Well it was another exciting weekend on the Major
Professional Golf Tours from around the world and this week the USPGA Tour and
FedEx Cup headed to Ohio for the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide
Insurance and it was played on the Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio
on the course that Jack Nicklaus (USA) designed and built in his home State.
Jack Nicklaus (USA) is also the founder and host. And it was the Golfer by the
name of Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) who scored rounds of 70-2, 67-5, 69-3 and a
final round of 69-3 for a 72 hole total of 275-13 but he was tied on that score
by Kevin Na (USA) who scored rounds of 72 even par, 69-3, 70-2 and a brilliant
blemish free final round of 64-8 which was the low round of the day for a final
round of 275-13 to also be on that score. So those two players head back to the
18th tee for the first playoff hole.
 |
| Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) in action during the final round |
Kevin Na (USA) drew number one from the USPGA Tour
Officials hat and teed off first on the par four, 18th hole which was the first
playoff hole. Having finished two hours before the final group he was a little
cold and it showed with his tee shot when he hit a snap hook and his ball
splashed into the water hazard on the left hand side. Hideki Matsuyama (Japan)
teed off next and struck his tee shot with too much fade on it and it landed in
the fairway bunker on the right hand side. Kevin Na (USA) took a penalty drop
and had to drop his ball on the left hand side of the hazard. He still had well
over 200 yards left to the green for his third shot and he chose his fairway
wood. He struck it okay but it didn’t hook enough and it landed in the rough
pin high to the right leaving a difficult up and down for his bogey. Hideki
Matsuyama (Japan) played his second shot next from the fairway bunker and he
pulled it badly and landed in the left hand rough pin high which left a
difficult up and down for his par over the left green side bunker. Kevin Na
(USA) played his fourth shot next and chipped and ran it the best he could out
of his lie in the rough. It came to rest about seven feet from the hole and now
his fate rested in Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) hands. Hideki Matsuyama (Japan)
played his third shot next from the left rough and played it very well over the
left hand green side bunker with his lob wedge and it nearly hit the flag stick
and came to rest about ten feet past the pin. Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) now knew
if he holed the ten foot putt for his par he would calm his maiden USPGA Tour
event. He calmed his nerve and then rolled the ten foot putt right into the
middle of the cup!! He gave his caddie a huge high five and hug to celebrate
the win!! He then used an interpreter to chat with CBS Sports on course
reporter, Peter Kostis and he told him through the interpreter “He was so happy
to win his maiden USPGA tour event here and have the great Jack Nicklaus (USA)
who is the greatest player to ever play the game of golf and the tournament
host present to congratulate him”.
 |
| Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) on the left and his caddie on the right celebrated after he holed the winning putt!! |
Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) won US $1,116,000 for the
win and moved to 16th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list
standings with US $2,283,868 earned from the 15 events he has played to date
this season so far. Bubba Watson (USA) retakes the lead of that list with US
$4,978,679 earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season so
far. Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and
moved to 14th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings
with 1,125 points earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season
so far and he is 1,114 points behind the current leader of that list who is
Jimmy Walker (USA) who has earned 2,239 points from the 18 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 win here.
Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) played a steady final round
under the circumstances of being up with the leaders. He scored 69-3 which
included a very good front nine of 32-4 with birdies on the par four, first
hole, par four, second hole, par three, fourth hole, par five, seventh hole and
par three, eighth hole and his lone bogey came at the par four, third hole. He
played an average back nine of 37+1 which included birdies on the par four,
13th hole, par five, 15th hole and par four, 18th hole that got him into the
playoff but he made a poor bogeys on the par four, 14th and par four, 17th
holes and a double bogey on the par three, 16th hole. He will be happy with his
four rounds this week that were all under par and really pleased he was able to
achieve his maiden win and the experience he gained in the 2013 Presidents Cup
for the International Team was really valuable in this win I believe because
that event was played on this same course. It was also good to see him bounce
back so quickly after his poor final round at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at
Colonial last week when he was in contention to win after three rounds.
 |
| Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) on the left and Jack Nicklaus (USA) who is the Tournament Founder and Host on the right poses with the Memorial Trophy he won!! |
This is Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) first season at
playing the USPGA Tour fulltime after playing the Japan Golf Tour for the past
few seasons. He was one of the star players for the International Team last
year at the Tenth Presidents Cup in Ohio last October. Let’s hope he can
continue this fine form throughout the 2013/14 season and perhaps win his
second USPGA Tour event? I feel he is destined to be a Golfing Superstar with
being so young at only twenty two years of age. I wish him all the best for his
next few tournaments he plays in
Coming in solo second position at 275-13 and losing
on the first playoff hole as I mentioned above was Kevin Na (USA); he won US $669,600
for his efforts and moved to 12th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour
Money list standings with US $2,404,228 earned from the 17 events he has played
to date this season so far. He also earned 300 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts
and moved to tenth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list
standings with 1,214 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 five top ten finishes which includes the one
here. He will be very happy with his second, third and final rounds which were
all under par especially his final round 64-8 that was the low final round by
two shots. Kevin Na (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the
2004 season and has kept his card every season since. He only played in eight
events in the 2013 USPGA Tour season because of a back injury (bulging discs)
that flared up after the Masters Tournament. He has one win on the USPGA Tour
to date in his career so far and that came at the 2011 Justin Timberlake
Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He will be very happy with his season so
far. So far in his career to date he has career earnings of US $15,668,829
earned from the 262 events he has played so far to date in his career. Let’s
hope he can continue on this form for the rest of the season and achieve his
second win on the USPGA Tour? I wish him all the best for the rest of the
2013/14 season.
Coming in solo third position at 276-12 after 72
holes was Bubba Watson (USA); he earned US $421,600 for his efforts and moved
to first position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with
US $4,978,679 earned from the eleven events he has played to date this season
so far. He also earned 190 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and remained in
second position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 2,048
points earned from the eleven events he has played to date so far this season.
From the eleven events he has played to date this season so far he has made ten
cuts and achieved seven top ten finishes which includes the one here and also the win
at the Masters Tournament in April and the win at the Northern Trust Open in
mid February. He will be very happy with his first three rounds that were all
in the 60s especially his first round of 66-6. But will be disappointed with
his final round of 72 even par after taking a two shot lead into the final
round and he passed up a great chance to win his third tournament this season. Bubba
Watson (USA) has been playing on the
USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2006 season and has easily kept his card for the
following year every year since. And he has made at least US One Million
Dollars in all of those seasons as well. He has already achieved six wins on the
USPGA Tour to date so far and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2010 Travelers
Championship, 2011 Farmers Insurance Open, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, 2012
Masters Tournament (Maiden Major Championship), 2014 Northern Trust Open and
the 2014 Masters Tournament (Second Major Championship).
I feel his seventh win on the USPGA
Tour will come in the 2013/14 season as well and perhaps it could be his third
Major Championship win? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14
season.
Coming in tied for fourth
position at 278-10 after 72 holes was Chris Kirk (USA); he earned US $272,800
for his efforts and moved to eighth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour
Money list standings with US $2,784,093 earned from the 18 events he has played
to date this season so far. He also earned 123 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts
and moved to sixth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list
standings with 1,429 points earned from the 18 events he has played to date
this season so far. From the 18 events he has played to date this season so far
he has made 18 cuts and achieved three top ten finishes which includes the one
here and also his win at the McGladrey Classic in November
last year. He will be happy with his first and final rounds that were in the
mid 60s but disappointed with his second and third rounds that were in the 70s.
He is having an amazing season with yet to miss a cut. Chris Kirk (USA) has
been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2011 season. In his three
previous seasons on the USPGA Tour he has won at least US $1million and in his
rookie season in 2011 he won his maiden USPGA Tour title at the Viking Classic.
It was great to see him achieve his second USPGA Tour win back in November last
year and now he will get a chance to play in a few of the bigger Tournaments in
2014. Those tournaments will be the 2014 World Golf Championship Events, 2014
US Open Championship in mid June, the Open Championship in mid July and the PGA
Championship in August. Let’s hope he can get his third win very soon? I wish
him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.
The final player to tie for fourth position was Adam
Scott (Australia); he too earned US $272,800
for his efforts and moved to tenth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour
Money list standings with US $2,521,450 earned from the nine events he has
played to date this season so far. He also earned 123 FedEx Cup Points for his
efforts and moved to 12th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list
standings with 1,148 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 nine cuts and achieved five top ten finishes which includes the
one here and also his win last week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at
Colonial. He will be happy with his four rounds this week backing up from his
win the previous week but at the same time disappointed with his back nine in
the final round where he scored 39+3 after going out in 32-4. Adam Scott
(Australia) has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2003 season
and has kept his card for the next season every season since. In that time he
has career earnings of US $35,720,515 earned from the 222 events he has played
to date so far in his career. He has also won eleven times on the USPGA Tour to
date in his career so far and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2003 Deutsche
Bank Championship, 2004 THE PLAYERS Championship, Booz Allen Classic, 2005
Nissan Open (The 2005 Nissan Open was
shortened to 36 holes due to rain. Adam Scott (Australia) defeated Chad
Campbell (USA) on the first hole of a
sudden-death playoff. Due to the event's length, this win is not officially
recognized), 2006 THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, 2007
Shell Houston Open, 2008 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, 2010 Valero Texas Open,
2011 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, 2013 Masters
Tournament (Maiden Major Championship), The Barclays and the 2014 Crowne Plaza
Invitational at Colonial. He had the best record of any player in the four
Major Championships in 2013 with winning the Masters Tournament in April; tying
for 45th position at the 113th US Open Championship in June; tying for third at
the 142nd Open Championship in July and tying for fifth at the 95th PGA Championship
in August. He has proved over the last few years that he has one of the solid
and most consistent Golf Swings on the USPGA Tour that can stand up to the
intense pressures that the USPGA Tour throws at the players week in and week
out. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.
Coming in tied for sixth position at 279-9 after 72
holes was Steve Stricker (USA); he earned US $215,450 for his efforts and moved
to 103rd position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US
$607,401 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far.
He also earned 95 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 129th position
on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 278 points earned
from the six events he has played to date this season so far. From the six
events he has played to date this season so far he has made six cuts and this
was his very first top ten finish he has achieved to date this season so far. He
will be content with his first three rounds that were all in the low 70s and
very happy with his final round of 68-4. He has been playing the USPGA Tour
fulltime since the 1994 season and in that time he has achieved 12 wins on the
USPGA Tour with his last coming at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in 2012
and he also owned his home town championship the John Deere Classic when he won
it three straight years in a row from 2009-2011. He has also performed well in
the Major Championships over the years with his best finish being solo second
in the 1998 PGA Championship. Now at age 47 he is in the twilight years on the
USPGA Tour and has cut back on his playing schedule to spend more time with his
family. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.
Rounding out the top ten in tied for eighth position
at 280-8 after 72 holes was Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark); he earned US $167,400
for his efforts and moved to 157th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour
Money list standings with US $243,372 earned from the eight events he has
played to date this season so far. He also earned 75 FedEx Cup Points for his
efforts and moved to 170th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points
list standings with 123 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 was his very first top ten finish
he has achieved to date so far this season. He will be happy with his second
and final rounds that were in the mid to high 60s but very disappointed with
his first and third rounds that were in the low to mid 70s. He has only joined
the USPGA Tour since he played in the 2013 Masters Tournament after an opening
round of 78, Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) shot rounds of 70, 68, and 68 to finish
at four-under-par 284, good enough for a sixth place tie. His final three
rounds of 206 combined were ten-under-par, the best in the tournament. He
earned enough money to be eligible for Special Temporary Membership on the
USPGA Tour, which he accepted. This allows him unlimited sponsor exemptions for
the remainder of the 2013 season and he earned enough money to keep his card
for the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season. He also plays the European Tour fulltime and
achieved his maiden win on that tour in the 2012 season at the Sicilian Open. Let’s
hope he can have more top ten finishes in the weeks ahead on the USPGA Tour.
Also tied for eighth position was Bill Haas (USA);
he also earned US $167,400 for his efforts and moved to 39th position on the
current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,455,768 earned from
the 17 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 75 FedEx
Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 32nd position on the current 2013/14
FedEx Cup Points list standings with 814 FedEx Cup 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 16 cuts and achieved three top
ten finishes that includes the one here. He will be happy with his second and
final rounds that were in the high 60s but no so happy with his first and third
rounds that were in the early 70s. Bill Haas (USA) has been playing on the
USPGA Tour Fulltime since the 2006 season after gaining his 2006 USPGA Tour
card at the 2005 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament where he finished in tied for
26th position to earn his rookie USPGA TOUR card for 2006 season and to do that
he had to make birdie on final hole to earn his card on the number (11-under).
Since gaining his full USPGA Tour card in 2006 he has easily kept his card
every season for the following season every season since. And in that time he
has achieved five wins on the USPGA Tour and here they are from the first to
the most recent: 2010 Bob Hope Classic, Viking Classic, 2011 TOUR
Championship by Coca-Cola, 2012 Northern Trust Open and the 2013 AT&T
Classic. And in 2011 he won the FedEx Cup in a winner-take-all playoff, he
pared the third playoff hole (par-3 18th hole) to defeat Hunter Mahan (USA) to
win the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola and the FedEx Cup, winning the latter by
15 points over Webb Simpson (USA) and becoming the first player in his 20s to
win the season-long competition. He entered the final round three strokes
behind Aaron Baddeley (Australia) and Hunter Mahan (USA) but carded a
final-round 68-2 to finish regulation tied with Hunter Mahan (USA) at 8-under
272. In the playoff, he appeared to have shot himself out of winning both on
the second playoff hole, the Par four, 17th hole at East Lake GC, when his
approach to the par 4 landed in the water adjacent to the green. He made a
great up and down for par to continue the playoff. As a result of his win, he pocketed
the US $1,440,000 first-place cheque and the US $10-million prize for winning
the 2011 FedEx Cup. He became just the third player to win the TOUR
Championship in his first appearance, joining Chad Campbell (USA) (2003) and
Bart Bryant (USA) (2005). He and his father, Jay, are the only father-son
combination to tee it up in the TOUR Championship. I feel the next step for him
will be to win his maiden Major Championship and I believe it could happen in
the 2013/14 season, perhaps at the U.S. Open Championship in two weeks time? I
wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 part of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour
season.
Also tied eighth position was Luke Guthrie (USA); he
also earned US $167,400 for his efforts and moved to 91st position on the
current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $688,702 earned from
the 18 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 75 FedEx
Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 85th position on the current 2013/14
USPGA Tour Money list standings with 424 points earned from the 18 events he
has played to date this season so far. From the 18 events he has played to date
this season so far he has made 13 cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which
includes the one here. He will be happy with his final three rounds that were
all under par especially his 66-6 in the third round but will be really
disappointed with his first round 75+3. Luke Guthrie (USA) is in his second
season on the USPGA Tour after gaining his full 2013 USPGA Tour card by
finishing in second position on the final 2012 Web.com Tour Money list
standings with US $ 410,593 earned from the ten events he
played in and that included wins at the 2012 Albertsons Boise Open Presented by
Kraft and the WNB Golf Classic. I feel his maiden win on the USPGA Tour
could come very soon and wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14
season.
Also tied for eighth position was Brendon Todd
(USA); he also earned US $167,400 for his efforts and remained in eleventh
position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,477,223
earned from the 19 events he has played to date this season so far. He also
earned 75 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and remained in ninth position on
the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with earned 1,237 points
earned from the 19 events he has played to date this year so far. From the 19
events he has played to date this season so far he has made 16 cuts and
achieved five top ten finishes which includes the one here and also his maiden
win at the HP Byron Nelson Championship last month. He will be happy with his
second and third rounds that were in the high 60s but just content with his
first and final rounds that were in the low 70s. He is really on excellent form
at the moment with achieving top ten finishes in his last three starts and he
could be a dark horse for the U. S. Open Championship in two weeks time. 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 now he has achieved his maiden USPGA Tour win it will give him heaps of
confidence and he could well win his second USPGA Tour event very soon. I wish
him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.
The final player to tie
for eighth position was Charl Schwartzel (RSA); he also earned US
$167,400 for his efforts and moved to 59th position on the current 2013/14
USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,043,771 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 73rd position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour
Money list standings with 495 points earned from the ten events he has played
to date this season so far. From the ten events he has played to date this
season so far he has made eight cuts and achieved three top ten finishes which
includes the one here. He will be happy with his second and third rounds that
were in the mid to high 60s but just content with his first and final rounds
that were in the low 70s. It is great to see him make have a high finish with
the second Major Championship of the year which is the U.S. Open Championship
in two weeks time and I feel he could well win his second Major Championship in
this event? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.
Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to Memphis
for the FedEx St.Jude Classic and it is played on the TPC
Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee. It carries a prize purse of US $5,800,000
for the taking which is slightly less than the bigger tournaments but being the
week before the second Major Championship of the year which is the U.S. Open
Championship it should attract some leading players from around the world who
want to have a warm up. Danny Lee (NZL) and Tim Wilkinson (NZL) will likely get
starts as well. Harris English (USA) in the defending Champion and will be keen
to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 5th June and I will report back who
won the trophy next week.
So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list this
week and coming in at Number One Position for the third week of his career and
also becomes the 17th player to achieve the Number One Official Golf Ranking is
Adam Scott (Australia) who is fresh off his tied for fourth finish this past
week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide
Insurance and also winning the Crowne Plaza
Invitational at Colonial one week ago with 9.21 Official Golf World Ranking
Points; coming in at Number Two is Henrik Stenson (Sweden) who won the Tour
Championship by Coca – Cola and also the 2013 FedEx Cup over eight months ago
and won DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and the 2013 Race to Dubai Title 28
weeks ago and this past week finished in solo fifth position at the Nordea
Masters with 7.84 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three
is Bubba Watson (USA) who is fresh off his solo third position at the Memorial
Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance this past week
with 7.45 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Tiger
Woods (USA) who is fresh off his tied for twenty fifth position at the WGC –
Cadillac Championship 12 weeks ago with 7.44 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 tied for 15th position
at the Memorial
Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance this past week with 7.05
Official Golf World Ranking Points. Michael Hendry (NZL) is in his seventh week
of his second spell of being the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world
after his tied for sixth finish at the Gate
Way To The Open Mizuno Open this past week which was the fifth event on
Japanese soil for the 2014 Japan Golf Tour season. This week he gains four places
and rises to 223rd position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list
with 0.80 Official Golf World Ranking Points.
Remember the key to low scoring is hitting
fairways, greens and putting well!!
Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings, wikipedia.org,
Google search engine
No comments:
Post a Comment