Golf Events from the Weekend 27th April 2014

It was another awesome weekend on the Major Professional Golfer Tours from around the world and this week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup headed to Louisiana for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and it was played on the TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana. And it was the golfer by the name of Seung – Yul Noh (South Korea) who scored rounds of 65-7, 68-4, 65-7 and a final round of 71-1 in very windy conditions for a 72 hole total of 269-19 and won by two strokes for his maiden USPGA Tour win of his career. He won US $1,224,000 for the win and moved to 18th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,683,773 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. Bubba Watson (USA) still leads that list with US $4,533,007 earned from the nine events he has played to date this season so far. Seung – Yul Noh (South Korea) also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to 16th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 853 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He is 1,193 points behind the current leader of that list who is Jimmy Walker (USA) who has earned 2,046 points from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 14 events he has played to date this season so far he has made 12 cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which includes the win here. 

 

Seung - Yul Noh (South Korea) tees off during the final round

Seung – Yul Noh (South Korea) played a very good final round in the tricky windy conditions, he scored 71-1 which included a front nine of 36 even par which included a lone birdie on the par four, eighth hole and a lone bogey on the par four, first hole and he made the turn at minus 18 and was by leading by two shots. Andrew Svoboda (USA) played the front nine in 35-1 and made the turn at minus 15 and was three shots behind the leader. Robert Streb (USA) played the front nine in 36 even par and made the turn at minus 15 and was three shots behind the leader. Jeff Overton (USA) played the front nine in 34-2 and made the turn at minus 16 and was two shots behind the leader. 

Seung – Yul Noh (South Korea) played holes ten to 14 in one under par and moved to minus 19 and was leading by two shots. Andrew Svoboda (USA) played holes ten to 14 in one under par and moved to minus 16 and was still three shots behind the leader. Robert Streb (USA) played holes ten to 14 in one under par and moved to minus 16 and he was still three shots behind the leader. Jeff Overton (USA) played holes ten to 14 in one under par and moved to minus 17 and was still two shots behind the leader.

Seung – Yul Noh (South Korea) played holes 15 to 17 in even par and remained at minus 19 with only the par 5, 72nd hole to play and was still leading by three shots. Andrew Svoboda (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in even par and remained at minus 16 with only the par five, 72nd hole to play and was still three shots behind the leader. Robert Streb (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in even par and remained at minus 16 and was still three shots behind the leader with only the par five, 72nd hole to play. Jeff Overton (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in one over par and fell to minus 16 with only the par five, 72nd hole to play and was now three shots behind the leader. 

Jeff Overton (USA) who was playing a couple of groups ahead of the final group could only manage a par at the par five, 72nd hole and finished the 72 holes at minus 16 and was three shots behind the winner. Robert Streb (USA) who was playing in the group ahead of the final group made a birdie at the par five, 72nd hole and moved to minus 17 and finished two shots behind the winner. Andrew Svoboda (USA) who was also playing in the group ahead of the final group made a birdie at the par five, 72nd hole and moved to minus 17 and finished two shots behind the winner. Seung – Yul Noh (South Korea) stood on the par five, 72nd hole with a two shot lead. He hit a good drive that drew off the water on the right and finished up in the left rough leaving a good angle to the green for his second shot. He choose to lay up to the left side of the fairway for his second shot with a mid iron. He struck his third shot that was only a short wedge shot to within twenty feet of the flag on the green. He now knew walking up to the green that he had done enough to secure his maiden USPGA Tour win. He struck his twenty foot birdie putt and it came up two feet short of the cup. Then he easily sank the two footer for his par five and scored 35-1 on the back nine and finish on minus 19 to win by two shots!!

 

Seung - Yul Noh (South Korea) raises his cap to acknowledge the crowd after holing the winning putt!!

Then his fellow countryman Y. E. Yang (South Korea) and Charlie Wie (South Korea) who were also playing in this tournament came out on to the 72nd green and sprayed champagne all over him to celebrate the win with him!! Then he was interviewed by CBS Sports on course golf commentator, Peter Kostis (USA) and he said to him “That he would like to dedicate this win to all the victims of the Korean Ferry Tragedy and he hopes this brings his people watching in his home country some joy to overcome the sorrow they have been going through recently”.  Seung – Yul Noh (South Korea) has been playing the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2012 season after gaining his 2012 USPGA Tour card by finishing in tied for third position at the final 2011 USPGA Tour Qualifying School. In 2012, he finished 49th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour money list standings and 37th in the final 2012 FedEx Cup Playoffs points list to retain his card for 2013 USPGA Tour season. In 2013, he finished 153rd on the final USPGA Tour money list standings and missed the FedEx Cup playoffs. He played in the Web.com Tour Finals and finished fourth in the final rankings to regain his card for 2013/14 USPGA Tour season. He also became the youngest player so far in the 2013/14 season to win on the USPGA Tour at the tender age of twenty two years old with his twenty third birthday coming at the end of next month. I sure he gained a lot of confidence from this win and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he won his second USPGA Tour event before the season is finished? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

