Golf Events from the Weekend 16th June 2013

Well it was another great Weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world. This week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup and the European Tour and Race to Dubai and the rest of the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world headed to Pennsylvania for 113th US Open Championship which was the second Major Championship of the year and it was played on Merion GC, Ardmore, Pennsylvania. The first round was played on Thursday 13th June and was affected by two weather delays. Phil Mickelson (USA) was the first round leader after scoring a first round 67-3. Luke Donald (England) was one shot back on 68-2; Tiger Woods (USA) scored a poor first round of 73+3 as did Rory McILroy (NIR) who scored 73+3 as well. Steve Alker (NZL) was the better of the two New Zealander Golfers in the field scoring 73+3 but the 2005 US Open Champion, Michael Campbell (NZL) scored a disappointing round of 76+6.

The second round was played on Friday 14th June in similar conditions to the first round and had to be completed early on the Saturday Morning to catch up from Thursday’s weather delays. Billy Horschel (USA) had the round of the day which was 67-3 and was tied for the lead with the first round leader who was Phil Mickelson (USA) who scored 72+2 in his second round. Those two players were both tied on 139-1 after 36 holes and lead by one shot over Steve Stricker (USA), Justin Rose (England) and Luke Donald (England) who were all on 140 even par. Two shots back on 141+1 were Hunter Mahan (USA), Charl Schwartzel (RSA) and Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium). On 143+3 were Tiger Woods (USA) and Rory McILroy (NIR). Lee Westwood (England) had a disappointing second round of 77+7 and made the cut by one shot with a 36 hole score of 147+7. Steve Alker (NZL) scored a second round 75+5 to go with his first round 73+3 and had a 36 hole total of 148+8 to make the cut on the number which was a fine effort for him. Some of the big name players that missed the cut that fell at 148+8 were: Tim Clark (RSA) on 149+9, Aaron Baddeley (Australia) on 149+9, Matteo Manaessro (Italy) on 149+9, Zach Johnson (USA) on 151+11, 2005 US Open Champion, Michael Campbell (USA) with rounds of 76+6 and 78+8 for a 36 hole total of 154+14 to miss by six shots and 2007 Champion, Angel Cabrera (Argentina) on 155+15.

The third round was played on Saturday 15th June in sunny conditions but the course was playing very difficult with only six under par rounds recorded. Phil Mickelson (USA) scored a fine par round of 70 even par and was on 209-1 after 54 holes and took a one stroke lead in to the final round over three golfers and they were Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Hunter Mahan (USA) and Steve Stricker (USA) who were all one shot back on 210 even par. Two shots back on 211+1 were Justin Rose (England), Luke Donald (England) and Billy Horschel (USA). Three shots back was Jason Day (Australia) on 212+2 and he scored a final third round of 68-2. Four shots back on 213+3 was Rickie Fowler (USA) who scored the low third round of 67-3. Five shots back on 214+4 was Michael Kim (Amateur) (USA). Rory McILroy (NIR) scored a poor third round of 75+5 and was on 218+8 and nine shots off the lead heading into the final round. Tiger Woods (USA) scored his equal worst round in the US Open Championship of 76+6 and was on 219+9 and ten strokes back heading into the final round and any chance he had of winning his 15th Major Championship had disappeared. Steve Alker (NZL) who was the only New Zealand Golfer to make the cut scored his second consecutive 75+5 and was on 223+13 and 14 shots off the lead heading in to the final round which was a fine effort by him.

So to the final round which was played on Sunday 16th June. It was played in good conditions with a period of rain in the afternoon that affected the leading groups during the back nine. Justin Rose (England) scored a final round of 70 even par which was an awesome effort with the course set up extremely difficult as it always is in the final round of the US Open Championship. He won by two strokes for his maiden Major Championship win. Justin Rose (England) scored rounds of 71+1, 69-1, 71+1 and a final round of 70 even par for a 72 hole total of 281+1 and as I mentioned before he won by two strokes. He earned US $1,440,000.00 for the win and moved to sixth position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,921,290 earned from the nine events he has played to date this year so far. Tiger Woods (USA) still leads that list with US $5,909,742 earned from the nine events he has played to date this year so far. Justin Rose (England) also earned 600 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to sixth position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,301 points earned from the nine events he has played to date this year so far. He is 1,079 points behind the current leader of the FedEx Cup who is Tiger Woods (USA) who has earned 2,380 points from the nine events he has played to date this year so far. Tiger Woods (USA) has a 416 points lead over Matt Kuchar (USA) who has earned 1,964 Points from the 15 events he has played to date this year so far. From the nine events Justin Rose (England) has played to date this year so far he has made eight cuts and achieved five top ten finishes that includes the win here.

 

Justin Roses (England) poses with the Wicker Basket Flag Stick and US Open Championship Trophy he won!!

Justin Rose (England) became the first Englishman to win the US Open Championship since Tony Jacklin (England) in 1970. He follows Horace Rawlins (England) (1895), Joe Lloyd (England) (1897), Harry Vardon (England) (1900), George Sargent (England) (1909), Ted Ray (England) (1920), Jim Barnes (England) (1921), Cyril Walker (England) (1924) and Tony Jacklin (England) (1970), as Englishmen to win the US Open Championship. It was the 46th Major Championship victory by a European Tour Member since 1979. He becomes the seventh European Tour Member to win the US Open Championship, following Ernie Els (RSA) (1994 and 1997), Retief Goosen (RSA)(2001 and 2004), Michael Campbell (NZL) (2005), Angel Cabrera (Argentina) (2007), Graeme McDowell (NIR) (2010) and Rory McIlroy (NIR) (2011). He becomes the 23rd different European Tour Member to win a Major Championship since 1979. 

He becomes only the second Englishman to win a Major Championship since birth of The European Tour, following Sir Nick Faldo (England) and first English Major winner since Faldo (England) at the 1996 Masters Tournament. He beats his previous best Major Championship performance of tied third in the 2012 US PGA Championship. He claims his sixth European Tour International Schedule victory in his 228th European Tour event. He moves to the top of The Race to Dubai with €1,557,900. He moves to third in the Official World Golf Ranking, from fifth. It was his first Major Championship victory in his 37th Major Championship appearance. It comes in his eighth appearance in the US Open Championship. He beats his previous best performance in the US Open Championship of tied fifth, on his debut in 2003. It was his first European Tour victory since the 2012 WGC – Cadillac Championship. It was the fifth consecutive season that the winner of the US Open Championship has made this Major their first Major triumph. He follows: Lucas Glover (USA) (2009), Graeme McDowell (NIR) (2010), Rory McIlroy (NIR) (2011) and Webb Simpson (USA) (2012). He records the 279th English victory in European Tour history.

He becomes the second Englishman to win on The European Tour in 2013, following Chris Wood (England) (Commercial Bank Qatar Masters). It was his 13th victory worldwide as a professional. He moves over €13 million in European Tour Official Career Earnings. He extends his European Tour exemption until the end of 2020. He gains a ten year exemption into the US Open Championship and five years into the Masters Tournament, Open Championship and US PGA Championship. He gains a place into the 2013 PGA Grand Slam of Golf, 2013 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational, 2013 WGC – HSBC Champions and 2014 Volvo Golf Champions. He becomes the 12th European Tour victory by former Challenge Tour players on the 2013 European Tour. They are: Scott Jamieson (Scotland) (Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS Handa), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (Volvo Golf Champions), Jamie Donaldson (Wales) (Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship), Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) (Omega Dubai Desert Classic), Richard Sterne (RSA) (Joburg Open), Marcel Siem (Germany) (Trophée Hassan II), Raphaël Jacquelin (France) (Open de España), Brett Rumford (Australia) (Ballantine’s Championship and Volvo China Open), Joost Luiten (Netherlands) (Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity) , Simon Thornton (Ireland) (Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open presented by Neuflize OBC) and Justin Rose (England) (US Open Championship).

He records the 319th European Tour victory by a former Challenge Tour player. And finally becomes the fifth former Challenge Tour player to win a Major Championship. He would follow: Michael Campbell (NZL) (2005 US Open Championship), Trevor Immelman (RSA) (2008 Masters Tournament), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (2010 Open Championship) and Martin Kaymer (Germany) (2010 US PGA Championship).

Justin Rose (England) played a brilliant final round under the circumstances of the US Open Championship final round pressure. He scored 70 even par which included a front nine of 35-1 with birdies on the par five, fourth hole, par four, sixth hole and par four, seventh hole. But he made bogeys on the par three, third hole and par four, fifth hole. He made the turn at even par and was in the lead by one shot. Jason Day (Australia) played a great front nine of 35-1 and made the turn at one over and was one shot off the leader. Phil Mickelson (USA) scored a poor front nine of 39+3 and made the turn at two over and was two strokes off the leader. Hunter Mahan (USA) had gone out in 37+1 and made the turn at one over and was one stroke off the leader.

Justin Rose (England) made a solid par on the short par four, tenth hole and remained at even par with eight holes to play but now was tied for the lead. Jason Day (Australia) made a fine birdie three at the par four, tenth hole and now was tied for the lead at even par. Phil Mickelson (USA) made an amazing eagle two on the short par four, tenth hole when he holed his 80 yard wedge shot from the rough and moved to even par and was now tied for the lead. Hunter Mahan (USA) made a solid par four on the par four tenth hole and remained at one over and was still one shot off the lead.

Justin Rose (England) made a poor bogey five on the par four, eleventh hole and dropped back to one over par and now was one stroke off the lead with seven holes remaining to be played. Jason Day (Australia) made a poor bogey on the par four, eleventh hole but it was a good bogey because he chipped in after hitting his second shot in to the hazard in front of the green. He fell back to one over par and was now one shot off the lead. Phil Mickelson (USA) pared the par four, eleventh hole and remained at even par with seven holes to play and was still tied for the lead. Hunter Mahan (USA) made solid par four on the par four, eleven hole and was still one shot off the lead.

Justin Rose (England) made a fine birdie on the par four, 12th hole when he struck his second shot into within two feet short of the pin. He moved to even par and was now tied for the lead. Jason Day (Australia) made a solid par on the par four, 12th hole and remained at one over par with six holes to play and was still one shot off the lead. Phil Mickelson (USA) made a solid par on the par four, 12th hole and was still at even par and tied for the lead. Hunter Mahan (USA) also made a solid par four on the par four, 12th hole and remained at one over par still one shot of the lead.

 

Luke Donald (England) on the left and Justin Rose (England) on the right shake hands as they depart the 72nd Green!!

Justin Rose (England) hit a good tee shot in to the very short par three, 13th hole and left himself with a 30 foot putt that broke slightly from left to right. He struck a very bold putt that was right on line and fell into the middle of the cup for his birdie two and moved to minus one and was now in the lead by two shots with five holes to play. Jason Day (Australia) made a solid par three on the par three, 13th hole and remained at one over par and two shots off the lead with five holes to play. Phil Mickelson (USA) hit a poor tee shot on the par three, 13th hole which air mailed the green and left him with an impossible up and down which he was unable to make and he had to settle for a bogey four and fell back to one over par and was now two shots off the lead. Hunter Mahan (USA) made a solid par three on the par three 13th hole and remained at one over par and was now two shots off the lead.

Justin Rose (England) made a poor bogey five on the par four, 14th hole where he hit his second shot in to the right green side bunker and was unable to get up and down and he fell back to even par and now was only leading by one shot. Jason Day (Australia) also made a bogey five on the par four, 14th hole and fell back to two over par and was still two shots behind the leader. Phil Mickelson (USA) made a solid par on the par four, 14th hole and remained at one over par and was now only one shot off the lead with four holes to play. Hunter Mahan (USA) made a solid par four on the par four, 14th hole where he got up and down from the right green side bunker and remained at one over par but now was only one shot of the lead.

Justin Rose (England) made a solid par on the par four, 15th hole and remained at even par with four holes to play and now was leading by two shots. Jason Day (Australia) also made a solid par four and the par four, 15th hole and remained at two over par and was still two shots behind the leader with two holes to play. Phil Mickelson (USA) made a poor bogey five on the par four, 15th hole where he quit on his short wedge shot and was force to chip from on the green because the severe slope would have force his putt to move sideways. He caught his chip slightly thin and was left with a 15 foot putt for his par which he was unable to make. He fell back to two over par and was now two shots behind the leader. Hunter Mahan (USA) made a terrible double bogey six on the par four, 15th hole and fell back to three over par and now was three shots of the lead with three holes remaining.

Justin Rose (England) made a poor bogey five on the par four, 16th hole where he three putted from 30 feet and he fell back to one over par and was now only leading by one shot. Jason Day (Australia) also made a solid par four on the par four, 16th hole where he got up and down from over the back of the green. He remained at two over par with two holes to play and now was only one shot out of the lead. Phil Mickelson (USA) hit a fine second shot into the par four, 16th hole from the rough and left himself with an eight foot birdie putt but he was unable to convert it and remained at two over par and only one shot off the lead. Hunter Mahan (USA) made a solid par four on the par four, 16th hole and remained at three over par only two shots off the lead.

Justin Rose (England) hit a fine tee shot into the long par three, 17th hole which came to rest pin high just in the rough. He hit his chip shot to one foot and easily tapped in for his par three and remained at one over heading to the difficult par four, 72nd hole and still was leading by a single stroke. Jason Day (Australia) made a fine par three at the par three, 17th hole where he got up and down from short of the green. He remained at two over par and only one shot off the lead with just the par four, 72nd hole to play. Phil Mickelson (USA) hit a fine tee shot into the par three, 17th hole with his four iron but it failed to get over the ridge in the middle of the green and left him with a 35 foot putt for his birdie two. He struck a good putt but it came up three feet short and he had to settle for a solid par three and remained at two over par heading to the par four, 72nd hole and he was still one shot behind the leader. Hunter Mahan (USA) pulled his tee shot off the par three, 17th hole and left himself a difficult chip from the rough. He left his chip about 25 foot short of the cup. He attacked his par putt and it ran six feet past the pin. He managed to make the six footer for his bogey four but fell back to four over par and was now three shots behind the leader heading to the par four, 72nd hole.

Jason Day (Australia) playing two groups ahead of the final group put his second shot in the left green side bunker on the par four, 72nd hole. He hit a fine bunker shot out to within six feet of the cup. He steadied himself and then struck the six foot par putt but it caught the left lip and spun out and he had to settle for a bogey five and he finished the 72 holes at three over par and was two shots behind the winner. Justin Rose (England) hit a fine drive down the extremely difficult par four, 72nd hole. It landed right in the centre of the fairway next to the Famous plaque where legendary; Ben Hogan (USA) hit his Famous one iron to win the 1950 US Open Championship on this very course. He struck his second shot with his long iron to near perfection and it landed on the front of the green and rolled to the back of the green just in to the first cut of rough leaving an easily chip for him to get up and down. He chose to use his three wood to chip it with. He struck it brilliantly and it rolled and came to rest an inch to the left of the cup. He easily tapped in for his par four and he finished the 72 holes at one over par and he now was the leader in the club house with a one shot lead. He scored 34 even par on his back nine. As he was leaving the green he point up to the sky to pay respect to his late father, Ken Rose (England) who pasted away from leukaemia in 2002, and the memories of his Dad must of flowed back him being Fathers Day in USA. Phil Mickelson (USA) was now the only golfer on the course that could force a playoff with Justin Rose (England). Phil Mickelson (USA) struck a poor drive off the par four, 72nd hole and it came to rest in the left rough. He struck a fine second shot that faded round the trees from right to left but came up short of the green. He now knew he had to hole that chip shot from the just in front of the green for his birdie three to force an 18 hole playoff on the Monday. He got his caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay (USA) to tend the flag stick. He struck a good chip but it just missed and rolled to the back of the green. He ended up making a bogey five and finished the 72 holes at three over and two strokes behind the winner. Hunter Mahan (USA) hit a good drive in the middle of the fairway on the par four, 72nd hole. But he came out of his long second shot and landed in the right green side bunker. He hit a very good bunker shot out for his third and had an eight foot putt for his par four but was unable to make it and had to settle for his bogey five and he finished the 72 holes at five over par and four shots behind the winner. 

 

Justin Rose (England) points to the heavens in honor of his late Father, Ken Rose (England) just after he holed the winning putt!!

Justin Rose (England) was in the Club House watching the last group on TV and when he found out he had won his Maiden Major Championship he gave his caddie a huge high five and gave his Wife Kate a huge hug!! Later when he was interviewed after receiving the US Open Championship Trophy he said he received a text message from his good mate, Adam Scott (Australia) after he won the Masters Tournament for his maiden Major Championship in April and it read “Your turn is coming soon”. Justin Rose (England) then said “He did know it would be this soon, but he is very happy it was!!” Justin Rose (England) has been playing the USPGA Tour Fulltime since the 2004 season with easily keeping his card for the next year every year since. In that time he has career earnings to date of US $24,052,907 from the 222 events he has played in his USPGA Tour career so far. He has already has five wins on the USPGA Tour which are the 2010 the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance, AT&T National, 2011 BMW Championship, 2012 World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and the 113th US Open Championship (Maiden Major Championship. I feel now he has won his maiden Major Championship he will have taken a lot of pressure off himself and I wouldn’t be surprised if he won his second in the next few years. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season.

Justin Rose (England) kisses the US Open Championship Trophy he won!!

Coming in tied for second position at 283+3 after 72 holes was Jason Day (Australia); He earned US $696,104.00 for his efforts and moved to eighth position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,566,023 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 270 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to ninth position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 1,101 points earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year so far. From those 13 events he has played to date so far he has made every single cut and achieved five top ten finishes including this one and two of those have come in the first two majors. He has won one event on the USPGA Tour in his career to date and that came at the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship. With his awesome play this year to date I feel he could be a real threat in the final two Major Championships of the year and I feel his second USPGA Tour win will happen in the 2013 season. Also tied for second position was Phil Mickelson (USA); he too earned US $696,104.00 for his efforts and moved to fourth position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $3,417,984 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 270 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to fourth position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,518 points earned from the 13 events he has played to date this year so far. From those 13 events he has played to date this year so far he has made eleven cuts and achieved five top ten finishes that includes the win here and he also won the Waste Management Phoenix Open in early February. It was the sixth time in his career he has finished in the runner up position at the US Open Championship; maybe he is destined never to win this Major? He has been playing on the USPGA Tour Fulltime since the 1992 season and has easily kept his card every season since and has current career earnings on USPGA Tour of US  $71,062,682. And that includes having 41 USPGA Tour wins to date so far in his career which includes four Major Championship titles as well and here they are from the first to the most recent: 1991 Northern Telecom Open.  1993 Buick Invitational of California, The International. 1994 Mercedes Championships.  1995 Northern Telecom Open. 1996 Nortel Open, Phoenix Open, GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic, NEC World Series of Golf.  1997 Bay Hill Invitational, Sprint International.  1998 Mercedes Championships,  AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.  2000 Buick Invitational, BellSouth Classic, MasterCard Colonial, THE TOUR Championship.  2001 Buick Invitational, Canon Greater Hartford Open.  2002 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Canon Greater Hartford Open.  2004 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Masters Tournament.  2005 FBR Open, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, BellSouth Classic, PGA Championship.  2006 BellSouth Classic, Masters Tournament.  2007 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, THE PLAYERS Championship, Deutsche Bank Championship.  2008 Northern Trust Open, Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.  2009 Northern Trust Open, World Golf Championships-CA Championship, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.  2010 Masters Tournament.  2011 Shell Houston Open.  2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.  2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he won his fifth Major Championship this year and maybe it will happen at the Open Championship next month? He has always been a favourite with the crowds and always Acknowledges all the praise he gets from them. He is known as the modern day Arnold Palmer (USA) in that respect and he also has the same go for broke attitude that Arnold Palmer (USA) had when he was in his prime. He also is very respectful to his opponents and this was shown last year in the Ryder Cup Matches which Team USA should have won easily. He was playing Justin Rose (England) on the final day singles matches. He had just narrowly missed chipping in for birdie on the Par three, 17th hole. Justin Rose (England) putted for birdie from just off the green and holed it for the win. He gave Justin Rose (England) great praise where other players wouldn’t have said anything. I wish Phil Mickelson (USA) all the best with the rest of his 2013 season.

Coming in tied for fourth position at 285+5 after 72 holes was Jason Dufner (USA); he earned US $291,406.00 for his efforts and moved to 69th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $817,794 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 120 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 59th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 493 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this year so far. From those 14 events he has played to date this year so far he has made 12 cuts and this was his very first top ten finish of the season to date. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime for the last six seasons and has easily kept his card every year for the next year every year except one. In that time he has achieved two wins with the Maiden win coming at the 2012 Zurich Classic of New Orleans and his second win coming a few weeks later at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. In 2011 he had his best career finish in a Major Championship which came at the USPGA Championship where he finished runner up to Keegan Bradley (USA) losing to him in a playoff. I feel his third win isn’t too far off and maybe it could happen in the third Major Championship of the year at the Open Championship next month? Also tied for fourth position was Ernie Els (RSA); he too earned US $291,406.00 for his efforts and moved to 66th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $833,058 earned from the eleven events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 120 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 76th position on the current FedEx Cup Points list standings with 412 points earned from the eleven events he has played to date this year so far. From those eleven events he has played to date this year so far he has made eight cuts and this was his very first top ten of the season so far. He has been playing the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 1995 season and has easily kept his card every year for the next year every season. He has current career earnings of US $45,604,467 from the 354 events he has played in so far. He has also achieved 19 wins on the USPGA Tour which includes three Major Championships and here they are from the first to the most recent: 1994 U.S. Open Championship, 1995 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic, 1996 Buick Classic, 1997 U.S. Open Championship,  Buick Classic,  1998 Bay Hill Invitational, 1999 Nissan Open, 2000 The International Presented by Qwest,  2002 Genuity Championship, British Open Championship, 2003 Mercedes Championships, Sony Open in Hawaii, 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii, the Memorial Tournament, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. 2008 The Honda Classic, 2010 World Golf Championships-CA Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and the 2012  The Open Championship. I feel his 20th win isn’t too far away and may well happen in the 2013 season?

Also tied for fourth position was Billy Horschel (USA); he too earned US $291,406.00 for his efforts and moved to fifth position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,998,128 earned from the 16 events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 120 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to fifth position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 1,413 points earned from the 16 events he has played to date this year so far. From the 16 events he has played to date this year so far he has made 15 cuts and he has also achieved seven top ten finishes that includes this one and his maiden USPGA Tour win which came in late April at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Billy Horschel (USA) first gained his USPGA Tour card in 2010 by finishing in solo seventh position at the 2009 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. In his rookie season on the USPGA Tour in 2010 he only managed to play in four events and missed every cut because of a tendon injury to his left wrist that required surgery. The wrist started bothering him in late 2009. He was granted a major Medical Extension for 2011 USPGA Tour season, with 19 events to equal the Number 125 from the 2010 PGA TOUR money list ($786,977) he improved his status with a Tied 27th finish at the 2010 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. In the 2011 USPGA Tour season he only made US $533,024 from the 25 events he played in and finished in 140th position on the final 2011 USPGA Tour Money list giving him some status on the USPGA Tour for the 2012 season. He went back to the 2011 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament but finished in tied 103rd position and got his Web.com Tour Card and that meant he had two tours to play on in the 2012 season.

In the 2012 USPGA Tour season he played in 17 events and made 15 cuts and achieved one top ten finish. He earned US $486,177 from those 17 events he played in and finished up in 147th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list standings meaning he again had some status on the USPGA Tour for the 2013 season. He chose to go back to the 2012 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament to improve his status and he did better than that by finishing tied for fourth position and gained his full USPGA Tour card for the 2013 USPGA Tour season. And I guess as they say the rest is history. He now will be playing in the 2014 Masters Tournament and Hyundai Tournament of Champions to start the 2013/14 season, and now he is inside the top 50 in the World Rankings he will more than likely get a start in the final two Major Championships this year if he can remain inside the top 50. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season.

The final player to tie for fourth position was Hunter Mahan (USA); he too earned US $291,406.00 for his efforts and moved to 14th position on the current 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,114,705 earned from the 16 events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 120 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 13th position on the current 2013 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 959 points earned from the 16 events he has played to date this year so far. From those 16 events he has played to date this year so far he has made 14 cuts and achieved three top ten finishes that includes the one here. Hunter Mahan (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour for the last nine seasons and has easily kept his card for the next season every season since except for the 2005 season where he had to go back the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament where he finished in tied for ninth position and gain his full USPGA Tour status back for the 2006 season. He has current career earnings on the USPGA Tour of US $23,837,598 earned from the 272 events he has played in his career to date so far. He has also won five events on the USPGA Tour so far and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2007 Travelers Championship, 2010 Waste Management Phoenix Open, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, 2012 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Shell Houston Open. I feel his sixth win on the USPGA Tour isn’t too far off and perhaps it will happen at the third Major Championship of the year which is the Open Championship?

The lower Amateur was Michael Kim (USA) (Amateur); he scored rounds of 73+3, 70 even par, 71+1 and a final round of 76+6 for a 72 hole total of 290+10 and he tied for 17th position.

Steven Alker (NZL) was the best New Zealander in the field and the only one to make the cut; he scored rounds of 73+3, 75+5, 75+5 and a final round of 72+2 for a 72 hole total of 295+15 and he tied for 45th position. He earned US $28,961.00 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 is currently playing the Web.com Tour Fulltime and so far this year he has played in five events and made two cuts and achieved no top ten finishes. He is currently in 144th position on the Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $10,245 earned from the five events he has played to date this year so far. He even got some TV time in the final round when he almost made a hole in one on the extremely difficult and long par three, 17th hole where his ball finished two feet short of the pin and he tapped in for his birdie two. Let’s hope this finish will give him confidence to have some top ten finishes in the weeks to come on the Web.com Tour? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season.

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship and it is played on the TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, CT. It carries a prize purse of US $6,100,000 for the taking. Marc Leishman (Australia) is the defending Champion and will be keen for back to back titles. It starts on Thursday 20th June 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 636th week of his career in total is the Tiger Woods (USA) who is fresh off his win at the Players Championship over a month ago with 13.06 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Rory McILroy (NIR) with 9.52 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Justin Rose (England) fresh off his maiden Major Championship win at the 113th US Open Championship with 8.19 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Adam Scott (Australia) who won his maiden Major Championship at the Masters Tournament over two months ago with 7.35 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list this week is Matt Kuchar (USA) who is fresh off his win at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance two weeks ago with 6.69 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Michael Hendry (NZL) fresh off  his tie for 55th position at the at the Volvo China Open six weeks ago is the highest ranked New Zealander Golfer in the world for the eighteenth straight week of his career. This week he remains in 170th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 1.03 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember now it is winter conditions you must factor it into the yardage when choosing your club to hit!!

Source: pgatour.com, europeantour.com