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 had its second and final event in the State of Hawaii for the 2015/16
season and it was the first regular season event for the 2016 part of the
2015/16 USPGA Tour season and was the Sony Open in Hawaii and was played on the
Waialae CC, Honolulu, Hawaii. It carried a huge prize purse of US
$5,800,000 for the taking. Jimmy Walker (USA) was the two time defending
champion having won it in 2014 and 2015 and was trying for a three peat. Danny
Lee (NZL) and Tim Wilkinson (NZL) got starts as well. And it was the golfer by
the name of Fabian Gomez (Argentina) who scored rounds of 69-1, 64-6, 65-5 and
a brilliant final round 62-8 for a seventy two hole total of 260-20 but he was
tied on that score with Brandt Snedeker (USA) who scored rounds of 63-7, 65-5,
66-4 and a final round of 66-4 for a seventy two hole total of 260-20 also. So
those two players headed back to the par five, eighteenth hole for the first
playoff hole.
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| Fabian Gomez (Argentina) hits an iron shot during the final round |
So to the first playoff hole and both players chose
a number from the USPGA Tour Official, Mark Russell’s hat and Fabian Gomez
(Argentina) because he posted his minus twenty scored first got to choose first
from the hat and pulled out number two so Brandt Snedeker (USA) had the honour
and teed off first. He struck a good drive on the sharp dog leg left with a
draw from right to left but it rolled through the fairway and finished in the
right hand rough leaving a difficult shot for his second. Fabian Gomez
(Argentina) teed off next and struck a poor tee shot that that didn’t draw
enough and landed in the grass to the right of the fairway in front of the
fairway bunker. Fabian Gomez (Argentina) played his second shot first with his
fairway wood and it came out with plenty of over spin and rolled out to the
right behind the right greenside fairway bunker. Brandt Snedeker (USA) played
his second shot next from the right rough with his mid iron and it caught the
tree but got a friendly bounce and landed back in the fairway with just a short
pitch to the green. Brandt Snedeker (USA) played his third shot, pitch shot
first from sixty yards and struck a good one that came to rest ten feet to the
left of the flag stick. Fabian Gomez (Argentina) played his third shot, chip
shot and chipped it up over the right hand green side bunker and it landed in
the fringe and rolled out to fifteen feet short of the cup. Fabian Gomez
(Argentina) putted for his birdie first from fifteen feet and it was a well
struck putt that just missed on the right hand side and he tapped in for his par
five and was now at the mercy of Brandt Snedeker (USA) who had a ten foot putt
to win the title. Brandt Snedeker (USA) calmed himself and then struck a very
good putt that was tracking right for the hole but just rolled to the right
when it got to the hole and he too tapped in for his par five and those two
players headed back to the par five, eighteenth hole for the second playoff
hole.
So to the second playoff hole which was the par
five, eighteenth hole again. Brandt Snedeker (USA) teed off first and this time
put too much left to right fade on his tee shot and it rolled into the right
hand fairway bunker. Fabian Gomez (Argentina) teed off next and he chose his
rescue fairway wood so he wouldn’t roll through the fairway on the right hand
side. He struck a very good shot that had a strong right to left draw on it and
it stayed in the fairway leaving just a long iron to the green. Brandt Snedeker
(USA) played his second shot first and he was in two minds whether to try and
hit a rescue wood or long iron to reach the green in two shots but if he tried
it he would run the risk of hitting the lip in bunker or just play a short iron
and leave a short pitch to the green for his third shot. He chose the second
option and just laid his ball up 100 yards short of the green. Fabian Gomez
(Argentina) played his second shot next from the middle of the fairway. He
chose a three iron and struck it brilliantly, it landed twenty yards short of
the green and rolled forward onto the green to come to rest thirty feet right
of the pin virtually pin high almost guaranteeing a certain birdie for him and
putting the pressure right back on Brandt Snedeker (USA) to get up and down for
his birdie. Brandt Snedeker (USA) played a good pitch for his third shot and it
came to rest ten feet past the pin and he knew he would have to make that putt
to force the playoff to a third hole. Fabian Gomez (Argentina) now stood over
his thirty foot eagle putt and he knew if he holed it he would win the title. He
struck a good putt but it came up a foot short and he tapped in for his birdie
four and would have to wait and see if it was going to be good enough for the
win? Brandt Snedeker (USA) now stood over his ten foot birdie putt to force the
playoff to a third hole. He steadied himself and struck a good putt that looked
like it was going in but when the ball got to the hole it veered to the right
and just missed and that meant Fabian Gomez (Argentina) had won the 2016 Sony
Open in Hawaii!! It was his second USPGA Tour win having won the 2015 FedEx St.
Jude Classic last June as his maiden win.
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| Fabian Gomez (Argentina) pumps his fist after holing the winning putt!! |
He got a huge hug and high five from his
caddie, Adrián Monteros and also got
congratulated by Brandt Snedeker (USA) and his caddie. Then his wife, Luciana
came running on to the eighteenth green with his two children to give him a hug
and kiss to celebrate!! Then the golf channel on course reporter, Jerry Foltz interviewed
Fabian Gomez (Argentina) though Emiliano Grillo (Argentina’s) caddie, Jose Luis
Campra who was the interrupter because Fabian Gomez (Argentina) doesn’t know
English and he asked him “And a bit of an emotionally victory for Fabian Gomez
(Argentina), how much were the nerves a factor today?” and Fabian Gomez
(Argentina) replied “I felt good during the round generally but those two
bogeys on holes thirteen and fourteen I lost my momentum, and sorter felt some
nerves for the end but the birdie I made on the par three, seventeenth hole
gave me the confidence to make the playoff and win on the second playoff hole”.
Then golf channel on course reporter, Jerry Foltz asked him “How proud are you
of overcome those nerves and doing what you did on seventeen and eighteen?” And
Fabian Gomez (Argentina) replied “I am very proud of myself and my caddie, Adrian
walking next to me because his caddie Adrian’s father has not got long to live
and he won this tournament and dedicates this win to him”. Then golf channel on
course reporter, Jerry Foltz said to Fabian Gomez (Argentina) “Congratulations
in both English and Spanish” and Fabian Gomez (Argentina) replied “Thank you
very much and smiled at him!!”.
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| Fabian Gomez (Argentina) and his caddie, Adrian Monteros embrace as his wife, Luciana and children looking on after the win was confirmed!! |
Fabian Gomez (Argentina) won US $1,044,000 for the
win and moved to seventh position on the current 2015/16 USPGA Tour Money list
standings with US$1,420,193 earned from the five events he has played to date
this season so far. Kevin Kisner (USA) still leads that list with US $2,350,032
earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. Fabian
Gomez (Argentina) also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and move to
fifth position on the current 2015/16 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 716
points earned from the five events he has played to date this season so far and
he is 357 points behind the current leader of that list who is Kevin Kisner
(USA) who has earned 1,073 points from the six events he has played to date
this season so far. From the five events Fabian Gomez (Argentina) has played to
date this season so far he has made every cut and achieved two top ten finishes
which includes the win this past week. He will be happy with his four rounds
this week that were all in the 60s especially his last three rounds that were
all in the mid to low 60s and his final round 62-8 was the low round of the day
by two shots and the equal low round of the tournament and his round included
seven birdies in a row from holes sixth to twelfth holes and he recorded ten
birdies in total in his final round!! And he will be especially happy with his
birdie putt from off the fringe on the final hole which he holed to get into
the playoff!! He will also happy with the birdie he made on the second playoff hole
to win which was the par five, eighteenth hole!!
Fabián Gómez
(Argentina) (born 27 October 1978) is an Argentine professional golfer who has
played on a number of the world's golf tours including the USPGA Tour,
Nationwide Tour, PGA Tour Latinoamérica and the Tour de las Americas. Fabian Gómez
(Argentina) was born in Chaco, Argentina. He has had three wins on the Tour de
las Americas, in addition to three other wins on the Argentine TPG Tour. He
placed second at the Chaco Open in 2006, the TLA Players Championship in 2006
and the Venezuela Open in 2007. He won TPG Tour Ranking in 2009. Fabian Gómez (Argentina)
won his first Nationwide Tour event at the 2010 Chitimacha Louisiana Open with
a six stoke victory over the field which culminated in a final round 64. He
finished the year twelfth on the money list to earn his 2011 USPGA Tour card.
In 2011, Fabian Gomez (Argentina) played in twenty sixth events with his best
finish being a tied for seventh at the Puerto Rico Open, his only top ten that
year. His other best results included a tied for fifteen at the St. Jude
Classic and a tied for eighteenth at the Viking Classic on his way to finishing
the year 157th on the money list, hence failing to retain his playing
privileges.
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| Fabian Gomez (Argentina) poses with the Sony Open in Hawaii Trophy he won with Miss Hawaii by his side!! |
In 2012, Fabian Gomez (Argentina) returned to the
Nationwide Tour, where his most notable results were a tied for second at the Chitimacha
Louisiana Open, tied for seventh at the South Georgia Classic and tied for
tenth at the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open. He finished the year fifty fifth on
the Nationwide Tour money list. At the end of the season, he competed in the USPGA
Tour Qualifying Tournament where he placed tied for tenth at twenty one under
par, which was enough to regain his USPGA Tour card for the 2013 season. In
2013, Fabian Gómez (Argentina) finished tied for second at the Puerto Rico Open,
tied for sixteenth at the RBC Canadian Open and tied for twenty first at the AT&T
National, but made only ten cuts out of twenty three events on the year. He
finished 133rd on the FedEx Cup standings, so he lost his full USPGA Tour card
and only maintained conditional status. On the 2014 Web.com Tour, Fabian Gómez (Argentina)
finished tied for second at the Stonebrae Classic, tied for fourth at the United
Leasing Championship and tied for tenth at the Albertsons Boise Open. He
finished twenty third in the regular season earnings, which earned him a USPGA
Tour card for the 2014/15 USPGA season.
On 14 June 2015, Fabian Gómez (Argentina) broke
through and won his first USPGA Tour title in his seventieth event, at the FedEx
St. Jude Classic, winning by four strokes over Greg Owen (England). He started
the final round with the co-lead, alongside Greg Owen (England), but shot a
final round 66, which included five birdies and only one bogey to pull clear of
the chasing pack and take the victory. The win moved Fabian Gomez (Argentina) up
over 150 places in the world rankings to 131st and ensured that he played in
his first ever major championship at the 2015 PGA Championship. In January
2016, Fabian Gomez (Argentina) won his second USPGA Tour title at the Sony Open
in Hawaii. He prevailed in a sudden death playoff over Brandt Snedeker (USA).
Fabian Gómez (Argentina) also plays occasionally on the USPGA Tour
Latinoamérica when the Tour is in Argentina, where he won the Personal Classic
from 2013 to 2015. He has only ever played in one Major Championship in his
career to date so far where he missed the cut at the 2015 PGA Championship. But
will more than likely will get to play in all four this season and he could be
a dark horse to win the Masters Tournament in April as Argentine players have
won there in the past. He also represented Argentina at the 2013 World Cup of
Golf and is a good chance to represent Argentina at the Olympic Games in Rio de
Janeiro in Brazil in August. Let’s hope he can continue this form on for the
rest of the 2016 part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season. I wish him all the best
for the rest of the 2016 part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season.
Coming in solo third position at 261-19 after seventy two holes was Zac Blair (USA); he earned US $394,400 for his efforts and moved to eighteenth position on the current 2015/16 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $582,682 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 seventeenth position on the current 2015/16 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 312 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 four cuts and achieved two top ten finishes which includes the one this week and the finish this week was also his best of his USPGA Tour career to date so far. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the mid to low 60s especially his second round 65-5 and his third round 64-6 that were both blemish free!! But he will be a little disappointed with his final round and how he wasn’t able to make his eagle putt on the seventy second hole and join the playoff with Fabian Gomez (Argentina) and Brandt Snedeker (USA). But this finish must be a huge confidence boost moving forward in his career and I look for more high finishes in the weeks ahead. Zac Blair (USA) (born August 20, 1990) is an American professional golfer who plays on the USPGA Tour. Zac Blair (USA) was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was on the Brigham Young University's golf team from 2009 to 2013. He was an All-American in 2012 and won four college events. His father, James, played golf at Brigham Young University from 1974 to 1977. Zac Blair (USA) also won the 2011 Pacific Northwest Amateur. Zac Blair (USA) competed in the 2013 Web.com Tour Qualifying School as an amateur, reaching the Final Stage and earning limited status on the Web.com Tour. After turning professional, Zac Blair (USA) began playing on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica in March 2014. He played in seven events, making the cut six times and finishing in the top-10 three times. He played eight events on the Web.com Tour, making seven cuts including a tied for second finish at the Price Cutter Charity Championship and qualifying for the Web.com Tour Final. After missing the cut in the first three events, he finished second at the Web.com Tour Championship and earned his USPGA Tour card for the 2014–15 season. On the USPGA Tour, his best finish to date so far is a solo third at the 2016 Sony Open in Hawaii. He has played in one Major Championship, the 2014 U.S. Open Championship, where he placed tied for fortieth. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2016 part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup.
Coming in solo fourth position at 264-16 after seventy two holes was Kim Si-Woo (South Korea); he earned US $278,400 for his efforts and moved to twenty fifth position on the current 2015/16 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $476,774 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 135 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twentieth position on the current 2015/16 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 277 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 four cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came this week. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his first round 64-6!! But will be disappointed with his back nine 35 even par in the final round that prevented him from challenging the leaders. But this finish will give him a lot of confidence moving forward. Kim Si-woo (South Korea) (born 28 June 1995), also known as Si Woo Kim (South Korea), is a South Korean professional golfer. Si-woo Kim (South Korea) finished tied for twentieth at the 2012 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He was only 17 years, 5 months, 6 days old at the time, the youngest player to graduate from the USPGA Tour's qualifying school. Due to USPGA Tour rules, he could not become a USPGA Tour member until he turned 18, mid-way through the 2013 season. In eight USPGA Tour starts in 2013, Si-woo Kim (South Korea) missed the cut in seven tournaments and withdrew from the eighth. He also played in seven Web.com Tour events in 2013, making four cuts. Si-woo Kim (South Korea) played on the Web.com Tour in 2014, making 15 of 19 cuts including a third-place finish at the Cleveland Open. In 2015, he won his first Web.com Tour event, the Stonebrae Classic, in July. He is the second youngest winner in Web.com Tour history, after Jason Day (Australia). Let’s hope he can keep this form up for the rest of the 2016 part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2016 part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season and FedEx Cup.
Rounding out the top six in tied for fifth position at 265-15 after seventy two holes was Kevin Kisner (USA); he earned US $220,400 for his efforts and remained at the top of the current 2015/16 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,350,032 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 105 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and remained at the top of the current 2015/16 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,073 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 his last four starts and also the one this week and also his maiden USPGA Tour win at the RSM Classic last November. He will be happy with his first, second and third rounds that were all in the mid to low 60s especially his first round 63-7 which saw him tied for the lead!! But he will be mad with his final round 70 even par that cost him his chance of winning. But has just had an amazing start to his 2015/16 USPGA Tour season. Kevin Kisner (USA) (born February 15, 1984) is an American professional golfer who plays on the USPGA Tour. Kevin Kisner (USA) was born in Aiken, South Carolina. He played college golf at the University of Georgia and was a member of their 2005 NCAA Division I Championship team along with Chris Kirk (USA), Richard Scott (Canada) and Brendon Todd (USA). After graduating in 2006, he turned professional. Kevin Kisner (USA) played on the mini-tours (NGA Hooters Tour and Tarheel Tour) from 2007 to 2009, winning three times. He also played in six Nationwide Tour events in 2009. He played the Nationwide Tour full-time in 2010, winning once at the Mylan Classic. He finished the year eleventh on the money list and earned his 2011 USPGA Tour card. Kevin Kisner (USA) failed to earn enough money on the USPGA Tour in 2011 to retain his card (181st on money list), but finished tied for eleventh at qualifying school to earn his card for 2012. He again failed to retain his card, finishing 167th on the money list, and missed earning a card in qualifying school by one stroke. He returned to (the now renamed) Web.com Tour in 2013 and won the Chile Classic in March. He finished thirteenth on the 2013 Web.com Tour regular season money list to earn his 2014 PGA Tour card. In 2014, Kevin Kisner (USA) finished sixth at the Wells Fargo Championship, eighth at the Wyndham Championship and ninth at the RBC Canadian Open. During the 2015 USPGA Tour, Kevin Kisner (USA) finished runner-up three times, losing all three in sudden-death playoffs. He was defeated at the 2015 RBC Heritage after losing on the second hole of the playoff to Jim Furyk (USA).Kevin Kisner (USA) would go on to finish tied with Sergio García (Spain) and Rickie Fowler (USA) at The Players Championship event in May after seventy two holes, losing to Rickie Fowler (USA) on the first hole of sudden-death after the two remained tied following a three-hole aggregate playoff. At the Greenbrier Classic he again tied for second after losing a sudden-death playoff, which was eventually won by Danny Lee (NZL). Kevin Kisner (USA) was eliminated on the first extra hole with birdie. Other notable results were finishes for fourth at the McGladrey Classic, fifth at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, and eighth at the Memorial Tournament.
Kevin Kisner (USA) finished as runner-up at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai in November 2015, two strokes behind Russell Knox (Scotland) despite holding the 36-hole lead. This was Kevin Kisner's (USA) fourth runner-up finish of the 2015 calendar year. On November 22, 2015, after a number of near misses, Kevin Kisner (USA) earned his first PGA Tour victory by winning the RSM Classic, in his 109th USPGA Tour start. He won by six strokes over Kevin Chappell (USA) as he dominated the tournament over the weekend. He began the final round with a three stroke advantage and shot a final round of 64 to storm to his first victory. The win moved him into the Top twenty in the world rankings and put him at the top of the early FedEx Cup standings moving into 2016 (And he still remains there). I feel his second win can’t be too far away and I feel it will come this year. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2016 part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season.
The final player to tie for fifth position was Greg Owen (England); he too earned US $220,400 for his efforts and moved to fifty fifth position on the current 2015/16 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $267,068 earned from the six events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 105 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to sixty third position on the current 2015/16 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 143 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 four cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came this past week. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the mid 60s especially his 64-6 in the final round and his excellent back nine of 30-5 which included an eagle on the par five, eighteenth with helped him get this top ten finish!! Let’s hope he can gain a lot of confidence out of this finish and keep on improving. Gregory Clive Owen (England) (born 19 February 1972) is an English professional golfer. Greg Owen (England) was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. He turned professional in 1992 and gained his European Tour card at the 1997 qualifying school. He finished in the top 100 of the Order of Merit every year from 1998 to 2004, and won for the first time on tour at the 2003 Daily Telegraph Damovo British Masters at his 158th tournament. At the 2001 Open Championship, Greg Owen (England) notably became only the sixth golfer in the history of the competition to score a rare albatross (double eagle), on the par-5 eleventh hole at Royal Lytham. Since 2005, Greg Owen (England) has played mainly in the United States being a full member of the USPGA Tour in 2005–07, 2009–10 and 2012. His best finish in the United States was second at the 2006 Bay Hill Invitational, where he finished one shot behind Rod Pampling (Australia) after playing the last two holes in three over par. Having lost his USPGA Tour card at the end of 2007, he bounced back the following season, to graduate directly from the second tier Nationwide Tour (Now Web.com Tour) by finishing in tenth place on the money list. In 2010 he finished 183rd on the USPGA Tour money list and lost his card for the second time. In 2011 he played again on the Nationwide Tour, finishing fifty second on the money list. However he finished tied for eighteenth in the 2011 USPGA Q School to regain his full USPGA Tour card for 2012. He finished eighty fifth in earnings in 2012, but was less successful in 2013, finishing 134th in the FedEx Cup. In 2014 he split time between the USPGA Tour and Web.com Tour; after winning the United Leasing Championship he finished twenty seventh on the regular-season Web.com money list, missing out on a USPGA Tour card by only US $3,205. He went on to earn his card by finishing tenth on the Web.com Tour Finals money list. Greg Owen (England) has featured in the top fifty of the Official World Golf Rankings. His best finish in a Major Championship was where he tied for twentieth at the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews in Scotland. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2016 part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season and FedEx Cup.
Danny Lee (NZL) was the best New Zealand Golfer in
the field and he scored a very good first round of 66-4 in the second event of the 2016 part of
the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season and the first regular season event in 2016 which
included a good front nine of 34-1 which included a brilliant eagle on the par
five, ninth hole and a lone bogey on the par three, fourth hole and then he
played a very good back nine of 32-3 with birdies coming on the par four, tenth
hole, par four, twelfth hole and par five, eighteenth hole and then a very good
second round of 66-4 which included a good front nine of 34-1 with birdies on
the par four, third hole, par four, fifth hole and par five, ninth hole and
poor bogeys on the par four, first hole and par four, eighth hole and a very good
back nine of 32-3 with birdies on the par four, twelfth hole, par four, sixteenth
hole and par five, eighteenth hole and a good third round of 68-2 where he scored a average front nine
of 35 even par with a birdies on the par
four, second hole and par five, ninth hole and bogeys on the par four, sixth
hole and par three, seventh hole and then a good back nine of 33-2 with birdies on the par four, tenth hole
and par five, eighteenth hole and an average final round of 70 even par which
included a poor front nine of 36+1 which included a poor lone bogey on the par three,
fourth hole and then he scored a good back nine of 34-1 which included a birdies
on the par four, tenth hole, par four, twelfth hole, par five, eighteenth hole
and poor bogeys on the par four, thirteenth hole and par three, seventeenth
hole for a seventy two hole total of 270-10 and he finished in tied for thirty
third position. He earned US $28,742.22 for his efforts and remained in eighty
fourth position on the current 2015/16
USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $182,201 earned from the four events he
has played to date this season so far. He also earned thirty four FedEx Cup
Points for his efforts and moved to ninety second position on the current
2015/16 FedEx Cup Points list standings with one hundred 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 three cuts and withdrawn from
one event and achieved no top ten finishes. He will be happy with his first, second
and third rounds that were all in the 60s especially his first and second rounds
which were both 66-4s!! But he will be just content with his final round that was
70 even par and also angry with his front nine 36+1 in the final round which
was disappointing!! But he will be happier
his back nine of his final round which was 34-1!! It was a good start to the
2016 part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season in the two Hawaiian Swing events he
played in and he did make decent pay cheques in both of them and he will be
looking to have some top ten finishes in the next few events he plays in and
his next start will likely be at the CareerBuilder Challenge in partnership
with the Clinton Foundation next week. I wish him all the best for the rest of
the 2016 part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season.
Tim Wilkinson (NZL) who recently regained his
2015/16 USPGA Tour card at the Web.com Tour Finals was the other New Zealand
Golfer in the field and was keen to have a good tournament to start his 2016
part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season to back up his good performances in the
first three events of the 2015 part of the season which he played in last year
where he made all three cuts. He scored a good first round of 67-3 which included a very good front nine of 31-4
with a brilliant eagle on the par five, ninth hole and birdies coming on the
par four, second hole, par four, third hole and par four, fifth hole with a
lone bogey coming on the par four, first hole and a poor back nine of 36+1 with
a lone birdie on the par four, twelfth hole but he had a shocking double bogey
on the par three, seventeenth hole and a good second round of 69-1which
included a very good front nine of 33-2 which included birdies on the par four,
eighth hole and par five, ninth hole and then he scored a poor back nine of 36+1
with a lone birdie on the par four, tenth hole and poor bogeys on the par four,
fourteenth hole and par three seventeenth hole and an excellent third round of
65-5 which included a very good front
nine of 32-3 with birdies coming on the par four, second hole, par four, fifth
hole, par four, eighth hole and par five, ninth hole but he had a poor lone
bogey on the par three, fourth hole and then a good back nine of 33-2 with birdies
coming on the par four, twelfth hole and par four, sixteenth hole and a poor
final round of 71+1 which included a poor front nine of 36+1 which included
birdies on the par four, second hole and par five, ninth hole but he had poor
bogeys on the par four, first hole, par four, third hole and par four, sixth
hole and then he scored a good back nine of 35 even with a lone birdie coming
on the par five, eighteenth hole and a poor lone bogey on the par four,
thirteenth hole for a seventy two hole total of 272-8 and finished in tied for
fiftieth position and he earned US $13,881.33 for his efforts. He moved to 129th
position on the current 2015/16 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $84,773
earned from the four events he has played to date this season so far. He also
earned nineteen FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to ninety ninth position on the current 2015/16 FedEx Cup
Points list standings with ninety seven points earned from the four events he
has played in to date so far. From the four events he has played to date this
season so far he has made fours cuts and achieved no top ten finishes. He will
be happy with his first, second and third rounds this week that were all in the
60s especially his third round that was 65-5!! But disappointed with his final
round 71+1!! And if he had done another mid 60s round he could have finished
inside the top twenty and won a lot more money. But it is good to see him make
all four cuts in his four events of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season. Let’s hope
he can continue this form on in the early 2016 part of 2015/16 USPGA Tour
season. His next event will likely be the CareerBuilder Challenge in
partnership with the Clinton Foundation which is the second regular season
event of the 2016 part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup. I wish him all
the best for the rest of the 2016 part of the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season.
Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to the
USA mainland and the State of California for the start of the West Coast Swing
(which has five events in it) and the first one is CareerBuilder Challenge in
partnership with the Clinton Foundation and it is played on the PGA WEST TPC
Stadium Course, La Quinta, California. It carries a huge prize purse
of US $5,800,000 for the taking. Bill Haas (USA) is the defending Champion and
will be keen to defend his title. Danny Lee (NZL) will get a start if he
chooses to play and Tim Wilkinson (NZL) will be hopeful to gain a start. It
starts on Thursday 21st January and I will report back who won the trophy next
week.
So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list
standings this week coming in at Number One Position for the seventeenth week
of his career is Jordan Spieth (USA) who is fresh off his win one week ago at the Hyundai
Tournament of Champions and also his solo fourth position at the Hero World
Challenge six weeks ago with 11.97 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at
Number Two is Jason Day (Australia) who is fresh off his tied for tenth
position one week ago at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and also being
part of the 2015 Team Internationals Presidents Cup narrow loss to Team USA fourteen
weeks ago in South Korea with 10.56 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at
Number Three is Rory McILroy (NIR) who is fresh off his win eight weeks ago at
the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and the Race to Dubai title for a third
time in his career and also his tied for eleventh position at the WGC – HSBC
Champions ten weeks ago with 10.33 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming
in at Number Four is Bubba Watson (USA) who is fresh off his tied for tenth
position one week ago at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and also his tied
for fifteenth position at the Thailand Golf Championship five weeks ago with
7.47 Official World Ranking Points and rounding out the top five on the
Official World Ranking Points list standings this week is Henrik Stenson
(Sweden) who is fresh off his solo second position at the Nedbank Golf
Challenge six weeks ago and also his tied for fifty ninth position at the DP
World Tour Championship, Dubai eight weeks ago with 7.13 Official World Ranking
Points. Danny Lee (NZL) this week is in his fortieth fourth week of another
spell of being the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world after
finishing in tied for thirty third position at the Sony Open in Hawaii this
past week. This week he gains two places and rises to fortieth third position
on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list standings with 2.62 Official
Golf World Ranking Points.
Remember when playing golf in extreme heat you must
drink lots of fluids!!
Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings, wikipedia.org,
Google search engine, europeantour.com, golfchannel.com,
ladieseuropeantour.com, asiantour.com, pgatourlive.co.nz
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