Golf Events from the Weekend 2nd September 2012

Well it was another awesome weekend of Golf on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world. First I will start with the European Tour and The Race to Dubai. This week it headed to Switzerland for the Omega European Masters and it was played on the Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans Montana, Switzerland. And it was the Golfer by the name of Richie Ramsay (Scotland) who scored rounds of 69-2, 68-3, 64-6 and a final round of 66-5 for a 72 hole total of 267-16 and he won by 4 strokes. He won € 350,000.00 for the win and moved to 20th position on the current Race to Dubai Money list with € 763,254 earned from the 19 events he has played to date this year so far. Rory McILroy (NIR) still leads that list with €2,813,962 earned from the 11 events he has played to date this year so far.

Richie Ramsay (Scotland) pumps his fist to celebrate after holing the winning putt!!

It was his second European Tour International Schedule victory in his 122nd European Tour event. He could move into the top 70 of the Official World Golf Rankings from 110th position. It was his first European Tour victory since the 2010 South African Open Championship. He has played in 74 European Tour events since his last victory. This victory beats his previous best 2012 performance of second in the Ballantine's Championship in late April. It was his second consecutive top six finish, following his sixth place at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, seven days ago. He becomes the second consecutive Scottish winner on The European Tour, following Paul Lawrie (Scotland) at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. This is the first time two different Scottish golfers have won consecutive European Tour events since Andrew Coltart (Scotland) (2001 Great North Open) and Colin Montgomerie (Scotland) (2001 Murphy's Irish Open).

It is also the first time Scotland has won consecutive European Tour events since Andrew Coltart (Scotland) and Colin Montgomerie (Scotland) in 2001. He becomes only the second Scot to win the Omega European Masters, following Colin Montgomerie (Scotland) in 1996. This victory comes in his fourth appearance in the Omega European Masters. And finally this victory beats his previous best finish in the Omega European Masters of tied 34th in 2011.

Richie Ramsay (Scotland) played an awesome final round scoring 66-5 that included a front nine of 31-5 with birdies on the Par 5, 1st hole, Par 3, 3rd hole, Par 4, 4th hole, Par 4, 7th hole and Par 5, 9th hole. He played a steady back nine under the circumstances with such a big lead he had scoring 35 even par which included an eagle on the Par 5, 14th hole, but he suffered bogies on the Par 3, 13th hole and Par 4, 17th hole. This win will give him a lot of confidence. It was his third top 10 finish of the 2012 season on the European Tour. He was always destined for stardom after he claimed one of the biggest prizes in Amateur Golf with winning the 2006 US Amateur Championship. He turned professional at the end of the 2007 season with playing a few events on the Challenge Tour which is the equal to the Web.com Tour in Europe. He went to the finals of the European Tour Qualifying School in 2007 but failed to get his European Tour Card for the 2008 season. So he spent the 2008 season playing the Challenge Tour full time. He had an Awesome season with winning twice, first at the Vodafone Challenge and then at the AGF-Allianz Golf Open Grand Toulouse. He also achieved five other top 10 finishes in 2008. He finished in 8th position on the final Challenge Tour rankings with earnings of  €106,656 from the 21 events he played in and gained his full status on the European Tour in 2009.

Richie Ramsay (Scotland) holds aloft the Omega European Masters Trophy he won

He struggled in his rookie season on the European Tour with missing the cut in 16 events he played in. But he did get one top 10 finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship but he finished up in 97th position with €331,171 earned from the 31 events he played in and easily kept his playing Status for the 2010 season. In 2010 he had a much better season with gaining his maiden European Tour win at the South African Open Championship and he finished in 47th position on the final Race to Dubai Money list standings with €740,694 earned from the 32 events he played in. In 2011 he had another good season on the European Tour with recording 6 top 10 finishes and he finished in 20th position on the final Race to Dubai Money list with €763,254 earned from the 19 events he played in. This year he is on his way to even improving on his 2011 season result on the Race to Dubai Money list and I feel he could even be a contender to take out the Race to Dubai Championship if everything goes well for him. I wish him all the best for the remaining events on the European Tour in 2012.

