Golf Events from the Weekend 8th December 2013

Well it was another awesome weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world and this week the USPGA Tour had an un – official event and it was the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge which was hosted by world number one golfer, Tiger Woods (USA), and it was played on the Sherwood CC, Thousand Oaks, California. And the Golfer by the name of Zach Johnson (USA) who scored rounds of 67-5, 68-4, 72 even par and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 275-13 but he was tied on that score by Tiger Woods (USA) who scored rounds of 71-1, an amazing 62-10, 72 even par and a final round of 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 275-13 also. So those two players headed back to the par four, 18th hole for the first playoff hole.

Zach Johnson (USA) played a great final round of 68-4 that included a front nine of 35-1 which included a birdie on the par five, fifth hole and he made the turn at minus ten and was three shots behind the leader. Tiger Woods (USA) who was the 54 hole leader by three shots went out in 34-2 and made the turn at minus 13 and was leading by three shots. Zach Johnson (USA) bogeyed the short par four tenth hole and fell back to minus nine and was now four shots behind the leader. Tiger Woods (USA) made a solid par on the same hole and remained at minus 13 and was now leading by four shots.

Zach Johnson (USA) tees off during the final round

Zach Johnson (USA) sank a 30 foot putt for birdie on the par five, eleventh hole and move back to minus ten and now only was three shots behind the leader. Tiger Woods (USA) could only manage a par and he remained at minus 13 and now was only leading by three shots. Zach Johnson (USA) made a brilliant birdie on the par three, 12th hole and moved to minus eleven and now was only two shots behind the leader. Tiger Woods (USA) made a solid par on the par three, 12th hole and remained at minus 13 but was now only leading by two shots. Zach Johnson (USA) made a disappointing par on the par five, 13th hole and remained at minus eleven and was still two shots behind the leader. Tiger Woods (USA) also made a par on the par five, 13th hole and remained at minus 13 and still was leading by two shots.

Zach Johnson (USA) got up and down from the right hand side of green on the par four, 14th hole and remained at minus eleven but was now only one shot off the lead. Tiger Woods (USA) three putted from the front of the 14th green when he struck his first putt from over 40 feet ten feet past the hole and he was unable to get the return putt and he made a bogey five and now only had a one shot lead at minus 12. Zach Johnson (USA) and Tiger Woods (USA) both made solid pars at the par three, 15th hole. Zach Johnson (USA) remained at minus eleven one shot off the leader and Tiger Woods (USA) at minus 12 still leading by one shot.

Zach Johnson (USA) after laying up with his second shot on the par five, 16th hole he left himself with just under 100 yards to the green. He hit his short wedge shot very well and it landed ten feet past the pin and almost went in the hole as it spun back. It came to rest three feet underneath the hole and he easily tapped that putt in for his birdie four and moved to minus 12 but was still one shot behind the leader. Tiger Woods (USA) after going for the green in two shots just missed the green in the left hand green side rough and he left himself with a very difficult chip for his third shot. He chose one of his very lofted wedges and flopped the ball up and it landed on the green very softly and came to rest two feet from the pin. He easily holed the putt for his birdie four and moved to minus 13 and was still leading by one shot with two holes to play.

Zach Johnson (USA) hit an awesome tee shot to the par three, 17th hole with his short iron and it landed just behind the pin and spun back to three feet underneath the hole. He converted the putt for his birdie two and moved to minus 13 and was now tied for the lead. Tiger Woods (USA) pulled his short iron tee shot on the same hole and his ball landed on the green about 30 feet pin high to the left. He left his birdie putt three short and easily tapped in for his par three and remained at minus 13 but was now tied for the lead with just the par four, 72nd hole to play.

Zach Johnson (USA) hit an excellent tee shot on the par four, 72nd hole that split the middle of the fairway leaving just a short iron for his second shot. Tiger Woods (USA) tee off second and struck a poor drive that landed in the left hand rough. Tiger Woods (USA) played his second shot first with his short iron from a very difficult stance and lie in the left rough with the ball well below his feet. He struck a good shot but he just couldn’t get it to move enough to the left and it landed in the right hand green side bunker. Zach Johnson (USA) now knew if he could land his short wedge shot on the green he would have a great chance of winning the golf tournament. But he played one of his worst shots in the whole tournament and lost it well to the right and it landed in the hazard!! He now had to play his fourth shot next from the drop zone. He knew he would at least have to get it up and down for a five to have any chance of forcing a playoff. He had about 90 yards from the drop zone and made perfect contact with the ball with his short wedge, it bounced just short of the hole and rolled just past the hole and then took the back spin and rolled in to the hole for his par four which was just amazing!! He scored 33-3 on his back nine. Tiger Woods (USA) who was watching just smiled back at him in appreciation of his amazing par he had just made!! Tiger Woods (USA) now played his third shot from the right green side bunker and it was a very good shot that came to rest three feet from the pin and he easily tapped in for his par four. Both players had finished on minus 13.

They headed back to the par four, 18th hole for the first playoff hole. Zach Johnson (USA) drew number one from the hat of the USPGA Tour Official and teed off first and just like he had done in regulation play he struck his tee shot right down the centre of the fairway. Tiger Woods (USA) teed off second and struck a much better tee shot with a fairway wood that landed in the fairway as well a bit shorter that Zach Johnson (USA). Tiger Woods (USA) was first to play his second shot with his mid iron and again he lost it to the right of the green landing in the same place he did in regulation play which was the right hand green side bunker. Zach Johnson (USA) now knew he had a great chance to put the pressure back on Tiger Woods (USA). He slightly pulled his short iron and it landed on the green pin high twenty five feet left of the flag stick. Tiger Woods (USA) then played his third shot from the right green side bunker and this time he didn’t judge it quite as good as he had in regulation play and it came to rest about six feet past the hole leaving a tricky left to right breaking putt for his par four. Zach Johnson (USA) putted for his birdie from twenty feet and it had a strong left to right break in it. He struck a very good putt that just didn’t quite break enough and it came to rest two feet from the cup and he easily tapped in for his par four. The pressure was now on Tiger Woods (USA) to hole his tricky six foot par putt. He struck it just a bit too firm and it caught the left edge of the cup and spun out!! So Zach Johnson (USA) had won his first ever Northwestern Mutual World Challenge!! He celebrated by giving his caddie Damon Green a huge hug and high five!!

Zach Johnson (USA) poses with the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge Trophy he won!!

Zach Johnson (USA) earned US $ 1,000,000 for the win but because it is un – official money it doesn’t count towards his 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standing. Zach Johnson (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2004 season after gaining his card by finishing at the top of the 2003 final Web.com Tour Money list with US $ 494,882 earned from the 20 events he played in. In his rookie season on the USPGA Tour he won his maiden USPGA Tour event which was the BellSouth Classic. He has easily kept his card every year since and has won at least US$ 1million in all of those seasons. He has won ten official events on the USPGA Tour so far in his career and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2004 BellSouth Classic, 2007 Masters Tournament (Maiden Major Championship), AT&T Classic, 2008 Valero Texas Open, 2009 Sony Open in Hawaii, Valero Texas Open, 2010 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, 2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, John Deere Classic and the 2013 BMW Championship. I feel his second Major Championship win isn’t too far away but it will have to wait until the 2014 season now. He has now amassed US $30,431,652 in career earnings on the USPGA Tour to date so far from the 264 events he has played in. This win proves that just because you have played a bad golf shot if you really believe in yourself you can still come back and produce some brilliant. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 part of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in solo second position at 275-13 after 72 holes and losing on the first playoff hole as I mentioned above was Tiger Woods (USA). He will be disappointed he wasn’t able to win after virtually controlling the tournament after his brilliant round of 62-10 in the second round. But he has won the tournament before five times and of course he is the tournament host. It would have been quite sad for him in a sense playing the final round because this was the final time the tournament was being staged on the Sherwood CC, Thousand Oaks, California. It had been played on this course since 2000 but next year (2014) it is moving to the Isleworth Course in Florida. Tiger Woods (USA) earned US $ 400,000 for his efforts but because it is un – official money it doesn’t count towards his 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standing. And he donated that money to his foundation. Tiger Woods (USA) has just had an awesome golf career to date since he turned professional late in 1996 and here are all his official USPGA Tour wins from the first to the most recent: 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic. 1997 Mercedes Championships, Masters Tournament, GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic, Motorola Western Open.1998  BellSouth Classic.1999 Buick Invitational, Memorial Tournament, Motorola Western Open, PGA Championship, World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, National Car Rental Golf Classic/Disney, THE TOUR Championship, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. 2000 Mercedes Championships, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Bay Hill Invitational, Memorial Tournament, U.S. Open Championship, British Open Championship, PGA Championship, World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, Bell Canadian Open. 2001 Bay Hill Invitational, THE PLAYERS Championship, Masters Tournament, Memorial Tournament, World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational. 2002 Bay Hill Invitational presented by Cooper Tires,  Masters Tournament, U.S. Open Championship, Buick Open, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. 2003 Buick Invitational, World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, Bay Hill Invitational presented by Cooper Tires,  100th Western Open presented by Golf Digest, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. 2004 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. 2005 Buick Invitational, Ford Championship at Doral, Masters Tournament, British Open Championship, World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. 2006  Buick Invitational,  Ford Championship at Doral, British Open Championship, Buick Open, PGA Championship,  World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Deutsche Bank Championship, World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. 2007 Buick Invitational, World Golf Championships-CA Championship, Wachovia Championship, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship, BMW Championship, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. 2008 Buick Invitational, World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard,  U.S. Open Championship. 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, the Memorial Tournament, AT&T National, Buick Open, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, BMW Championship. 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance and the AT&T National. 2013 Farmers Insurance Open, World Golf Championship - Cadillac Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, the Players Championship and the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.

Tiger Woods (USA) hasn’t won a Major Championship since the 2008 US Open Championship which is over five years ago now and I sure some of his harshest critics won’t believe his comeback is complete until he achieves that. He now has career earnings of US $109,504,139 earned from the 309 events he has played to date so far in his career which is just unbelievable. He is still relatively young in Golfing terms with only being 37 years old and turns 38 later this month. I feel he still has a better than average chance of equalling or beating Jack Nicklaus (USA) record of 18 Major Championship wins, but I feel he must at least win a Major Championship in the next two years to give him hope of getting there. I myself just love watching him play golf shots and love it even more when he is in this type of form. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 part of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in tied for third position at 279-9 after 72 holes was Bubba Watson (USA); he earned US $212,500 for his efforts but because it is un – official money it doesn’t count towards his 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standing. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2006 season and has easily kept his card for the following year every year since. And he has made US One Million Dollars in all of those seasons as well. He has already achieved four wins on the USPGA Tour and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2010 Travelers Championship, 2011 Farmers Insurance Open, Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the 2012 Masters Tournament (Maiden Major Championship). I feel his fifth win on the USPGA Tour will coming in the 2013/14 season. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

The final player to tie for third position was Matt Kuchar (USA); he too earned US $212,500 for his efforts but because it is un – official money it doesn’t count towards his 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standing. Matt Kuchar (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour full time on and off since the 2002 season and has easily kept his card for the next season every season since except for the 2005 season. He spent the 2006 season on the Web.com Tour and earned his 2007 USPGA Tour card back by earning US $300,867 from the 21 events he played in and finished in tenth position on the final 2006 Web.com Tour Money list standings. Since 2007 he has had huge success on the USPGA Tour and his current all time USPGA Tour earnings are US $26,587,444 earned from 302 events he has played to date so far in his career. The next step for him would be to win a Major Championship and maybe it will happen in the next few years? He has won six times on the USPGA Tour to date in his career so far and here they are from his first to the most recent: 2002 The Honda Classic, 2009 Turning Stone Resort Championship, 2010 The Barclays, 2012 THE PLAYERS Championship, 2013 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance. I wish him all the best with for the rest of the 2014 part of the 2013/14 season. 

Coming in solo at fifth position at 281-7 after 72 holes was Webb Simpson (USA); he earned US $150,000 for his efforts but because it is un – official money it doesn’t count towards his 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standing. Webb Simpson (USA) has been playing the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2009 season after gaining his card at the 2008 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament where he finished in tied for seventh position. He had a fine rookie season in 2009 on the USPGA Tour where he earned just over US one million dollars and easily keep his card for the 2010 season. In his second full season on the USPGA Tour in 2010 he earned just under US one million dollars and easily kept his card for the 2011 season. In his third full season on the USPGA Tour in 2011 he had a Awesome season with earning just over US 6.3 Million Dollars and finished second on the final 2011 USPGA Tour Money list with US $6,347,353 earned from the 26 events he played in. He also won two USPGA Tour events with his maiden win coming at the Wyndham Championship and his second one coming at the Deutsche Bank Championship which was the second FedEx Cup playoff event. In his fourth season on the USPGA Tour in 2012 he had another awesome season with earning just over US 3.4 million dollars and he won his third event on the USPGA Tour which was his Maiden Major Championship at the 112th US Open Championship and his fourth win came in the 2013/14 season where he won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. I’m sure his fifth win isn’t too far off either and maybe it will happen at the first Major Championship of the 2014 season which is the Masters Tournament in April 2014? I wish him all the best with the tournaments he plays in 2014.

Coming in solo sixth position at 283-5 after 72 holes was Graeme McDowell (NIR); he earned US $145,000 for his efforts but because it is un – official money it doesn’t count towards his 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standing. This is his fourth full season in a row of playing the USPGA Tour fulltime as he also plays on the European Tour full time. I am sure his second Major Championship is not too far off? Perhaps it will happen at the Masters Tournament next April. He has already won two events on the USPGA Tour with his first coming at the 2010 U.S. Open Championship and his second coming at the 2013 RBC Heritage. I am sure his third win is not far off either? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 part of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in solo seventh position at 283-5 after 72 holes was Ian Poulter (England); he earned US $140,000 for his efforts but because it is un – official money it doesn’t count towards his 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standing. He has been playing the USPGA Tour Fulltime since the 2005 season and has easily kept his card from the next year every season since. He has current career earnings of US $15,194,097 earned from the 165 events he has played in his USPGA Tour career to date so far. He has also won two USPGA Tour events in his career so far and they were the 2010 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and the 2012 World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. I feel he is going to win his maiden Major Championship very soon, and maybe it will happen at the 2014 Masters Tournament next April? I wish him all the best with the remaining events he plays in the 2014 part of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Coming in solo eighth position at 286-2 after 72 holes was Jim Furyk (USA); he earned US $135,000 for his efforts but because it is un – official money it doesn’t count towards his 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standing. Jim Furyk (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 1994 season and in that time he has amassed career earnings of US $55,924,238 earned from the 504 events he has played to date so far in his career. 2012 was a year of missed chances for him with his narrow misses at winning 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 and he also won the FedEx Cup that year as well. But he has won 16 tournaments in his USPGA Tour career to date and that includes his maiden Major Championship which came at the 2003 US Open Championship. I feel his 17th win will come very soon and maybe during the 2013/14 USPGA Tour Season? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 part of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Rounding out the top ten in tied for ninth position at 287-1 after 72 holes was Bill Haas (USA); he earned US $122,500 for his efforts but because it is un – official money it doesn’t count towards his 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standing. Bill Haas (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour Fulltime since the 2006 season after gaining his 2006 USPGA Tour card at the 2005 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament where he finished in tied for 26th position to earn his rookie USPGA TOUR card for 2006 season and to do that he had to make birdie on final hole to earn his card on the number (11-under). Since gaining his full USPGA Tour card in 2006 he has easily kept his card every season for the following season every season since. And in that time he has achieved five wins on the USPGA Tour and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2010 Bob Hope Classic, Viking Classic, 2011 TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, 2012 Northern Trust Open and the 2013 AT&T Classic. And in 2011 he won the FedEx Cup in a winner-take-all playoff, he pared the third playoff hole (par-3 18th hole) to defeat Hunter Mahan (USA) to win the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola and the FedEx Cup, winning the latter by 15 points over Webb Simpson (USA) and becoming the first player in his 20s to win the season-long competition. He entered the final round three strokes behind Aaron Baddeley (Australia) and Hunter Mahan (USA) but carded a final-round 68-2 to finish regulation tied with Hunter Mahan (USA) at 8-under 272. In the playoff, he appeared to have shot himself out of winning both on the second playoff hole, the Par four, 17th hole at East Lake GC, when his approach to the par 4 landed in the water adjacent to the green. He made a great up and down for par to continue the playoff. As a result of his win, he pocketed the US $1,440,000 first-place cheque and the US $10-million prize for winning the 2011 FedEx Cup. He became just the third player to win the TOUR Championship in his first appearance, joining Chad Campbell (USA) (2003) and Bart Bryant (USA) (2005). He and his father, Jay, are the only father-son combination to tee it up in the TOUR Championship. Now he has achieved his fifth win on the USPGA Tour I feel the next step for him will be to win his maiden Major Championship and I believe it could happen in the 2014 season, perhaps at the Master Tournament in April? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 part of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

The final player to tie for ninth position was Jason Day (Australia); he too earned US $122,500 for his efforts but because it is un – official money it doesn’t count towards his 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standing. He is long due his second win on the USPGA Tour and maybe it will happen next year in the 2014 part of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season? He has won one event on the USPGA Tour in his career to date so far and that came at the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship. He had three top ten finishes in the four Major Championships this year and here they are: Solo third at the Masters Tournament in April; tied for second at the 113th US Open Championship in June; tied for 32nd at the 142nd Open Championship in July and tied for eighth at the 95th PGA Championship. So far in his career his has amassed earnings of US $13,828,356 from the 136 events he has played in so far in his career. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 part of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Next week the USPGA Tour has its final un – official event of the 2013 season and it is the Franklin Templeton Shootout and it is played on the Tiburon GC, Naples, Florida. It carries a prize purse of US $3,100,000 for the taking. It is a 54 hole tournament that is played over three days. It is played in pairs and day one is a modified Alternate shot where each player hits a drive on every hole and one drive is selected. The player whose drive is NOT selected hits the second shot, and they alternate shots until the ball is holed. Day Two is better ball where each player plays through every hole using his own ball. The player whose score is the lowest on each hole will be the team score for that hole. Day three is a Scramble where each player hits a drive on every hole and the best drive is selected. Each player then plays a second shot from the spot where the selected drive lays, and the best second shot is selected. This process is repeated until the hole is completed. It starts on Friday 13th December and Sean O'Hair (USA) and Kenny Perry (USA) will be keen to defend their title. 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 661st week of his career in total is Tiger Woods (USA) who is fresh off his solo second position at the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge a tournament he hosted this week with 12.34 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 seven months ago and also won The Barclays over three months ago and also won the Australian PGA Championship four weeks ago and he also won the Talisker Masters three weeks ago and two weeks ago finished in solo third position in the individual competition at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf and last week finished runner up in the Emirates Australian Open with 10.00 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Henrik Stenson (Sweden) who won the Tour Championship by Coca – Cola and also the 2013 FedEx Cup over two months ago and won DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and the 2013 Race to Dubai Title three weeks ago with 9.01 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is and Justin Rose (England) who won his maiden Major Championship at the 113th US Open Championship over five months ago and also finished in tied for third position at the Turkish Airlines Open four weeks ago with 7.53 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list this week is Phil Mickelson (USA) who won the Open Championship over four months ago with 7.44 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Michael Hendry (NZL) fresh off  his tie for 38th position in the individual competition at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf two weeks ago is the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world for the Fortieth fourth straight week of his career. This week he slips three places and falls to 218th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.84 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember if you get a bad start to your round never give up because golf is played over 18 holes!!

Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings