Well it was another amazing weekend on the Major
Professional Golf Tours from around the world and this week the USPGA Tour and
FedEx Cup headed to Washington D.C. area for the Quick Loans National which was
hosted by Tiger Woods (USA) and it was his first tournament back from major
back surgery. It is played on Congressional CC, Bethesda, Maryland.
And it was the golfer by the name of Justin Rose (England) who scored rounds of
74+3, 65-6, 71 even par and a final round of 70-1 for a 72 hole total of 280-4
but he was tied on by Shawn Stefani (USA) who scored 74+3, 68-3, 68-3 and a
final round of 70-1 for a 72 hole total of 280-4 also. So those two players
headed back to the 18th tee for the first playoff hole.
+in+action+during+the+final+round.jpg) |
| Justin Rose (England) in action during the final round |
Shawn Stefani (USA) drew number one from the USPGA
Tour Officials hat and he teed off first and struck his tee shot with a bad
hook on it and he found the trees on the left hand side. Justin Rose (England)
teed off next and he struck his drive right down the left centre of the
fairway. Shawn Stefani (USA) played his second shot first and he tried for the
miracle shot and that was to hook the ball around the trees and get it rolling
to the green without going in the water hazard on the left side of the green.
But he put a touch to much hook on it and as it started to roll down towards
the green it was only destined for one place and that was the water hazard on
the left of the green. Justin Rose (England) now knew if he could just find the
green somewhere for his second shot he would have a very good chance to win the
playoff on this very hole. He struck a very good second shot that landed on the
centre right of the green leaving just over 30 feet for his birdie putt. Shawn
Stefani (USA) dropped his ball under the penalty of one shot then got ready to
play his chip shot for his fourth. He chipped his ball to within twenty feet of
the hole past the pin. Justin Rose (England) now putted for his birdie three
but knew that two putts was good enough to win. He struck his 30 foot putt to
near perfection and it came to rest inches from the cup leaving a simple tap in
for his par four. Shawn Stefani (USA) putted for his bogey from twenty feet and
just missed and had to settle for his double bogey six. Justin Rose (England)
calmed his nerve and then tapped in his six inch putt for par and the win!! He
hugged and high five his caddie, Mark Fulcher to celebrate!! Then as he was
walking off the 72nd green he was greeted by his wife, Kate who gave him a kiss
and hug to celebrate with him and his two children, Leo and Lottie.
 |
| Justin Rose (England) acknowledges the crowd after holing the winning putt!! |
When Justin Rose (England) was interviewed by the
CBS Sports on course reporter he told him “The putt he holed on the 72nd green
for his bogey five gave him the confidence to believe he could go on and win
the playoff”. He also said “That his second shot between the trees was not a
bad choice for him on the par four, 72nd hole even though it landed in the
water hazard because laying up would still leave him a very difficult chip shot
to get up and down”. Justin Rose (England) won US $1,170,000 for the win and
moved to ninth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings
with US $3,022,858 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season
so far. Bubba Watson (USA) still leads that list with US $5,010,976 earned from
the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. Justin Rose (England)
also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to 12th position on the
current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,240 points earned from
the 13 events he has played to date this season so far and he is 1,082 points
behind the current leader of the FedEx Cup who is Jimmy Walker (USA) who has
earned 2,322 points from the 19 events he has played to date this season so
far. From the 13 events Justin Rose (England) has played to date this season so
far he has made eleven cuts and achieved six top ten finishes which includes
the win here. Justin Rose (England) will be happy with his final three rounds
this week that were 65-6, 71 even par and 70 -1 in the final round in very
tough conditions but he will be extremely disappointed with his first round
74+3. But he showed some real intestinal fortitude to work his way back into
the tournament in the final 54 holes and win.
 |
| Justin Rose (England) poses with the Quicken Loans National Trophy he won with his wife, Kate and two children, Leo and Lottie by his side!! |
Coming in solo second position at 280-4 after 72
holes and losing on the first playoff hole as I mentioned above was Shawn
Stefani (USA); he earned US $702,000 for his efforts and moved to 64th position
on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,166,297
earned from the ten events he has played to date this season so far. He also
earned 300 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 77th position on the
current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 533 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 seven 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 second and third rounds that were
both 68-3. But he will be disappointed with his first round 74+3. He would be
disappointed with missing his birdie putt on the 72nd hole because had he made
it he would have won. But on the whole the week was a huge success for him even
though he lost the playoff because he secured his playing privileges for the
2014/15 USPGA Tour season. Shawn Stefani (USA) gained 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 and
perhaps qualify for the Open Championship in three weeks time? I wish him all
the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.
Coming in tied for third position at 281-3 after 72
holes was Charley Hoffman (USA); he earned US $377,000 for his efforts and
moved to 31st position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings
with US $1,890,836 earned from the 19 events he has played to date this season
so far. He also earned 163 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twenty
second position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with
1,023 points earned from the 19 events he has played to date this season so
far. From the 19 events he has played to date this season so far he has made 18
cuts and achieved five top ten finishes that includes the one here. He will be
content with his first two rounds that were 72+1 but very pleased with his
weekend play where he scored 68-3 and 69-2 and his final round 69-2 was only
one of three that were in the 60s in the final round. Charley Hoffman (USA) has
been playing very consistent golf this season with only missing one cut. 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.
Also tied for third position was Ben Martin (USA);
he too earned US $377,000 for his efforts and moved to 48th position on the
current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,396,091 earned from
the twenty events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 163
FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 46th position on the current
2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 746 points earned from the twenty
events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty events he has
played to date this season so far he has made eleven cuts and achieved three
top ten finishes which includes the one here. He will be happy with his second,
third and final rounds that were all under par and par rounds especially his
second round that was 68-3. But he will only be content with his first round
72+1. With this finish this week he has
certainly 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.
Coming in tied for fifth position at 282-2 after 72
holes was Andres Romero (Argentina); he earned US $237,250 for his efforts and
moved to 124th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings
with US $525,836 earned from the 19 events he has played to date this season so
far. He also earned 100 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 129th
position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 330 points
earned from the 19 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 19
events he has played to date this season so far he has made nine cuts and this
was his very first top ten finish he has achieved so far to date this season. He
will be happy with his first and final rounds that were both under par
especially his final round 68-3 that was the lowest score on the day. But he
would only be content with his second and third rounds of 72+1. Prior to this
event he was having a poor season. Andres Romero (Argentina) came to shine onto
the world professional golf scene in 2007 when he finished in third position at
the Open Championship. In March 2008, Andres Romero (Argentina) won for the
first time on the USPGA Tour at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, and moved to
a career high of 21 in the Official World Golf Rankings. In 2008 he overtook
fellow Argentine, Angel Cabrera (Argentina) to become the highest ranked South
American golfer for a short period until he was surpassed by Camilo Villegas of
Colombia. He was named the 2008 USPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, having three
top-10 finishes including his win in New Orleans. Andres Romero (Argentina)
finished runner-up at the 2012 Memorial Tournament, after shooting a final
round 67 to get into contention. He finished two strokes behind Tiger Woods
(USA) after Tiger Woods (USA) chipped in for birdie on the 16th hole to go
clear of the field. Andres Romero (Argentina) moved into the top 125 in the
FedEx Cup standings and returned to the world's top 100 as a result. That year
he was caddied for at the final round of the Open Championship by Juventus
footballer Carlos Tevez (Argentina). Let’s hope he can have many 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 fifth position was Brendon Steele
(USA); he too earned US $237,250 for his efforts and moved to 60th position on
the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,266,323 earned
from the twenty events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned
100 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 54th position on the current
2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 692 points earned from the twenty
events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty events he has
played to date this season so far he has made 13 cuts and achieved four top ten
finishes which includes the one here. He will be happy with his second, third
and final rounds that were all at par or under par and especially his second
round 66-5. But he will be disappointed with his first round 74+3 that ruined
any chance he had of winning. He has been playing the USPGA Tour fulltime since
the 2011 season and has kept his card for the next year every season since. His
best year so far came in his rookie season in 2011 where he earned US $1,976,310
from the twenty seven events he played in with making 16 cuts and achieving
three top ten finishes that included his maiden win which came at the Valero
Texas Open and he finished in 38th position on the final 2011 USPGA Tour Money
list standings. He is in very good form at the moment with his last two
finishes being inside the top ten. Maybe he win get his second USPGA Tour win
this season? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.
