his spot in the Ryder Cup for the European Team, he isn’t yet inside the top 10 players that qualify but I can’t see that the European Ryder Cup Captain, Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain) can leave him out off the team with his awesome record in Ryder Cup matches having played in 5 of the last 6 Ryder Cup Matches. I believe he will be one of Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain) Captains Picks. It was his 8th win on the USPGA Tour and here are his wins from his very first to the most recent: 2001 MasterCard Colonial, Buick Classic, 2002 Mercedes Championships, 2004 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, Buick Classic, 2005 Booz Allen Classic, 2008 THE PLAYERS Championship, 2012 Wyndham Championship.  Since his tied for 4th place finish at the Northern Trust Open in mid February he had really struggled with his game on the USPGA Tour with not recording a single top 10 finish until he won this week. I feel this win should give him a huge boost of confidence heading into the first playoff event at the Barclays which is next week. And it is being played at Bethpage State Park where the 2002 US Open Championship was held and that year he was in contention right till the final holes and finished a few shot shy of the eventual winner who was Tiger Woods (USA). Sergio Garcia (Spain) must really be the player to watch in the FedEx Cup playoffs. I wish him all the best for the remaining events in the 2012 season. And hope he can secure that maiden Major Championship win in the next few years.

In solo second position at 264-16 after 72 holes was Tim Clark (RSA), and he had to hole a 42 foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to finish on minus 16. And it was his best finish on the USPGA Tour to date this season. He has now won $US 1,228,539 so far this season. Coming in solo 3rd position at 275-15 after 72 holes was the 22 year old Bud Cauley (USA) who is in his rookie season on the USPGA Tour. It was his best finish on the USPGA Tour to date this year so far. He has now earned $US 1,524,546 from the 23 events he has played to date this year so far and has already secured his fully exempt status for the 2013 season. His Maiden USPGA Tour win can’t be too far away? In tied for 4th position at 266-14 after 72 holes was Chad Campbell (USA), and with this finish he secures his full playing status for the 2013 season. Also tied for 4th position was Jimmy Walker (USA), it was his 4th top 10 finish of the season and he has earned $US 1,261,258 from the 23 events he has played in to date this year so far. He will easily keep his full playing status for the 2013 season. Carl Pettersson (Sweden) was the final player to tie for 4th position, he continued on his fine form of late and now has achieved 6 top 10 finishes from the 22 events he has played in to date this season so far. He also won the RBC Heritage back in mid April. He has earned $US 3,295,796 to date this year and is in 7th position on the FedEx Cup points list with 1,691 points earned heading into the first playoff event next week. He could be a real threat to win the FedEx Cup in the next few weeks?

In tied for 7th position at 267-13 after 72 holes was the big hitting, Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) from the European Tour who was making a rear appearance on the USPGA Tour. He has earned $US 494,386 from the 8 events he has played to date this year so far but because he isn’t a member of the USPGA Tour he doesn’t have a FedEx Cup ranking or Money list ranking. Also tied for 7th position was last year’s FedEx Cup winner, Bill Haas (USA), and he has backed up his awesome year of 2011 with another fine year in 2012 with winning the Northern Trust Open in mid February and having 3 top 10 finishes from the 20 events he has entered to date this year so far. He has earned $2,286,771 and is in 21st position on the current FedEx Cup points list after regular season play with 1,181 points. I wouldn’t be surprised if he contends for the FedEx Cup again this year. The last player to tied for 7th position was properly the most consistent performer on the USPGA Tour in 2012, Jason Dufner (USA); he has now earned $US 4,548,104 from the 19 events he has played in to date this year so far. He has recorded 8 top 10 finishes from the 19 events he has played so far this year that includes two wins the first at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in late April and the second at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in mid May. He also has 2,110 FedEx Cup points and is in 2nd place on the list after regular season play heading into the first playoff event next week. But he has made the decision to bypass the first playoff event because he wants to be fresh for the last 3 playoff events. I wonder if this will hurt his chances of winning the FedEx Cup? Rounding out the Top 10 in tied for 10th position at 268-12 after 72 holes was John Merrick (USA) who is having another fine season and easily keeps his card for the 2013 season and is in 81st position on the FedEx Cup Points list heading into the first playoff event with 572 points. Also tied for 10th position was Troy Matteson (USA), and he has now earned $US 986,966 and is in 60th position on the FedEx Cup Points list heading into the first playoff event. He could be the surprise of the playoffs? Also tied for 10th position was this year’s United States Ryder Cup Captain, Davis Love III (USA), it was his second top 10 of the season and he has now earned $US 774,934 from the 15 events he has played this year so far. The final player to tie for 10th position was Harris English (USA), and he is having a fine Rookie Season on the USPGA Tour after gaining his card at the 2011 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. He has now earned $US 990,109 from the 22 events he has played to date this year so far. And his full playing status for the 2013 season is now secure.

The only New Zealander in the field was Danny Lee (NZL), he scored rounds of 71+1 and 69-1 for a 36 hole total of 140 even par and missed the cut by a single stroke. He now has only made 11 cuts from the 22 events he has played in to date this year so far. He remains in 168th position on the current USPGA Tour Money list with $US 264,062 earned from the 22 events he has played to date this year so far. Tiger Woods (USA) still leads that list with $4,957,158 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this year. He also slips to 159th position on the current FedEx Cup points list with 226 points earned from the 22 events he has played in the FedEx Cup regular season and unfortunately he missed the playoffs in his rookie season by 137 points. He was 2,043 points behind Tiger Woods (USA) who leads the FedEx Cup points list after the regular season with 2,269 points earned from the 15 events he played in to date this year and now heads to the first playoff event with the points lead. Danny Lee (NZL) now has a seven week break before the USPGA Tour Fall series starts in early October with the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. Maybe he will play a few Web.com Tour events in between to try and keep his game sharp? His best finish on the USPGA Tour to date this season so far is tied for 19th at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in mid May. He would be disappointed with his rookie season on the USPGA Tour so far after showing a lot of promise on the Web.com Tour in 2011 where he finished 6th on the Final Money list to gain his USPGA Tour card for this season. Once the fall series events begin in the first week of October he will have 4 events to earn about $US 400, 000 because last year it took about $US 670, 000 to stay inside the top 125 players on the USPGA Tour’s final money list to keep your full exempt status for the following season. But if he is able to earn another $US 150, 000 from those 4 events he will gain partially exempt status for the following season. Last year it was about $US 410, 000 that was needed to finish inside the top 150 players on the USPGA Tour final money list and gain partially exempt status for the following season . If he is unable to do that he will be heading back to the second stage of USPGA Tour Qualifying School which starts in mid November. I wish him all the best in the remaining events on the USPGA Tour in 2012.

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup head to New York for the Barclays and it is being played this year on the Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale, New York. Only the Players inside the top 125 on the Final FedEx Cup Regular Season Points list will get to play in this first playoff event. It has a huge prize purse of $US 8,000,000 for the taking. Dustin Johnson (USA) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 23rd August and I will report back who won the trophy next week.

The second event I am reporting on this week was on the Champions Tour and was part of the Charles Schwab Cup and was the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open and it was played on the En-Joie GC, Endicott, New York. And it was Willie Wood (USA) who scored rounds of 67-5, 68-4 and a final round of 68-4 for a 54 hole total of 203-13 and to do that he had to hole a left to right breaking putt from 35 feet on the 54th hole for birdie to get in the playoff. Michael Allen (USA) scored rounds of 66-6, 71-1 and a final round of 66-6 for a 54 hole total of 203-13 also. So those two players headed back to the 18th tee for the first playoff hole. 

Willie Wood (USA) in action on the final day

Willie Wood (USA) drew number one out of the hat from the Champions Tour Official and hit his drive on the short Par 4, right down the centre of the fairway. Michael Allen (USA) played next and hit a very poor drive that land in the left hand water hazard. The bad drive may have come from the fact that he had been waiting on the practise tee for the playoff for quite a while. Michael Allen (USA) then played a poor third shot after taking his drop from the hazard and landed his ball short in the right front green side bunker. Willie Wood (USA) played his second shot next with his short iron and hit a brilliant shot under the circumstance landing on the green 15 feet to the left of the pin. Michael Allen (USA) then played a brilliant bunker shot from the front right green side bunker and it went so close to going in the hole and came to rest a foot from the pin. But he knew that once it had missed he had lost the tournament. Willie Wood (USA) now had 2putts to win the tournament. His 15 foot birdie putt just missed on the right hand side but came to rest inches from the cup and he tapped in for his Par 4 and had won his maiden Champions Tour Title.

Willie Wood (USA) won $US 270,000.00 for the win and moved to 28th position on the current Champions Tour Money list with $US 440,817 earned from the 8 events he has played in to date this year so far. Bernhard Langer (Germany) leads that list with $US 1,463,896 earned from the 15 events he has played in to date this year so far. Willie Wood (USA) is also in 28th position on the current Charles Schwab Cup points list with 270 points earned from the 8 events he has played to date this year so far. He is 1,773 points behind the current leader who is Tom Lehman (USA) who has earned 2,043 points from the 15 events he has played to date this year so far.

Willie Wood (USA) poses with the Dick's Sporting Goods Open Trophy he won

For Willie Wood (USA) it will be a huge relief winning his Maiden Champions Tour event because it will mean for the next year he will no longer need to Monday Qualify for Champions Tour events. It is amazing to think that that is what he did this week and still won. He played an Awesome final round of 68-4 that included a front nine of 35-2 with birdies on the Par 4, 2nd hole, Par 5, 3rd hole, Par 4, 6th hole and Par 5, 8th hole but he recorded his lone double bogey on the Par 3, 4th hole. He played a very good back nine of 33-2 which included birdies on the Par 5, 12th hole and Par 4, 18th hole. Willie Wood (USA) who turns 52 on the 1st October and he will the moon with this win. And the confidence he will gain is priceless. I wish him all the best with his remaining success on the Champions Tour in the 2012 season.

Michael Allen (USA) will be disappointed with how he performed on the playoff hole but will be happy with how his season has gone so far with earnings of $US 1,437,223 from the 16 events he has played in to date this year so far. And he has also earned 1,424 points on the Charles Schwab Cup points list which places him in 5th position on the list. In tied for 3rd position at 204-12 after 54 holes was Joey Sindelar (USA) who scored a fine final round of 66-6. Also tied for 3rd position was Kenny Perry (USA) who recorded his 7th top 10 finish of the season. Tom Lehman (USA) was also tied for 3rd position and he is the current leader of the Charles Schwab Cup with 2,043 points. The final player to tie for 3rd position was Brad Faxon (USA), and he will be very disappointed with how he played the final few holes after being in control of the tournament heading into the back nine holes. A duffed chip shot and a shanked chip shot on the closing holes really showed he was feeling the pressure. But it was his second top 10 of the season. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 7th position at 205-11 after 54 holes was John Cook (USA). Also tied for 7th was the current leader of the Champions Tour Money list, Bernhard Langer (Germany). Also tied for 7th position was the 1989 Open Championship, Mark Calcavecchia (USA). Also tied for 7th position was the Two Time Major Champion, Mark O’Meara (USA). The last player to tie for 7th position was Peter Senior (Australia); since joining the Champions Tour in 2010 he has recorded 5 second place finishes and he must be due to win his maiden event on the Champions Tour soon?

Next week the Champions Tour and FedEx Cup heads to Washington for the Boeing Classic and it is being played on the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, Snoqualmie, Washington. It has a large prize purse of $US 2,000,000 for the taking. Mark Calcavecchia (USA) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Friday 24th August and I will report back who won the trophy next week.

The final event I am report on this week was on the Web.com Tour and was the Midwest Classic Presented by Cadillac and it was played on the Nicklaus GC at LionsGate, Overland Park, Kansas. And it was the Golfer by the name of Shawn Stefani (USA) who scored rounds of 68-3, 68-3, 67-4 and a final round of 64-7 for a 72 hole total of 267-17 to win by 2 strokes for his Maiden win on Web.com Tour. He won $US 99,000.00 for the win and moved to 12th position on the Nationwide Tour Money list with $US 166,715 earned from the 17 events he has played in to date so far this year. Luke List (USA) leads that list with $US 309,196 earned from the 17 events he has played in to date this year so far.

