Golf Events from the Weekend 27th October 2013

Well it was another amazing weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world. This week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup has its third event of the 2013/14 season and it headed to Asia for the first of two tournaments there and the first one was the CIMB Classic and it was played on the Kuala Lumpur Golf & CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. And the golfer by the name of Gary Woodland (USA) scored rounds of 68-4, 70-2, 67-5 and a final round of 69-3 for a 72 hole total of 274-14 but he was tied on that score by Ryan Moore (USA) who scored rounds of 63-9, 72 even par, 69-3 and a final round of 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 274-14 also. Because there were two weather delays in the final round due to lightening in the area the players were forced to come back at 7:30am on Monday Morning for the first playoff hole which was the par five, 18th hole because play had been suspended due to darkness on Sunday evening.

So to the first playoff hole and it was Gary Woodland (USA) who drew number one from the hat from the USPGA Tour Official and choose to hit his two iron from the tee to make sure he got his ball in the fairway. He hit it right in the middle of the fairway. Ryan Moore (USA) teed off next and hit his drive right in the centre of the fairway as well. Ryan Moore (USA) played a very good second shot with his fairway wood that landed in the fairway about 100 yards from the green leaving a perfect distance for his short wedge shot third. Gary Woodland (USA) played his second shot next with his long iron and lost it to the right and it came to rest in the right rough leaving a very difficult third shot. Ryan Moore (USA) now knew the door was open if he could get his short wedge shot close and that is what he did. He hit it right over the flag stick and it hit the green ten feet past the pin and spun back to within four feet from the cup. Gary Woodland (USA) played his third shot next and hit it very poorly from the right rough and missed the green in the right rough pin high with his short wedge leaving a difficult up and down for his par five. Gary Woodland (USA) now knew his only hope of extending the playoff to a second hole was to hole his short chip shot from just off the green. He hit a good chip but it just wasn’t hard enough and came to rest about two feet from the cup and he marked it knowing it was more than likely he would not have to putt for his par five. The stage was now set for Ryan Moore (USA) to win his third USPGA Tour event of his career. He set up over the four footer and then backed away for some reason. Then he calmed his nerve and set up for a second time and stroked the putt right in the centre of the hole and he had won the 2013 CIMB Classic!! He gave his caddie a huge high five to celebrate!!

 

Ryan Moore (USA) in action during the final round

Ryan Moore (USA) won US $1,260,000.00 for the win and moved to number one position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 1,422,000 earned from the two events he has played to date this year so far. Jimmy Walker (USA) is coming second on that list with US $1,278,000 earned from the three events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to second position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points playoff list standings with 575 points earned from the two events he has played to date this year so far, he is 86 points behind the current leader of the FedEx Cup who is Jimmy Walker (USA) with 661 points earned from the three events he has played to date this season so far. From the two events Ryan Moore (USA) has played to date this season so far he has made two cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes the one here. He also captured his third USPGA TOUR event at the age of 30 years, 10 months and 21 days in his 207th USPGA TOUR professional start (212th overall). Other wins: 2009 Wyndham Championship, 2012 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, 2013 CIMB Classic. He gained a two-year exemption through the 2015-16 season with invites to a number of invitational’s including the 2014 Hyundai Tournament of Champions, 2014 Masters Tournament, 2014 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and the 2014 PGA Championship. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2006 season with easily keeping his card every season since and he has achieved three wins so far in his career with the first coming at the 2009 Wyndham Championship and the second coming at the 2012 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open which was last week’s tournament and of course this victory here. He gained his full USPGA Tour card by earning enough money from sponsor’s exemptions in the 2005 season after he played in the 2005 Masters Tournament and US Open Championship because he won the 2004 US Amateur Championship. I’m sure his fourth win isn’t too far off as well? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

 

Ryan Moore (USA) poses with the CIMB Classic Trophy he won!!

Coming in solo second position on 274-14 and losing on the first playoff hole as I mentioned above was Gary Woodland (USA); he earned US $756,000.00 for his efforts and moved to fourth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 756,000 earned from the two events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 300 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to fifth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 300 points earned from the two events he has played to date this year so far. From the two events he has played to date this year so far he has made one cut and this was the first top ten finish he has achieved so far this season. He will be disappointed he wasn’t able to get over the line here for his third win but at the same time he will be content that he has made a solid start to the season. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2009 season after he qualified by finishing in tied for eleventh position at the 2008 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. He had a poor rookie season on the USPGA Tour in 2009 with only making US $121,031 from the 18 events he played in and he finished in 204th position on the final 2009 USPGA Tour Money list standings and he lost all his status for the 2010 season. He spent the 2010 season playing in only a few USPGA Tour and Web.com Tour events and at the end of 2010 went back to the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament where he finished in tied for eleventh position and he regained his USPGA Tour card back for the 2011 season. In his second go at playing the USPGA Tour fulltime he had an amazing season with earning US $3,448,591 from the 25 events he played in and achieved his maiden win at the Transitions Championship and achieved another five top ten finishes. He finished in 17th position on the final 2011 USPGA Tour Money list standings. 2012 on the USPGA Tour he had an average season with earning US $592,879 from the twenty two events he played in and finished in 134th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list standings but because of his win in the 2011 season he was fully exempt for the 2013 season. In his 2013 season on the USPGA Tour he earned US $1,915,732 from the twenty six events he played in and finished in 37th position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings which included his second win of his USPGA Tour career at the Reno-Tahoe Open. With now two USPGA Tour wins behind him I’m sure his third win isn’t too far off? He is one of the longest hitters on the USPGA Tour with averaging well over 300 yards every drive. I wish him all the best for the remaining events in the 2013/14 season.

Coming tied for third position at 275-13 after 72 holes was Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand); he earned US $406,000.00 for his efforts but because he isn’t a current member of the USPGA Tour he doesn’t get a current USPGA Tour Money list or FedEx Cup ranking. He came so close to claiming his maiden USPGA Tour win with a birdie putt on the 72nd green that just missed on the left hand side and he missed the playoff by one shot. Because he finished inside the top ten he is eligible to play in the next regular USPGA Tour event which is the McGladrey Classic in two weeks at Sea Island, Georgia, USA if he chooses to. From the one event he has played on the USPGA Tour this season he has made one cut and achieved one top ten finish that came at this very tournament. Also this finish almost guarantees he will win the 2013 Asian Tour of Merit with US $ 711,074 earned from the ten events he has played in with only six events remaining. He is an amazing young talent at only 24 years old and he is sure to be a great star if he makes it on to the USPGA Tour by the distance he hits the ball and just the style he plays the game in. I wish him all the best in the weeks to come and I am sure he will grab any chance he gets to play the USPGA Tour with both hands.

The final player to tie for third position was Chris Stroud (USA); he earned US $406,000.00 for his efforts and moved to ninth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $406,000 earned from the two events he has played to date this year so far. He also earned 163 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to  eleven position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 163 points earned from the two events he has played to date this season so far. From the two events he has played to date this season so far he has made one cut and achieved one top ten finish that came at this very tournament. He will be very disappointed as well that he wasn’t able to make the playoff because his chip for birdie on the 72nd hole to get to minus 14 all but when in the hole. He is an extremely hard worker at his golf game as the commentators mentioned that during his practise this week he had struck over 2000 golf balls. Chris Stroud (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2007 season after he gained his card for the first time at the 2006 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament where he finished in tied for 16th position. His maiden season on the USPGA Tour in 2007 wasn’t very successful and he was forced to go back to the 2007 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament where he finished in solo third position to regain his full USPGA Tour card for the 2008 season. Again in his second full season on the USPGA Tour in 2008 he had another poor season and was forced back to the 2008 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament where he finished in tied for fourth position and gained his 2009 USPGA Tour card back. In 2009 in his third full season on the USPGA Tour he earned enough money to keep his card for the 2010 season by the skin of his teeth. In his fourth full season on the USPGA Tour in 2010 he had a much better season and easily kept his card for the 2011 season. In his fifth full season in 2011 on the USPGA Tour he made just over one million US dollars for the first time in his career and easily kept his card for the 2012 season. In his sixth full season in 2012 on the USPGA Tour he earned just under one million US dollars and easily kept his card for the 2013 season. In his seventh full season he earned the more money than any other of his previous six seasons and he is destined to win his maiden USPGA Tour event very soon I feel and as I mentioned he will be disappointed he wasn’t able to achieve that here but I am sure it will happen in the 2013/14 season. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in solo fifth position at 276-12 after 72 holes was Aaron Baddeley (Australia); he earned US $280,000.00 for his efforts and moved to 13th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $280,000.00 earned from the two events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 110 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 18th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 110 points earned from the two events he has played to date this season so far. From the two events he has played to date this season so far he has made one cut and achieved one top ten finish that came at this very tournament. Aaron Baddeley (Australia) has been playing the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2003 season and in that time he has career earnings of US $16,034,935 earned from the 283 events he has played to date so far in his career so far and that includes achieving three wins to date on the USPGA Tour and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2006 Verizon Heritage, 2007 FBR Open and the 2011 Northern Trust Open. I’m sure win number four isn’t too far off and maybe it could happen this season? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in solo sixth position at 277-11 after 72 holes was Jimmy Walker (USA); he earned US $252,000.00 for his efforts and move to second position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,278,000 earned from the three events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 100 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and remained at the top of the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 661 points earned from the three events he has played to date this year so far. From the three events he has played to date this season so far he has made three cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which includes the one here and also his maiden USPGA Tour win at the Frys.com Open two weeks ago. Jimmy Walker (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime for the last five seasons easily keeping his card each season. In his last two seasons on the USPGA Tour he has made at least one million US dollars in each. Through this win he now gets to play in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions that is the first event in 2014 in early January, the Masters Tournament in early April, Players Championship in early May and PGA Championship in mid August. This win will also give him heaps of confidence to know now he truly belongs out here and it shows that all the perseverance and hard work he has put in during his career to date has paid off. I hope he can have many more top five finishes before the season is over and perhaps even have his second win? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in tied for seventh position at 278-10 after 72 holes was Charles Howell III (USA); he earned US $218,166.67 for his efforts and moved to eighth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 454,774 earned from the three events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 85 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to eighth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 216 FedEx Cup Points earned from the three events he has played to date this season so far. From the three events he has played to date this season so far he has made three cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which includes the one here and also so the previous week. He has played some great golf this year so far and must be due for his third USPGA Tour win very soon. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2001 season with easily keeping his card every season and has currently earned US $26,080,745 from the 393 USPGA Tour starts he has had to date so far in his career. His maiden USPGA Tour win came at the 2002 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill and his second win came at the 2007 Nissan Open in a playoff over Phil Mickelson (USA). I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Also tied for seventh position was Harris English (USA); he too earned US $218,166.67 for his efforts and moved to 15th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 242,767 earned from the two events he has played to date so far this season. He also earned 85 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 17th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 115 points earned from the two events he has played to date so far this season. From the two events he has played in so far this season he has made two cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came at this tournament. Harris English (USA) has been playing the USPGA Tour for the past two seasons and that includes this one. He gained his USPGA Tour card by finishing in tied for 13th position at the 2011 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament and gained his full USPGA Tour Card for the 2012 season. He had a brilliant rookie season in 2012 with playing in 27 events and making 22 cuts that included three top ten finishes with his best being a tied for fifth position at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. He finished in 79th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,186,003 earned and he easily kept his card for the 2013 season. In the 2013 season he had his career best season to date so far in his career with finishing in 27th position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 2,201,167 earned from the 26 events he played in and achieved his maiden USPGA Tour win at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in early June. I feel now he has got a taste of winning his second win can’t be too far off and maybe it will happen this season as well? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

The final player to tie for seventh position was Graham DeLaet (Canada); he too earned US $218,166.67 for his efforts and moved to 20th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $218,167 earned from the two events he has played in to date this season so far. He also earned 85 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 32nd position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 85 points earned from the two events he has played to date this season so far. From the two events he has played to date this season so far he has made one cut and achieved one top ten finish that came at this very tournament. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour full time since the 2010 season after gaining his card at the 2009 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament where he finished in tied for eighth position. In his rookie season on the USPGA Tour in 2010 he had a very good season and earned just under one million US dollars and easily kept his card for the 2011 season. In his second full season on the USPGA Tour in 2011 season he sat out the majority of the campaign due to a back injury and played the 2012 season out of the Major Medical Extension category, where he had 26 events to earn US $ 657,694 in 2012 season. In the 2012 season which was his third full season on the USPGA Tour he earned just over a million US Dollars and easily made the US $657,694 he required to keep his card for the 2013 season. In the 2013 season on the USPGA Tour he earned US $2,834,900 from the 26 events he played in and finished in twenty first position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings which was his best of his career to date. He also made his rookie appearance in the Presidents Cup for Team International and played brilliantly. I feel his maiden win on the USPGA Tour isn’t too far away and maybe it will happen in the 2013/14 season. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013 season. 

Rounding out the top ten in solo tenth position at 279-9 after 72 holes was Keegan Bradley (USA); he earned US $189,000.00 for his efforts and moved to twenty second position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $189,000.00 earned from the one event he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 75 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 40th equal position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 75 points earned from the one event he has played in so far this season. From the one event he has played in so far this season he has made one cut and achieved one top ten finish that came at this very tournament. He will be disappointed he wasn’t able to finish this tournament off because his first two rounds were 65-7 and 66-6 and he was minus 13 after 36 holes and had a four shot lead. But the back nine in the third round on Saturday afternoon brought him unstuck with scoring 41+5 and he signed for a 76+5 and another average round of 72 even par on Sunday didn’t help him either. Keegan Bradley (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour since the 2011 season after gaining his 2011 full USPGA Tour card by finishing in 14th position on the final 2010 Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $264,760 earned from the 28 events he played in. He had an amazing rookie season on the USPGA Tour in 2011 with earning US $3,758,600 from the 28 events he played in and that included making 18 cuts and achieving four top ten finishes and that included two wins and the first one was the HP Byron Nelson Championship and the second one was his maiden Major Championship which was the PGA Championship and he also won an unofficial event which was the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. He finished in 13th position on the final 2011 USPGA Tour Money list standings which was a fine effort by a rookie. He backed up his rookie season with another awesome season in 2012 where he earned US $ 3,910,658 from the 25 events he played in and finished in tenth position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list standings. That included making 21 cuts and achieving five top ten finishes which included his third win which came at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. He also played his first Ryder Cup for the USA against Europe. He has just had an amazing last two seasons on the USPGA Tour and it continued in 2013 with him earning US $3,636,813 from the twenty five events he played in and he finished in eleventh position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings. He also made his rookie appearance in the Presidents Cup which he played excellently for the victorious Team USA. I’m sure his fourth win isn’t too far off? It is his third straight season he has won over US Three Million Dollars in earnings and he now has career USPGA Tour earnings of US $11,306,071 from the 78 events he has played so far in his USPGA Tour Career which is just amazing!! I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup has its fourth event of the 2013/14 season and it is also the final leg of the Asian swing, and it heads to China for the final World Golf Championship event of the 2013 season which is co – sanctioned by all the major professional golf tours from across the world and it is the WGC – HSBC Champions and is played on the Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China. It carries a huge prize purse of US $8,500,000 for the taking and will attract most of the golfers ranked inside the top 50 on the current Official Golf World Rankings. So Tiger Woods (USA) and Phil Mickelson (USA) are sure to be there as will be Mark Brown (NZL) and Michael Hendry (NZL) because of their great performances on the PGA Tour of Australasia last season. Ian Poulter (England) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 31st October 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 654th week of his career in total is Tiger Woods (USA) who is fresh off his tied for second position at The Barclays over two months ago with 12.56 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Adam Scott (Australia) who won his maiden Major Championship at the Masters Tournament over six months ago and also won The Barclays over two months ago with 8.94 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Phil Mickelson (USA) who is fresh off his Open Championship win over a three months ago with 8.06 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Henrik Stenson (Sweden) who is fresh off winning the Tour Championship by Coca – Cola and also the 2013 FedEx Cup over a month ago with 8.02 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list this week is Justin Rose (England) who is fresh off his maiden Major Championship win at the 113th US Open Championship over four months ago and also tying for second position at The Barclays over two months ago with 7.32 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Michael Hendry (NZL) fresh off  his tie for 10th position at the Vana H Cup KBC Augusta on the Japan Golf Tour over two months ago is the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world for the Thirtieth eighth straight week of his career. This week he slips two places and falls to 209th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.87 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember the most important thing to do when playing golf is to make solid contact with the ball except on a green side bunker shot!!

Source: pgatour.com