 

Seung - Yul Noh (South Korea) poses with the Zurich Classic of New Orleans winners trophy he won along with the winners cheque he also won!!

Coming in tied for second position at 271-17 after 72 holes was Andrew Svoboda (USA); he earned US $598,400 for his efforts and moved to 65th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $782,140 earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 245 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 71st position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 394 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 five cuts and this was his very first top ten finish he has achieved to date for far this season. He will be extremely happy with this performance having had a mediocre season before this event. He first played on the USPGA Tour in the 2013 season by earning his card by finishing in twenty first position on the 2012 final Web.com Tour money list. His rookie season on the USPGA Tour in 2013 wasn’t that good and he ended up going back to the Web.com tour where he won the 2013 Price Cutter Charity Championship on the Web.com Tour in August. He finished in 25th position on the final 2013 Web.com Tour regular season money list to earn his 2014 PGA Tour card. He then won the second event of the Web.com Tour Finals which was the Chiquita Classic. Andrew Svoboda (USA) has qualified for the U.S. Open four times with a best finish of tied for 71st in 2008. His best career finish on the USPGA Tour also came this week. I hope this finish can give him confidence to have more top ten finishes in the weeks ahead and perhaps win his maiden USPGA Tour event? I wish him all the best for the rest for the 2013/14 season. 

The final player to tie for second position was Robert Streb (USA); he too earned US $598,400 for his efforts and moved to 62nd position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $808,606 earned from the seven events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 245 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 73rd position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 384 points earned from the seven events he has played to date this season so far. From the seven events he has played to date this season so far he has made seven cuts and this is his first top ten finish he has achieved this season so far. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2013 season and he earned his card by finishing in seventh position on the final 2012 Web.com Tour Money list where he won the Mylan Classic. His rookie season on the USPGA Tour wasn’t that good with him earning US $ 454,871 from the twenty five events he played in and finished in 141st position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings and only kept his conditional status for the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season and that explains why he has only got seven starts so far this season to date. With his 2014/15 USPGA Tour card now virtually secured he can now focus on achieving his maiden USPGA Tour win. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Coming in solo fourth position at 272-16 after 72 holes was Jeff Overton (USA); he earned US $326,400 for his efforts and moved to 50th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $974,470 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 135 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 49th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 515 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 14 events he has played to date this season so far he has made nine cuts and achieved three top ten finishes which includes the one here. He will be very pleased with this finish but at the same time a little disappointed he couldn’t achieve his maiden USPGA Tour win having played so good on the front nine. He has been playing the USPGA Tour now full time since the 2006 season and is still yet to achieve his maiden USPGA Tour win. He has finished in second position four times though and three of those came in his career year to date on the USPGA Tour which was 2010 where he earned US $3,456,356 from the 26 events he played in and finished up in 12th position on the final 2010 USPGA Tour Money list standings. He also made his Ryder Cup debut in 2010 for Team USA. I’m sure he will achieve his maiden USPGA Tour win very soon, perhaps it will happen in the 2013/14 season? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Coming in tied for fifth position at 274-14 after 72 holes was Robert Garrigus (USA); he earned US $248,200 for his efforts and moved to 57th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list with US $873,501 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 100 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 48th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 519 points earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 15 events he has played to date this season so far he has made eleven cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes the one here. He also scored the lowest final round by four shots which was a brilliant 64-8 and included one eagle and eight birdies!! His maiden win on the USPGA Tour came at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic in November 2010. It is great to see he has put his substance abuse issues that he faced early in his career behind him and he is very happy with how his life is going now being happily married to his wife, Ami and in 2010 they had their first child. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Also tied for fifth position was Erik Compton (USA); he too earned US $248,200 for his efforts and moved to 61st position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $810,483 earned from the 16 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 100 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 65th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 418 points earned from the 16 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 16 events he has played to date this season so far he has made 12 cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which includes the one here. He played a very steady final round of 68-4 which included one eagle and three birdies. 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 in 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 Charley Hoffman (USA); he too earned US $248,200 for his efforts and moved to twenty eighth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,349,657 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 100 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twenty fifth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 723 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 14 events he has played to date this season so far he has made 13 cuts and achieved four 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.

Rounding out the top ten in tied for eighth position at 275-13 after 72 holes was Justin Rose (England); he earned US $197,200 for his efforts and moved to 49th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $980,179 earned from the eight events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 80 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 63rd position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 430 points earned from the eight events he has played to date this season so far. From the eight events he has played to date this season so far he has made seven cuts and achieved three top ten finishes that includes the one here. He will be very happy with his final round 68-4 in the very difficult final round conditions. Justin Rose (England) has been playing the USPGA Tour Fulltime since the 2004 season with easily keeping his card for the next year every year since. In that time he has career earnings to date of US $26,257,944 from the 238 events he has played in his USPGA Tour career to date so far. He has already has five wins on the USPGA Tour which are the 2010 the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance, AT&T National, 2011 BMW Championship, 2012 World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and the 113th US Open Championship (Maiden Major Championship). I feel now he has won his maiden Major Championship he will have taken a lot of pressure off himself and I wouldn’t be surprised if he won his second Major Championship in the next few years. I wish him all the best for rest the 2013/14 season.

Also tied for eighth position was Tommy Gainey (USA); he too earned US $197,200 for his efforts and moved to 131st position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $298,688 earned from the 17 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 80 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 152nd position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with 155 points earned from the 17 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 17 events he has played to date this season so far he has made six cuts and this was the very first top ten finish he has achieved to date this season so far. Prior to this event he was having an extremely poor season with only making five cuts from the 16 events he had played in and at one stage had missed seven consecutive cuts. But he had showed some better form recently with making his last two cuts prior to this event. Tommy Gainey (USA) who is also known as Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey (USA) because he wears two golf gloves when he plays. He first gained his USPGA Tour card by finishing in tied for 19th position at the 2007 USPGA Qualifying School Finals after going through all three elimination stages of qualifying, a total of 14 rounds. In his maiden season on the USPGA Tour in 2008 he finished in 148th position on the final 2008 USPGA Tour which only gave him conditional status for the 2009 season. Tommy Gainey (USA) re-entered the Q-School to try and gain back full playing privileges, but finished well down the leader board in Tied for 80th. He then split his time between both the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour in 2009, struggling again on the USPGA Tour, making just 8 out of 15 cuts, with one top-25 finish. He ended the year 202nd on the final 2009 USPGA Tour money list, not even earning conditional status for 2010. Tommy Gainey (USA) returned to the Nationwide Tour in 2010, where he played the full season. He recorded some impressive results, claiming his first Nationwide Tour title at the Melwood Prince George’s County Open in June. Tommy Gainey (USA) won the event by one stroke over Frank Lickliter II (USA) and Jin Park (South Korea), with weekend rounds of 64 and 65 securing victory. The following month, Tommy Gainey (USA) won his second Nationwide Tour title at the Chiquita Classic (USA), winning by three strokes over Joe Affrunti (USA). He shot a 10 under round of 62 in round three on the way to the win. He finished the season fourth on the Nationwide Tour money list and secured a return to the USPGA Tour in 2011. Tommy Gainey (USA) had a very good season at his second go at the USPGA Tour fulltime in 2011 and finished is 35th position on the final 2011 USPGA Tour Money list standings with making 17 cuts and achieving seven top-10 finishes in the 34 events he played in. And finally in 2012 he achieved his maiden USPGA Tour win on October 21st, during the Fall Series, after 105 starts and 48 cuts made; Tommy Gainey (USA) won his first USPGA Tour event at the McGladrey Classic. He came from seven strokes back of final round leaders Jim Furyk (USA) and Davis Love III (USA) to win by one from David Toms (USA), after shooting a final round of 60-12. Tommy Gainey (USA) had a putt from about 20 feet on the 18th green for a 59 but it missed on the right hand side. Let’s hope this top ten finish he had this week gives him the confidence to have more in the coming weeks and get back to the form he displayed in the 2012 season. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

The final player to tie for eighth position was Keegan Bradley (USA); he too earned US $197,200 for his efforts and moved to 19th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,640,915 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 80 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twentieth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 799 points earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 13 events he has played to date this season so far he has made eleven cuts and achieved three top ten finishes that includes the one here. He will be very disappointed with his final round 75+3 when he was in a very good position to win if he had of scored a round in the 60s like he had the previous three days. 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 $12,757,987 from the 90 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. 

Danny Lee (NZL) was one of two New Zealand Golfers in the field and he scored rounds of 71-1 in the first round. Then he scored a very good second round of 69-3 and a excellent third round of 65-7 and a poor final round of 75+3 for a 72 hole total of 280-8 and he finished in tied for twenty fifth position. He earned US $ 54,230 for his efforts and moved to 91st position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $515,475 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 45 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 92nd position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings with 311 points earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 15 events he has played to date this season so far he has made five cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came just under two months ago at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com. Since he finished in solo second position at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com in early March he has missed three out of his last five cuts but at least this tied for twenty fifth position this week should give him some confidence. Let’s hope he can achieve some more top ten finishes 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 Golfers in the field and he scored rounds of 70-2 in the first round, a good second round of 70-2, a brilliant bogey free third round of 65-7 and a disastrous final round of 80+8 in very tough conditions which included a back nine of 42+6 for a 72 hole total of 285-3 and he finished in tied for 52nd position. He earned US $15,476.80 for his efforts and moved to 100th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $458,437 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 15 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 124th  position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings with 233 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 14 events he has played to date this season so far he has made nine cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which came at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in mid November last year and at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in early February. He will be disappointed with his final nine holes in the final round where he scored 42+6. He has now made his last four consecutive cuts but his best finish in his last four starts has been tied for 52nd position this past week. Let’s hope he can have some top ten finishes in the weeks to come? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to Charlotte for the Wells Fargo Championship and it is played on the Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, North Carolina. It carries a huge prize purse of US $6,900,000 for the taking. Danny Lee (NZL) and Tim Wilkinson (NZL) are likely to get starts as well. Derek Ernst (USA) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 1st May. I will report back who won the trophy next.  

So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points this week and coming in at Number One Position for the 681st 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 seven weeks ago with 8.46 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Adam Scott (Australia) who is fresh off his tied for 14th position at the Masters Tournament two weeks ago with 8.18 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 seven months ago and won DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and the 2013 Race to Dubai Title 23 weeks ago and two weeks ago finished in tied for 14th position at the Masters Tournament with 8.00 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Bubba Watson (USA) who is fresh off his Masters Tournament win two weeks ago with 7.35 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list this week is Matt Kuchar (USA) who is fresh of his win one week ago at the RBC Heritage with 7.14 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Michael Hendry (NZL) is in his second week of his second spell of being the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world after his tied for third finish at the Tsuruya Open this past week which was the second event on Japanese soil for the 2014 Japan Golf Tour season. This week he gains 18 places and rises to 218th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.82 Official Golf World Ranking Points. 

 

Remember now it is Autumn you will need to take one more club than usual because the air is getting thicker!!

Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings, wikipedia.org

Golf Events from the Weekend 20th April 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 South Carolina for the RBC Heritage and it was played on the Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina. And it was the golfer by the name of Matt Kuchar (USA) who scored rounds of 66-5, 73+2, 70-1 and a brilliant final round of 64-7 for a 72 hole total of 273-11 and he won by a single shot for his seventh USPGA Tour win of his career to date so far. Matt Kuchar (USA) won US $1,044,000 for the win and moved to fourth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $3,121,107 earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. Bubba Watson (USA) still leads that list with US $4,533,007 earned from the nine events he has played to date this season so far. Matt Kuchar (USA) also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to third position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,436 points earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. He is 610 points behind the current leader of the FedEx Cup who is Jimmy Walker (USA) who has earned 2,046 points from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the eleven events Matt Kuchar (USA) has played to date this season so far he has made ten cuts and achieved eight top ten finishes which includes the win here. He has also achieved four top ten finishes in his last four starts. 

Matt Kuchar (USA) played an excellent final round of 64-7 which included an amazing front nine of 30-6 with birdies on the par four, first hole, par five, second hole, par three, fourth hole, par four, sixth hole, par four, eight hole and par four, ninth hole and he made the turn at minus ten and was leading by one shot. Luke Donald (England) went out in 35-1 and made the turn at minus nine and was one shot behind the leader. Ben Martin (USA) went out in 33-3 and made the turn at minus eight and was two shots behind the leader. John Huh (USA) went out in 34-2 and made the turn at minus eight and was two shots behind the leader. 