Coming in tied for second position at 271-12 after 72 holes was Marcus Fraser (Australia), it continued on his fine season he has had so far on the European Tour with already recording 5 top 10 finishes and his season earnings to date are € 781,947 from the 19 events he has played in which places him in 19th position on the current Race to Dubai Money list standings. Also tied for second position was Romain Wattel (France), he continued on his fine form from his 3rd placing at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles last week and he is only 21 years old. Also tied for second position was Fredrik Andersson Hed (Sweden), he too continued on his fine form from his 3rd placing at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles last week. His full playing status for the 2013 season is now secure. The final player to tie for second position was Danny Willett (England), he too continued on his fine season he is having with now having had four top 10 finishes including a win at the BMW International Open in late June.

Coming tied for 6th position at 276-11 after 72 holes was Bernd Wiesberger (Austria), he continued on his awesome season he is having on the European Tour in 2012. It was his fourth top 10 finish from the 21 events he has played in so far and that includes wins at the Ballantine's Championship in late April and the Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity in late July. Also tied for 6th position was Felipe Aguilar (Chile), it was his 3rd top 10 finish of the season. His full playing status for the 2013 European Tour season should now be secure. The final player to tie for 6th position was last week’s winner, Paul Lawrie (Scotland). He continues on his awesome season on the European Tour with now having recorded eight top 10 finishes which includes wins at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy in late January and the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles just last week. He has only missed 2 cuts out of the 20 events he has played in so far. He has now moved to 6th position on the current Race to Dubai Money list with € 1,700,132 earned from the 20 events he has played to date this year so far. He must now be a serious threat to take out the Race to Dubai Money list title in late November?

Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 9th position at 273-10 after 72 holes was Anders Hansen (Denmark); it was his first top 10 finish of the 2012 season. But he has still had a good season to date with earnings of € 440,439 from the 16 events he has played to date this year so far, and that places him is 47th position on the current Race to Dubai Money list standings. The other player to tie for 9th position was Jamie Donaldson (Wales); he has now recorded four top 10 finishes with the highlight being his maiden win on the European Tour at the Irish Open in early July. And he has only missed 2 cuts out of the 16 events he has played in to date this year so far. He has earned € 834,972 which places him in 17th position on the current Race to Dubai Money list standings.

Michael Campbell (NZL) was the only New Zealander in the field. He scored rounds of 70-1, 71 even, 67-3 and a final round of 67-4 for a 72 hole total 275-8 and he tied for 14th position which was his second best finish on the European Tour in the 2012 season. He earned € 29,610.00 for his efforts and moves to 146th position on the current Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 93,813 earned from the 16 events he has played to date this season so far. It was his 5th cut he has made this season and in the last 2 months he has showed a lot better form. He still has a long way to go to get back to the form he showed when he won the 105th US Open Championship in 2005. I hope he can have some better finishes in the events to come in the coming months on the European Tour.

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai heads to The Netherlands for the Hilversumsche GC, Hilversum, The Netherlands. It has a prize purse of €1,800,000 for the taking. Simon Dyson (England) is the defending Champion and will be keen for back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 6th September 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 was the second event in the FedEx Cup Playoff Series. Only the top 100 players on the FedEx Cup Playoffs list after the first playoff event which was the Barclays, qualified to play in the Deutsche Bank Championship which was having its 10th Anniversary and it was played on the TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts. And it was the Golfer by the name of Rory McILroy (NIR) who scored rounds of 65-6, 65-6, 67-4 and a final round 67-4 for a 72 hole total of 264-20 and he won by a single stroke. He won $US1, 440, 000.00 for the win and moved to Number One Position on the current USPGA Tour Money list with $US 6, 402,192 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year so far. He also gained 2500 FedEx Cup points (FedEx Cup points in the first three playoff events are worth five times more than the regular season) for the win and moved to Number One position on the FedEx Cup Playoffs points list with 4,799 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year so far. He is 1,331 points ahead of Nick Watney (USA) who is in second position with 3,468 points earned from the 23 events he has played to date this year so far.

Rory McILroy (NIR) smiles during the final round

Rory McILroy (NIR) who started the final round that was played on Labour Day Monday in the USA was 3 strokes behind the 54 hole leader, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) who was -19. Rory McILroy (NIR) got off to a great start to his final round with a hat trick birdies on the Par 5, 2nd hole, Par 3, 3rd hole and Par 4, 4th hole to move to -19 after 5 holes of the final round. He was now only one stroke behind Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) who also birdied the Par 4, 4th hole to get to -20. But when Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) double bogeyed the Par 4, 5th hole and Rory McILroy (NIR) bogeyed it as well it meant that those two players were tied on -18. Rory McILroy (NIR) then birdied the Par 4, 6th hole to get to -19 and the Par 3, 8th to get to -20. He went out in 32-4 and now had a 2 stroke lead over Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) -18. Rory McILroy (NIR) then proceeded to birdie the Par 4, 12th hole to get to -21 and now had a three stroke lead over Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) who was -18. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) fought back well though and birdied the Par 4, 13th hole to get to -19 and the Par 4, 15th hole to get to -20 and was now only one stroke behind Rory McILroy (NIR) who was at -21 with three holes to play. They both made solid pars on the Par 3, 16th hole.

On the Par 4, 17th hole Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) teed off first and hit a great drive right down the centre of the fairway. Rory McILroy (NIR) then teed off and hit a poor drive that landed in the right rough. Rory McILroy (NIR) then played his second shot first and hit a long iron from the deep rough and pulled it pin high well left of the green leaving an impossible chip over the left hand greenside bunker for his third shot with no green to work with from a terrible lie in the rough. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) now had a real good chance to pick up some shots on Rory McILroy (NIR). But he hit a very poor second shot with his short iron that landed in the right hand rough pin high. Rory McILroy (NIR) played his chip shot from his horrible lie in the left hand green side rough and hit it over the green and it landed in another terrible lie in the rough at the back of the green. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) had a real good chance for a two shot swing if he could get up and down for his par. But he chose to play his chip shot as a flop shot and it landed just short of the flag stick and rolled 10 feet past the cup. Johnny Miller (USA) who was commentating for NBC Sports said “he was surprised with the choice of shot he chose to play because the lie he had was much more suited to a chip and run shot”. Rory McILroy (NIR) now had a little bit less pressure on him for his fourth shot. He played a fine chip shot that rolled 8 feet past the cup leaving him a makeable putt for bogey. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) now had his 10 foot putt for par and just missed it and tapped in for his bogey 5 to fall back to minus 19 with one hole to play. Rory McILroy (NIR) then steadied himself and calmly rolled in his 8 foot par putt to fall back to minus 20.

So Rory McILroy (NIR) took a 1 stroke over Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) with just the 72nd hole to play. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) teed off first and again just as he did on the 17th hole he hit a great tee shot right down the centre of the fairway on the short Par 5, 18th hole. Rory McILroy (NIR) teed off next and hit a brilliant tee shot right down the middle of the fairway, but it rolled too far into the rough that was through the fairway. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) played his second shot first with his fairway wood and leaked to the right and landed short of the green narrowly missing the hazard. Rory McILroy (NIR) chose to lay up with his second shot with a wedge leaving about 100 yards to the green for his third shot. Rory McILroy (NIR) played his third shot first with his wedge and landed it on the green pin high about 25 feet from the pin. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) had a very difficult chip shot for his third shot, but he played it brilliantly and it landed just over the bunker on the green, but it rolled 15 feet past the hole. Rory McILroy (NIR) now had his 25 foot birdie putt to win the Deutsche Bank Championship, he hit a good putt that sat on the left lip of the cup and decided not to drop. He bit his putter grip in frustration and then tapped in for his Par 5, to post minus 20 for the 72 holes. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) now had his 15 foot birdie putt to force a playoff with Rory McILroy (NIR). He struck a good putt but it just missed going in on the right hand side. And he tapped in for par 5 and had to settle for second position.

Rory McILroy (NIR) ended up scoring 35 even par on the back nine. And he scored 67-4 in his final round. It was Rory McILroy’s (NIR) 8th top 10 finish of the 2012 USPGA Tour season and 3 of those top 10 finishes are wins that included The Honda Classic in early March, 94th PGA Championship in early August and this event. He is now equal with Tiger Woods (USA) for the most wins in the 2012 USPGA Tour season with three. He becomes the youngest ever golfer to win a FedEx Cup Playoff Event and he is the second youngest golfer behind Tiger Woods (USA) to win 5 USPGA Tour events at the tender age of 23 years old. Here are his 5 wins to date on the USPGA Tour from the first to the most recent: 2010 Wells Fargo Championship, 2011 U.S. Open Championship, 2012 The Honda Classic, 94th PGA Championship and the Deutsche Bank Championship. He is also number one of the Race to Dubai Money list as I mentioned earlier.

Rory McILroy (NIR) poses with the Deutsche Bank Open Trophy he won

I feel Rory McILroy (NIR) must now be odds on favourite to the win the FedEx Cup even though there is a long way to go. I feel this year he could win two of the most prestigious titles on the two biggest Professional Golfer Tours. The first one is the FedEx Cup and the second one is the Race to Dubai title on the European Tour. I wish Rory McILroy (NIR) all the best for the rest of the 2012 season.

Coming in solo 2nd position at 265-19 after 72 holes was Louis Oosthuizen (RSA). He is having a great season with earnings already of $US 3, 211, 595 from the 17 events he has played in this year so far. And he moves to 5th position on the current FedEx Cup Playoff Standings with 2,909 points. His highlight of the 2012 season so far must be his runner up finish at the first Major Championship of the year which was the Masters Tournament. He is an exciting player to watch and has a picture perfect golf swing. And he proved in the third round of this tournament he isn’t afraid of taking in low when he was minus 8 after 10 holes. Coming in solo third position at 266-18 after 72 holes was Tiger Woods (USA); it was the first tournament on the USPGA Tour since the 2009 BMW Championship that he has scored four consecutive rounds in the 60’s. It was Tiger Woods (USA) 7th top 10 finish of the 2012 USPGA Tour season so far and 3 of those top 10 finishes have been wins including Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard in late March; the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance in early June and the tournament he is the host of the AT&T National in early July. He is now in third position on the FedEx Cup Playoffs points list with 3,417 points earned from the 17 events he has played to date this year so far. I feel he is right where he wants to be heading into the final two playoff events remaining.

Coming in tied for 4th position at 270-14 after 72 holes was Phil Mickelson (USA); it just continues on another fine season for him with already recording 6 top 10 finishes which includes a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro – Am in early February. He moved to 9th position in the current FedEx Cup Playoffs points list with 2,170 points earned from the 20 events he has played in to date so far this year. He is still a better than average chance to win the FedEx Cup in my opinion. Also tied for 4th position was Dustin Johnson (USA); it was also his 7th top finish on the USPGA Tour to date this year so far which included a win in the FedEx St. Jude Classic in early June. He moved to 6th position on the current FedEx Cup Playoffs points list with 2,622 points earned from the 17 events he has played to date this year so far. He too has a great chance to win the FedEx Cup if plays well in the next two playoff events. Coming in solo 6th position at 271-13 after 72 holes was Brandt Snedeker (USA); he is having a great season on the USPGA Tour with recording 6 top 10 finishes that includes a win in the Farmers Insurance Open in late January. He moves to 4th position in the current FedEx Cup Playoffs points list with 3,194 points earned from the 20 events he has played in to date this year so far. He too is a real contender to win the FedEx Cup.

Coming in tied for 7th position at 272-12 after 72 holes was Adam Scott (Australia); it was his 4th top 10 finish of his 2012 USPGA Tour season and that includes his 2nd placing at the Open Championship in mid July. That was where he had four bogeys in the last four holes to lose by 1 stroke to Ernie Els (RSA). But he now climbs in to the Top 30 on the current FedEx Cup Playoffs points list with 1,448 points earned from the 14 events he has played so far this year. And that sees him in 25th position on the FedEx Cup Playoff points list with two playoff events remaining. He will need a high finish this week to be sure of his place in the final playoff event in two weeks time which is the Tour Championship that only the top 30 on the FedEx Cup Playoff points list after the BMW Championship get a start in. The other player to tie for 7th position was Jeff Overton (USA); it was only his 3rd top 10 finish of the season. He now has 1,104 points on the current FedEx Cup playoff points list and is in 40th position heading into the 3rd playoff which the BMW Championship next week and will properly need a top 10 finish to make it inside the top 30 players on the FedEx Cup points list at the conclusion of this event that earn the right to play in the Tour Championship at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

In solo 9th position at 273-11 after 72 holes was Bryce Molder (USA); it was his second top 10 finish on the USPGA Tour this season. He is now in 45th position on the current FedEx Cup Playoff points list with 1, 003 points earned from the 22 events he has played in so far this year. But he will need a high finish this week if he is going to make it to the Tour Championship. Rounding out the top 10 in tied for 10th position at 274-10 after 72 holes was Kevin Stadler (USA); he has had a solid season on the USPGA Tour with recording 5 top 10 finishes and is in 32nd position on the current FedEx Cup Playoff points list with 1,285 points earned from the 23 events he has played to date this year so far. Another top 10 finish this week and he is certain to make the Tour Championship. Also tied for 10th position was Ryan Moore (USA); he too has recorded 5 top 10 finishes on the USPGA Tour so far this year. And he is currently in 35th position on the FedEx Cup Playoffs points list with 1,205 points earned from the 21 events he has played in to date this year so far. He too with another top 10 finish this week is certain to make the Tour Championship.

Charley Hoffman (USA) who finished on 279-5 after 72 holes and tied for 26th position was what the playoffs are all about. He had to two putt the final green for his par 5 to make the BMW Championship by finishing inside the top 70 on the FedEx Cup Playoffs points list after this event and it was from about 40 feet. He rolled the first putt 10 feet past the hole, but was able to make the 10 foot return putt for his Par 5 and he finished in 69th position on the current FedEx Cup Playoffs points list with 833 points earned from the 25 events he has played to date this year so far. He will need a huge finish this week at the BMW Championship if he is going to get inside the top 30 players on the FedEx Cup Playoffs points list that make the Tour Championship after the BMW Championship. The player that finished in 70th position on the current FedEx Cup Playoffs points list after the Deutsche Bank Championship was Dicky Pride (USA); he finished on 278-6 after 72 holes and was tied for 20th position. He has earned 829 points from the 16 events he has played to date this year so far. He too will need a huge finish this week at the BMW Championship if he is going to get inside the top 30 players on the FedEx Cup Playoffs points list that make the Tour Championship after the BMW Championship.

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup Playoff Series heads to Indiana for the third FedEx Cup Playoff Event which is the BMW Championship and it is being played on the Crooked Stick GC, Carmel, Indiana. Only the top 70 players on the current FedEx Cup Playoff Points list qualify to play in it. It has a huge prize purse of $US 8,000,000 for the taking and of course FedEx Cup points are worth 5 times more than the regular season so some big moves can be made on the FedEx Cup Playoff Points list. Justin Rose (England) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 6th September and I will report back he 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 week of a 4th spell of his career and the 11th week of his career in total is the 94th PGA Champion, Rory McILroy (NIR) who was fresh off his Deutsche Bank Championship win with 11.51 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Luke Donald (England) with 9.29 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Tiger Woods (USA) with 9.26 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Lee Westwood (England) with 7.13 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 6.15 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 218th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.83 Official World Golf Ranking Points on the list.

Remember as the course starts drying out play for more roll out on your shots.

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com