The final player to tied for fifth position was
Brendon Todd (USA); he too earned US $237,250 for his efforts and moved to eleven
position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,832,707
earned from the twenty one events he has played to date this season so far. He
also earned 100 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to tenth position on
the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,391 points earned
from the twenty one events he has played to date this season so far. From the
twenty one events he has played to date this season so far he has made 18 cuts
and achieved six top ten finishes that includes the one here and also his
maiden win at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in mid May. He will be happy
with his second, third and final rounds that were all at par and under par
especially his third round that was 69-2. But he will only be content with his
first round 72+1. 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 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 and it could happen at the Open Championship next month. Since he won
his maiden USPGA Tour event at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in mid
May he has gone on to achieve three more top ten finishes in his last four
starts. 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 283-1 after 72 holes was Bill Hurley III (USA); he
earned US $188,500 for his efforts and moved to 86th position on the current
2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $878,624 earned from the twenty
events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 80 FedEx Cup
Points for his efforts and moved to 80th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx
Cup Points list standings with 528 points earned from the twenty events he has
played to date this season so far. From the twenty events he has played to date
this season so far he has made 14 cuts and achieved three top ten finishes
which includes the one here. He will be happy with his first, third and final
rounds that were all at par or better especially his first round which was
69-2. But he will be disappointed with his second round which was 73+2. He
has been playing the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2012 season where he earned
US $474,130 from the twenty seven events he played in and finished in 151st
position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list standings and that meant he
had no status for the 2013 USPGA Tour season. He went back and played the
Web.com Tour for the 2013 season and earned US $146,979 from the twenty four
events he played in and finished in 26th 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. I hope he can achieve more top ten finishes in the weeks to
come on the USPGA Tour and perhaps achieve his maiden USPGA Tour win? I wish
him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.
Also tied for eighth position was Brendon de Jonge
(Zimbabwe); he too earned US $188,500
for his efforts and moved to 76th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour
Money list standings with US $1,013,538 earned from the twenty three events he
has played to date this season so far. He also earned 80 FedEx Cup Points for
his efforts and moved to 66th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points
list standings with 628 points earned from the twenty three events he has
played to date this season so far. From the twenty three events he has played
to date this season so far he has made 18 cuts and achieved two top ten
finishes which includes the one here. He will be happy with his first three
rounds that were all at par or better especially his second round that was
68-3. But he will be disappointed with his final round which was 73+2. But with
this finish he has earned himself a start at the Open Championship in three
weeks time. Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe) played on the Web.com Tour from 2004 to
2006 and 2008. He earned his 2007 USPGA Tour card at 2006 final USPGA Tour
qualifying school. He finished 155th on the final USPGA Tour money list in
2007, losing his tour card. In 2008 he finished second on the Web.com Tour
money list and earned his 2009 PGA Tour card. He did this by winning the Xerox
Classic and recording a runner up finish and three third place finishes. He won
the 2008 Web.com Tour Player of the Year. Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe) finished
139th on the final USPGA Tour money list in 2009, which initially gave him
conditional status for 2010. He earned a full tour card through USPGA Tour 2009
final USPGA Tour Qualifying School. In 2010 Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe) had his
most successful year to date, with 7 top ten finishes taking him to 34th on the
money list. And in 2013 he represented Team International at the Presidents Cup
against Team USA and his Famous country man and fellow Golf Professional Nick
Price (Zimbabwe) was the Captain of Team International. Let’s hope he can build
on this top ten finish and have more in the coming weeks and maybe even achieve
his maiden USPGA Tour win? It was also nice he achieved this finish in his home
town because he lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. 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 Marc Leishman (Australia); he
too earned US $188,500 for his efforts
and moved to 40th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list
standings with US $1,616,656 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 41st position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings
with 803 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 13
cuts and achieved four top ten finishes which includes the one here. He will be
happy with his first and second rounds that were 70-1 and 66-5 but disappointed
with his third and final rounds that were 73+2 and 74+3. But with this finish
he has earned himself a start at the Open Championship in three weeks time. He
has played the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2009 season and has easily kept
his card for the next season every year since. And in the 2012 season he
achieved his maiden win on the USPGA Tour at the 2012 Travelers
Championship. I sure his second win isn’t too far off and maybe it will
happen in the 2013/14 season and perhaps it could be at the third Major
Championship of the year which is the Open Championship next month? 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 which was
good, then another good second round of 71 even par, then average third round
of 72+1 and an average final round of 74+3 for a 72 hole total of 287+3 and he
finished in tied for twenty fourth position. He earned US $52,650 for his
efforts and moved to 105th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money
list standings with US $697,165 earned from the 20 events he has played to date
this season so far. He also earned 44 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and
moved to 102nd position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings
with 425 points earned from the 20 events he has played to date this season so
far. From the 20 events he has played to date this season so far he has made 14
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 this year. He will be happy with his first, second and
third rounds this week that were all in the low 70s but disappointed with his
final round that was 74+3 and his worst of the week. But at the same time he
would be pleased it wasn’t higher because the course was playing extremely hard
in the final round. But he will be disappointed with his back nine of 38+3
because had he of scored even par he would have finished just outside the top
ten. With only five events left in the regular 2013/14 USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup
season that he is likely to gain starts in he will need to have more good
finishes in the weeks ahead to secure his place in the first FedEx Cup Series
playoff event which is the Barclays which starts on Thursday 21st August and to
do that he will need to be inside the top 125 players on the final 2013/14
regular season FedEx Cup Points list. 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 73+2 in the first round. Then he scored a
poor second round of 74+3 for a 36 hole total of 147+5 and missed the cut by two
shots. He currently lies in 118th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $587,199
earned from the 21 events he has played to date this season so far. He
currently lies in 110th position on the 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings
with 394 points earned from the 21 events he has played to date this season so
far. From the 21 events he has played to date this season so far he has made
eight cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came just under four months ago
at the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com where he finished in
solo second position in early March. This week he started off slow with a first
round 73+2 and was one shot worse in the second round with 74+3 but it was
nowhere near enough to make the cut. With only five events left in the regular
2013/14 USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup season that he is likely to gain starts in he
will need to have more good finishes in the weeks ahead to secure his place in
the first FedEx Cup Series playoff event which is the Barclays which starts on
Thursday 21st August and to do that he will need to be inside the top 125
players on the final 2013/14 final regular season FedEx Cup Points list. 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.
Tiger Woods (USA) in his first tournament back since
major back surgery just under three months ago scored an average first round of
74+3 which at one stage he was six over after 12 holes but he managed to birdie
three out of his last six holes to put some respect into an average round but
on the whole it was not a bad first round back. Then he scored a poor second round
of 75+4 for a 36 hole total of 149+7 and he missed the cut by four shots which
is very rare for him because he has only missed ten cuts in his whole career.
He admitted in an interview afterwards that his back held up well and he can
make full hard swings with the driver for the first time in a long time. He
currently lies in 198th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list
standings with US $86,919 earned from the four events he has played to date
this season so far. He also currently lies in 208th position on the current
2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standing with 43 points earned from the four
events he has played to date this season so far. From the four events he has
played to date this season so far he has made two cuts and achieved no top ten
finishes. Next tournament for Tiger Woods (USA) will be the third Major
Championship of the year which is the Open Championship in three weeks time.
Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to the
State of West Virginia for the Greenbrier Classic and it is played on the Old
White TPC, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. It carries a huge
prize purse of US $6,500,000 for the taking. Jonas Blixt (USA) is the defending
Champion and will be keen for back to back titles. Danny Lee (NZL) and Tim
Wilkinson (NZL) will likely get starts as well. It starts on Thursday 3rd July
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 seventh 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 ninth finish two weeks ago at the 114th U.S. Open Championship
with 9.16 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 nine months ago and won DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and the
2013 Race to Dubai Title 31 weeks ago and two weeks ago finished in tied for
fourth position at the 114th U.S. Open Championship and this past week finished
tied for second at the BMW International Open with 8.12 Official Golf World
Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Bubba Watson (USA) who is fresh
off his tied for 31st position one week ago at the Travelers
Championship with 7.16 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four
is Matt Kuchar (USA) who is fresh off
his tie for 31st position one week ago
at the Travelers Championship with 6.92 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding
out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list this week is Tiger
Woods (USA) who is fresh off his missed cut at the Quicken Loans National this
past week with 6.71 Official Golf World Ranking Points; Tim Wilkinson (NZL) is
in his first week of being the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world
after his tied for twenty fourth finish at the Quicken Loans National this past
week on the USPGA Tour. This week he gains eight places and rises to 250th
position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.73 Official
Golf World Ranking Points.
Remember the most important shot
in a game of golf is the one you are about to play!!!
Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings, wikipedia.org,
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