Golf Events from the Weekend 2nd December 2012

Well again it was another exciting weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the World. First I will start with the PGA Tour of Australasia and this week it was in NSW for the NSW PGA Championship and it was played on the Mt Broughton Golf and Country Club, NSW, Australia. And it was the Golfer by the name of Matthew Stieger (Australia) who scored rounds of 67-5, 67-5, 71-1 and a brilliant blemish free final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 273-15 and he won by three strokes. He won AU$ 15,000.00 for his efforts and moved to 29th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with AU$ 29,056.89 earned from the six events he has played to date this year so far. Michael Hendry (NZL) currently leads the PGA Tour of Australasia 2012 Order of Merit with $AU 206,833.42 earned from the seven events he has played to date this year so far.

Matthew Stieger (Australia) played just a dream final round of 68-4 and that included a front nine of 35-1 and he was minus 12 with nine holes to play. He was still two strokes behind Callan O’Reilly (Australia) (Am) on minus 14 who had scored a front nine of 34-2 and it looked like a possibility that we could have back to back Amateur winners on the PGA Tour of Australasia following Jake Higginbottom’s (Australia) win last week at the BMW NZ Open. Daniel Nisbet (Australia) was three stroke back on minus 11 and Nick Cullen (Australia) was four shots back on minus 10. Matthew Stieger (Australia) pared the Par 3, 10th hole but made a brilliant eagle on the Par 5, 11th hole to move to minus 14. Callan O’Reilly (Australia) (Am) bogeyed the par 3, tenth hole and made a terrible double bogey 7 on the Par 5, 11th hole which was his first of the tournament and fell back to minus 11 now three strokes behind. Daniel Nisbet (Australia) birdied the Par 3, tenth hole and made a solid par on the Par 5, 11th hole and was now on minus 12 only two strokes off the lead. Nick Cullen (Australia) bogeyed the Par 3, tenth and Par 5, 11th holes to fall back to minus eight and was now sixth shots back.

Matthew Stieger (Australia) pared holes 12 -15 and remained at minus 14 and now had a two shot lead over Daniel Nisbet (Australia) who had played those same holes in minus one to move to minus 12 with three holes remaining. Callan O’Reilly (Australia) (Am) played those same holes in even par and remained at minus 11 with three holes to play. Nick Cullen (Austrlaia) played those same holes in two under par and moved to minus ten now only four shots back. Matthew Stieger (Australia) birdied the Par 3, 16th hole to move to minus 15 and then made a solid par on the Par 4, 17th hole and now took a three stroke lead to the 72nd hole. Daniel Nisbet (Australia) pared those same holes and was still minus 12 with the 72nd hole to play and three strokes off the lead. Callan O’Reilly (Australia) (Am) played those same holes in one over par and was now at minus ten playing the 72nd hole. He unfortunately bogeyed the Par 4, 72nd hole to fall to minus nine after scoring a final round of 75+3 and finished in tied for sixth position. Nick Cullen (Australia) played those two holes in one under par and move to minus 11 four shots off the lead playing the last hole.

Matthew Stieger (Australia) in action during the final round

Matthew Stieger (Australia) made a solid par on the Par 4, 18th hole and scored a back nine of 33-3 to finish on minus 15 and he won by three strokes. Daniel Nisbet (Australia) made a solid par four at the Par four, 18th hole and finishes minus 12 in solo second place. Nick Cullen (Australia) also made a solid par four at the par four, 18th hole to finish at minus 11 in solo third position. It was just a dream week for the 21 year old, Matthew Stieger (Australia) who before this week was going to have to Monday qualify for the Emirates Australia Open next week. Now he has a two year exemption on both the PGA Tour of Australasia and One Asia Tours. I wish him all the best in the remaining events on the PGA Tour of Australasia in 2012.      

Coming in solo second position at 276-12 after 72 holes was Daniel Nisbet (Australia); he won $AU 9,000.00 for his efforts and he move to 59th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 14,120.00 earned from the two events he has played in so far this year. Coming in solo third position at 277-11 after 72 holes was Nick Cullen (Australia); he earned $AU 7,000.00 for his weeks work and moved to 10th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 45,337.94 earned from the nine events he has played to date this year so far.

Coming it tied for fourth position at 278-10 after 72 holes was Kyle Grant (Australia); he earned AU$ 4,550.00 for his weeks work but he isn’t a member of the PGA Tour of Australasia so he doesn’t have an Order of Merit ranking. Also tied for fourth position was Ryan Fox (NZL) and he was the low New Zealander in the field. He scored rounds of 67-5, 70-2, 71-1 and a final round of 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 278-10. He won AU$ 4,550.00 for his weeks work and moved to 9th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 47,081.22 from the eight events he has played to date this year so far. He could be a player to watch out for at the Emirates Australia Open next week.

Coming in tied for 6th position at 279-9 after 72 holes was Daniel Popovic (Australia); he earned $AU 3,325.00 for his weeks work and moved to 69th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 11,308.00 earned from the 11 events he has played in to date this year so far. Also tied for 6th position was Thomas Petersson (Sweden); he earned $AU 3,325.00 for his weeks work and moved to 46th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 19,077.28 from the 10 events he has played to date this year so far. The final player to tie for 6th position was the 54 hole tournament leader, Callan O’Reilly (Australia) (Am); he was the low Amateur in the tournament but because he is an Amateur he doesn’t earn any money and hence he doesn’t have a PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit Ranking.

Rounding out the top 10 in tied for ninth position at 280-8 after 72 holes was Chris Gaunt (Australia); he won AU$ 2,483.33 for his efforts and moved to 71st position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 10,970.83 earned from the four events he has played in to date this year so far. Also tied for ninth position was Craig Hancock (Australia); he earned AU$ 2,483.33 for his efforts and moved to 26th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 30,496.32 earned from the nine events he has played in to date this year so far. The final player to tie for ninth position was Anthony Summers (Australia); he earned AU$ 2,483.33 for his efforts and moved to 56th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 14,882.76 earned from the eight events he has played to date this year so far.

Other New Zealand Golfers in the field to make the cut were Nick Gillespie (NZL); he scored rounds of 74+2, 69-3, 69-3 and a final round of 71-1 for a 72 hole total of 283-5 and tied for 18th position. He earned $AU 1,190.00 for his weeks work and moved to 89th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 7,759.00 earned from the seven events he has played to date this year so far. Next best New Zealander to make the cut was Pieter Zwart (NZL); he scored rounds of 70-2, 67-5, 72 even and a final round of 75+3 for a 72 hole total of 284-4 and tied for 23rd position. He earned $AU 1,060.00 for his weeks work and moved to 85th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 8,095.72 earned from the 10 events he has played to date this year so far. Another New Zealand Golfer to make the cut was Mathew Perry (NZL); he scored rounds of 69-3, 70-2, 74+2 and a final round of 72 even par for a 72 hole total of 285-3. He won $AU 1,000.00 for his efforts and moved to 113th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 3,366.66 earned from the two events he has played in to date this year so far.

Another New Zealand Golfer to make the cut was Ben Campbell (NZL); he scored rounds of 73+1, 67-5, 74+2 and a final round of 72 even par for a 72 hole total of 286-2 and he tied for 30th position. He earned $AU 920.00 for his efforts and moved to 118th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 2,960.00 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. Another New Zealand Golfer to make the cut was Jim Cusdin (NZL); he scored rounds of 72 even par, 74+2, 73+1 and 75+3 for a 72 hole total of 294+6 and was in solo 51st position. He earned $AU 540.00 for his efforts and moved to 138th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 1,233.00 earned from the six events he has played in to date this year so far. The last New Zealand Golfer to make the cut was Joshua Carmichael (NZL); he scored rounds of 73+1, 71-1, 78+6 and a final round of 74+2 for a 72 hole total of 296+8 and tied for 53rd position. He earned $AU 490.00 for his weeks work and moved to 110th position on the current PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $AU 4,297.00 earned from the six events he has played in to date this year so far.

The New Zealand Golfers to miss the 36 hole halfway cut were Sven Puymbroeck (NZL); he scored rounds of 71+1 and 76+4 for a 36 hole total of 147+3 to miss by one stroke. Kevin Smith (NZL) scored rounds of 73+1 and 75+3 for a 36 hole total of 148+4 to miss by two strokes.     

Next week the PGA Tour of Australasia stays in NSW, Australia for the prestigious Emirates Australia Open and this year it is again being stage at the Lakes Golf Course, Sydney. It carries a prize purse of AU $1,250,000.  Greg Chalmers (Australia) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 6th December and I will report back who won the Stonehaven Cup next week.

The second event I am reporting on this week was on the USPGA Tour and was the World Challenge presented by Northwestern Mutual and was played on Sherwood CC, Thousand Oaks, California. And it was the Golfer by the name of Graeme McDowell (NIR) who scored rounds of 69-3, 66-6, 68-4 and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 271-17 and he won by three shots. He won $US 1,000,000 for his efforts but because it was a un – official USPGA Tour event the money doesn’t count towards the money list. It was his first win on any tour since he won this very tournament in 2010.

Graeme McDowell (NIR) in action during the final round

He played a great final round of 68-4 that included a front nine of 35-1 and he was minus 14 with nine holes to play and had a three stroke lead over Keegan Bradley (USA) who had gone out on the front nine with a even par score of 36 and was minus 11. The tournament had turned into a two horse race between those two players. They both birdied the Par 4, 10th hole and Graeme McDowell (NIR) was now minus 15 with Keegan Bradley (USA) now minus 12. Graeme McDowell (NIR) birdied the Par 5, 11th hole to move to minus 16 and Keegan Bradley (USA) could only manage a Par 5 on that same hole so he remained at minus 12 and Graeme McDowell (NIR) now had a four stroke lead with seven holes to play. Both players pared the Par 3, 12th hole and the margin of lead for Graeme McDowell (NIR) remained at four strokes with six holes to play.

Keegan Bradley (USA) made solid birdie on the Par 5, 13th hole and Graeme McDowell (NIR) three putted for a bogey six. So there had been a two shot swing in Keegan Bradley’s (USA) favour. Graeme McDowell (NIR) was now minus 15 with five holes to play and held a two stroke lead over Keegan Bradley (USA) who was now minus 13. Both players made solid pars on the 14 - 15 holes so the margin of lead was still two strokes in Graeme McDowell’s (NIR) favour with three holes to play. They both made solid birdie fours on the Par 5, 16th hole. So the margin was still two strokes in favour of Graeme McDowell (NIR) with two holes to play. Graeme McDowell (NIR) hit a poor tee shot at the Par 3, 17th hole and it rolled into the rough at the back of the green. Keegan Bradley (USA) teed off and landed his tee shot 20 feet pin high to the left of the pin. There was the possibility now that there could be a two stroke swing in Keegan Bradley’s (USA) favour. Graeme McDowell (NIR) now had an extremely difficult second shot where he would have to land his chip shot from the deep rough just on the green and let it trickle down to the hole. He played it to perfection and landed it just short of the green and it roll down to within inches of the cup and he had secured his par 3. Keegan Bradley (USA) now knew he had a must make birdie putt to pull within one stroke of Graeme McDowell (NIR). But he left his 20 footer two feet short. So Graeme McDowell (NIR) was minus 16 and took a two stroke lead over Keegan Bradley (USA) who was minus 14 to the very tricky Par 4, 72nd hole.

They both hit solid tee shots down the Par 4, 72nd hole. Keegan Bradley (USA) played his second shot first and landed his ball 20 feet from the flag stick. Graeme McDowell (NIR) was undecided about what club he should hit for his second shot. First he chose a six iron but after a long discussion with his caddie he chose to go with one less. So he committed to the seven iron and it was a perfect choice as it came to rest five feet from the flag stick. It plugged in the green as the course had been saturated from the heavy rains all week. Keegan Bradley (USA) putted for his birdie from 20 feet but missed and he settled for his par 4 and finished minus 14 after 72 holes. Graeme McDowell (NIR) calmed his nerve and easily tapped in for his birdie three to finish minus 17 for the 72 holes and won by three strokes.

Graeme McDowell (NIR) poses with the World Challenge presented by Northwestern Mutual Trophy he won

So this win will give Graeme McDowell (NIR) a lot of confidence heading in to the 2013 season. Things are going well for him right now as he just got engaged to his long time Girlfriend. I wish him all the best and hope he can win that second Major Championship very soon.

Coming in solo second position at 274-14 after 72 holes was Keegan Bradley (USA); he won $ US 500, 000 for his efforts but as I mentioned earlier all money won from this tournament is un – official and doesn’t count towards the 2012 Official USPGA Tour Money list. I look for him to keep on improving in 2013 and maybe he can win his second Major Championship as well? Coming in solo third position at 278-10 after 72 holes was Bo Van Pelt (USA); it continued on his very consistent season and he earned $US 300,000 for his efforts but as I mentioned earlier all money won from this tournament is un – official and doesn’t count towards the 2012 Official USPGA Tour Money list. I look for him to have his second win on the USPGA Tour in 2013.

Coming in tied for fourth position at 279-9 after 72 holes was Jim Furyk (USA); he won $US 201,667 for his efforts but as I mentioned earlier all money won from this tournament is un – official and doesn’t count towards the 2012 Official Money list. It continued on his better than average season that could have been great. Let’s hope he can finally get back in the winner’s circle in 2013? Also tied for fourth position was Rickie Fowler (USA); he also won $US 201,667 for his efforts but as I mentioned earlier all money won from this tournament is un – official and doesn’t count towards the 2012 USPGA Tour Official Money list. He has had a career year on the USPGA Tour with winning his maiden Tour event at the Wells Fargo Championship in early May. Look for him to contend in the Major Championships in the 2013 season. The final player to tie for fourth position was tournament host, Tiger Woods (USA); he too earned $US 201,667 for his efforts but as I mentioned earlier all money won from this tournament is un – official and doesn’t count towards the 2012 USPGA Tour Official Money list. He had a great year on the USPGA Tour in 2012 with earning $US 6,133,158 which placed him second on the final Official USPGA Tour Money list and it included three wins. Look for him to win his 15th Major Championship in 2013.

Coming in solo seventh position at 281-7 after 72 holes was the 2012 US Open Championship Winner, Webb Simpson (USA); he earned $US 160,000 for his efforts but as I mentioned earlier all money won from this tournament is un – official and doesn’t count towards the 2012 USPGA Tour Official Money list. It just capped off an amazing year for him where he won the 112th US Open Championship in mid June. Coming in solo eight position at 282-6 after 72 holes was Steve Stricker (USA); he earned $US 150,000 for his efforts but as I mentioned earlier all money won from this tournament is un – official and doesn’t count towards the 2012 USPGA Tour Official Money list. He had another very consistent season in 2012 on the USPGA Tour that included a win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in early January. He is still yet to win a Major Championship; may it could happen in 2013?

Rounding out the top ten in tied for ninth position at 283-5 after 72 holes was Hunter Mahan (USA); he earned $US 142,500 for his efforts but as I mentioned earlier all money won from this tournament is un – official and doesn’t count towards the 2012 USPGA Tour Official Money list. He has had a super season on the USPGA Tour in 2012 with recording two wins. The first came at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in late February and the second came at the Shell Houston Open in early April. I wouldn’t be surprised if he won a Major Championship in 2013. Also tied for ninth position was the 2012 Masters Tournament winner, Bubba Watson (USA); he won $US 142,500 for his efforts but as I mentioned earlier all money won from this tournament is un – official and doesn’t count towards the 2012 USPGA Tour Official Money list. He had a career season on the USPGA Tour in 2012 with winning his maiden Major Championship at the Masters Tournament in the second week of April. I look for him to keep on improving in 2013.

Next week is the final event on the USPGA Tour’s Un – Official season and is the Franklin Templeton Shootout and it is being played on the Tiburon GC, Naples, Florida. It has a prize purse of $US 3,000,000.  It is teams of two golfers with 12 teams competing. They played foursomes in the first round, fourball in the second round and Modified Alternate Shot in the final round. Keegan Bradley (USA) & Brendan Steele (USA) are the defending Champions and will be keen to defend their title. It starts on Friday 7th December and I will report back which team won the trophy next week.

The final event I am reporting on this week was on the USPGA Tour and is known as the Fall Classic. It was the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament and was being played on the Jack Nicklaus Tourn. Course, La Quinta, California and PGA West Stadium Course, La Quinta, California. It carries a prize purse of $US 1,057,500 for the taking. But prize money is not what is important this week. The more important thing is finishing inside the top 25 players and ties and securing your full playing Status for the 2013 season. Brendon Todd (USA) is the defending Champion but because he finished in 150th position on the 2012 final USPGA Tour Money list he finds himself back here again trying to regain his full playing status for the 2013 season. But it was the Golfer by the name of Dong – Hwan Lee (South Korea) who scored rounds of 68-4, 72 even, 65-7, 64-8, 71-1 and a final round of 67-5 for a 108 hole total of 407 -25. He won $US 50,000.00 for his efforts and now has full playing status on the USPGA Tour for the 2013 season. He will be extremely pleased he now has his full USPGA Tour Status and will want to get off to a fast start when the tour gets underway in early January 2013 for the first regular season event of the year which is the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Dong - Hwan Lee (South Korea) in action during the final round

Coming in tied for second position at 408-24 after 108 holes was the seasoned winner on the European Tour, Ross Fisher (England) who wanted to give the USPGA Tour a try full time. Now he can because he has earned his full playing status for the 2013 season. Also tied for second position was Steve LeBrun (USA); he finally makes it to the USPGA Tour after spending the last few years on the Web.com Tour. Coming in tied for fourth position at 409-23 after 108 holes was Richard H. Lee (USA); he gains his 2013 USPGA Tour card after having his rookie season on the USPGA Tour in 2012 where he finished in 138th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list. Also tied for fourth position was Billy Horschel (USA); he also regained his 2013 USPGA Tour card back after finishing in 147th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list. The final player to tie for fourth position was Kris Blanks (USA); he also regained his 2013 USPGA Tour card back after finishing in 161st position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list. The previous two seasons he had earned over $US 1million in each of them.

Coming in tied for seventh position at 410-22 after 108 holes was Erik Compton (USA) who has had two heart replacements in his life time. He also regained his 2013 USPGA Tour card back after finishing in 165th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list in his rookie year. Also tied for seventh position was Brad Fritsch (Canada); he will be playing the 2013 season as a rookie on the USPGA Tour. He had already gained his 2013 USPGA Tour card by finishing in 18th position on the final 2012 Web.com Tour Money list. The final player to tie for seventh position was Jin Park (South Korea); he get his second chance to play the USPGA Tour full time in 2013 after already playing one season on it in 2008.

Rounding out the top ten in tied for tenth position at 411-21 after 108 holes was Fabian Gomez (Argentina); he gets his second go at the USPGA Tour in 2013 after playing it for the first time in 2011. Also tied for tenth position was Michael Letzig (USA); he returns to the USPGA Tour in 2013 after having last played it full time in 2010. Also tied for ten position was Jeff Gove (USA); he is back on the USPGA Tour in 2013 after having last playing on it fulltime in 2010. The final player to tie for tenth position was Steven Bowditch (Australia); he regained his 2013 USPGA Tour card back after finishing in 185th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list.

The next 13 players also gained their 2013 USPGA Tour cards and they were: On 412-20 after 72 holes: Matt Jones (Australia), Robert Karlsson (Sweden) and Eric Meierdierks (USA). On 413-19 after 108 holes: Scott Langley (USA), Aaron Watkins (USA) and Derek Ernst (USA). On 414-18 after 108 holes: Si Woo Kim (South Korea) who is only 17 years old can’t play an event till mid 2013 when he turns 18. Tad Ridings (USA) was also on that score. On 415-17 after 108 holes: Donald Constable (USA), Bobby Gates (USA), Patrick Reed (USA), Henrik Norlander (Sweden) and Chez Reavie (USA).

There were two New Zealanders in the field and the best of them was Danny Lee (NZL); he scored rounds of 72 even, 75+3, 67-5, 65-7, 67-5 and a final round of 70-2 for an 108 hole total of 416-16 and missed by a single stroke and it must have been heart breaking for him. He is now resigned to play the Web.com tour in the 2013 season. It might be the best thing for him to regain his confidence and get some top ten finishes. The other New Zealand Golfer in the field was Tim Wilkinson (NZL); he scored rounds of 71-1, 73+1, 69-3, 68-4, 65-7 and a final round of 73+1 for a 72 hole total of 419-13 and missed getting his card by four strokes and he too is back playing the Web.com Tour in the 2013 season.

So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list this week and coming in at Number One Position for the 17th week of a 4th spell of his career and the 24th week of his career in total is the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai Winner and 2012 Race to Dubai Money list Winner, Rory McILroy (NIR) with 13.71 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Luke Donald (England) with 9.12 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Tiger Woods (USA) with 9.03 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Justin Rose (England) with 6.64 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list is Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) with 6.45 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 242nd position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.78 Official World Golf Ranking Points on the list.

Remember the most important fundamental in Golf is to keep your head still!!

Source: pgatour.com, pgatour.com.au