Shawn Stefani (USA) in action during the final round

Shawn Stefani (USA) played consistent golf all week but just had an awesome final round of 64-7 that was blemish free and included a front nine of 34-2 where he birdied the Par 5, 4th hole and the Par 3, 8th hole. He played a brilliant back nine of 30-5 that included birdies at the Par 4, 10th hole, Par 5, 12th hole, Par 4, 13th hole, Par 4, 15th hole and Par 4, 18th hole. If he can remain inside the Top 25 on the Web.com Tour Money list till the end of the season he will gain his Full Playing Status on the USPGA Tour for the 2013 season. This win may just give him the confidence he needs to reach the next level. I wish him all the best for the remaining events on the Web.com Tour in 2012.

Another shot of Shawn Stefani (USA) during the final round

Coming in tied for second position at 269-15 after 72 holes was Luke List (USA) who is the current leader of the Web.com Tour Money list. Also tied for second position was Russell Henley (USA) who recorded his best finish on the Web.com Tour to date this year. Coming in tied for 4th position at 270-14 after 72 holes was Tad Ridings (USA), he is a former USPGA Tour player and this was his best finish on the Web.com Tour to date this season. Also tied for 4th position was Matt Weibring (USA), and this too was his best finish on the Web.com Tour from the limited starts he has had. Coming tied for 6th position at 271-13 after 72 holes was Luke Guthrie (USA), he continued on his fine season with the limited starts he has had on both tours. This was his 3rd top 10 finish in the 4 starts he has had on the Web.com Tour and he has won $US 152,963 which places him in 15th position on the current Web.com Tour Money list. He has also earned $US 284,672 on the USPGA Tour from the 3 events he has played in. And he had to Monday Qualify to make it into those events. Also tied for 6th position was Ben Martin (USA), it was his best finish on the Web.com tour in 2012 to date so far. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 8th position at 272-12 after 72 holes was Robert Streb (USA), and it was his 4th top 10 finish of the season. Also tied for 8th position was Jason Schultz (USA), and it was his best finish to date this year from the 7 events he has played in. The last player to tie for 8th position was Jason Gore (USA) who is a former USPGA Tour Winner. It was his first top 10 on the Web.com Tour this season. He has also been playing some USPGA Tour Events he could get starts in with not much success.

There were two New Zealand Golfers in the field and they both made the cut. The best of them was Tim Wilkinson (NZL), he scored rounds of 68-3, 72+1, 68-3 and a final round of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 277-7 after 72 holes. He tied for 35th position and won $US 2,750.00 for his efforts and moved to 66th position on the current Web.com Tour Money List with $US 61,280 earned from the 18 events he has played to date this year so far. He will need some good finishes in the coming months if he is going to finish in the top 25 players on the final Web.com Tour Money list and gain his USPGA Tour card for the 2013 season. Steven Alker (NZL) was the other New Zealand Golfer to make the cut. He scored rounds of 68-3, 70-1, 72+1 and a final round of 72+1 for a 72 hole total of 282-2 and he tied for 60th position. He won $US 1,622.50 for his efforts. He moved to 83rd position on the current Web.com Tour Money list with $US 43,394 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year so far. Just like his fellow countryman he will need some good finishes in the coming months if he is going to finish in the top 25 players on the final Web.com Tour Money list and gain his USPGA Tour card for the 2013 season.

Next week the Web.com Tour heads to Tennessee for the News Sentinel Open Presented by Pilot and it is being played on the Fox Den CC, Knoxville, Tennessee. It carries a prize purse of $US 500,000. Kirk Triplett (USA) is the defending Champion, but because he now plays the on the Champions Tour Fulltime there will be a new Champion. It starts on Thursday 23rd August. 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 8th week of his career is the 94th PGA Champion, Rory McILroy (NIR) with 10.42 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Luke Donald (England) with 9.61 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Tiger Woods (USA) with 8.63 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Lee Westwood (England) with 7.23 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 6.20 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 209th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.87 Official World Golf Rankings Points on the list.

Remember you “Drive for show and Putt for Dough”!!

Source: pgatour.com