Golf Events from the Weekend 23rd March 2014

Well it was another excellent weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world and this week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup stayed in Florida for the fourth and final event of the Florida Swing and it was the tournament which Arnold Palmer (USA) the legendary American Professional Golfer hosts every year and it was called the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and it was played on the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Florida. And it was the golfer by the name of Matt Every (USA) who scored rounds of 69-3, 70-2, 66-6 and a brilliant final round under the circumstances of 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 275-13 and he won by a single shot for his maiden USPGA Tour win of his career. He won US $1,116,000 for the win and moved to ninth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,992,626 earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. Jimmy Walker (USA) still leads that list with US $3,861,680 earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. Matt Every (USA) also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to seventh position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 994 FedEx Cup points earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. He is 878 points behind Jimmy Walker (USA) who still leads that list with 1,872 points earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. From the eleven events Matt Every (USA) has played to date this season so far he has made ten cuts and achieved five top ten finishes that includes the win here this week.

Matt Every (USA) played a steady final round under the intense pressure of the final round. He scored 70-2 that included a front nine of 35-1 with birdies on the par five, fourth hole and par three, ninth hole and his lone bogey came at the par four, eighth hole. He made the turn at minus 12 and was one shot behind the leader. Keegan Bradley (USA) played the front nine in 37+1 and made the turn at minus eleven and was two shots behind the leader. Adam Scott (Australia) went out in 38+2 on his front nine and made the turn at minus 13 and was leading by one shot.

Matt Every (USA) played holes ten to 14 in three under par and moved to minus 15 and now was leading by three shots. Keegan Bradley (USA) played holes ten to 14 in one over par and fell back to minus ten and was now five shots behind the leader. Adam Scott (Australia) played holes ten to 14 in one over par and fell back to minus 12 and was now three shots behind the leader.

Matt Every (USA) in action during the final round

Matt Every (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in one over par which included a poor bogey on the par five, 16th hole where he lost his drive to the right and hit a poor recovery shot that meant he had to lay up for his third shot and he was unable to get up and down for his par. But he made an amazing par on the par three, 17th hole where he came up short with his tee shot in the front bunker. But he played a brilliant bunker shot which struck the flag stick and came to rest a foot from the cup and he easily tapped in for his par. He was now on minus 14 with just the 72nd hole to play and now only leading by two shots. Keegan Bradley (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in two under par which included making a fine birdie on the par five, 16th hole where he hit the green in two shots and just missed his eagle putt and on the par three, 17th hole he struck an excellent tee shot which landed pin high about 15 feet to the left of the flag stick and he rolled the putt in for his birdie two to move to minus 12 with just the par four, 72nd hole to play and he was now only two shots behind the leader. Adam Scott (Australia) played holes 15 to 17 in one over par and really saw his chances of winning diminish when he three putted the par five, 16th hole after hitting a brilliant second shot in with his mid iron and only had about 18 feet left for his eagle putt which he miss read badly to the left and he pulled the return three footer for birdie. He then left his tee shot to the par three, 17th hole in the front bunker and was unable to get up and down for his par. He was now on minus eleven heading to the par four, 72nd hole and was three shots behind the leader.

Matt Every (USA) who was playing in the group ahead of the final group hit an excellent tee shot down the par four, 72nd hole that landed in the middle of the fairway. He then struck a very good second shot with his mid iron to the pin that was situated on the far right hand side of the green, but it rolled through the green into the rough at the back of the green. He now was faced with a very difficult chip shot for his third. He struck a brilliant chip flop shot that only just landed on the green and rolled down to within seven feet of the cup leaving him a good chance to make his par. He got bold with his seven foot par putt and rolled it about four feet past the cup. He now knew he would more than likely have to hole that four foot par putt to be certain to win. He struck a very good putt for his bogey and it went straight into the centre of the cup hitting the back of the cup before it fell in. He celebrated by giving his caddie a huge high five and then as he walked off the 72nd green he got a hand shake from Arnold Palmer (USA) who is the tournament host because he more than likely just won the tournament. He now just had to wait for the final group to finish to find out.

Keegan Bradley (USA) hit a fine drive down the par four, 72nd hole that found the centre of the fairway. He then struck a fine mid iron that came to rest on the green about twenty five feet to the left of the flag stick pin high. He was now faced with a twenty five foot left to right breaking putt that he would have to make to force a playoff with Matt Every (USA). After studying the line he composed himself and struck a fine putt that was rolling at perfect pace but it just veered to the left at the end and he had to settle for his par four and finished the 72 holes on minus 12 and he finished a single shot behind the winner. Adam Scott (Australia) hit a poor drive down the par four, 72nd hole that landed in the left hand rough. He now knew the only chance he had of forcing a playoff was to hole his second shot out for an eagle two. He hit a good shot under the circumstances and it just came up short of the green in the fringe. He got up and down for his par four and finished the 72 holes on minus eleven to finish two shots behind the winner. So Matt Every (USA) now knew his maiden win on the USPGA Tour had become official!! He got another huge high five from his caddie to celebrate!! He scored 35-1 on his back nine and finished the 72 holes on minus 13 to win by a single shot. He was then interviewed by NBC/Golf Channel reporter, Steve Sands and he told him “he was amazed how patient he felt throughout the whole back nine and he was so happy he was able to achieve his maiden USPGA Tour win at this tournament because his Dad used to bring him to this tournament when he was just a little boy”.

 

Arnold Palmer (USA) the tournament host on the left and Matt Every (USA) on the right pose with the Arnold Palmer Invitational Trophy he won!!

Matt Every (USA) has been playing the USPGA Tour on and off since the 2010 season and in the 2012 season he had his best season so far with earning US $1,972,166 from the 25 events he played in and that included making 15 cuts and achieving six top ten finishes. He finished up in 40th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list standings. Now he has won his maiden USPGA Tour title I feel his second win isn’t too far off and could well happen in the 2013/14 season as well? It is great to see he has put the drugs issue in 2010 behind him and now he also has an invitation to play in the Masters Tournament for the first time in his career which is the first Major Championship of the year in the second week of April. It was also great to see him get his first victory on the USPGA Tour in his home state of Florida because he grew up in Daytona Beach. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in solo second position at 276-12 after 72 holes was Keegan Bradley (USA); he earned US $669,600 for his efforts and moved to 17th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,425,341 earned from the ten events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 300 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 17th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 697 points earned from the ten events he has played to date this season so far. From the ten events he has played to date this season so far he has made nine cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes the one here. He can take some real confidence out of this finish after having a rather mediocre start to his season in his first nine events by his high standards. Perhaps he could win his second major championship next month at the Masters Tournament? 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 $12,542,413 from the 87 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. 

Coming in solo third position at 277-11 after 72 holes was Adam Scott (Australia); he earned US $421,600 for his efforts and moved to 36th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $910,150 earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 190 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 37th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 438.75 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 three top ten finishes which includes the one here. Adam Scott (Australia) will be extremely disappointed with his final round 76+4 after taking a three shot lead into the final round. I hope his disappointing final round doesn’t dent his confidence heading in to the defence of his Masters Tournament title in three weeks time? At least he can take heart from how he played in his first two rounds. Adam Scott (Australia) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2003 season and has kept his card for the next season every season since. In that time he has career earnings of US $34,109,215 earned from the 218 events he has played to date so far in his career. He has also won ten times on the USPGA Tour to date in his career so far and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2003 Deutsche Bank Championship, 2004 THE PLAYERS Championship, Booz Allen Classic, 2005 Nissan Open (The 2005 Nissan Open was shortened to 36 holes due to rain. Adam Scott (Australia) defeated Chad Campbell (USA) on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. Due to the event's length, this win is not officially recognized), 2006 THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, 2007 Shell Houston Open, 2008 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, 2010 Valero Texas Open, 2011 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, 2013 Masters Tournament (Maiden Major Championship) and The Barclays. He had the best record of any player in the four Major Championships in 2013 with winning the Masters Tournament in April; tying for 45th position at the 113th US Open Championship in June; tying for third at the 142nd Open Championship in July and tying for fifth at the 95th PGA Championship in August. He has proved over the last few years that he has one of the solid and most consistent Golf Swings on the USPGA Tour that can stand up to the intense pressures that the USPGA Tour throws at the players week in and week out. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Coming in solo fourth position at 278-10 after 72 holes was Jason Kokrak (USA); he earned US $297,600 for his efforts and moved to 40th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $865,909 earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 135 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 34th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 491 points earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. From the eleven events he has played to date this season so far he has made eight cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes the one here. He will be disappointed he played the last five holes of his final round two over because if he had of played them even or a couple under par he could have achieved his maiden USPGA Tour win. Jason Kokrak (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour for the last three seasons that includes this one. He has kept his card for the following season in his previous two seasons on the USPGA Tour and he is well on his way to keeping his card for this season as well. I feel his maiden win on the USPGA Tour could well happen this season. I wish him all the best for the remaining events in the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Coming in tied for fifth position at 279-9 after 72 holes was Henrik Stenson (Sweden); he earned US $226,300 for his efforts and moved to 73rd position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $483,967 earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 100 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 92nd position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 237 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 one top ten finish that came at this very event. Henrik Stenson (Sweden) has been playing the USPGA Tour for the past three season’s fulltime after he gained his full USPGA Tour card by winning the 2009 Players Championship. He had his career best season to date in the 2013 USPGA Tour season. He has now won four USPGA Tour events in his career so far to date and they all have been huge tournaments which include the 2007 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, 2009 THE PLAYERS Championship, 2013 Deutsche Bank Championship and the Tour Championship by Coca - Cola. I feel he is a good enough player to win a Major Championship and it will happen in the next few years and perhaps it will happen at the Masters Tournament next month? Last year he won the 2013 FedEx Cup and he really sent a message to the rest of the professional golf world that he had arrived and will be a real force in the years to come. I feel way the FedEx Cup is set up now it proves the best player in the four FedEx Cup Playoff Series events will win the FedEx Cup and Henrik Stenson (Sweden) proved that last year. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014/13 season.

Also tied for fifth position was Erik Compton (USA); he too earned US $226,300 for his efforts and moved to 85th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $425,127 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 100 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 82nd position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 258 points earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 12 events he has played to date this season so far he has made nine cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came at this very tournament. Erik Compton (USA) has been playing the USPGA Tour Fulltime since the 2012 season where he finished in 163rd position on the USPGA Tour money list standings and failed to retain his tour card. He returned to qualifying school and finished tied for seventh position to regain his card for 2013 season. He kept his card for the 2013/14 season. It is amazing to think that he has had two Heart Transplants in his life already which is a medical miracle. Let’s hope he can achieve his maiden USPGA Tour win soon?  I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

The final player to tie for fifth position was Francesco Molinari (Italy); he too earned US $226,300 for his efforts but because he isn’t a current member of the USPGA Tour he doesn’t get a current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings ranking. He also earned 100 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts but because he isn’t a current member of the USPGA Tour he doesn’t get a current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings ranking. From the four events he has played on the USPGA Tour this season he has made four cuts and he also has achieved one top ten finish that came at this event. He was only playing in this tournament on a sponsor’s exemption. He has been a star player in Europe for many years now and he has already achieved three wins on the European Tour with his last coming at the 2012 Reale Seguros Open de España and in 2010 he won his first WGC – Event at the WGC - HSBC Champions in China. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 season which ever tour he ends up playing on.

Rounding out the top ten in tied for eighth position was Brandt Snedeker (USA); he earned US $186,000 for his efforts and moved to 64th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $583,080 earned from the ten events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 83 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 81st position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 261 points earned from the ten events he has played to date this season so far. From the ten events he has played to date this season so far he has made eight cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came at this event. He has had a rather average start to his 2013/14 season on the USPGA Tour by his high standards and this top ten finish maybe just what he needed to boost his confidence. Brandt Snedeker (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2007 season and he has easily kept his card every year for the following season every year since and he has achieved six wins in that time and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2007 Wyndham Championship, 2011 The Heritage, 2012 Farmers Insurance Open, TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the RBC Canadian Open. In 2012 he won the FedEx Cup and the Ten Million Dollar Bonus that goes with it. I feel he is destined to win a Major Championship before his career is over, maybe it will happen in the 2013/14 season and perhaps it could happen at the first Major Championship of the year at the Masters Tournament next month? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

The final player to tie for eighth position was Ryo Ishikawa (Japan); he too earned US $186,000 for his efforts and moved to twenty seventh position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,125,680 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 83 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twenty sixth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 578 points earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 12 events he has played to date this season so far he has made eight cuts and achieved three top ten finishes which includes the one here. He is in his third full season of playing the USPGA Tour fulltime. He had an average rookie season in 2012 on the USPGA Tour by his high standards with earning US $727,051 from the 18 events he played in and that included making ten cuts and achieving two top ten finishes and one of them was his career best finish to date on the USPGA Tour where he finished in second position at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com. He is still very young being only 22 years of age and turns 23 in September this year. He is Japan’s young Golfing Superstar and has Rock Star Status whenever he plays on the Japan Golf Tour having already won 12 events on that tour and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2007 Munsingwear Open KSB Cup [Jpn], 2008 Kansai Open, Mynavi ABC Championship [Jpn], 2009 The Royal Trophy [Jpn, team], Mizuno Open [Jpn], Sun Chlorella Open [Jpn], Fujisankei Classic [Jpn], Tokai Classic [Jpn], 2010 The Crowns [Jpn], Fujisankei Classic [Jpn], Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters [Jpn] and the 2012 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters [Jpn]. He finished in 13th position on the final 2013 Web.com Tour Finals Priority Rankings and gained his full 2013/14 USPGA Tour card. He seems to be taking a little bit longer to getting used to playing on the USPGA Tour but I’m sure he isn’t too far away from his maiden win on the USPGA Tour, and perhaps it will come in the 2013/14 season? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Danny Lee (NZL) was one of two New Zealand Golfers in the field and he scored rounds of 71-1 in the first round a second round of 72 even par, a third round 73+1 and a final round of 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 286-2 and he tied for 31st position. But he can take a huge positive from last three weeks where two weeks ago he finished in solo second position in the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com which was his career best finish on the USPGA Tour to date so far. He earned US $37,588 for his efforts and he currently lies in 78th  position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $461,245 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 38 FedEx Cup Points for his effort currently lies in 79th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings with 266 points earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 12 events he has played to date this season so far he has made four cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came two weeks ago at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com. Let’s hope he can make the cut in the events he plays in the coming weeks? I wish all the best in his next few tournaments he plays in for the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Tim Wilkinson (NZL) was the other New Zealand Golfer in the field and he scored rounds of 71-1 in the first round, a second round of 74+2, a poor third round of 77+5 and a final round of 73+1 in very tough conditions for a 72 hole total of 295+7 and he finished in tied for 72nd position. He earned US$12,214 for his efforts and moved to 86th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $416,986 earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned one FedEx Cup Point for his efforts and moved to 106th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings with 201 points earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. From the eleven events he has played to date this season so far he has made six cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which came at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in mid November last year and last month at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to Texas for the first of two tournaments on the first Texas Swing of the 2013/14 season and it is the Valero Texas Open and it is played on the JW Marriott, TPC San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. It carries a huge prize purse of US $6,200,000 for the taking. Danny Lee (NZL) and Tim Wilkinson (NZL) are also likely to get starts. Martin Laird (Scotland) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 27th March and I will report back who won the trophy next week. 

So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points this week and coming in at Number One Position for the 676th week of his career in total is Tiger Woods (USA) who is fresh off his tie for twenty fifth position at the WGC – Cadillac Championship two weeks ago with 9.48 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Adam Scott (Australia) who won his maiden Major Championship at the Masters Tournament just over eleven months ago and also won The Barclays over six months ago and also won the Australian PGA Championship just over four months ago and he also won the Talisker Masters 18 weeks ago and 17 weeks ago finished in solo third position in the individual competition at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf and 16 weeks ago finished runner up in the Emirates Australian Open and two weeks ago finished in tied for 25th position at the WGC – Cadillac Championship and this past week he finished in solo third position at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard with 8.52 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 five months ago and won DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and the 2013 Race to Dubai Title 18 weeks ago and also tying for 16th position at the WGC – Cadillac Championship two weeks ago with 8.32 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Jason Day (Australia) who is fresh off his WGC – Accenture Match Championship win four weeks ago with 6.95 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 eight months ago and also finished in tied for 16th position at the WGC – Cadillac Championship two weeks ago with 6.41 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Mark Brown (NZL) fresh off  his solo second finish at the New Zealand Open three weeks ago is the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world for the fourth straight week of his career. This week he slips two places and falls to 227th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.76 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember it is important to never give up when playing golf and sometimes you have to display Intestinal Fortitude to succeed!!

Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings