Golf Events from the Weekend 6th April 2014

It was another exciting weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world and this week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup stayed in Texas for the final leg of the first Texas Swing and it was the Shell Houston Open and it was played on the Golf Club of Houston, Humble, Texas. And it was the golfer by the name of Matt Jones (Australia) who scored rounds of 68-4, 68-4, 71-1 and a excellent final round of 66-6 which included a front nine of 33-3 which included birdies on the par four, third hole, par four, fifth hole, par four, sixth hole and par five, eighth hole and his lone bogey came at the par four, first hole. He also scored 33-3 on his back nine with birdies on the par four, tenth and par four, eleventh holes and also on the par three, 16th hole and a brilliant birdie on the par four, 72nd hole to force a playoff with his lone bogey coming at the par four, 17th hole and he returned a 72 hole total of 273-15 after 72 holes. But he was tied on that scored by Matt Kuchar (USA) who scored rounds of 66-6, 67-5, 68-4 and a final round of 72 even par for a 72 hole total of 273-5 and he was also tied for the lead after 72 holes. 

 

Matt Jones (Australia) celebrates after chipping in on the first playoff hole!!

So both Matt Kuchar (USA) and Matt Jones (Australia) headed back to the par four, 18th hole for the first playoff hole. Matt Jones (Australia) drew number one from the USPGA Tour Rules Officials hat and he had the honour. The par four, 18th hole at the Golf Club of Houston is ranked in the top five toughest finishing holes on the USPGA Tour in recent years with a water hazard all down the left hand side and bunkers all up the right hand side which means a drive in the fairway is a must. Matt Jones (Australia) leaked his drive to the right of the fairway in the right fairway bunker leaving himself a very difficult second shot to hit the green in regulation. Matt Kuchar (USA) teed off next and set up for his slight draw off the right fairway bunkers and drew his ball right into the centre of the fairway. Matt Jones (Australia) played his second shot first from the right fairway bunker and hit a good shot under the circumstances and it came up short of the right green side bunkers in the rough but he had a good lie. Matt Kuchar (USA) played his second shot next with his mid iron and he must of been a bit gun shy having put his second shot in regulation play in the hazard on the left because he lost his mid iron to the right and it landed in the right hand green side bunker pin high.

Matt Jones (Australia) now played his third shot chip that he had to land over the right green side bunkers and roll out to the cup that was situated on the back left of the green. He played a brilliant chip shot that landed just where he wanted it to on the green, it rolled out to the flag stick at a good pace and hit the flag stick and dropped for his birdie three!! He gave his caddie a huge high five as he knew he may have just won his maiden USPGA Tour Event!! Matt Kuchar (USA) now knew the only way he was going to extend the playoff to a second playoff hole was to hole his bunker shot. He struck a good bunker shot but it spun too quickly and came to rest 15 feet from the pin and he knew his chances of winning had gone. 

Matt Jones (Australia) now knew his maiden USPGA Event win was now confirmed!! When the NBC Sports/Golf Channel reporter interviewed him he said “He had been waiting seven longs years for this moment to happen and was so happy he had finally achieved it”. Matt Jones (Australia) won US $1,152,000 for the win and moved to 18th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,605,598 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. Jimmy Walker (USA) still leads that list with US $3,991,071 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. Matt Jones (Australia) 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 798 points earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. He is 1,168 points behind the current leader of that list who is Jimmy Walker (USA) who has earned 1,966 points from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 12 events Matt Jones (Australia) has played to date this season so far he has made nine cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came at this event with the win. He will now get an invitation to play in the first Major Championship of the year which is the Masters Tournament next week and it will be his debut in that tournament.

 

Matt Jones (Australia) poses with the Shell Houston Open Trophy he won!!

Matt Jones (Australia) first qualified for the USPGA Tour in the 2008. He found limited success and his best finishes of the season were a tie for fourth position at the Honda Classic and the Buick Open and he ended up finishing the season with US $775,899 in earnings but he did not finish inside the top 125 on the money list and that left him with only conditional status for the 2009 season. In 2009 Matt Jones (Australia) had two top-10s, both fifth place finishes at the Buick Invitational and at the John Deere Classic. At the six-round PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in December 2009, where the top 25 finishers obtained their 2010 PGA Tour cards, Jones finished third. He had good seasons in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 but this week in his 156th USPGA Tour start he finally achieved his maiden win!! He must have been inspired by Jason Day (Australia), John Senden (Australia) and Steve Bowditch (Australia) who have all won on the USPGA Tour this year as well and in fact Australian Golfers have won three out of the last four USPGA Tour events.  It proves that country of Australia is a real big force in the Professional Golf World. I’m sure Matt Jones (Australia) second win on the USPGA Tour can’t be that far off either? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season. 

Coming in solo second position on 273-15 after 72 holes and losing on the first playoff hole as I mentioned above was Matt Kuchar (USA); he earned US $691,200 for his efforts and moved to 14th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,735,107 earned from the nine events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 300 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 15th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 821 points earned from the nine events he has played to date this season so far. From the nine events he has played to date this season so far he has made eight cuts and achieved six top ten finishes that includes the one here. He will be kicking himself with how he played the last three holes with bogeying the 16th and 18th holes and especially putting his second shot in the water on the 72nd hole after been in such good position to make his par and win the tournament. It is the second time in the last two weeks he has blown a golden opportunity to win his seventh USPGA Tour Event. But he has had six top ten finishes already this season and I feel his game is in very good shape heading to the first Major Championship of the year next week at Augusta for the Masters Tournament. 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 $ 28,151,134 earned from 310 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 one week’s 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.  

Coming in solo third position at 275-13 after 72 holes was Sergio Garcia (Spain); he earned US $435,200 for his efforts and moved to twenty fourth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,367,867 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 190 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 32nd position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 592 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 four top ten finishes which includes the one here. He will be disappointed with his weekend play after taking a one shot lead into the weekend after 36 holes, but at the same time he will be happy with his form heading into the first Major Championship of the year at the Master Tournament at Augusta next week. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2000 season and in the time he has easily kept his card for the next year every season since and he has achieved eight wins on the USPGA Tour in his career so far and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2001 MasterCard Colonial, Buick Classic 2002 Mercedes Championships, 2004 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, Buick Classic, 2005 Booz Allen Classic. 2008 THE PLAYERS Championship and the 2012 Wyndham Championship. He has current career earnings on the USPGA Tour of US $34,201,580 earned from the 266 events he has played to date in his career so far. I feel his ninth win isn’t too far off and maybe it could be his maiden Major Championship win at the Masters Tournament which is next week? I wish him all the best for the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Coming in solo fourth position at 276-12 after 72 holes was Cameron Tringale (USA); he earned US $307,200 for his efforts and moved to 47th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $882,750 earned from the 16 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 135 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 40th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 516 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 13 cuts and this was his very first top ten finish he has achieved to date this season so far. Cameron Tringale (USA) first qualified for the USPGA Tour in 2010 by finishing in tied for 19th position at the 2009 USPGA Tour Final Qualifying Tournament. In his rookie year on the USPGA Tour in 2010 where he made his debut as a member of the USPGA Tour at the 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii in January and in his rookie season he earned just more than $US 300,000 from the twenty one events he played in leaving him 176th on the money list. His best finishes were ties for 11th at the Viking Classic and the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. In December 2010 Cameron Tringale (USA) regained his USPGA Tour card for 2011 USPGA Tour season by finishing fourth at final Qualifying-School. He managed to keep his card for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. This year he has made a great start to the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season and this top ten finish will give him lots of confidence to keep on improving and perhaps achieve his maiden USPGA Tour win this year as well? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season. 

Coming in solo fifth position at 278-10 after 72 holes was Shawn Stefani (USA); he earned US $256,000 for his efforts and moved to 129th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $256,000 earned from the two events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 110 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and move to 161st position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 110 points earned from the two events he has played to date this season so far. From the two events he has played to date this season so far he has made one cut and achieved one top ten finish that came at this very event. Shawn Stefani (USA) gain his 2013 USPGA Tour card in 2012 by finishing in sixth position on the 2012 final Web.com Tour Money list standings and that included winning the Midwest Classic and the Miccosukee Championship. His rookie year in 2013 on the USPGA Tour he earned US $511,399 from the eleven events he played in and finished in 134th position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings meaning he would only have semi status on the USPGA Tour for the 2013/14 season. His highlight of the 2013 season was during the final round of the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion where, Shawn Stefani (USA) carded a hole in one on the 229-yard (209 m) 17th hole, and it was the first ace ever recorded in 18 USGA championships held at Merion. His 4-iron tee shot bounced off the slope left of the green and rolled a considerable distance into the cup. Let’s hope he can build on this top ten finish and get more starts in the weeks ahead on the USPGA Tour. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.   

Coming in solo sixth position at 279-9 after 72 holes was Rickie Fowler (USA); he earned US $230,400 for his efforts and moved to 34th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,125,230 earned from the eleventh events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 100 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 46th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 469 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 two top ten finishes that includes the one here. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour as a full member since the 2010 season after gaining his card by finishing in tied for 15th position at the 2009 USPGA Tour Final Qualifying School. He has easily kept his card for the next season every season since. He won his maiden USPGA Tour event at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship so he will be looking for his second win on the USPGA Tour this year. This top ten finish will give him some real confidence heading into the first Major Championship of the year next week which is the Masters Tournament at Augusta. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Rounding out the top ten in tied for seventh position at 280-8 after 72 holes was Rory McILroy (NIR); he earned US $186,240 for his efforts and moved to 37th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,040,740 earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 80 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 44th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 477 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 that includes the one here. Rory McIlroy (NIR) scored the lowest final round which was 65-7 and that should really boost his confidence heading into the first Major Championship of the year next week which is the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. He now still hasn’t won on the USPGA Tour since his changed his golf equipment to Nike in late 2012. He has been playing the USPGA Tour Fulltime for the last three season’s including this one and in 2012 he won the 2012 Final USPGA Tour Money list with US $8,047,952 earned from the 16 events he played in and that included four wins and one was his second Major Championship win which came at the 2012 USPGA Championship. His 2013 USPGA Tour Season wasn’t so good as he was trying to get used to his new Nike Golf Clubs, he finished in 41st position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 1,802,443 earned from the 16 events he played in which was poor by his high standards. Here are his six wins to date on the USPGA Tour so far from the first to the most recent: 2010 Quail Hollow Championship, 2011 U.S. Open (Maiden Major Championship), 2012 The Honda Classic, PGA Championship (Second Major Championship), Deutsche Bank Championship and the BMW Championship. So far in his USPGA Tour career he has amassed US $16,200,743 in the 75 events he has played so far in his career. I feel his seventh USPGA Tour win is not very far off and perhaps it will be his third Major Championship win at the Masters Tournament next week? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Also tied for seventh position was Russell Henley (USA); he too earned US $186,240 for his efforts and moved to twenty first position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,444,194 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 twenty third position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 694 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 that includes the one this week and also his second USPGA Tour win at the Honda Classic in early March. Russell Henley (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour since the 2013 season where he won his very first start at the 2013 Sony Open in Hawaii and in early March 2014 he won his second USPGA Tour events at the Honda Classic. Now he has won twice on the USPGA Tour at the tender age of twenty four years old it will give him lots of confidence heading into the big tournaments coming up in the weeks ahead. Let’s hope he can keep this form he has shown this week up for the weeks ahead because he has become a fan favourite with his very bubbly personality and positive attitude.  And perhaps he could be a dark horse for the first Major Championship of the year which is the Masters Tournament next week which is played in his home state of Georgia. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Also tied for seventh position was Brice Garnett (USA); he too earned US $186,240 for his efforts and moved to 94th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $ 412,409 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 86th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 285 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 one top ten finish that came at this event. He is in his rookie season on the USPGA Tour having gained his 2013/14 USPGA Tour card by finishing in twenty third position on the final 2013 Web.com Tour Finals Priority Rankings list. Let’s hope this top ten finish and his best result on the USPGA Tour to date in his career so far can give him the confidence to achieve more top ten finishes in the weeks ahead on the USPGA Tour? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season. 

Also tied for seventh position was Ryan Palmer (USA); he too earned US $186,240 for his efforts and moved to 19th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,466,356 earned from the ten events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 80 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 19th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 747 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 has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2004 season and has managed to keep his card or at least semi status on the USPGA Tour for the next season every season since. He has won three events on the USPGA Tour in that time and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2004 FUNAI Classic at the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort, 2008 Ginn sur Mer Classic and the 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii. I feel his fourth win isn’t too far away and might just coming in the 2013/14 season? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

The final player to tie for seventh position was Retief Goosen (RSA); he too earned US $186,240 for his efforts and moved to 93rd position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $415,396 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 103rd position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 238 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 includes the one here. Retief Goosen (RSA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2001 season after he won his first of two U.S. Open Championships at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma and won his second U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Shinnecock Hills, New York. He has kept his card for the next year every season since. He has also won five other USPGA Tour events with his last coming at the 2009 Transitions Championship. In recent years his form has slipped but with the top ten finishes he has had this year it will give him confidence to regain and get back to the heights his game was at when he was winning Major Championships. He is 45 years old now and will be eying the Champions Tour in a few years. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup and all the other Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world head to Augusta, Georgia, USA for the first Major Championship of the 2014 season and it is the 78th Masters Tournament and it is played on the famous Augusta National GC, Augusta, Georgia. It carries a huge prize purse of US $ 8,000,000 for the taking and of course the famous green jacket goes to the winner as well. It only has a small elite field of just around 100 golfers which includes the top 50th off the Official World Golf Rankings two weeks prior to the event; every winner of an event on the USPGA Tour that carried full FedEx Cup points for the past year from the event after the 2013 Masters Tournament to the event prior to the 2014 Masters Tournament, and also the top players from the European Tour and the current US and British Amateur Champions and Runners up also get invitations to play as well as every past champion since the tournament began in 1934 is exempt to play in it as well. This year it will be missing one of its main attractions who is Tiger Woods (USA) the current World Number One Golfer and also four time Master Tournament winner due to recent back surgery. Adam Scott (Australia) is the defending champion and will be keen wear back to back Green Jackets!! It starts on Wednesday 9th April with the Par three contest which is a relaxed family event that is optional to play in and the players often have their Wives, Girl Friends and Children caddie for them. But on Thursday 10th April the first round commences. I will report back next week who got to wear the Green Jacket for 2014. 

So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points this week and coming in at Number One Position for the 678th 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 four weeks ago with 9.07 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 short of a year ago and also won The Barclays over seven months ago and also won the Australian PGA Championship just five months ago and he also won the Talisker Masters 20 weeks ago and 19 weeks ago finished in solo third position in the individual competition at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf and 18 weeks ago finished runner up in the Emirates Australian Open and four weeks ago finished in tied for 25th position at the WGC – Cadillac Championship and two weeks ago he finished in solo third position at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard with 8.42 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 20 weeks ago and also tying for 16th position at the WGC – Cadillac Championship four weeks ago and this past week finished in tied for 54th position at the Shell Houston Open with 8.09 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Jason Day (Australia) who is fresh off his WGC – Accenture Match Championship win six weeks ago with 6.96 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 just under nine months ago and also finished in tied for 16th position at the WGC – Cadillac Championship four weeks ago and withdrew from the Valero Texas Open last week with a back problem and this past week finished in tied for 12th position at the Shell Houston Open with 6.30 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Mark Brown (NZL) fresh off  his solo second finish at the New Zealand Open five weeks ago is the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world for the sixth straight week of his career. This week he slips five places and falls to 232nd position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.74 Official Golf World Ranking Points. 

Remember the most important thing to in the golf swing is make solid contact with the ball!!

Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings