Golf Events from the Weekend 19th January 2014

Well it was another awesome weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world and this week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup headed to the USA Mainland for the first time in 2014 for the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation and it was played on the PGA West (Palmer), La Quinta, California. And it was the Golfer by the name of Patrick Reed (USA) scored rounds of 63-9, 63-9, 63-9 and a final round of 71-1 for a 72 hole total of 260-28 and he won by two shots for his second win on the USPGA Tour of his career so far. He won US $1,026,000.00 for the win and moved to ninth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 1,154,250 earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. Jimmy Walker (USA) still leads that list with US $ 2,417,833 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. Patrick Reed (USA) also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to eighth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 583 points earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. He is 650 points behind the current leader of that list who is Jimmy Walker (USA) with 1233 points earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. From the five events Patrick Reed (USA) has played to date this season so far he has made three cuts and withdrawn from one event, this was also his first top ten finish of the season so far.

Patrick Reed (USA) played a shaky final round after starting it with a seven shot lead. He scored 71-1 in the final round that included a front nine of 35-1 with birdies on the par five, second hole, par five, sixth hole, par four, eighth hole but he had bogeys on the par three, fifth hole and par four, seventh hole and he made the turn at minus 28 and was leading now by only five shots. Ryan Palmer (USA) scored 32-4 on the front nine and made the turn at minus twenty one and was seven shots behind the leader. Zach Johnson (USA) scored 32-4 on his front nine and made the turn at minus 19 and was nine shots behind the leader. Justin Leonard (USA) scored 31-5 on the front nine and made the turn at minus twenty three and was five shots behind the leader.

Patrick Reed (USA) pumps his fist after holing a crucial putt during the final round!!

Patrick Reed (USA) played holes ten to 14 in one over par and fell back to minus twenty seven and now was only leading by three shots. Ryan Palmer (USA) played holes ten to 14 in two under par and moved to minus twenty three and was now only four shots back of the leader. Zach Johnson (USA) played holes ten to 14 in two under par and moved to minus twenty one and was now only six shots behind the leader. Justin Leonard (USA) played holes ten to 14 in one under par and moved to minus twenty four and was now only three shots behind the leader.

Patrick Reed (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in one under par and moved back to minus twenty eight and was still leading by three shots. Ryan Palmer (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in one under par and moved to minus twenty four and was still four shots behind the leader. Zach Johnson (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in three under par and moved to minus twenty four and was now only four shots behind the leader. Justin Leonard (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in one under par and moved to minus twenty five and was still three shots behind the leader. 

Zach Johnson (USA) who was playing in a few groups ahead of the final group made a birdie four at the par five, 72nd hole and finished the 72 holes at minus twenty five and finished three shots behind the winner, he also scored the lowest final round which was 62-10 and it was also the lowest round of the week as well. Justin Leonard (USA) who was playing in the group ahead of the final group could only manage a par five at the 72nd hole and finished the 72 holes at minus twenty five and finished three shots behind the winner. Ryan Palmer (USA) who was playing in the same group as Justin Leonard (USA) made a brilliant eagle three at the par five, 72nd hole and finished the 72 holes at minus twenty six and finished two shots behind the winner. Patrick Reed (USA) hit a good tee shot down the par five, 72nd hole and it landed right in the centre of the fairway. Knowing he had a two shot lead he choose to lay up his second shot to his perfect wedge distance for his third. Because hitting a fairway wood over water with not much green to play with was very risky under the circumstances. He now was faced with a relatively easy third shot with his short wedge and he played it very well with it coming to rest on the green 15 feet from the flag stick. He struck a very good putt for his birdie that came to rest a foot from the cup and he tapped in for his par five. He scored 36 even par on the back nine and finished the 72 holes at minus 28 to win by two shots.

Patrick Reed (USA) on the left and Justine Reed (USA) on the right pose with the Humana Challenge Trophy he won!!

Patrick Reed (USA) got a high five from his stand in caddie who was his brother in law. Then his pregnant wife, Justine who caddied for him last year in his rookie season on the USPGA Tour came on to the 72nd green to give him a hug and kiss!! His Mother in Law was also there to congratulate him. He also set a USPGA Tour record in the first three rounds becoming the first player ever in a USPGA Tour event to scored three consecutive rounds of 63. Patrick Reed (USA) is in his second season on the USPGA Tour after gaining his 2013 USPGA Tour card by finishing in tied for 22nd position at the 2012 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. He had a brilliant rookie season with earning US $1,961,519 from the twenty six events he played in with recording five top ten finishes which included his maiden win which came at the Wyndham Championship. He finished in 35th position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings. He is still very young with only being 23 years old and turns twenty four in early August this year. The win here now has him exempt on the USPGA Tour till the end of the 2016 season and now he is in 41st position on the official world golf rankings points list he will get a start in the first WGC event of the year which is the WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship. Also in 2012 on the USPGA Tour he successfully Monday qualified for six tournaments on the USPGA Tour which was just an amazing effort considering there are 100 odd Golfers trying for the four spots on offer each week. Here are those six events he Monday qualified for and the results: Monday qualified for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (T24), Wells Fargo Championship (T32), HP Byron Nelson Championship (missed cut), Travelers Championship (T47), True South Classic (T21) and Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Classic (T22). I feel all those good finishes he achieved two years ago from Monday qualifying have given him the confidence to achieve what he has so far in the last two years and I look for him to keep on improving in the coming weeks. Everything at the moment is going well in his life and I wouldn’t be surprised if he won his third event this season. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in solo second position at 262-26 after 72 holes was Ryan Palmer (USA); he earned US $615,600.00 for his efforts and moved to 15th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 763,468 earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 300 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 12th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 387 points earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. From the five events he has played to date this season so far he has made four cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes the one here and also the one the previous week at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2004 season and has managed to keep his card or at least semi status on the USPGA Tour for the next season every season since. He has won three events on the USPGA Tour in that time and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2004 FUNAI Classic at the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort, 2008 Ginn sur Mer Classic and the 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii. I feel his fourth win isn’t too far away and might just coming in the 2013/14 season.

Coming in tied for third position at 263-25 after 72 holes was Zach Johnson (USA); he earned US $330,600.00 for his efforts and moved to fourth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 1,699,450 earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 163 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to fourth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 810 points earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. From the five events he has played to date this season so far he has made all five cuts and achieved three top ten finishes that have come in his last three starts and includes his win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions two weeks ago. 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 eleven 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, 2013 BMW Championship and the 2014 Hyundai Tournament of Champions. I feel his second Major Championship win isn’t too far away but it will have to wait until the Master Tournament in early April now. He has now amassed US $32,021,252 in career earnings on the USPGA Tour to date so far from the 267 events he has played in. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 part of the 2013/14 season.

The other player to tie for third position was Justin Leonard (USA); he too earned US $330,600.00 for his efforts and moved to twenty second position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 576,322 earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 163 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twenty sixth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 293 points earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. From the five events he has played to date this season so far he has made five cuts and achieved two top ten finishes and that includes the one here. He has been playing the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 1995 season and has kept his card for the next year every season since. He has current career earnings of US $33,131,860 in his career to date so far from the 535 events he has played to date in his career so far. He has also achieved twelve wins on the USPGA Tour which includes the 1997 Open Championship which is his only Major Championship win to date so far. But in recent years he has slipped in his form and his last win came over five years ago in the 2008 Stanford St. Jude Championship. And in 2012 he lost his full playing status on the USPGA Tour by finishing in 140th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list standings. In 2013 he had a better season and finished in 119th position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $694,139 earned from the twenty four events he played in and gained back his fully exempt status for the 2013/14 season. I feel win number 13 can’t be too far off and it may well happen in the weeks ahead.  He has said this year he is going to cut his playing schedule back and play fewer tournaments because he wants to spend more time with his family. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Coming in solo fifth position at 264-24 after 72 holes was Brian Stuard (USA); he earned US $228,000.00 for his efforts and moved to eighth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 1,175,800 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 110 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to ninth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 574 points earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. From the six events he has played to date this season so far he has made five cuts and achieved three top ten finishes that have coming in his last three starts. He is in his second time at playing the USPGA Tour full time having had his rookie season in 2010 where he earned US $536,497 from the 28 events he played in and finished in 154th position on the final 2010 USPGA Tour Money list. He earned his 2013 USPGA Tour card by finishing in 20th position on the final 2012 Web.com Tour Money list with US $ 205,711 earned from the 26 events he played in. In the 2013 season he earned US $1,032,028 from the twenty five events he played in and finished in 79th position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings. He has made a very solid start to the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season and I feel his maiden win on the USPGA Tour could well happen in 2014? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in tied for sixth position at 265-23 after 72 holes was Bill Haas (USA); he earned US $198,075.00 for his efforts and moved to 33rd position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 456,675 earned from the four events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 95 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 31st position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 241 points earned from the four events he has played to date this season so far. From the four events he has played to date this season so far he has made four cuts and this was his first top ten finish he has achieved to date so far this season. 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.

Also tied for sixth position was Brendon Todd (USA); he too earned US $198,075.00 for his efforts and moved to twenty seventh position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $514,303 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 95 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twenty first position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 318 points earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. From the six events he has played to date this season so far he has made six cuts and this was his first top ten finish he has achieved to date so far this season. Brendon Todd (USA) is having his fourth attempt at playing the USPGA Tour fulltime having played it in 2009 and 2012 after winning the 2011 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. In 2013 he played the USPGA Tour on a limited schedule and as well played a limited schedule on the Web.com Tour where he earned US $247,948 from the ten events he played in and finished in inside the top 50 Money earners to earn his full 2013/14 USPGA Tour card. I feel this season he could win his maiden USPGA Tour event? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Coming in solo eight position at 266-22 after 72 holes was Chad Collins (USA); he earned US $176,700.00 for his efforts and moved to 54th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $251,173 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 85 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 56th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 153 points earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. From the six events he has played to date this season so far he has made four cuts and this was his first top ten finish he has achieved this season so far. Chad Collins (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour on and off since the 2008 season. He gained his 2013/14 USPGA Tour card by finishing inside the top 50 money earners on the final 2013 Web.com Tour Money list standings. Let’s hope he can have more top ten finishes in the weeks ahead on the USPGA Tour and keep his full playing status for the 2014/15 season.

Rounding out the top ten in tied for ninth position at 267-21 after 72 holes was Stuart Appleby (Australia); he earned US $148,200.00 for his efforts and moved to 58th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $239,717 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 73 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 54th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 157 points earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. From the six events he has played to date this season so far he has made four cuts and withdrawn from one event. This was also his first top ten of the season to date so far. He has been playing the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 1996 season and in that time he has current career earnings of US $27,535,906 from the 467 events he has played to date in his career so far. He has also won nine USPGA Tour events and here they are from the first to the most recent: 1997 Honda Classic, 1998 Kemper Open, 1999 Shell Houston Open, 2003 Las Vegas Invitational, 2004 Mercedes Championships, 2005 Mercedes Championships, 2006 Mercedes Championships, Shell Houston Open and the 2010 The Greenbrier Classic (Where he scored an amazing 59-11 in the final round to win!!). He is a very good Golfer that has lost his form in recent seasons; let’s hope this top ten finish can give him the confidence to have more top ten finishes in the coming weeks? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour Season.

Also tied for ninth position was Charlie Beljan (USA); he too earned US $148,200.00 for his efforts and moved to 76th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 184,460 earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 73 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 71st position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 125 points earned from the from the five events he has played to date this season so far. From the five events he has played to date this season so far he has made three cuts and this was his first top ten finish of the season to date so far. He has been playing the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2012 Season after gaining his USPGA Tour Card by finishing in tied for 13th position at the 2011 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. He has kept his card for the following season every season since. He also achieved his maiden USPGA Tour win at the 2012 Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic where he over come severe panic attacks in the second round of that tournament. Let’s hope he can continue on this good from in the weeks ahead? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Also tied for ninth position was Ben Crane (USA); he too earned US $148,200.00 for his efforts and moved to 82nd position on the current USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 171,540 earned from the four events he has played to date so far this season. He also earned 73 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 114th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 87 points earned from the four events he has played to date this season so far. From the four events he has played to date this season so far he has made three cuts and this was his first top ten finish of the season so far. He has been playing the USPGA Tour Fulltime since the 2002 season and easily keeping his card for the next season every season since. He has achieved four wins on the USPGA Tour so far in his career and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2003 BellSouth Classic, 2005 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, 2010 Farmers Insurance Open and the 2011 The McGladrey Classic. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

The final player to tie for ninth position was Charley Hoffman (USA); he too earned US $148,200.00 for his efforts and moved to twenty fifth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 540,488 earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 73 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twenty fifth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 307 points earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. From the five events he has played to date this season so far he has made all five cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes the one here. Charley Hoffman (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2006 season after gaining his full 2006 USPGA Tour card by finishing in 19th position on the final 2005 Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $212,322 earned from the 26 events he played in. He has easily kept his card for the next season every season since. He has earned over US$1million every season so far as well except in 2008 where he only earned US $945,702. He has won two USPGA Tour events as well so far in his career with the first one coming in 2007 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the second one coming in 2010 at the Deutsche Bank Championship. I feel he is ready to win for a third time very soon and it could happen in the 2013/14 season.

There were two New Zealand Golfers in the field and the best of them was Danny Lee (NZL) who scored 73+1, a brilliant second of 66-6, and a third round of 71-1 for a 54 hole total of 210-6 to miss the 54 hole cut by three shots. He has now missed four of his last five cuts which will be disappointing for him. He current lies in 156th position of the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $45,657 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. He also currently lies in 131st position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings with 63 points earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. From the six events he has played to date this season so far he has made two cuts and achieved no top ten finishes. He can however gain a lot confidence out of his second round 66-6 which was his equal best of the season to date so far. I wish all the best in his next few tournaments he plays in.

Tim Wilkinson (NZL) was the other New Zealand Golfer in the field and he scored rounds of  69-3, a poor second round of 74+2, and a third round 70-2 for a 54 hole total of 213-3 and he missed the 54 hole cut by six shots. He current lies in 83rd position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 171,523 earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. He also currently lies in 104th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings with 96 points earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. From the five events he has played to date this season so far he has made two cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in mid November last year. He will be disappointed at missing the cut here because he had built up some good momentum making his previous two cuts. But I am sure he will bounce back and make some more cuts in the weeks to come. I wish him all the best in the weeks ahead on the USPGA Tour.

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup remains in the state of California for the Farmers Insurance Open and it is played on the Torrey Pines (South), La Jolla, California. It carries a huge prize purse of US $6,100,000 for the taking. Tiger Woods (USA) is the defending Champion and will be making his first appearance on the USPGA Tour of the 2013/14 Season and he will be keen for back to back titles on a course he has won so much on in the past. Tim Wilkinson (NZL) and Danny Lee (NZL) are likely to get starts as well. It starts on Thursday 23rd January and I will report back who won the trophy next week.

So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points and coming in at Number One Position for the 667th 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 over a month ago with 11.05 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 nine months ago and also won The Barclays over three months ago and also won the Australian PGA Championship just over two months ago and he also won the Talisker Masters nine weeks ago and eight weeks ago finished in solo third position in the individual competition at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf and seven weeks ago finished runner up in the Emirates Australian Open with 9.06 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 three months ago and won DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and the 2013 Race to Dubai Title nine weeks ago with 8.85 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Phil Mickelson (USA) who won the Open Championship six months ago and also finished runner up at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship last week with 7.16 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 won his maiden Major Championship at the 113th US Open Championship seven months ago and also finished in tied for third position at the Turkish Airlines Open over two months ago with 6.78 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 eight weeks ago is the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world for the fiftieth straight week of his career. This week he slips six places and falls to 216th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.80 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember the motto when playing in windy conditions “When it is breezy, swing easy”!!

Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings