Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Golf Events from the Weekend 3rd August 2014



Well it was another awesome weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world and this week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup and all the other Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world headed to Akron, Ohio for the fourth and final WGC event on the 2013/14 USPGA Tour Schedule and it was the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and it is played on Firestone CC (South), Akron, Ohio. All the best players in the world were competing including Adam Scott (Australia), Rory McILroy (NIR), Henrik Stenson (Sweden), Justin Rose (England) and Bubba Watson (USA) to name a few. And it was the golfer by the name of Rory McILroy (NIR) who scored rounds of 69-1, 64-6, 66-4 and a final round of 66-4 for a 72 hole total of 265-15 and he won by two shots for his maiden WGC event win and eighth of his USPGA Tour career to date. He won US $1,530,000 for the win and moved to second position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $5,165,896 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. Bubba Watson (USA) still leads that list with US $5,166,661 earned from the 16 events he has played to date this season so far. Rory McILroy (NIR) also earned 550 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to third position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 1,982 points earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far and is 425 points behind the current leader of that list who is still Jimmy Walker (USA) who has earned 2,407 points from the twenty two events he has played to date this season so far. From the 12 events Rory McILroy (NIR) has played to date this season so far he has made 12 cuts and achieved eight top ten finishes which includes the win here and also his win at the 143rd Open Championship two weeks ago. Rory McILroy (NIR) will be extremely happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his last three rounds that were 64-6, 66-4 and 66-4. 
 
Rory McILroy (NIR) tees off during the final round
Rory McILroy (NIR) played an excellent final round of 66-4 which included a front nine of 32-3 with birdies on the par four, first hole, par five, second hole, par four, third hole and par three, fifth hole and his lone bogey came at the par four, eight hole and he made the turn at minus 14 and was tied for the lead. Sergio Garcia (Spain) scored 35 even par on the front nine and that included making birdie on the par four, ninth hole and bogeying the par four, third hole where his drive was pulled left and knocked a diamond out of a ladies wedding ring that was later found in the long rough nearby and he made the turn at minus 14 and was tied for the lead. 

Rory McIlroy (NIR) played holes ten to 14 in one under par with a birdie on the par four, 11th hole and moved to minus 15 and was now leading by one shot. Sergio Garcia (Spain) played holes ten to 14 in even par which included making five pars in a row and remained at minus 14 and now was one shot behind the leader. Rory McILroy (NIR) played holes 15 to 17 in even par and remained at minus 14 with just the par four, 72nd hole to play and was now leading by two shots. Sergio Garcia (Spain) played holes 15 to 17 in one over par which included a bogey on the long par three, 15th hole and fell back to minus 13 and was now two shots behind the leader heading to the par four, 72nd hole. 

Sergio Garcia (Spain) who was playing with Rory McIlroy (NIR) in the final group hit a very good drive down the par four, 72nd hole and it drew down the right hand side and came to rest in the left hand side of the fairway. He struck a very good mid iron for his second shot which land on the green to the right just short of pin high about twenty feet from the pin. He struck a good putt for birdie that just missed on the left hand side of the cup and he easily tapped in his two footer for his par four and finished the 72 holes on minus 13 and was two shots behind the winner. 
 
Rory McILroy (NIR) acknowledges the gallery as he walks up the 72nd hole
Rory McILroy (NIR) hit a very good drive down the par four, 72nd hole which had a slight fade on it and landed in the right hand side of the fairway leaving only a short iron to the green. With a two shot lead he now knew a bogey would more than likely be good enough for the win. His second shot came up a little short with his short iron and came to rest on the green and left him with 40 feet for his birdie. He struck a good putt for his birdie that came to rest three feet from the cup and he easily tapped in for his par four and scored 34-1 on the back nine and finished the 72 holes on minus 15 to win by two shots. He got a high five and hug from his caddie, J. P. Fitzgerald to celebrate. Then he was interviewed by CBS Sports on course golf reporter, David Feherty and told him “He was so pleased he didn’t let his form slip after his amazing Open Championship win two weeks, and also that he kept his focus and mind in the winning mode”. 

It was Rory McILroy (NIR) eighth European Tour International Schedule victory in his 139th European Tour event. He moves to Number One in the Official World Golf Ranking from second. It was his third European Tour victory of the 2014 season, following the BMW PGA Championship and the 143rd Open Championship. It was the first time he has recorded three European Tour victories in the same season. He became the first player to win three events on The European Tour International Schedule in the 2014 season. It was his first World Golf Championship title in his 22nd WGC appearance. This victory beats his previous best WGC performance of second in the 2012 WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship. (His previous best WGC stroke play finish was third in the 2012 WGC – Cadillac Championship).
This victory comes in his sixth WGC – Bridgestone Invitational appearance. This victory beats his previous best WGC – Bridgestone Invitational of tied fifth in 2012. He continues with his wonderful record at Firestone’s South Course. He was tied ninth in 2010, tied sixth in 2011, tied fifth in 2012 and first in 2014. From his 22 WGC appearances he has finished in the top ten on 13 occasions. He becomes the second Northern Irishman to win the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational, following Darren Clarke (NIR) in 2003. He becomes just the second European Tour player to win the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational, following Darren Clarke (NIR) in 2003. He becomes the fifth player from the United Kingdom to win a WGC event, following Darren Clarke (NIR) (2000 WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship and 2003 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational), Luke Donald (England) (2011 WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship), Ian Poulter (England) (2010 WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship and 2012 WGC – HSBC Champions) and Justin Rose (England) (2012 WGC – Cadillac Championship).

He becomes the ninth different player to win the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational. He becomes the 11th different European Tour Member to win a WGC event. He becomes the 14th WGC victory by a European Tour Member. He becomes the 29th different player to win a WGC event in the 52nd playing of an individual WGC event. He joins Tiger Woods (USA) (1999), Craig Parry (Australia) (2002), Stewart Cink (USA) (2004), Vijay Singh (Fiji) (2008), Hunter Mahan (USA) (2010), Adam Scott (Australia) (2011) and Keegan Bradley (USA) (2012), as players making the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational their first WGC title. He becomes the 14th different player to win a Major Championship and a WGC title.
He joins Darren Clarke (NIR), Ernie Els (RSA), Martin Kaymer (Germany), Justin Rose (England) and Vijay Singh (Fiji) as European Tour Members to win both a Major Championship and a WGC title. Aged 25 years and 91 days he becomes the youngest European winner of a WGC event. He began the final day three shots behind Sergio Garcia (Spain). He becomes the 20th player this season to win after making up a final round deficit. Now has won in his last two European Tour appearances, following The Open Championship. It is the first time he has won in consecutive European Tour appearances. He becomes the first player to win The Open Championship and win again in their next European Tour appearance since Tiger Woods (USA). The American won The Open in 2006 and won on his next European Tour outing at the US PGA Championship. He becomes the first player to win in consecutive European Tour appearances since Phil Mickelson (USA) at the 2013 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and The Open Championship. It would only be the third of his eight European Tour wins where he has made up a final round deficit to win. He made up seven shots to win the 2014 BMW PGA Championship, three shots to win the 2011 Hong Kong Open and three shots at the 2014 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational. He becomes the 53rd Northern Irish win in European Tour history. He became the fourth Northern Irish victory of the season. They are: Rory McIlroy (NIR) (BMW PGA Championship, The 143rd Open Championship and WGC – Bridgestone Invitational) and Graeme McDowell (NIR) (Alstom Open de France). He becomes the tenth player in European Tour history to win more than €20 million in European Tour Official Career Earnings. He moves to 434.26 points in The Ryder Cup World Points List. Finally it was his 14th victory as a professional.
 
Rory McILroy (NIR) poses with the Gary Player Cup he won!!
Rory McILroy (NIR) 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 eight 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, 2014 BMW Championship, 143rd Open Championship and the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational. So far in his USPGA Tour career he has amassed US $20,325,899 in the 82 events he has played so far in his career. I feel his ninth USPGA Tour win is not very far off and perhaps it will be his four Major Championship win at the USPGA Championship next week which would be his third win in a row? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in solo second position at 267-13 after 72 holes was Sergio Garcia (Spain); he earned US $900,000 for his efforts and moved to fourth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $4,326,180 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 315 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to eighth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,666 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 eleven cuts and achieved eight top ten finishes which includes the one here and he has also achieved top three finishes in the Players Championship in May; the 114th U.S. Open Championship in June and the 143rd Open Championship in July. He will be happy with his first three rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his second round 61-9 that equalled the course record and was his all time low career round on the USPGA Tour to date. In that 61-9 he recorded an amazing back nine of 27-8 which included seven consecutive birdies to finish from holes 12 to 18. He will be disappointed with his final round of 71+1 after he had a three shot lead after 54 holes. He now has won the most money on the USPGA Tour to date in the 2013/14 season without winning a tournament. 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 $37,159,893 earned from the 272 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 USPGA Championship which is next week? I wish him all the best for the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.