Matt Kuchar (USA) played holes ten to 14 in one under par and moved to minus eleven and was still leading by one shot. Luke Donald (England) played holes ten to 14 in one under par and moved to minus ten and was still one shot behind the leader. Ben Martin (USA) played holes ten to 14 in two under par and moved to minus ten and was now only one shot off the leader. John Huh (USA) played holes ten to 14 in even par and remained at minus eight and was now three shots behind the leader. 

Matt Kuchar (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in one over par and it included an unlikely three putt at the par three, 17th hole for a bogey when he looked like he would make a certain birdie after hitting his tee shot to within four feet from the hole and he fell back to minus ten and was now tied for the lead with just the par four, 72nd hole to play. Luke Donald (England) played holes 15 to 17 in even par and remained at minus ten but was now tied for the lead with just the par four, 72nd hole to play. Ben Martin (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in one over par and fell back to minus nine and was still only one shot behind the leaders with just the par four, 72nd hole to play. John Huh (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in even par and remained at minus eight and was now only two shots behind the leaders with just the par four 72nd hole to play. 

Matt Kuchar (USA) who was playing about an hour ahead of the final pairing hit a fine drive down the par four, 72nd hole which landed in the left side of the fairway. For his second shot he was faced with a mid iron into a strong head wind and he struck what he thought was a good shot but it came up too short and he found the front green side bunker. Having been in this same position to win two weeks earlier at the Shell Houston Open he must have been wondering if he would be able to get the job done and get the win? He displayed some awesome intestinal fortitude on the bunker shot for his third shot where he splashed the ball out with a full swing and it landed just on the green and rolled out straight in to the hole after it caught the flag stick and fell in the hole for his birdie three!! He punched his fist in the air in delight!! He scored 34-1 on his back nine and finished the 72 holes on minus eleven to win by a single shot. Ben Martin (USA) who was playing in the group ahead of the leaders made a solid par at the par four, 72nd hole and finished the 72 holes on minus nine and was two shots behind the winner. 

 

Matt Kuchar (USA) pumps his fist in the air after holing out from the bunker on the 72nd hole for birdie to win!!

Luke Donald (England) who was playing in the final group now knew what he had to do and that was birdie the par four, 72nd hole to force a playoff with Matt Kuchar (USA) who was already in the Club House at minus eleven. He hit a fine drive into the left hand side of the fairway and left himself with 170 yards to the green. He choose a mid iron for his second shot into the very strong head wind but it wasn’t a solid strike and it landed well short and to the right of the green which was a good miss under the circumstances because if he had missed it left he would of been in Calibogue Sound which runs up the whole left side of the 18th hole. He was now faced with a 97 foot chip shot that had to go in to force a playoff. Sir Nick Faldo (England) who is CBS Sports Golf Analyst said “It wouldn’t surprise him at all if he holed it!!” Luke Donald (England) then played a very good chip shot that just carried onto the green and checked and rolled out a bit more just missing going in the hole by six inches and came to rest four feet from the cup. Just as he was putting for his par four, one of the boats on Calibogue Sounded its horn to acknowledge Matt Kuchar (USA) who was now confirmed the 2014 RBC Heritage Champion. Luke Donald (England) still calmly rolled in his four foot putt for par and he finished on minus ten after 72 holes and was one shot behind the winner. John Huh (USA) who was also playing in the final group with Matt Kuchar (USA) hit a very good tee shot at the par four, 72nd hole to the left side of the fairway. He was left with about 180 yards to the green and he hit a brilliant drawing long iron underneath the stiff head wind and it landed on the front of the green and rolled up to three feet below the flag stick. He rolled the three foot putt in for his birdie three and finished on minus nine and was two shots behind the winner. 

Matt Kuchar (USA) who was watching in the locker room with his wife, Sybi by his side along with his two boys Cameron and Carson. When he saw on the TV that his win had been confirmed he got a huge hug and kiss from his wife, Sybi and also hugged his two boys to celebrate!! His 64-7 was the equal best round of the day and also of the tournament. It was as if the golfing Gods decided it was his turn to win after what happened to him two weeks earlier at the Shell Houston Open where Matt Jones (Australia) holed out for a birdie three in similar fashion to win on the first playoff hole and this week it was Matt Kuchar’s (USA) turn to win!! When interviewed by the CBS Sports Commentator he said “He was so pleased to win on a course he has always loved to play on and also in his home town as he lives in Sea Island, Georgia”.  All his seven wins have now come on Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus design course which shows he really knows how to golf his ball to win on those courses. 

