Golf Events from the Weekend 7th April 2013

Well again it was another exciting weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world. First I will start with the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup and this week it was in Texas again for the second and final event in the first leg of the Texas swing and it was the Valero Texas Open and it was played on the JW Marriott, TPC San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. And it was the golfer by the name of Martin Laird (Scotland) who scored rounds of 70-2, 71-1, 70-2 and a brilliant 63-9 in the final round which was a course record for a 72 hole total of 274-14 and he won by two strokes for his third win of his USPGA Tour Career. He earned US $1,116,000.00 for the win and moved to 15th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 1,185,200 earned from the nine events he has played to date this year so far. Tiger Woods (USA) still leads that list with US $3,787,600 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. Martin Laird (Scotland) also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to 18th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup points list standings with 563 points earned from the nine events he has played to date this year so far, he is 1,042 points behind the current leader of the 2013 FedEx Cup points list who is Tiger Woods (USA) who has earned 1,605 FedEx Cup points from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He has a 323 points lead over Brandt Snedeker (USA) who is in second place and has currently earned 1,282 points from the seven events he has played to date this year so far.

Martin Laird (Scotland) in action during the final round

From those nine events he has played to date so far this year he has made five cuts and this was his very first top ten finish of the season and it came with this win. Martin Laird (Scotland) played an awesome final round of 63-9 which included a front nine 31-5 with birdies on the par five, second hole, par three, third hole, par four, fifth hole, par four, sixth hole, par four, eighth hole and he made the turn at minus ten and was tied for the lead. Rory McILroy (NIR) had gone out in 33-3 and made the turn at minus nine and was only one stroke off the lead. Billy Horschel (USA) had gone out in 36 even par and was at minus ten at the turn and also tied for the lead. Jim Furyk (USA) had gone out in 36 even par and was minus eight at the turn and two strokes behind the leaders. Charley Hoffman (USA) had gone out in 38+2 and was at minus six now four strokes behind the leaders.

Martin Laird (Scotland) played holes 10-14 in one under par and moved to minus eleven with four holes to play and lead by one stroke. Rory McILroy (NIR) played holes 10-14 in one under par and moved to minus ten still one stroke behind the leader. Billy Horschel (USA) played holes 10-14 in one over par and fell back to minus nine and now was two strokes behind the leader. Jim Furyk (USA) played holes 10-14 in one under par and moved to minus nine and was still two strokes behind the leader. Charley Hoffman (USA) played holes 10-14 in two under par and moved to minus eight now only three strokes behind the leader. Martin Laird (Scotland) played holes 15-17 in two under par and moved to minus 13 with the Par five, 72nd hole to play and now had a two stroke lead. Rory McILroy (NIR) played holes 15-17 in one under par and moved to minus eleven with just the par five, 72nd hole to play and was now two strokes behind the leader. Billy Horschel (USA) played holes 15-17 in one under par and moved to minus ten and was now three strokes behind the leader with just the par five, 72nd hole to play. Jim Furyk (USA) played holes 15-17 in even par and remained at minus nine with just the par five, 72nd hole to play and was now four strokes behind the leader. Charley Hoffman (USA) played holes 15-17 in two under par and moved to minus ten and now was three strokes behind the leader.

Martin Laird (Scotland) who was playing about an hour ahead of the final group hit his drive to the right on the par five, 72nd hole. He then laid up 100 yards short of the green leaving himself a difficult wedge shot for his third. He now knew he had to hit the perfect wedge shot to get his ball within 15 feet of the pin that was tucked on the front right side of the green. If he spun it too much he would more than likely see his ball roll back off the green into the water. But he struck a brilliant wedge shot and it landed about twenty feet past the pin and spun back to within 15 feet of the pin leaving a nice birdie putt. He calmed his nerve and stuck a perfect putt that fell straight in the cup for his birdie four and he finished the 72 holes at minus 14, he scored a brilliant back nine of 32-4. He now had the long wait in the Club house to see if any of the other players would catch him or even beat him.

Rory McILroy (NIR) who was playing in the group ahead of the leaders now knew he had to make a double eagle on the par five, 72nd hole to force a playoff with Martin Laird (Scotland). He boomed his drive down the fairway with a huge draw and when it finally came to rest it was measured at 350 yards. He now knew he had to hole his second shot or settle for second place. He struck a good long iron and it finished on the green about 45 feet from the pin. Even though he couldn’t win he knew a birdie could lock up second position for him. He struck his 45 foot eagle putt with excellent pace to it and it was very close to going in. It came to rest four feet past the cup and he easily tapped the next putt in for a birdie four and finished at minus 12 and was two strokes behind the winner. Charley Hoffman (USA) who was playing in the group behind managed to birdie the same hole. He finished up at minus eleven after 72 holes and was three strokes behind the winner.

It was a touch of anticlimax for the final group playing the 72nd hole with both Jim Furyk (USA) at minus nine and Billy Horschel (USA) at minus ten knowing there was no way they could win now. Jim Furyk (USA) who had laid up for his second shot played an amazing shot for his third with a wedge that landed about five feet past the pin and spun back in to the cup for an eagle three and he finished up at minus eleven after 72 holes and three strokes behind the winner. Billy Horschel (USA) also birdied the par five 72nd hole and he too finished up at minus eleven after 72 holes also three strokes behind the winner.

 

Martin Laird (Scotland) poses with the Valero Texas Open Trophy he won

Martin Laird (Scotland) when interviewed by the NBC Sports/Golf Channel Commentator afterwards said “Today he just played the best round of his career under the circumstances, and was very pleased he had qualified to play in next week’s first major championship of the year which is the Masters Tournament”. He keeps his record alive of playing in every major championship since the 2010 Open Championship. He just turned 30 at the end of December last year and I feel his next few years on the USPGA Tour will be very good years for him as he is right in the prime of his career. He first qualified for the USPGA Tour in 2007 by finishing in 13th position on the final 2007 Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $ 252,679 earned from the 27 events he played in and that gained him his full USPGA Tour card for the 2008 season. He also became the first non American player to win on the USPGA Tour this year; the first 14 tournaments were won by American players. He has kept his card every year since with earning over US $1million the previous four seasons. He has also won three USPGA Tour events and that includes this one. The other two were: 2009 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and the 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. I feel with the confidence he has gained from this win he could go on the have a very good Masters Tournament next week. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season.

Coming in solo second position at 276-12 after 72 holes was the Number Two Golfer in the world, Rory McILroy (NIR); he earned US $669,600.00 for his efforts and moved to 27th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour money list standings with US $897,504 earned from the five events he has played in to date this year so far. He also earned 300 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 30th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup point’s standings list with 427 points earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. From those five events he has played in to date so far has made four cuts and withdrawn from one and two of those finishes have been top ten finishes that includes this one. This finish is his best to date so far on the USPGA Tour with his brand new Nike Golf Clubs he started using at the end of last year. I feel this finish is just what he needed heading in to the Masters Tournament where he is going for two straight Major Championship wins having won the 2012 PGA Championship in such convincing fashion. He has only been playing on the USPGA Tour Full time on and off since the 2010 US Open Championship where he won in such convincing fashion and he chose to take up full USPGA Tour membership for the rest of that year. But in 2011 he chose to play only the European Tour fulltime and just played the Majors and WGC Events and a couple of regular USPGA Tour events. In 2012 he again took up full membership on the USPGA Tour and he won the money list with US $8,047,952 earned from the 16 events he played in. I hope he has a good Masters Tournament as he will be right under the microscope of the public eye. He has won six events on the USPGA Tour to date so far and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2010 Wells Fargo Championship, 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 The Honda Classic, PGA Championship, Deutsche Bank Championship and the BMW Championship. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season.

Coming in tied for third position at 277-11 after 72 holes was Billy Horschel (USA); he earned US $322,400.00 for his efforts and moved to 14th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour money list standings with US $1,254,224 earned from the ten events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 145 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 12th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup point’s standings list with 145 FedEx Cup points earned from the ten events he has played to date this year so far. From those ten events he has played in so far this year he has made every cut and has achieved three top ten finishes that includes the one here. He also has the current USPGA Tour consecutive cuts-made streak which he extended to 21 this week. He will be disappointed with not winning this week as he was in such a good position to do so having held a two stroke lead after 54 holes. I mentioned in last week’s blog that I feel he will win his maiden event in the 2013 season on the USPGA Tour. I still feel he will. He will also be disappointed he never got to play in his maiden Masters Tournament. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season. Also tied for third position was Jim Furyk (USA); he too earned US $322,400.00 for his efforts and moved to 36th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour money list standings with US $812,432 earned from seven events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 145 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 36th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup points list standings with 400 points earned from the seven events he has played to date this year so far. From those seven events he has played to date this year so far he has made every single cut and achieved two top ten finishes. He could be a dark horse for the Masters Tournament next week which he has performed well in the recent years. Last year was a year of missed chances for him with his narrow misses at the US Open Championship and couple of other tournaments. But he hasn’t won on the USPGA Tour since the 2010 THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. But he has won 16 tournaments in his USPGA Tour career to date. I feel his 17th win will come very soon. I wish him all the best for rest of the 2013 season.

The final player to tie for third position was Charley Hoffman (USA); he too earned US $322,400.00 for his efforts and moved to 51st position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour money list standings with US $579,236 earned from the eight events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 145 FedEx cup points for his efforts and moved to 60th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup points list standings with 297 points earned from the eight events he has played to date this year so far. From those eight events he has played in he has made six cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes this one. He has won at least US $1million the last four seasons on the USPGA Tour. He has two USPGA Tour events to his name and they are the 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship. Perhaps his third win will come this season?

Coming in solo sixth position at 279-9 after 72 holes was K. J. Choi (South Korea); he earned US $223,200.00 for his efforts and moved to 54th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $541,884 earned from the nine events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 145 FedEx cup points for his efforts and moved to 55th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup points list standings with 314 points earned from the nine events he has played to date this year so far. From those nine events he has played to date this year so far he has made eight cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes this one. He hasn’t won on the USPGA Tour since the 2011 THE PLAYERS Championship. But he is in good form heading into the Masters Tournament where he has performed well in the past with a solo third placing way back in 2004. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season.

Coming in tied for seventh position at 280-8 after 72 holes was Daniel Summerhays (USA); he earned US $193,233.34 for his efforts and moved to 95th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $301,019 earned from the ten events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 85 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 99th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup point’s standings list with 180 points earned from the ten events he has played in so far this year. From those ten events he has played in so far this year he has made six cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came this week. Last year (2012) was his best year of his short USPGA Tour career to date so far where he earned US $1,111,522 from the 26 events he played in and that included four top ten finishes with his best being his tied for fourth at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance which was his best finish on the USPGA Tour to date so far. He ended up finishing in 92nd position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour money list standings. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season. Also tied for seventh position was Bob Estes (USA); he too earned US $193,233.34 for his efforts and moved to 68th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $463,468 earned from the eight events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 85 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 51st position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup points list standings with 322 points earned from the eight events he has played to date this year so far. From those eight events he has played to date this year so far he has made seven cuts and this was his first top ten finish of the year so far. Bob Estes (USA) now at 47 years of age he has been playing the USPGA Tour for the last 25 years and in that time he has achieved four wins that included this very tournament in 1994 which was 19 years ago. Here are his four wins on the USPGA Tour from the first to the most recent: 1994 Texas Open, 2001 FedEx St. Jude Classic, Invensys Classic at Las Vegas and the 2002 Kemper Insurance Open. He must be one of the most consistent players on the USPGA Tour over the last 25 years? Now he is less than three years off his 50 Birthday he will be starting to focus on getting ready for the Champions Tour. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season.

The final player to tie for seventh position was Jeff Overton (USA); he too earned US $193,233.34 for his efforts and moved to 57th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $517,190 earned from the eleven events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 85 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 54th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup point’s standings list with 317 points earned from the eleven events he has played to date this year so far. From those eleven events he has played in so far this year he has made eight cuts and withdrawn from one. He has also achieved two top ten finishes that includes the finish here. He has been playing the USPGA Tour now full time since the 2006 season and is still yet to achieve his maiden USPGA Tour win. He has finished in second position four times though and three of those came in his career year to date on the USPGA Tour which was 2010 where he earned US $3,456,356 from the 26 events he played in and finished up in 12th position on the final 2010 USPGA Tour Money list standings. He also made his Ryder Cup debut in 2010 for Team USA. I sure he will achieve his maiden USPGA Tour win very soon, perhaps it will happen in the 2013 season?

Round out the top ten in tied for tenth position at 281-7 after 72 holes was Martin Flores (USA); he earned US $155,000.00 for his efforts and moved to 111th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $238,944 earned from the ten events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 70 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 109th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup points list standings with 164 points earned from the ten events he has played to date this year so far. From those ten events he has played in so far this year he has made six cuts and this was his first top ten of the year. He first qualified for the USPGA Tour in 2010 by finishing in solo fourth position at the 2009 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. But failed to keep his card in 2010 and found himself back on the Web.com Tour for the 2011 season. But he found himself back on the USPGA Tour for the 2012 season by finishing in 24th position on the final 2011 Web.com Tour Money list with US $182,612 earned from the 25 events he played in. In 2012 he had his career year to date on the USPGA Tour with earning US $1,035,569 earned from the 30 events he played in and achieved two top ten finishes including his career finish on the USPGA Tour to date which came at the Greenbrier Classic. Let’s hope he can retain his full playing status for the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Also tied for tenth position was Padraig Harrington (Ireland); he too earned US $155,000.00 for his efforts and moved to 72nd position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $439,100 earned from the six event he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 70 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 94th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup points list standings with 201 points earned from the six events he has played to date this year so far. From those six events he has played to date this year so far he has made four cuts and he has achieved two top ten finishes this year to date that includes this one. Padraig Harrington (Ireland) has already won three Major Championships in his career to date and they are the 2007 British Open Championship, 2008 British Open Championship and the 2008 PGA Championship. Perhaps he could win his fourth Major Championship this week at the Masters Tournament? The final player to tie for tenth position was Marcel Siem (Germany); he too earned US $155,000.00 for his efforts but because he isn’t a current member of the USPGA Tour he doesn’t get a current 2013 Money list or FedEx Cup ranking. He was playing in this tournament on a sponsor’s exemption because he won the Trophy Hassan II event last week on the European Tour and just missed out on a Masters Tournament invitation by finishing in 51st position on the Official World Golf Rankings list when he needed to be in 50th position or better to earn an invite. If he could have won here he would have got the final invitation to the Masters Tournament. At one stage during his early stages of the back nine in the final round it was looking like a possibility because he was within one stroke of the lead, but it just wasn’t to be. If he keeps his form up over the next two months he should easily be inside the top 50 in the world rankings that get automatically into the US Open Championship in mid June. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season.

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai and the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to Augusta for the first Major Championship of the year which is the Masters Tournament. It is played on the Augusta National GC, Augusta, Georgia, USA. It is co – sanctioned with all the other Major Professional Golf Tours around the world. It carries a huge prize purse of US $8,000,000 for the taking. Only the very best golfers in the world are invited to play in it. Bubba Watson (USA) is the defending Champion and will be keen to put another green jacket around his shoulders. It starts on Thursday 11th April. I will report back who won the green jacket in two weeks time. 

The second event I am reporting on this week was on the Web.com Tour and was the Brasil Classic Presented by HSBC and it was played on the Sao Paulo Golf Club and it was the Golfer by the name of Benjamin Alvarado (Chile) who scored rounds of 67-4, 63-8, 66-5 and a final of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 265-19 and he won by one stroke for his maiden Web.com Tour win of his career. He won US $121,500.00 for the win and moved to second position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $ 150,100 earned from the three events he has played to date this year so far. Edward Loar (USA) currently leads that list with US $ 164,684 earned from the three events he has played to date this year so far. From the three events Benjamin Alvarado (Chile) has played to date this year so far he has made two cuts and both of those cuts made have been top ten finishes that includes this win here.

 

Benjamin Alvarado (Chile) drives off during the final round

Benjamin Alvarado (Chile) played a steady final round of 69-2 that included a front nine 34-1 with birdies of the par four, fourth hole and par five, eighth hole but he made a bogey on the par four, sixth hole. He made the turn at minus eighteen and had a two stroke lead. Dawie van der Walt (RSA) went out in 32-3 and was at minus 16 at the turn and two strokes off the lead. Kevin Kim (USA) went out in 34-1 and was at minus 15 at the turn and three strokes off the lead. Benjamin Alvarado (Chile) played holes 10-17 in one under par and moved to minus 19 with just the 72nd hole to play and was now only leading by only one stroke. Dawie van der Walt (RSA) played holes 10-17 in two under par and moved to minus 18 and now was only one stroke off the lead with only the 72nd hole to play. Kevin Kim (USA) played holes 10-17 in two under par and moved to minus 17 and now was only two strokes off the lead with just the par four, 72nd hole to play.

Kevin Kim (USA) made a solid par at the par four, 72nd hole and finished the 72 holes at minus 17 and ended up two strokes behind the winner. Dawie van der Walt (RSA) also made a solid par at the par four at the 72nd hole and finished the 72 holes at minus 18 and ended up only one stroke behind the winner. Benjamin Alvarado (Chile) made a solid par four at the 72nd hole and remained at minus 19 after 72 holes to win by one stroke for his maiden Web.com Tour victory. Benjamin Alvarado (Chile) has just made a dream start to the 2013 Web.com Tour season and now has full status on that tour. He is now almost guaranteed of gaining one of the 50 Full USPGA Tour cards that are on offer at the end of the season for the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season. He also became the first player from Chile to win a Web.com Tour event. I feel he could go on and achieve great things in the rest of the 2013 Web.com Tour season and I wish him every continuing success.

 

Benjamin Alvarado (Chile) poses with the Brasil Classic Trophy he won

Coming in solo second position at 266-18 after 72 holes was Dawie van der Walt (RSA); he earned US $72,900.00 for his efforts and moved to eight position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $72,900 earned from the two events he has played to date this year so far. He also has full status on the European Tour for the next two years after winning the Tshwane Open in his native country of South Africa last month for his maiden European Tour title. So far this year on the Web.com Tour he has played in two events and made one cut and achieved one top ten finish that came in this very tournament. He is in his third full season playing the Web.com Tour full time. I wish him all the best in his quest of achieving his 2013/14 USPGA Tour card.

Coming in solo third position at 267-17 after 72 holes was Kevin Kim (USA); he earned US $45,900.00 for his efforts and moved to 15th position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $48,029 earned from the three events he has played in to date this year so far. From those three events he has played in he has made two cuts and this is his first top ten of the season to date. He is in his first full season playing the Web.com Tour and is well on his way to gaining his 2013/14 USPGA Tour card if he can keep this early hot form up.

Coming in solo fourth position at 268-16 after 72 holes was Kevin Tway (USA); he earned US $32,400.00 for his efforts and moved to 24th position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour Money list with US $32,400 earned from the one event he has played to date this year so far. That was also his first top ten finish of the season to date as well. He is in his first full season on the Web.com Tour and has got his season off to a very good start. If he keeps this form up he should easily gain one of the 50 Full USPGA Tour cards that are on offer for the 2013/14 season. He is following in the footsteps of his famous Dad, Bob Tway (USA) who played in more than 680 USPGA TOUR events and recorded eight wins including the 1986 PGA Championship.

Coming in solo fifth position at 269-15 after 72 holes was Wes Roach (USA); he earned US $27,000.00 for his efforts and moved to 30th position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour money list with US $29,758 earned from the two events he has played to date this year so far. From those two events he has played in he has made both cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came at this very tournament. He is in his second full season playing the Web.com Tour and if he keeps up this fine early form he could well find himself playing on the USPGA Tour in the 2013/14 season. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season.

Coming in tied for sixth position at 271-13 after 72 holes was Scott Dunlap (USA); he earned US $21,853.13 for his efforts and moved to 14th position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $49,411 earned from the four events he has played to date this year so far. From those four events he has played in he has made three cuts and achieved two top ten finishes including this one. He is in the twilight of his career at 49 years of age and turns 50 on the 16th of August this year and I feel he will have a great career on the Champions Tour. He has had a real journeyman career on and off the USPGA Tour and then back on the Web.com Tour. He has been a Member of the Web.com Tour in 1990, 1998 and 2003-11 and a Member of the PGA TOUR in 1996-97 and 1999-2002 and 2012. I wish him every continuing success for the rest of the 2013 season. Also tied for sixth position was Brett Stegmaier (USA); he too earned US $21,853.13 for his efforts and moved to 19th position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour money list standings with US $39,346 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. From those five events he has played in so far this year he has made four cuts and this was his first top ten finish of the season. This is his very first season playing the Web.com Tour and if he can achieve more top ten finishes in the coming weeks he may well find himself playing the USPGA Tour in the 2013/14 season.

Also tied for sixth position was Brice Garnett (USA); he too earned US $21,853.13 for his efforts and moved to seventh position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour money list standings with US $84,223 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. From those five events he has played in he has made three cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes the one here. This is his fourth straight season playing on the Web.com Tour and with such a good start to the 2013 season he is a good chance to make the USPGA Tour for the 2013/14 season. The final player to tie for sixth position was Richard S. Johnson (Sweden); he too earned US $21,853.13 for his efforts and moved to 23rd position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour money list standings with US $33,472 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. From those five events he has played to date this year so far he has made three cuts and this was his first top ten finish he has achieved this season to date. This is his first full season on the Web.com Tour after playing the USPGA Tour full time from 2003-2012. He won his maiden and only USPGA Tour event to date at the 2008 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. If he can maintain this form throughout the 2013 season he may well find himself back on the USPGA Tour for the 2013/14 season.

Rounding out the top ten in tied for tenth position at 272-12 after 72 holes was Michael Putnam (USA); he earned US $16,200.00 for his efforts and moved to 16th position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $ 47,555 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. From those five events he has played in he has made four cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes the one here. He has been playing the Web.com Tour Full time since 2006 with the exception of the 2007 and 2011 seasons where he played the USPGA Tour full time. With such a good start to his 2013 season I am sure his goal is to get back on the USPGA Tour for the 2013/14 season. Also tied for tenth position was Oscar Fraustro (Mexico); he too earned US $16,200.00 for his efforts and moved to 42nd position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour money list standings with US $22,063 earned from the four events he has played to date this year so far. From the four events he has played to date this year so far he has made two cuts and this was his first top ten finish of the season to date. He is in his first full season of playing the Web.com Tour full time and I am sure he has his sights set on the USPGA Tour for the 2013/14 season. A few more top ten finishes in the coming months and he may well just achieve that.

Also tied for tenth position was Tim Wilkinson (NZL); he scored rounds of 67-4, 67-4, 69-2 and a final round of 69-2 for a 72 hole total of 272-12 after 72 holes. He too earned US $16,200.00 for his efforts and moved to 22nd position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour money list standings with US $34,006 earned from the two events he has played to date this year so far. From those two events he has played to date so far this year he has made two cuts and both of them have been top ten finishes. He has been playing on the Web.com Tour full time since 2005 with the exception of the 2008 to 2010 seasons where he was playing on the USPGA Tour full time. His best season on the USPGA Tour was in 2008 where he played in 29 events and earned US $1,167,607 and finished in 92nd position on the final 2008 USPGA Tour money list standings. He will be keen to have more top ten finishes in the 2013 season and if he does he will more than likely find himself on the USPGA Tour for the 2013/14 season. I wish him all the best for the remaining events in the 2013 season.

The final player to tie for tenth position was Danny Lee (NZL); he scored rounds of 65-6, 65-6, 70-1 and a final round of 72+1 for a 72 hole of 272-12. He too earned US $16,200.00 for his efforts and moved to 18th position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $41,048 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. From those five events he has played in he has made four cuts and this was his second top ten finish he has achieved this season to date. He has played on the Web.com Tour full time since 2011 season although he did played eleven events on the USPGA Tour in 2009 after playing in the 2009 Masters Tournament as an Amateur after he won the US Amateur Championship in 2008. Those eleven tournaments were all played on sponsor’s exemptions but he failed to earn enough money to earn his full playing status for the 2010 USPGA Tour season. In 2011 he had a brilliant season on the Web.com Tour with making US $326,100 from the 18 events he played in and that included his maiden win on the Web.com Tour that came at the WNB Golf Classic and he finished in sixth position on the final 2011 Web.com Tour Money list standings and gain his 2012 USPGA Tour card for the very first time. But his maiden season on the USPGA Tour wasn’t so great with only earning US $359,112 from the 26 events he played in without a single top ten finish and he ended up in 166th position on the final 2012 USPGA money list standings and that left him with no status at all for the 2013 USPGA Tour season. He went back to the 2012 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament where he missed getting his card back by one stroke finishing in tied for 27th position. I feel he has got off to a good start to his 2013 Web.com Tour season and if he continues to have top ten finishes he will easily finish inside the top 50 money earners and achieve his 2013/14 USPGA Tour card. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season.

The other New Zealander in the field was Steven Alker (NZL); he scored rounds of 67-4, 70-1, 72+1 and an awesome final round of 66-5 for a 72 holes total of 275-9 and he tied for 17th position. He earned US $8,250.00 for his efforts and moved to 92nd position on the current 2013 Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $8,250 earned from the one event he has played to date this year so far. He has played on the Web.com Tour on and off since 2002 win two events that include the 2002 Louisiana Open and the 2009 HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship Pres'd by Christchurch. He did have one season full time on the USPGA Tour in 2003 but failed to keep his card for the following season. In recent years he has struggled with his game and in 2010 on the Web.com Tour he played in 21 events and didn’t make a single cut. Let’s hope he can have some more good finishes in the 2013 season.

Next week the Web.com Tour heads to Texas for the WNB Golf Classic and it is played on the Midland CC, Midland, Texas. It carries a good prize purse of US $600,000 for the taking. Luke Guthrie (USA) is the defending Champion and although he is on the USPGA Tour in his rookie season he will more than likely defend his title because he is not got an invitation to play in the Masters Tournament. It starts on Thursday 11th April 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 626th week of his career in total is the Tiger Woods (USA) who is fresh off his eighth win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard two week ago with 11.62 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Rory McILroy (NIR) fresh off his solo second place at the Valero Texas Open with 10.99 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Justin Rose (England) with 6.91 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Luke Donald (England) with 6.53 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list this week is Brandt Snedeker (USA) with 6.20 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Michael Hendry (NZL) fresh off  his tie for 58th finish at the WGC – Cadillac Championship over a month ago and winning the NZ PGA Championship for the second straight year the week prior is the highest ranked New Zealander Golfer in the world for the eighth straight week of his career. This week he gains one place and moves to 149th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 1.14 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember when it is breezy, swing easy!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com