Coming in solo third position at 268-12 after 72 holes was Marc Leishman (Australia); he earned US $522,000 for his efforts and moved to twenty third position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,498,295 earned from the twenty events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 200 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twenty sixth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,118 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 15 cuts and achieved six top ten finishes which includes the one here. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his first round 64-6 which gave him the first round lead. 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’m 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 final Major Championship of the year which is the USPGA Championship next week? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Coming in tied for fourth position at 271-9 after 72 holes was Charl Schwartzel (RSA); he earned US $308,000 for his efforts and moved to 49th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,632,293 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 114 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 60th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 729 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 five top ten finishes which includes the one here. He will be happy with his first, second and final rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his 64-6 in the final round. But he will be disappointed with his third round 73+3 that ruined any chance he had of winning. It is great to see him make have a high finish with the final Major Championship of the year which is the USPGA Championship next week and I feel he could well win his second Major Championship in this event? His maiden USPGA Tour win came at the 2011 Masters Tournament where he birdied the final four holes. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Also tied for fourth position was Patrick Reed (USA); he too earned US $308,000 for his efforts and moved to tenth position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $3,562,590 earned from the twenty two events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 114 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to ninth position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,612 points earned from the twenty two events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty two 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 and also his two wins with his first one coming at the Humana Challenge in mid January and the second one coming at the WGC – Cadillac Championship in early March. He will be happy with his first, second and final rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his final round that was 65-5. But he will be disappointed with his third round 71+1. Patrick Reed (USA) is in his second season on the USPGA Tour after gaining his 2013 USPGA Tour card by finishing in tied for 22nd position at the 2012 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. He had a brilliant rookie season with earning US $1,961,519 from the twenty six events he played in with recording five top ten finishes which included his maiden win which came at the Wyndham Championship. He finished in 35th position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings. He is still very young with only being 23 years old and turns twenty four next Tuesday (5th August). With the win at the WGC - Cadillac Championship in early March it now sees him exempt on the USPGA Tour till the end of the 2016 season. It is amazing to believe he had won three USPGA Tour events before he played in his first Major Championship which was the Masters Tournament in April. With this win here he becomes one of the few players in the history of the game to win three times on the USPGA Tour before his 24th birthday. He also becomes the youngest player to ever win a WGC – Event since they started in 1999 beating Tiger Woods (USA). Also in 2012 on the USPGA Tour he successfully Monday qualified for six tournaments on the USPGA Tour which was just an amazing effort considering there are 100 odd Golfers trying for the four spots on offer each week. Here are those six events he Monday qualified for and the results: Monday qualified for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (T24), Wells Fargo Championship (T32), HP Byron Nelson Championship (missed cut), Travelers Championship (T47), True South Classic (T21) and Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Classic (T22). I feel all those good finishes he achieved two years ago from Monday qualifying have given him the confidence to achieve what he has so far in the last two years and I look for him to keep on improving in the coming weeks. Everything at the moment is going well in his life and I wouldn’t be surprised if he won his fourth USPGA Tour event this season and it could even be a Major Championship. He just needs to bring a little bit more consistency to his game because prior to this week he hadn’t had a top ten finish since his win at the WGC Cadillac Championship in early March and in the eleven events after that win he had missed six cuts as well. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Also tied for fourth position was Keegan Bradley (USA);  he too earned US $308,000 for his efforts and moved to twenty first position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,697,889 earned from the twenty two events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 114 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to twenty second position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,278 points earned from the twenty two events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty two events he has played to date this season so far he has made 18 cuts and achieved six top ten finishes which includes the one here. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his second and third rounds which were 67-3. Keegan Bradley (USA) has been playing on the USPGA Tour since the 2011 season after gaining his 2011 full USPGA Tour card by finishing in 14th position on the final 2010 Web.com Tour Money list standings with US $264,760 earned from the 28 events he played in. He had an amazing rookie season on the USPGA Tour in 2011 with earning US $3,758,600 from the 28 events he played in and that included making 18 cuts and achieving four top ten finishes and that included two wins and the first one was the HP Byron Nelson Championship and the second one was his maiden Major Championship which was the PGA Championship and he also won an unofficial event which was the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. He finished in 13th position on the final 2011 USPGA Tour Money list standings which was a fine effort by a rookie. He backed up his rookie season with another awesome season in 2012 where he earned US $ 3,910,658 from the 25 events he played in and finished in tenth position on the final 2012 USPGA Tour Money list standings. That included making 21 cuts and achieving five top ten finishes which included his third win which came at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. He also played his first Ryder Cup for the USA against Europe. He has just had an amazing last two seasons on the USPGA Tour and it continued in 2013 with him earning US $3,636,813 from the twenty five events he played in and he finished in eleventh position on the final 2013 USPGA Tour Money list standings. He also made his rookie appearance in the Presidents Cup which he played excellently for the victorious Team USA. I’m sure his fourth win isn’t too far off and perhaps it will happen at the PGA Championship in next week? He now has career USPGA Tour earnings of US $13,814,961 earned from the 99 events he has played so far in his USPGA Tour Career which is just amazing!! I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

The final player to tie for fourth position was Justin Rose (England); he too earned US $308,000 for his efforts and moved to eleventh position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $3,409,734 earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 114 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 19th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 1,400 points earned from the 15 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 15 events he has played to date this season so far he has made 13 cuts and achieved seven top ten finishes which includes the one here and also his win at the Quicken Loans National in late June. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all at par and under par especially his first round 65-5. Justin Rose (England) has been playing the USPGA Tour Fulltime since the 2004 season with easily keeping his card for the next year every year since. In that time he has career earnings to date of US $28,687,499 earned from the 245 events he has played in his USPGA Tour career to date so far. He already has six wins on the USPGA Tour which are the 2010 the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance, AT&T National, 2011 BMW Championship, 2012 World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, the 2013,113th US Open Championship (Maiden Major Championship) and the 2014 Quicken Loans Classic that he won in late June. This week he kept his streak alive of winning at least once on the USPGA Tour for five consecutive years. I feel now he has won his maiden Major Championship he will have taken a lot of pressure off himself and I wouldn’t be surprised if he won his second Major Championship in the next few years and it could well happen in the final Major Championship of the 2014 season which is the PGA Championship next week. I wish him all the best for rest the 2013/14 season.

Rounding out the top ten in tied for eighth position at 273-7 after 72 holes was Graeme McDowell (NIR); he earned US $170,000 for his efforts and moved to 34th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,983,955 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 81 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 41st position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 929 points earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 14 events he has played to date this season so far he has made 13 cuts and achieved eight top ten finishes which includes the one here. He will be happy with his third and final rounds that were consecutive 66-4. But he will be disappointed with his first two rounds that were 71+1 and 70 even par. This is his fourth full season in a row of playing the USPGA Tour fulltime as he also plays on the European Tour full time. I am sure his second Major Championship win is not too far off? Perhaps it will happen at the USPGA Championship next week. He has already won two events on the USPGA Tour with his first coming at the 2010 U.S. Open Championship and his second coming at the 2013 RBC Heritage. I am sure his third win is not far off either? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

Also tied for eighth position was Rickie Fowler (USA); he too earned US $170,000 for his efforts and moved to 12th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $3,362,317 earned from the twenty one events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 81 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twenty first position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,291 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 14 cuts and achieved six top ten finishes which includes the one here and also at the Masters Tournament, 114th U.S. Open Championship and 143rd Open Championship, so in the first three Major Championships this season he has achieved three consecutive top ten finishes which is just awesome. He will be happy with his first, second and final rounds this week that were all 67-3. But he will be disappointed with his second round that was 72+2 and cost him any chance he had of winning. 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 and I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes at the final Major Championship of the year which is the USPGA Championship next week. And going on his form in the Major Championships this year he would be odds on to win his Maiden Major Championship. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season. 

Also tied for eighth position was Ryan Moore (USA); he too earned US $170,000 for his efforts and moved to 15th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $3,029,563 earned from the twenty events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 81 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and remained in 18th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points Standings list with 1,400 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 17 cuts and achieved seven top ten finishes which includes the one here and also his win at the CIMB Classic in late October last year. He will be happy with his first, third and final rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his first round 65-5. But he will be disappointed with his second round 73+3. He has been playing on the USPGA Tour fulltime since the 2006 season with easily keeping his card every season since and he has achieved three wins so far in his career with the first coming at the 2009 Wyndham Championship and the second coming at the 2012 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and his third came at the 2013 CIMB Classic. He gained his full USPGA Tour card by earning enough money from sponsor’s exemptions in the 2005 season after he played in the 2005 Masters Tournament and US Open Championship as an Amateur because he won the 2004 US Amateur Championship. I’m sure his fourth win isn’t too far off as well and perhaps it will be his maiden Major Championship at the PGA Championship next week? I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 season.

The final player to tie for eighth position was Adam Scott (Australia); he too earned US $170,000 for his efforts and moved to 13th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $3,262,804 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 81 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to 16th position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,426 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 12 cuts and achieved eight top ten finishes which includes the one here and also his win at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in late May. His last five consecutive starts have all been top ten finishes. He will be happy with his first three rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his third round which was 65-5. But he will be disappointed with his final round of 71+1 which included a back nine of 37+2 and saw him surrender his World Number Ranking back to Rory McILroy (NIR) after holding it for eleven consecutive weeks. 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 amassed career earnings of US $36,461,869 earned from the 225 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. He will be one of the favourites for the USPGA Championship next week. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season.


Tiger Woods (USA) in only his third tournament back since major back surgery just under four months ago scored a very good first round of 68-2. Then he scored an average second round of 71+1. Then an average third round of 72+2 and a then had to withdraw in the final round due to reoccurring back spasms from his recent major back surgery. He is currently in 200th position on the current 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $108,275  earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. He is currently in 217th   position on the current 2013/14 FedEx Cup points list standings with 45 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 three cuts and withdrawn from one and achieved no top ten finishes. He will be happy with his first round this week that was 68-2 but disappointed with his second and third final rounds that were both in the 70s. But he will be devastated that his back problem resurfaced when he thought he had cured it with the surgery. Perhaps he came back to the USPGA Tour too soon? Only time will tell if he with play in the 96th PGA Championship (Final Major Championship of 2014) next week? My advice would be to rest it because if he plays it may do him more harm than good.  I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2013/14 USPGA Tour season. 

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup and all the other Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world head to Louisville, Kentucky for the 96th PGA Championship (Also known as Glories last Shot) which is the fourth and final Major Championship of the 2014 season. This year it is played on the Valhalla GC, Louisville, Kentucky and all the big name players in the game will be there including Adam Scott (Australia), Rory McILroy (NIR), Henrik Stenson (Sweden), Justin Rose (England) and Bubba Watson (USA), Martin Kaymer (Germany), Sergio Garcia (Spain) and the 14 time Major Championship winner, Tiger Woods (USA) to name a few. It has the equal largest prize purse on the USPGA Tour this season of US $10,000,000 for the taking. Jason Dufner (USA) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 7th August and I will report back who lifted the Wanamaker 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 first week of his fifth spell of his career and for the 40th week of his career is Rory McILroy (NIR) fresh off his win this past week at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and also two weeks ago winning the 143rd Open Championship with 9.41 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Adam Scott (NIR) fresh off his tied for eighth finish this past week at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational with 9.24 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Sergio Garcia (Spain) who is fresh off  his solo second position this past week at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and two weeks ago he tied for second position at the 143rd Open  Championship with 7.78 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Henrik Stenson (Sweden) who won the Tour Championship by Coca – Cola and also the 2013 FedEx Cup just over ten months ago and won DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and the 2013 Race to Dubai Title 36 weeks ago and seven weeks ago finished in tied for fourth position at the 114th U.S. Open Championship and five weeks ago finished tied for second at the BMW International Open and two weeks ago finished in tied for 39th position at the 143rd Open Championship with 7.67 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list this week is Justin Rose (England) who is fresh off his win three weeks ago at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and two weeks ago finished in tied for twenty third position at the 143rd Open Championship and this past week he finished in tied for fourth position at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational with 7.46 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Tim Wilkinson (NZL) is in his first week of his second spell being the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world after his tied for eighth finish at the Barracuda Championship this past week on the USPGA Tour. This week he gains twenty three places and rises to 244th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list with 0.75 Official Golf World Ranking Points.
Remember the most important thing to do when playing in the rain is to keep your grips dry!!
Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings, wikipedia.org, Google search engine, europeantour.com

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