 

Matt Kuchar (USA) poses with the RBC Heritage Trophy he won wearing the plaid Jacket that is always presented to the winner as well!!

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 $ 29,537,134 earned from 312 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 second Major Championship of the year which is the U.S. Open in June? He has now won seven 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, Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance and the 2014 RBC Heritage. I wish him all the best with for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in solo second position at 274-10 after 72 holes was Luke Donald (England); he earned US $626,400 for his efforts and moved to 30th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,272,651 earned from the eight events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 300 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 30th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 640 points earned from the eighth events he has played to date this season so far. From the eight events he has played to date this season so far he has made seven cuts and achieved three top ten finishes and that includes the one here which was also his best finish of the season to date so far. He will be disappointed he was unable to win after taking a two shot lead into the final round and it was just two bad swings in the final round that cost him a bogey and double bogey. But at the same time he will be encouraged by his awesome play this week. Luke Donald (England) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2002 season and in that time he has won five USPGA Tour events with his last one coming at the 2012 Transitions Championship and he also won his first WGC events in 2011 at the Accenture Match play Championship. In May 2011 he became the number one golfer in the world for the very first time in his career. He has also achieved top ten finishes in all four Major Championships and you would have to think that before his career is finished he would at least win one Major Championship? Perhaps it will happen this year at the U.S. Open Championship in June? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season. 

Coming in tied for third position at 275-9 after 72 holes was Ben Martin (USA); he earned US $336,400 for his efforts and moved to 63rd position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $707,380 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 163 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 65th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 388 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 14 events he has played to date this season so far he has made five cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes the one here. It is amazing to think that prior to this event he had missed his last four consecutive cuts and in his last nine starts he has only made two cuts and both of them have been top ten finishes. We this finish this week he has more than likely secured his card for the 2014/15 USPGA Tour Season. Ben Martin (USA) first qualified for the USPGA Tour Fulltime in the 2010 season after finishing in second position at the final 2009 USPGA Tour Qualifying School. In 2011 on the USPGA Tour in his rookie season, Ben Martin (USA) made the cut in 12 of 25 events and failed to earn enough money to retain his card for 2012. He played on the Web.com Tour in 2012 and 2013 seasons, picking up his first tour win at the 2013 United Leasing Championship in late June and won again at the Mylan Classic in early August. He finished second on the 2013 Web.com Tour regular season money list to earn his 2013/14 PGA Tour card. He has displayed hot and cold form this season so far but when he has a good week it is a great one as he showed this week. Let’s hope he can achieve more top ten finishes in the weeks ahead and perhaps his even win maiden USPGA Tour event? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

The final player to tie for third position was John Huh (USA); he too earned US $336,400 for his efforts and moved to 85th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $519,995 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 163 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 81st position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 327 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 14 events he has played to date this season so far he has made eight cuts and this is his first top ten finish he has achieved to date this season so far. He will be happy with his solid play this week especially with his last three rounds that were consecutive three under par 68’s. And the second shot he played on the par four, 72nd hole was properly the best shot from anyone in the field that day on that hole. John Huh (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2012 season after gaining his 2012 card by finishing in a tie for 27th at the 2011 final USPGA Tour Qualifying School, making the cut on the number (two Nationwide Tour graduates were among the top 25, allowing John Huh (USA) to earn a USPGA Tour card). Prior to qualifying school, John Huh (USA) never played on a U.S.-based professional tour. In only his second USPGA Tour event in the 2012 season, John Huh (USA) finished in a tie for 6th position at the Farmers Insurance Open. He continued his strong play the following week when he finished in a tie for 12th position at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. In only his fifth USPGA Tour event, John Huh (USA) picked up his first victory at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, defeating Robert Allenby (Australia) in an eight-hole sudden death playoff. Robert Allenby (Australia) held a two stroke lead with one hole to play but double bogeyed after putting his tee shot in the trees, and a John Huh (USA) par forced a playoff. The playoff tied the second longest playoff in USPGA Tour history. John Huh (USA) made the cut in his first six PGA Tour events. He was in contention at the Valero Texas Open, but fell two shots short of champion Ben Curtis (USA) and finished in a tie for second position. John Huh (USA) broke into the top-100 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time, moving to 90th. In May, John Huh (USA) finished in a tie for fifth at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. John Huh (USA) played in his first major at the 2012 Open Championship, earning entry through FedEx Cup standings, where he missed the cut. He would also be the only rookie to advance to the 2012 Tour Championship, the fourth and final event of the FedEx Cup. John Huh's (USA) performance was good enough for 28th on the money list; earning him entry into the 2013 Masters Tournament (top 30 money earners were given automatic entry). John Huh (USA) won the USPGA Tour Rookie of the Year for his 2012 season, the first person of Korean descent to win the honour. John Huh (USA) was unable to repeat the success of 2013, but did well enough to go to the FedEx Cup playoffs. He finished Tied for 11th at the Masters Tournament and earned entry into the 2014 tournament. His best finish of the season was a Tied for 3rd at the Wyndham Championship and reached a career high of 62nd in the OWGR. Unfortunately he missed the cut in Masters Tournament in 2014 and prior to this top ten finish he has struggled to find his form this season. Let’s hope he can have more top ten finishes in the weeks ahead and perhaps even win his second USPGA Tour event? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.  

Coming in tied for fifth position at 277-7 after 72 holes was Scott Brown (USA); he earned US $220,400 for his efforts and moved to 48th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $948,300 from the 17 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 105 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 44th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 537 points earned from the 17 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 17 events he has played to date this season so far he has made 12 cuts and achieved three top ten finishes that includes the one here. He finished his final round very strong by playing his last eight holes four under par. Scott Brown (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour since the 2012 season where he earned US $478,763 from the twenty four events he played in and he finished in 148th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list standings which gave him semi exempt status on the USPGA Tour for the 2013 season. He had his career best season to date in the 2013 season with achieving his maiden USPGA Tour win at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com in early March. He ended up earning US $1,012,142 from the twenty one events he played in and he finished up in 81st position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings easily keeping his card for the 2013/14 season. Perhaps this year he will even have a better year than last year with making such a good start almost halfway through the season and maybe he could win his second USPGA Tour title? I wish him all the best for the events to come in the coming weeks.  

The final player to tie for fifth position was Brian Stuard (USA); he too earned US $220,400 for his efforts and moved to twentieth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,518,585 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 105 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 17th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 801 points earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 15 events he has played to date this season so far he has made eleven cuts and achieved four top ten finishes that includes the one here. He got off to a great start in his final round with being four under after six holes but played the next 12 holes one over. After starting off his season with three top ten finishes in his first six starts he lost some form with not achieving a single top ten finish in his next eight starts. So this finish should give him the confidence he needs to keep on improving. 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 seventh position at 278-6 after 72 holes was Brian Harman (USA); he earned US $187,050 for his efforts and moved to 42nd position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,063,897 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 88 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 39th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 577 points earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 15 events he has played to date this season so far he has made eleven cuts and achieved four top ten finishes which includes the one here. He played four very consistent rounds of golf this week with scoring three 69’s and a 71. It was great to see him play such good golf in his home town because he lives in Sea Island, Georgia. He has been playing the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2012 season in which he earned US $1,146,448 from the 30 events he played in and he finished in 87th position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list standings which meant he easily kept his card for the 2013 USPGA Tour season. In 2013 on the USPGA Tour he earned US $909,759 from the twenty nine events he played in and he finished in 92nd position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings meaning he easily kept his full USPGA Tour card for the 2013/14 season. I am sure his maiden USPGA Tour win isn’t too far away? I wish him all the best for the events he plays in the weeks to come.

The final player to tie for seventh position was Jim Furyk (USA); he too earned US $187,050 for his efforts and moved to 44th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,014,437 earned from the eight events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 88 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 54th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 469 points earned from the eight events he has played to date this season so far. From the eight 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 had a very solid week this week which was built around his brilliant second round of 66-5. Jim Furyk (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 1994 season. 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 so far 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 it could be his second Major Championship win at the second Major Championship of the 2014 season which is U.S. Open Championship in two months time? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Rounding out the top ten in tied for ninth position at 279-5 after 72 holes was William McGirt (USA); he earned US $156,600 for his efforts and moved to 80th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $594,329 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 75 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 69th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 363 points earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 15 events he has played to date this season so far he has made ten cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which includes the one here. He will be happy with his first and final rounds this week which were 66-5 but will be very disappointed with his second round 76+5 that was played in very tough conditions and he had an average third round of 71 even par. He gained his card on the USPGA Tour for the first time in his career when he finished in tied for second position at the 2010 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament and gained his 2011 USPGA Tour card. He had a poor rookie season with only earning US $532,933 from the 32 events he played in and that placed him in 141st position on the final 2011 USPGA Tour Money list standings. He went back to the 2011 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament and gained his card back for the 2012 season by finishing in tied for 13th position. He had a much better season in 2012 where he made over one million US dollars easily keeping his card for the 2013 season. Maybe he could achieve his maiden win on the USPGA Tour in the 2013/14 season?

Also tied for ninth position was Rory Sabbatini (RSA); he also earned US $156,600 for his efforts and moved to 74th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $626,207 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 75 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 74th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 348 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 14 events he has played to date this season so far he has made nine cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which includes the one here. He will be happy with his week on the whole but if his middle two rounds had been in the 60’s like his first and final rounds he could have had a brilliant week. He has been playing on the USPGA fulltime since the 1999 season and has easily kept his card for the next year every season since. In that time he has amassed career earnings to date of US $27,106,266 from the 392 events he has played in so far in his career to date. He has also achieved six wins on the USPGA Tour and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2000 Air Canada Championship, 2003 FBR Capital Open, 2006 Nissan Open, 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, 2009 HP Byron Nelson Championship and the 2011 The Honda Classic. Let’s hope win number seven isn’t too far away either? I wish him all the best for rest of the 2013/14 season. 

The final player to tie for ninth position was Russell Knox (Scotland); he also earned US $156,600 for his efforts and moved to 40th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,136,721 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 75 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twenty fifth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 712 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 14 events he has played to date this season so far he has made 12 cuts and achieved three top ten finishes which includes the one this week. He will be happy with his first and third rounds which were in the 60’s but at the same time he will be wishing his second and final rounds could have been as well then he would have had a great week. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2012 season where he made only 12 cuts in 23 events in 2012 and retained a partial exemption on the PGA Tour for 2013. He split time between the USPGA Tour and Web.com Tours in 2013. He played in the Web.com Tour Finals and finished in 20th position to earn his USPGA Tour card for 2013/14 season. I feel his maiden win on the USPGA Tour will come very soon and I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Tim Wilkinson (NZL) was one of two New Zealand Golfers in the field and he scored rounds of 70-1 in the first round, a good second round of 71 even par, a poor third round of 73+2 and a final round of 74+3 in very tough conditions for a 72 hole total of 288+4 and he finished in tied for 61st position. He earned US $12,644 for his efforts and moved to 97th  position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $442,960 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 9 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 124th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings with 218 points earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 13 events he has played to date this season so far he has made eight cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which came at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in mid November last year and at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in early February. He will be disappointed with his final nine holes in the final round where he scored 39+4 after going out in 35-1. He has now made his last three consecutive cuts but his best finish in his last three starts has been tied for 61st position this past week. Let’s hope he can have some top ten finishes in the weeks to come? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Danny Lee (NZL) was the other New Zealand Golfer in the field and he scored rounds of 72+1 in the first round. Then he scored a disastrous second round of 76+5 for a 36 hole total of hole total of 148+6 to miss the cut by two shots. He currently lies in 94th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $461,245 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He also currently lies in 100th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings with 266 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 14 events he has played to date this season so far he has made four cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came over a month ago at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com. Since he finished in solo second position at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com in early March he has missed three out of his last four cuts and the cut he made was at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Master Card where he finished in tied for 31st position. 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.

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to Louisiana for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and it is played on the TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana. It carries a very large prize purse of US $ 6,800,000 for the taking. Danny Lee (NZL) and Tim Wilkinson (NZL) are likely to get starts as well. Billy Horschel (USA) is the defending champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 24th April 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 680th 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 six weeks ago with 8.66 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Adam Scott (Australia) who is fresh off his tied for 14th position at the Masters Tournament one week ago with 8.14 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 six months ago and won DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and the 2013 Race to Dubai Title 22 weeks ago and one week ago finished in tied for 14th position at the Masters Tournament with 8.01 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Bubba Watson (USA) who is fresh off his Masters Tournament win one week ago with 7.25 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list this week is Matt Kuchar (USA) who is fresh of his win this past week at the RBC Heritage with 7.23 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Michael Hendry (NZL) is in his first week of his second spell of being the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world after his tied for eleventh finish at the Token Homemate Cup which was the first event on Japanese soil for the 2014 Japan Golf Tour season. This week he gains six places and rises to 236th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.72 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember when playing on very fast greens you must stroke the ball when you putt!!

Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings