Golf Events from the Weekend 17th February 2013

Well it was another brilliant weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world. First I will start with the European Tour and the Race to Dubai and this week it was the second week of the three week South African swing of tournaments. It was the Africa Open and it is played on the East London GC, East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa. And it was Darren Fichardt (RSA) who scored rounds of 69-3, 67-5, 65-7 and a final round of 71-1 for a 72 hole total of 272-16 and he won by two strokes. He won € 158,500.00 for the win and moved to 13th position on the current 2013 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 234,544 earned from the eight events he has played to date this year so far. Richard Sterne (RSA) still leads that list with €450,053 earned from the four events he has played to date this year so far.

Darren Fichardt (RSA) in action during the final round

It was his fourth European Tour International Schedule victory in his 233rd European Tour event. He moves into the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking, from 146th. It was his second consecutive European Tour season with a victory following the 2012 SAINT-OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC. It was his first European Tour victory on home soil. This victory beats his previous best finish in a European Tour event staged in South Africa of tied second in the 2000 South African Open Championship. This victory comes in his fourth appearance in the Africa Open. This victory beats his previous best finish in the Africa Open of tied 18th in 2012. He was playing in his eighth European Tour event of the 2013 season. (He is the only player to have competed in all eight tournaments so far in the 2013 European Tour International Schedule). He continues his 100% record of winning all four of his European Tour events when he has led or shared the lead going into the final round. He led by three at the 2001 Sao Paulo Brazil Open (reduced to 54 holes); led by three at the 2003 Qatar Masters; five at the 2012 SAINT-OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC and two at the 2013 Africa Open.

He becomes the second consecutive South African winner on The European Tour, following Richard Sterne (RSA) at the Joburg Open. This is the first time South Africans have achieved this feat since Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (2012 Maybank Malaysian Open) and Branden Grace (RSA) (2012 Volvo China Open). South Africa have won the Africa Open for the fourth consecutive season, following Charl Schwartzel (RSA) (2010) and Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (2011-2012). (This is the fourth year that the Africa Open has been part of The European Tour). It was the 114th South African victory in European Tour history. It was the fourth South African victory from the first eighth events of the 2013 season. They are: Charl Schwartzel (RSA) (Alfred Dunhill Championship), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (Volvo Golf Champions), Richard Sterne (RSA) (Joburg Open).and Darren Fichardt (RSA) (Africa Open). It was the 13th victory for South Africa since the start of the 2012 European Tour season. They are: Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (2012 Africa Open, 2012 Maybank Malaysian Open and 2013 Volvo Golf Champions), Branden Grace (RSA) (2012 Joburg Open, 2012 Volvo Golf Champions, 2012 Volvo China Open and 2012 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship), Jbe’ Kruger (RSA) (2012 Avantha Masters), Darren Fichardt (RSA) (2012 SAINT-OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC and 2013 Africa Open), Ernie Els (RSA) (2012 The 141st Open Championship), Charl Schwartzel (RSA) (2013 Alfred Dunhill Championship) and Richard Sterne (RSA) (2013 Joburg Open). This means the country have won 13 of the last 53 European Tour events.

It was the second consecutive European Tour event where South Africa have won for four successive seasons. This follows the Joburg Open, where the winners were: Charl Schwartzel (RSA) (2010-2011), Branden Grace (RSA) (2012) and Richard Sterne (RSA) (2013). It was the 32nd South African victory in the 52 events co-sanctioned between The European Tour and Sunshine Tour played, since the first one in 1995. He gains a European Tour exemption until the end of 2014. He gains a place in the 2014 Volvo Golf Champions. And finally gains his 20th win as a professional.

Darren Fichardt (RSA) played a steady final round in the extremely windy conditions. He scored 71-1 which included a front nine of 34-3 with birdies on the Par five, first hole; Par five, third hole and Par four, seven hole. He made the turn at minus 18 and had a two stroke lead over his fellow country man, Jaco Van Zyl (RSA) who had gone out in 36-1 and was at minus 16. Three strokes further back was Gregory Bourdy (France) on minus 13 after going out in 36-1 as well. Darren Fichardt (RSA) played holes 10-13 in one under par and moved to minus 19 and now had a four stroke lead over Jaco Van Zyl (RSA) who played those holes I mentioned in one over par. Gregory Bourdy (France) played those same holes I mentioned in one over par and was now minus 12 and seven strokes back.

Darren Fichardt (RSA) played holes 14-17 in three over par and fell back to minus 16 with just the par four, 18th hole to play. He now only had a one stroke lead over Jaco Van Zyl (RSA) who had played those same holes I mentioned in even par to remain at minus 15 with just the last hole left to play. Gregory Boudry (France) played those same holes I mentioned in two under par including having three consecutive birdies from holes 14-16. He was now at minus 14 only two strokes back playing the final hole. Darren Fichardt (RSA) hit two solid shots to get on the Par four, 18th green in regulation and easily two putted for his Par four to post minus 16 after 72 holes and scored 37+2 on his back nine and as I mentioned earlier won by two strokes. Jaco Van Zyl (RSA) made an untimely bogey at the Par four, 18th hole and finished at minus 14. Gregory Boudry (France) made a solid par four up the Par four, 18th hole and remained at minus 14 to tie for second position with Jaco Van Zyl (RSA).

Darren Fichardt (RSA) kisses the Africa Open Trophy he won

It was just an awesome win for Darren Fichardt (RSA) who had missed two out of his last three cuts. It was also his first top ten finish of the season in the eight events he has played to date this year so far. The last two seasons have been very good for him on the European Tour with him recording two wins, this win and the 2012 SAINT-OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC. I feel this win will be a huge boost to his confidence and 2013 may well be his best ever year on the European Tour and Race to Dubai? I wish him all the best with the rest of the tournaments he plays in 2013.

Coming in tied for second position at 274-14 after 72 holes was Gregory Boudry (France); it was his second top five finish this year from the seven events he has played to date this year so far. He earned € 92,100.00 for his efforts and moved to 19th position on the current 2013 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 180,126 earned from the seven events he has played to date so far this year. Also tied for second position was Jaco Van Zyl (RSA); it was his second top ten finish of the season from the six events he has played to date so far. He is coming off two very solid seasons on the European Tour in 2011/2012 where he finished in 64th and 50th positions on the final Race to Dubai Money list standings for those years I mentioned. He too earned € 92,100.00 for his efforts and moved to 22nd position on the current 2013 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 138,842 from the six events he has played to date this year so far.

Coming in solo fourth position at 275-13 after 72 holes was Garth Mulroy (RSA); he scored the equal lowest final round which was 67-5. It was his third top ten finish of the season from the seven events he has played to date this year so far. He earned € 49,100.00 for his efforts and moved to 15th position on the current 2013 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 204,388 earned from the seven events he has played to date this year so far. He could well be heading for his best ever season on the European Tour in 2013?

Coming in tied for fifth position at 277-11 after 72 holes was Andy Sullivan (England); it was his third top ten finish of the season from the seven events he has played to date so far. He earned € 32,700.00 for his weeks work and moved to 20th position on the current 2013 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 176,767 earned from the seven events he has played to date this year so far. He will be looking for his maiden win on the European Tour in 2013. Also tied for fifth position was Desvonde Botes (RSA); it was his first top ten finish of the season from the four events he has played to date this year so far. He too earned € 32,700.00 for his weeks work and has current earnings on the European Tour for 2013 of € 52,875 earned from the four events he has played in to date this year so far. But because he isn’t a current member of the European Tour he doesn’t have a current 2013 Race to Dubai Money list ranking. Also tied for fifth position was Tjaart Van Der Walt (RSA); it was his first top ten finish of the season from the four events he has played to date so far this year. He too earned € 32,700.00 for his weeks work and moved to 56th position on the current 2013 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 57,570 earned from the four events he has played to date this year so far. He has committed himself to playing the European Tour fulltime now after spending the last ten years playing in the USA on the USPGA and Web.com Tours. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 European Tour season. The final player to tie for fifth position was Mark Tullo (Chile); it was his first top ten of the season and also the first cut he has made this year from the three events he has played to date so far. He too earned € 32,700.00 for his weeks work and moved to 91st position on the current 2013 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 32,700 earned from the three events he has played to date so far this year. He gained his 2013 European Tour card by finishing in 18th position on the final 2012 Challenge Tour Rankings Money list.

Rounding out the top ten in tied for ninth position at 278-10 after 72 holes was Andrew Curlewis (RSA); he too scored the equal best final round of 67-5. It was his first top ten finish of the season from the four events he has played to date this year so far. It was also his best ever finish on the European Tour to date in his career. He earned € 19,700.00 for his efforts and has current earnings on the European Tour for 2013 of € 19,700 from the four events he has played to date this year so far. But because he isn’t a current member of the European Tour he doesn’t have a current 2013 Race to Dubai Money list ranking. Also tied for ninth position was Ricardo Santos (Portugal); it was his fourth top ten of the season from the six events he has played to date this year so far. He too earned € 19,700.00 for his efforts and moved to tenth position on the current 2013 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 284,050 earned from the four events he has played to date this year so far. He will be looking for his second win on the European Tour in 2013 after having his maiden win on the European Tour in 2012 where he won his own countries Madeira Islands Open – Portugal. The final player to tie for ninth position was Emiliano Grillo (Argentina); it was his first top ten of the season from the seven events he has played in to date this year so far. He too earned € 19,700.00 for his efforts and moved to 95th position on the current 2013 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 29,750 earned from the seven events he has played to date this year so far. I hope he can achieve more top ten finishes in the weeks to come. 

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai heads to the USA for the first World Golf Championship event of the year which is co – sanctioned with all the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world and it is WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship and it is played on the Ritz-Carlton GC, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona, USA. Only the top 64 Golfers on the current Official World Golf Rankings are eligible to play. It has a huge prize purse of US $8,750,000 for the taking. Hunter Mahan (USA) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Wednesday 20th February 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 part of the FedEx Cup and was the Northern Trust Open and it was played on the Riviera CC, Pacific Palisades, California. And it was the Golfer by the name of John Merrick (USA) who scored rounds of 68-3, 66-5, 70-1 and a final round of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 273-11 but he was tied on that same score by Charlie Beljan (USA) who scored rounds of 67-4, 71 even par, 68-3 and a final round of 67-4 for a 72 hole total of 273-11 also. John Merrick (USA) played a steady final round of 69-2 that included a front nine of 34-1 with birdies on the Par five, first hole and Par four, seventh hole. He made a bogey on the Par four, third hole and made the turn at minus ten and was one stroke back. Charlie Beljan (USA) had gone out in 32-3 and was at minus ten also at the turn and was one stroke back also. Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) had gone out in 33-2 and was at minus 10 also at the turn and was one stroke back also. Bill Haas (USA) had gone out in 36+1 and was at minus 11 at the turn and had a one stroke lead. Charl Schwartzel (RSA) had gone out in 35 even par and made the turn at minus nine two strokes back. Hunter Mahan (USA) had gone out in an amazing 31-4 and made the turn at minus ten and was one stroke back. 

John Merrick (USA) played holes 10-11 in two under par with recording two consecutive birdies to move to minus 12 and now had a one stroke lead. Charlie Beljan (USA) played those same two holes in one over par and fell back to minus nine now three strokes back. Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) played those same two holes in even par and remained at minus ten now two strokes back. Bill Haas (USA) played those same two holes in one over par and fell back to minus ten now two strokes back also. Charl Schwartzel (RSA) played those same two holes in one under par and moved to minus eleven now only one stroke back. Hunter Mahan (USA) played those same two holes in one under par and moved to minus eleven also now only one stroke back. 

John Merrick (USA) played holes 12-17 in one over par and was minus eleven with just the 72nd hole to play and was tied for the lead. Charlie Beljan (USA) played holes 12-17 in one under par and moved to minus ten with just the last hole to play just one stroke off the lead. Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) played holes 12-17 in one under par and had moved to minus eleven with the final hole left to play and was tied for the lead. Bill Haas (USA) played holes 12-17 in one over par and had fallen back to minus nine with just the last hole to play and now was two strokes back of the lead. Charl Schwartzel (RSA) played holes 12-17 in even par and was still minus ten with just the 72nd hole to play only one stroke off the lead. Hunter Mahan (USA) played holes 12-17 in two over par and had fallen back to minus nine and was two strokes off the lead with just the last hole to play. 

John Merrick (USA) scrambled a par four at the 72nd hole to post minus eleven after 72 holes. Charlie Beljan (USA) made a fine birdie up the 72nd hole and moved to minus eleven after 72 holes to guarantee a playoff with John Merrick (USA). Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) made an untimely bogey five at the Par four, 72nd hole when he missed his four foot putt for par and fell back to minus ten to come up one shot shy of the playoff. Bill Haas (USA) who was the 54 hole leader made a fine birdie on the Par four, 72nd hole to move to minus ten after 72 holes and came up one shot shy of the playoff as well. Charl Schwartzel (RSA) missed his 20 foot putt for birdie on the Par four, 72nd hole to move to minus eleven and make it a three way playoff, he easily tapped in for his par four and he too finished up on minus ten after 72 holes. Hunter Mahan (USA) bogeyed the Par four, 72 hole and fell back minus eight after 72 holes.

 

John Merrick (USA) chips to the 18th green on the first playoff hole

So to the first playoff hole between John Merrick (USA) and Charlie Beljan (USA). The first playoff hole was the Par four, 18th hole. The USPGA Tour Official got both players to chose a number from the hat, one was one and the other two. John Merrick (USA) teed off first after choosing one from the hat and hit a poor drive that leaked to the right of the fairway and left him with an extremely difficult second shot that was blocked out by the tall trees on the right of the fairway in the rough. Charlie Beljan (USA) chose two and he teed off last. He hit one of his booming drives over 300 yards right down the centre of the fairway. John Merrick (USA) played his second shot first and Sir Nick Faldo (England) who was commentating for CBS Sports said “the only way to play this shot was to hit a left to right fade/slice shot” but John Merrick (USA) had a different way of playing it and he played a fine punch shot low shot under the trees and it got a lot of top spin and rolled up on the green just into the back rough leaving him with an extremely difficult up and down for his par four. Charlie Beljan (USA) now knew that putting his second shot on the green would really throw some extreme pressure back on John Merrick’s (USA) third shot. He was obviously was a bit nervous and pulled his short iron slightly left of the pin that was on the back left hand side of the green. His ball rolled left into the fringe almost up against the first cut of rough. John Merrick (USA) played his third shot chip first from just over the back of the green in the rough. He hit an awesome chip that rolled down to within three feet of the cup and really threw the pressure back on Charlie Beljan (USA) who tried to hole his birdie putt from the left fringe from about 20 feet. He struck an aggressive putt that missed on the left hand side and it rolled six past the hole leaving an extremely difficult par putt to hole for his Par four and keep the playoff alive. Charlie Beljan (USA) calmed his nerve and calmly rolled in the six footer for his par four.  John Merrick (USA) tapped in his three foot par putt and the playoff was heading to the short par four tenth hole for the second playoff hole. 

John Merrick (USA) had the honour on the second playoff hole and chose just a mid iron to lay up with on the very short but extremely difficult par four. He landed it right in the centre of the fairway leaving a short wedge shot to the green. Charlie Beljan (USA) teed off second and in my opinion played a bad club choice. He chose a driver and tried to drive the green because the hole was just over 300 yards. He went at it as hard as he had all day and pulled it left pin high of the green but in an extremely difficult lie with no green to play with. John Merrick (USA) played his second shot first and landed it just over the bunker to the back right pin and it had a lot of spin on it and managed to hold the green leaving him a 20 foot uphill putt for birdie. This hole has been referred to over the years as one of the toughest short holes on the USPGA Tour. Charlie Beljan (USA) then played his second shot and it was an extremely difficult shot as I mentioned before. He had too options, he could either play it as a bunker shot and fly it half way to the hole landing it over the bunker risking if he couldn’t pull it off he could hit it over the green in the bunker or short in the bunker. The second option was to land it short of the green and roll it up on the left hand side of the green leaving a 50 foot birdie attempt. He chose the second option and landed it on the fringe about 50 feet from the pin. He was still away with his third shot and roll his putt from just off the fringe to within eight feet of the cup but above the hole leaving an extremely difficult par putt that he would likely have to hole to extend the playoff to a third hole. John Merrick (USA) now putted for his birdie three and the win, he struck a good putt under the circumstances but he missed to the right and he easily tapped in for his par four and the pressure was now on Charlie Beljan (USA) to keep the playoff going. He lined up his eight foot par putt and struck a good putt but it just missed on the left hand side. So John Merrick (USA) had won his maiden USPGA Tour title and he hugged his caddie to celebrate. Then his wife and two children came on to the green to celebrate with him. Also John Merrick (USA) became the first native from Long Beach, California to win the Northern Trust Open in the history of the event since it was first played in 1926. 

John Merrick (USA) won US $1,188,000.00 for the win and moved to second position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list with US $ 1,296,014 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. Brandt Snedeker (USA) still leads that list with US $ 2,859,920 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. John Merrick (USA) also gained 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to fourth position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 565 points earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He is 717 points behind the current leader of the FedEx Cup who is Brandt Snedeker (USA) who has earned 1,282 points from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He has a 678 point lead over Phil Mickelson (USA) who has earned 604 points from the five events he has played to date this year so far. 

John Merrick (USA) poses with the Northern Trust Open trophy he won

It was a fine win for John Merrick (USA) who was having a poor season before this win with missing his first two cuts of the season and his previous two tournaments he made the cut but was outside the top ten. Now he has got his first USPGA Tour win he will become much more confident in his ability to play the game. He now is in the Masters Tournament in early April which is the first Major Championship of the year. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season. 

Coming in solo second position at 273-11 after 72 holes was Charlie Beljan (USA); he won US $712,800.00 for his efforts and moved to 12th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $785,800 earned from the six events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 300 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 13th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points standings with 347 points earned from the six events he has played to date so far this year. It was his best finish of the year to date and it came after missing his last four cuts. Last year he had his maiden win on the USPGA Tour at the final event of the year which was the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic. He overcame huge panic attacks during the second round that caused him to be hospitalised after the second round of that tournament. It is good to see he has got those attacks under some sort of control now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he won his second event on the USPGA Tour this year. 

Coming in tied for third position at 274-10 after 72 holes was Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden); he won US $343,200.00 for his weeks work and moved to 18th position on the current USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $552,825 earned from the three events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 145 FedEx Cup Points and moved to 25th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 233 points earned from the three events he has played to date this year so far. It was his second consecutive top ten finish. He is another player that you would have to think would win his second USPGA Tour event very soon? Also tied for third position was the defending champion, Bill Haas (USA); he too won US $343,200.00 for his weeks work and moved to 13th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list with US $ 770,300 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 145 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and move to 12th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 352 points earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. It was his third straight top ten finish of the year. But he will be rueing the middle holes of his final round where he played holes 7-13 in five over par and that basically ruined any chance of him defending his title. I’m sure his fifth win on the USPGA Tour isn’t too far away? The final player to tie for third position was the 2011 Master Tournament winner, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) it was his first start on the USPGA Tour in the 2013 season. He too won US $343,200.00 for his weeks work and moved to 38th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $343,200 earned from the one event he has played to date this year so far. He also gained 145 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and move to 49th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 145 points earned from the one event he has played to date this year so far. He is in very good form at the moment after playing awesome golf on the European Tour recently. 

Coming in tied for sixth position at 275-9 after 72 holes was Josh Teater (USA); it was his second top ten finish of the season to date. He earned US $229,350.00 for his weeks work and moved to tenth position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $870,934 earned from the six events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 95 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to eleventh position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 411 points earned from the six events he has played to date so far this year. He has just had an awesome start to his 2013 season. His maiden win on the USPGA Tour can’t be too far away? Also tied for sixth position was the current US Open Champion, Webb Simpson (USA); It was his first top ten finish of the season from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He too earned US $229,350.00 for his weeks work and moved to 22nd position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $496,042 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 95 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and move to 22nd position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 256 points earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. This result will give him some confidence with some big events coming up in the weeks to come.

Coming in tied for eighth position at 276-8 after 72 holes was Sang – Moon Bae (South Korea); it was his first top ten of the season from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He earned US $198,000.00 for his efforts and moved to 44th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $271,822 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 83 FedEx Cup Points and moved to 47th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 156 points earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He has also made every cut in the five events he has entered this year so far. After coming off a fine rookie season in 2012 on the USPGA Tour where he earned just over one million US Dollars, he is backing it up straight away with more good form this season. I feel his maiden win on the USPGA Tour isn’t too far away. Also tied for eighth position was Hunter Mahan (USA); it too was his first top ten finish of the season from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He too has also made the cut in all of those five events. He too earned US $198,000.00 for his efforts and moved to 19th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $537,965 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far.  He also earned 83 FedEx Cup Points and moved to 18th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points Standings list with 285 points earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. It shows he is in top form heading into his defence of the WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship next week. 

Rounding out the top ten in tied tenth position at 278-6 after 72 holes was Greg Chalmers (Australia); it was his first top ten of the season from the four events he has played to date so far. He earned US $165,000.00 for his weeks work and moved to 62nd position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $207,007 earned from the four events he has played to date so far. He also earned 70 FedEx Cup Points and moved to 65th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 122 points earned from the four events he has played in to date this year so far. It has always been a live long goal for Greg Chalmers (Australia) to win his Maiden USPGA Tour event, let’s hope it happens in 2013. Also tied for tenth position was Ted Potter, Jr. (USA); it too was his first top ten finish of the season from the five events he has played to date so far. He too earned US $165,000.00 for his weeks work and moved to 34th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $374,223 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 70 FedEx Cup Points and moved to 30th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 211 points earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. It was his first top ten finish on the USPGA Tour since he won the 2012 The Greenbrier Classic. He will be looking to achieve more top ten finishes in the weeks to come. The final player to tie for tenth position was Adam Scott (Australia); it was his first top ten of the season in his very first event he has played on the USPGA Tour in 2013. He too earned US $165,000.00 for his weeks work and moved to 74th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $165,000 earned from the one event he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 70 FedEx Cup Points and moved to 108th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points Standings list with 70 points earned from the one event he has played in so far this year. Let’s hope he can have a few more top ten finishes heading into the first Major Championship of the year which is the Masters Tournament in the second week in April. 

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to Arizona for the first World Golf Championship event of the year which is co – sanctioned with all the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world and it is WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship and it is played on the Ritz-Carlton GC, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona, USA. Only the top 64 Golfers on the current Official World Golf Rankings are eligible to play. It has a huge prize purse of US $8,750,000 for the taking. Hunter Mahan (USA) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Wednesday 20th February 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 27th week of a 4th spell of his career and the 34th 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 12.09 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Tiger Woods (USA) with 8.91 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Luke Donald (England) with 7.35 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Brandt Snedeker (USA) fresh off his win at the AT&T National Pebble Beach Pro – Am two weeks ago with 6.82 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list this week is Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) with 6.36 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Michael Hendry (NZL) fresh off his second place finish at the Coca – Cola QLD PGA Championship is the new highest ranked New Zealander Golfer in the world for the first time in his career. This week he comes in at 225th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.77 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember the perfect putt if it doesn’t go in will finish 18 inches past the cup!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com