Golf Events from the Weekend 30th March 2014

Well it was another brilliant weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world and this week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup headed to Texas for the first of two tournaments on the first Texas Swing of the 2013/14 season and it was the Valero Texas Open and it was played on the JW Marriott, TPC San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. And it was the golfer by the name of Steven Bowditch (Australia) who scored rounds of 69-3, 67-5, 68-4 and a final round of 76+4 in very tough and trying conditions for a 72 hole total of 280-8 and he won by a single shot for his maiden USPGA Tour win of his career to date. He won US $1,116,000 for the win and moved to twenty third position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,265,396 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. Jimmy Walker (USA) still leads that list with US $3,940,420 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. Steven Bowditch (Australia) also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to twenty sixth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 612 points earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far and he is 1,310 points behind the current leader of that list who is Jimmy Walker (USA) with 1,922 points earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 13 events Steven Bowditch (Australia) has played to date this season so far he has made eight cuts and his maiden win here was his very first top ten finish of the season to date.

 

Steven Bowditch (Australia) tees off during the final round

Steven Bowditch (Australia) played an average final round under the circumstances in very tough and trying conditions. He scored 76+4 which included a front nine of 39+3 which included a birdie on the par four, fifth hole, but he bogeyed the par five, second hole and par four, sixth hole and made a double bogey on the par four, fourth hole and he made the turn at minus nine and was leading by two shots. Will Mackenzie (USA) went out in 35-1 and made the turn at minus six and was three shots behind the leader. Daniel Summerhays (USA) went out in 35-1 and made the turn at minus seven and was two shots behind the leader. 

Steven Bowditch (Australia) played holes ten to 14 in even par and remained at minus nine and was still leading by two shots. Will MacKenzie (USA) played holes ten to 14 in even par and remained at minus six and was still three shots behind the leader. Daniel Summerhays (USA) played holes ten to 14 in even par and remained at minus seven and was still two shots behind the leader.

Steven Bowditch (Australia) played holes 15 to 17 in even par and remained at minus nine with just the par five, 72nd hole to play and was now only leading by two shots. Will MacKenzie (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in one under par and moved to minus seven and now was only two shots behind the leader with just the par five, 72nd hole to play. Daniel Summerhays (USA) played holes 15 to 17 in even par and remained at minus seven and was still two shots behind the leader with just the par five, 72nd hole to play.

Daniel Summerhays (USA) who was playing a few groups ahead of the final group made a solid par up the par five, 72nd hole and finished the 72 holes on minus seven and was two shots behind the winner. Will MacKenzie (USA) who was playing in the group ahead of the final group made a solid par up the par five, 72nd hole and finished the 72 holes on minus seven and was two shots behind the winner. Steven Bowditch (Australia) now stood on the par five, 72nd tee and had a two shot lead and knew his maiden USPGA Tour win was well within his reach. He hit a poor drive that was hooked into the left rough. He was forced to lay up with his second shot, and he hit a good layup shot that landed in the middle of the fairway about 130 yards from the green. He was now faced with a short iron to the green and it was quite a difficult shot over water to a pin that was cut on the back right of the green. He played his third shot very conservatively and it landed on the middle of the green about forty five feet left of the flagstick. But he now knew he would more than likely even if he three putted it would still be enough to win. He struck his first putt and it came up about five feet short of the cup. But I’m sure in his mind he now knew he had done enough to win. He struck a good putt at good speed for his par but it just lipped out and he easily tapped his less than a foot putt in for his bogey six. He celebrated with his caddie by giving him a hug and huge high five!! Then he was congratulated by his fellow countryman John Senden (Australia) who two weeks earlier had won the Valspar Championship. He scored 37+1 on his back nine and finished the 72 holes on minus eight to win by one shot.

 

Steven Bowditch (Australia) on the right poses with the Valero Texas Open Trophy he won!!

When interviewed by Golf Channel/NBC Sports reporter, Steve Stands he said “He was amazed at how calm and at peace with himself he was on the course this week”. Steven Bowditch (Australia) has been playing as a professional golfer since turning professional in 2002. He started off on the PGA Tour of Australasia and his first professional win came at the 2005 Jacob’s Creek Open Championship in Australia that was co – sanctioned with the then Nationwide Tour and it gave him a card to play the then Nationwide Tour fulltime. He added a second win on the then Nationwide Tour at the 2010 Soboba Golf Classic and finished the year 17th on the money list and earned his 2011 USPGA Tour card. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour ever since without much success until this win. Steven Bowditch (Australia) has had a long battle with severe depression throughout his life and this makes the win here even more of an achievement for him!! I sure there was times in the past where he was missing cuts and feeling down on himself he would of felt like throwing everything away and doing something else but he showed a lot of intestinal fortitude to overcome the odds and now he has his maiden win on the USPGA Tour and gets to play in his first ever Masters Tournament in two weeks time and he also is exempt on the USPGA Tour till the end of the 2015/16 season. It must have been a good Omen for him to wear his green shirt on Sunday because that is the Colour of the Masters Tournament Green Jacket and he has now got an invitation to play in the 2014 Masters Tournament. He also back home in Australia he is the spokesperson for Beyond Blue which is an Australian non-profit organisation promoting awareness of depression and related mental disorders. I’m sure he gained a lot of inspiration from his fellow countryman professionals John Senden (Australia) and Jason Day (Australia) who have also won this season on the USPGA Tour. I sure his second win on the USPGA Tour isn’t too far off and perhaps it will happen this year as well? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour Season.

Coming in tied for second position at 281-7 after 72 holes was Will MacKenzie (USA); he earned US $545,600 for his efforts and moved to 13th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,782,250 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 245 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to eleventh position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 880 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 five top ten finishes that includes the one here. He has been playing the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2005 season and has easily kept his card every year since except for the 2011 – 2013 seasons. He regained his 2013/14 USPGA Tour card by finishing in seventh position on the final 2013 Web.com Tour Finals Priority Rankings list and he gained his full USPGA Tour card for the 2013/14 season. He has also won two USPGA Tour events in his career to date so far with the first being the 2006 Reno-Tahoe Open and the second being the 2008 Viking Classic. It is great to see him get off to such a good start for the 2014 part of the 2013/14. I hope this finish can give him the confidence to keep on improving and have more top ten finishes in the weeks to come and even win his third event on the USPGA Tour? I wish him every continuing success for the 2013/14 season. 

The final player to tie for second position was Daniel Summerhays (USA); he too earned US $545,600 for his efforts and moved to 35th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,003,950 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 245 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to twenty ninth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 572 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 eleven cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which includes the one here. Daniel Summerhays (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour since the 2011 season. In his rookie season he struggled with only making 8 cuts in 29 events. He finished 171st on the money list and had to go through Qualifying School to earn his USPGA Tour card for 2012 season.  He began to find success in 2012. In February at the Mayakoba Golf Classic he finished in a tie for fifth and two weeks later, he finished in a tie for seventh at the Puerto Rico Open. He recorded his best USPGA Tour finish to date in June at the Memorial Tournament, finishing in a tie for fourth. In July 2012 he lost a sudden-death playoff to Woody Austin (USA) at the Sanderson Farms Championship which is still his best finish to date on the USPGA Tour so far in his career just ahead of his latest tied for second placing at this tournament. He has only ever won one professional event in his career to date so far and that was when he was an Amateur back in 2007 when he became the first Amateur golfer to win an event on the then Nationwide Tour when he won the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Classic while still attending Brigham Young University. He decided to forgo his senior year at BYU to turn professional. This season he has made an awesome start to his season and I feel maiden USPGA Tour win is only just around the corner. I wish him every continuing success for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in tied for fourth position at 282-6 after 72 holes was Matt Kuchar (USA); he earned US $272,800 for his efforts and moved to 33rd position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,043,907 earned from the eight events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 123 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 36th position on the current FedEx Cup points list standings with 521 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 five top ten finishes that includes the one here. 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 $27,459,934 earned from 309 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 first Major Championship of the year which is the Masters Tournament in two weeks time? He has won six times on the USPGA Tour to date in his career so far and here they are from his first to the most recent: 2002 The Honda Classic, 2009 Turning Stone Resort Championship, 2010 The Barclays, 2012 THE PLAYERS Championship, 2013 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance. I wish him all the best with for the rest of the 2013/14 season.  

The final player to tie for fourth position was Andrew Loupe (USA); he too earned US $272,800 for his efforts and moved to 94th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $396,660 earned from the eight events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 123 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 113th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 198 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 three cuts and this is his very first top ten finish he has achieved to date so far this season. He got his 2013/14 season on the USPGA Tour off to a terrible start with missing his first five cuts, but he has made the cut in his last three starts and is on the improve all the time and this is his first top ten finish of his short USPGA Tour career and should give him some real confidence in the tournaments he plays in the weeks ahead on the USPGA Tour. He is in his rookie year on the USPGA Tour having gained his 2013/14 USPGA Tour card by finishing in 32nd equal position on the final 2013 Web.com Tour Finals Priority Rankings list and gained his full USPGA Tour card for the 2013/14 season. He has been known for his slow play and will have to speed it up in the future. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season on the USPGA Tour. 

Coming in tied for sixth position at 283-5 after 72 holes was Brendon Todd (USA); he earned US $200,725 for his efforts and moved to 48th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $809,289 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 89 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 37th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 517 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 two top ten finishes that includes the one here. He also scored the lowest final round which was 68-4. 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.

Also tied for sixth position was Jerry Kelly (USA); he too earned US $200,725 for his efforts and moved to 44th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $885,391 earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 89 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 42nd position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 449 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 seven cuts and achieved three top ten finishes that includes the one at this event. Jerry Kelly (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 1996 season and has kept his card for the next year every year since. In 2012 he finished in 126th position on the final USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 645,701 earned from the 26 events he played in and that meant he missed out on gaining his full status on the USPGA Tour for the 2013 season by one place. In the 2013 season he finished in 99th position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 832,407 earned from the twenty two events he played in. In his USPGA Tour Career to date so far he has achieved three USPGA Tour wins and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2002 Sony Open in Hawaii, Advil Western Open and the 2009 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He turns 48 in November and no doubt will be eying the Champions Tour in just over two and a half year’s time. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season. 

Also tied for sixth position was Jim Furyk (USA); he too earned US $200,725 for his efforts and moved to 58th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $678,887 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 89 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 70th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 324 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 achieved two top ten finishes which includes the one here. 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 first Major Championship of the 2014 season at the Masters Tournament in two weeks time? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season. 

The final player to tied for sixth position was Zach Johnson (USA); he too earned US $200,725 for his efforts and moved to sixth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,087,693 earned from the ten events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 89 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to seventh position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 1,031 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 ten cuts and achieved four top ten finishes which includes the one here and also his win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions to start the 2014 season off. 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 and could well happen in two weeks time at Master Tournament in early April. He has now amassed US $32,409,495 in career earnings on the USPGA Tour to date so far from the 272 events he has played in. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 part of the 2013/14 season.

Rounding out the top ten in solo tenth position at 284-4 after 72 holes was Jordan Spieth (USA); he earned US $167,400 for his efforts and moved to 12th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,829,223 earned from the ten events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 75 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 12th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points standings list with 845 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 four top ten finishes which includes the one here. He showed some real intestinal fortitude after scoring 75+3 in the first round and was looking like missing the cut but played his last three rounds under par to achieve this top ten finish. Jordan Spieth (USA) made people really take notice of him in his first ever USPGA Tour event he played as a 16 year old Amateur at the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship where he scored rounds of 68-2, 69-1, 67-3 and a final round of 72+2 for a 72 hole total of 276-4 and he tied for 16th position while still attending the University of Texas. In the 2011 HP Byron Nelson Championship he played in it again as a 17 year old Amateur and this time he scored rounds of 69-1, 68-2, 72+2 and a 77+7 which was played in extremely windy conditions for a 72 hole total of 286+6 and he tied for 32nd position. In 2012 he played in five more USPGA Tour events as an Amateur and made the cut in three of them with his best finish being tied for 21st at the 112th US Open Championship and he also achieved low Amateur Honours. He decided to turn professional in December of 2012 in the midst of his sophomore year at the University of Texas. He Monday qualified and got a few sponsor’s exemptions to play on the USPGA Tour in the early part of the 2013 season. And he managed to win the John Deere Classic in a five hole playoff in mid July which gave him full membership on the USPGA Tour till the end of 2015. That win he achieved at the John Deere Classic also earned him the last invitation into The Open Championship in Muirfield, Scotland, that week. He joined 27 other players on the John Deere Classic's chartered jet from Moline, Ill., to Scotland. He also is now exempt on the USPGA Tour till the end of the 2014/15 season and he gained a start in the Masters Tournament which is in two weeks time in April. He won the 2013 USPGA Tour rookie of the year award. And last year he played on the winning Presidents Cup after getting selected as a Captains pick for the US Presidents Cup Team. He is just an Amazing talent and now he has got his maiden USPGA Tour win I feel he can only go from strength to strength. It is amazing to think that before the start of the 2013 USPGA Tour Season he had no status on the USPGA Tour at all. Let’s hope he can continue this fine form throughout the 2014 part of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season? He is sure to be a Superstar in World Golf for many years to come. I wish him all the best for the rest of 2013/14 season. 

Tim Wilkinson (NZL) was one of two New Zealand Golfer in the field and he scored rounds of 74+2 in the first round, a good second round of 70-2, a poor third round of 74+2 and a final round of 76+4 in very tough conditions for a 72 hole total of 294+6 and he finished in tied for sixty second position. He earned US $13,330 for his efforts and moved to 88th  position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $430,316 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned eight FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 107th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings with 209 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 seven 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. 

Danny Lee (NZL) was the other New Zealand Golfer in the field and he scored rounds of 68-4 in the first round which had him one shot off the lead. Then he scored a disastrous second round of 83+11 for a 36 hole total of hole total of 151+7 to miss the cut by four shots. This is the second time in three weeks that he has scored a round in the 60s and been in or near the lead after the first round then scored a shocking second round to miss the cut!! But he can take a huge positive from last four weeks where three 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 currently lies in  81st position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $461,245 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. He also currently lies in 84th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings with 266 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 four cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came three 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.

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup stays in Texas for the final leg of the first Texas Swing and it is the Shell Houston Open and it is played on the Golf Club of Houston, Humble, Texas. It carries a huge prize purse of US $6,400,000 for the taking. It will attract a high quality field because it is the tournament before the Masters Tournament which is the first Major Championship of the year. Danny Lee (NZL) and Tim Wilkinson (NZL) are also likely to get starts. D. A. Points (USA) is the defending Champion and will be looking to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 3rd April. 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 677th 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 three weeks ago with 9.27 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 almost five months ago and he also won the Talisker Masters 19 weeks ago and 18 weeks ago finished in solo third position in the individual competition at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf and 17 weeks ago finished runner up in the Emirates Australian Open and three weeks ago finished in tied for 25th position at the WGC – Cadillac Championship and one week ago he finished in solo third position at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard with 8.37 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 six months ago and won DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and the 2013 Race to Dubai Title 19 weeks ago and also tying for 16th position at the WGC – Cadillac Championship three weeks ago with 8.20 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Jason Day (Australia) who is fresh off his WGC – Accenture Match Championship win five weeks ago with 6.87 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 three weeks ago and withdrew from the Valero Texas Open this past week with a back problem with 6.29 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Mark Brown (NZL) fresh off  his solo second finish at the New Zealand Open four weeks ago is the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world for the fifth straight week of his career. This week he remains in 227th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.75 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember when playing in really dry conditions you must make allowances for how the ball will react once it hits the ground!!

Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings