with Bryan Angus

Thanks for joining me today. I look forward to your comments . They are always welcome here on FairwaysPlus. Bryan Angus bryanangus4@gmail.com



Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Horschel ties course record, wins the Zurich....All scores, all tours




PGA TOUR - ZURICH CLASSIC
COURSE: TPC Louisiana (7,425 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $6.6 million. Winner’s share: $1,188,000.

CANADIAN CONTENT: Stephen Ames T32 -9 67 72 69 71, Graham DeLaet T47 -7 71,68 74 68, Brad Fritsch MC -2 70 72 , David Hearn T21 -11 71 69 68 69, Mike Weir MC E 72 72

Round 4 (Final)
pgatour.com .
Billy Horschel shot an 8-under 64 in the final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, maintaining his composure through two weather delays for his first-career PGA TOUR victory Sunday.

Horschel tied a course record at the TPC Louisiana with an 8-under 64 which was good enough to win by one stroke over D.A. Points.

With his win, Horschel moves inside the FedExCup top 5 for the first time in his career



Live scoring click here 
http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html




LPGA TOUR - NORTH TEXAS LPGA SHOOTOUT
COURSE: Las Colinas Country Club (6,410 yards, par 71).
PURSE: $1.3 million. Winner’s share: $195,000.

CANADIAN CONTENT: Sara-Maude Juneau MC 70 83, Lorie Kane +4 MC, Maude-Aimee Leblanc +4 MC, Rebecca Lee-Bentham T36 E 72 68 73, Stephanie Sherlock MC, Alena Sharp MC


Round 4 (Final)
lpga.com   Inbee Park showed again why she is currently the player to beat on the LPGA Tour, capturing her third victory of the 2013 season at the inaugural North Texas LPGA Shootout at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas.

Park drained a 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to fire a 4-under 67 and defeat Spaniard Carlota Ciganda by one stroke for her sixth career LPGA Tour victory.




Live scoring click  http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx?__





CHAMPIONS TOUR - LEGENDS OF GOLF
COURSE: The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa (7,087 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $2.7 million. Winners’ shares: $230,000 each.

Round 3
pgatour.com  After teaming with Craig Stadler for two runner-up finishes in three tries at the Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf, Jeff Sluman decided it was time for a change

He called Brad Faxon nearly two years ago to court him as a teammate for the Champions Tour's annual team competition and the new pairing paid off on Sunday as they combined for a final-round 7-under-par 65 to finish at 23 under for a one-stroke victory at The Club at Savannah Harbor

Live scoring click here  http://www.pgatour.com/champions/leaderboard.html





EUROPEAN TOUR/ASIAN TOUR - BALLANTINE’S CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: Blackstone Resort (7,281 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $2.88 million. Winner’s share: $479,350.

Round 4 (Final)

Australia’s Brett Rumford overcame a late wobble to win the Ballantine’s Championship after a play-off with compatriot Marcus Fraser and Scotland’s Peter Whiteford.

An eagle at the first extra hole gave the 35 year old a fourth European Tour title and first for six years after a closing 68 left him level with Fraser (68) and Whiteford (69) on 11 under par

Live scoring click here  http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2013/tournamentid=2013033/leaderboard/index.html






WEB.COM TOUR - SOUTH GEORGIA CLASSIC
COURSE: Kinderlou Forest Golf Club (7,781 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $650,000. Winner’s share: $117,000.

CANADIAN CONTENT: Bryan DeCorso MC 79 72, Adam Hadwin T23 -3 69 72 71 73, Matt Hill MC 73 73, Richard Scott MC 76 72, Roger Sloan T39 E 71 73 75 69,


Round 4 (Final)
pgatour.com  Will Wilcox fired a one-over-par 73 and cruised to a four-stroke win at the South Georgia Classic, his first career title on the Web.com Tour.

Wilcox began the final round at the Kinderlou Forest Golf Club with a whopping seven-stroke lead, courtesy of a course-record 63 Saturday and never let any of his challengers get closer than the final margin all afternoon.

The 26-year-old from Alabama bogeyed the 72nd hole but it didn’t matter as he finished at 15-under par, well in front of Monday qualifier Zack Sucher (65), D.J. Brigman (70) and Michael Putnam (70).



Live scoring click  http://www.pgatour.com/webcom/leaderboard.html





PGA TOUR LATINOAMERICA - ROBERTO DE VICENZO
COURSE: Uruguay Golf Club, Montevideo, Uruguay
PURSE: $150,000

CANADIAN CONTENT: Matt Johnston MC 77 84, Andrew Parr T53 -1 70 70 77 70, Adam Cornelson T35 -8 66 72 71 71, Derek Gillespie MC -3 71 70

The winner on the 2nd hole of a 3 man playoff, Mexico's  Jose De Jesus Rodriguez -17 71 66 66 68


Live scoring click here  http://www.pgatourla.com/leaderboard/m2013006/






SYMETRA TOUR - GUARDIAN RETIREMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: Sara Bay Country Club, Sarasota, Fla. (6,414 yds, par 72)
PURSE: $100,000

CANADIAN CONTENT: Izzy Beisiegel MC, Angela Buzminski T71 +15 76 77 78, Kirby Dreher MC, Sue Kim T3 -2 72 72 70, Lisa Meldrum MC, Danielle Mills, Samantha Richdale MC, Seema Sadekar MC Jessica Shepley MC, Ashley Sholer T45 +10 72 80 74, Nicole Vandermade T37 +9 79 71 75, Jessica Wallace T55 +15 81 71 79,

Round 3 (Final)
lpga.com  Christine Song overcame a two-stroke deficit and outlasted a two-hole playoff to capture her third-career Symetra Tour victory at the Guardian Retirement Championship at Sara Bay.

Song entered the final day trailing Isabelle Boineau but a birdie on the second playoff hole at Sara Bay Country Club secured her first trip to the winner’s circle since 2010

Live scoring click  http://www.symetrascoring.com/






NGA TOUR - MOUNTAIN LAKES CLASSIC
COURSE: Cross Creek Plantation, Seneca, S.C. (6,902 yds, par 71)
PURSE: $150,000

CANADIAN CONTENT:     Stuart Anderson T44 +8 75 71 74, Marc-Etienne Bussieres T27+5 73 71 74, Devin Carrey MC, Max Gilbert MC, Mathieu Gingras T44 +8 73 74 74, Robbie Greenwell MC, Will Mitchell T27 +5 75 71 72, Corey Renfrew MC, Ben Silverman MC, Nick Taylor MC


Round 3 (round 4 rained out)

Justin Lower, a former Malone University stalwart, used a birdie-birdie-birdie finish on Saturday to grab the lead in the Mountain Lakes Classic at Cross Creek Plantation.

When heavy rain washed away Sunday’s final round, the Canal Fulton, Ohio, golfer became a two-time winner on the top-rated developmental tour



Live scoring  http://www.ngatour.com/leaderboard/pro2013015/






ALL-AMERICAN GATEWAY TOUR
COURSE: Encanterra Country Club, Queen Creek, AZ (7,176 yds, par 72)

CANADIAN CONTENT: Richard Boychuk MC, Kent Eger MC, Craig Gibson MC, Glen Lengyel MC Jordan Krantz T27 -1 70 73 74, James Love MC, Quinn Carbol MC,  Adam Doyle MC, David Park MC


Round 3  The winner is American Nathan Tyler -7 72 68 69.  The cut fell at +3

Live scoring click   http://gatewaytour.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gway13/event/gway1313/contest/1/leaderboard.htm






SUNCOAST LADIES TOUR
COURSE: Harmony Golf Preserve, Harmony, FL (6,412 yds, par 72)

CANADIAN CONTENT:  Christina Foster (a) T23 84, 71 77 +16, Natalie Gleadall 3rd 77 72 68 +1

Winner   Rebecca Samuelson 76 70 66 -4

Live scoring click   http://www.suncoastseries.com/2013%20TOUR/0.Tournaments/1.1HARMONY/RESULTS.pdf



BryanA

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Graeme McDowell, Angel Cabrera win playoffs... Final scores all tours

As always here are all this week's events with live scoring links to each.


PGA TOUR - RBC HERITAGE
COURSE: Harbour Town Golf Links (7,101 yards, par 71).
PURSE: $5.8 million. Winner's share: $1,044,000

CANADIAN CONTENT: Stephen Ames MC, Graham DeLaet MC, Brad Fritsch T60 71 69 75, David Hearn Made Cut but did not qualify 74 70 75

Round 4 
pgatour.com
For all the big moments in Graeme McDowell's career, his resume was short on PGA TOUR victories.

McDowell relished what he called his first authentic TOUR win, defeating fellow U.S. Open champ Webb Simpson in a playoff at the RBC Heritage on Sunday.

McDowell's been at the center of some of golf's biggest moments, from his rousing triumph at Pebble Beach in 2010 to capturing the winning point for Europe in that year's Ryder Cup matches. He has six European tour victories, too, but he hadn't triumphed in the weekly grind of the world's top tour.

"This game kicks you more often than it gives you a pat on the back," McDowell said. "It's hard to win."

Not on this day for McDowell, who pushed forward on wind-blown Harbour Town Golf Links when his rivals were moving backward, unnerved by the 20 to 30 mph winds that rattled the course

He rallied from four strokes down when the day began to take a one-shot lead into the 72nd hole. Then after he made his only bogey of the round to fall into tie with Simpson, he two-putted from about 15 feet to make a par on the extra hole that Simpson couldn't match


Live scoring click here   http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html






LPGA TOUR - LPGA LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: Ko Olina Golf Club (6,383 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $1.7 million. Winner's share: $255,000.

CANADIAN CONTENT:   Sara-Maude Juneau T72 +7 70 75 74 76,    Lorie Kane MC   Maude-Aimee Leblanc MC      Rebecca Lee-Bentham T44 -2 67 76 75 68,      Alena Sharp MC      Jessica Shepley MC     Stephanie Sherlock MC

Round 4
lpgatour.com  
Rolex Rankings No. 6 Suzann Pettersen managed to hold off a red-hot Lizette Salas in Sunday’s final round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship Presented by J Golf, making par on the first hole of a playoff to capture her 11th career LPGA victory. Pettersen shot a 5-under 67 on the final day of play but needed every single birdie, as Salas tied the lowest score to par this season on the LPGA Tour with a 10-under 62 to finish tied with Pettersen at 19-under-par.

Pettersen began the day with a one-shot lead over the field but it was Salas, who started the day five shots back, who made the big run to catch up to the third-round leader. On a day when the winds were relatively calm at Ko Olina Golf Club in Hawaii, players took advantage of the great scoring conditions. None more so than Salas who shot 33-29 and nearly sank another birdie putt on 18 that would have tied her with Pettersen, who had one hole remaining.

Still Salas would get another shot at a victory when Pettersen, who missed the fairway on 18, made bogey on her final hole to drop her back into a tie at 19-under-par. For Salas, it marked her first career playoff on the LPGA Tour while Pettersen was playing in her seventh, having gone 4-2 in her previous six playoff experiences.


Live scoring click here    http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx







CHAMPIONS TOUR - GREATER GWINNETT CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: TPC Sugarloaf (7,259 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $1.8 million. Winner's share: $270,000.

CANADIAN CONTENT: Jim Rutledge T26 +3 73 77 69, Rod Spittle T21 +1 72 73 72

Round 3
pgatour.com  Bernhard Langer, a three-time Champions Tour player of the year, said he's never had a better start to a season. Langer relied on his short game to bail him out of trouble early and he added to his impressive start to the season by shooting a 67 to win the inaugural Greater Gwinnett Championship by three strokes

He had six birdies for his fifth top-three finish in six events. Langer also increased his lead in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. He leads second-place David Frost by 309 points.

"I've had very good starts before but this is exceptional so far," Langer said. "I don't think I've ever had anything like this."




Live scoring click here  http://www.pgatour.com/champions/leaderboard.html






EUROPEAN TOUR - SPANISH OPEN
COURSE: Parador de El Saler (7,052 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $1.96 million. Winner's share: $326,765.

Round 4
Raphaël Jacquelin drew on all of his experience to edge a prolonged, record-equaling play-off in the Open de España and claim his first victory on The European Tour for just over two years.
The final round at Parador de El Saler could not separate those in contention as Chile’s Felipe Aguilar, Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer and Jacquelin required extra holes.

Each produced successive pars on the 18th to begin the three way contest as they continued to cancel each other out, only for Kieffer and Jacquelin to deliver birdies at the third time of asking.
.
Anyone expecting a quick finish thereafter was mistaken as the two battled it out in the joint-longest European Tour play-off since its formation in 1972, matching an effort in the 1989 Dutch Open.
They exchanged pars on a further five holes, efforts that featured generally solid play interspersed with some outstanding up and downs.

However, Jacquelin made the decisive move when playing the 18th for the tenth time today – including on his original round – by hitting a wedge to five feet and holing the subsequent putt; the triumph was his first since winning the 2011 Sicilian Open
 
 
 







PGA TOUR LATINOAMERICA - DEL CENTRO OPEN
COURSE: Cordoba Golf Club, Cordoba, Argentina
PURSE: $150,000

CANADIAN CONTENT: Matt Johnson MC, Andrew Parr MC, Adam Cornelson T56 +18 76 73 80 73, Derek Gillespie MC,

Round 4
Angel Cabrera didn't get quite as much attention in this week's playoff as he did at the Masters last week, but this time he won.

Cabrera won PGA Tour Latinoamerica’s 82° Abierto OSDE del Centro. This week’s event was held at the course where Cabrera learned the game, Cordoba (Argentina) Golf Club.

Cabrera started the final round in 21st place after shooting a third-round 76, but closed with a 64, including an eagle at the par-4 18th, to tie Rafael Gomez at even-par 284. Cabrera won with a birdie on the first extra hole. His final-round 64 was the low round of the day by three shots.


Live scoring click here  http://www.pgatourla.com/leaderboard/m2013005/





eGOLF PROFESSIONAL TOUR - FOREST OAKS CLASSIC
COURSE: Forest Oaks Country Club, Greensboro, N.C. (7,212 yds, par 72)

CANADIAN CONTENT: Cam Burke T21 -5 67 75 69, Mark Hoffman T31 -3 69 74 70, Matt Hoffman MC, Mackenzie Hughes T25 -4 66 73 73, Ryan Terdik MC


Final
egolf.com     T.J. Howe of Osceola, PA overcame strong winds, demanding conditions, and his own final-hole nerves to win the eGolf Tour’s Forest Oaks Classic on Friday, posting an 11-under 205 total to wrap up his first tour title, and the $17,000 first-place prize.

The Forest Oaks Classic was the seventh of 24 scheduled events on the 2013 eGolf Tour schedule, and was contested this week at Forest Oaks Country Club in Greensboro, NC – 30-year host of the PGA TOUR’s annual Wyndham Championship.

Howe, a former standout at Penn State University, entered the final round in a tie for the lead with red-hot Jack Fields of Southern Pines, NC, as both players had reached 10-under 134 with just 18 holes to play in the 54-hole event.



Live scoring click here   http://tarheel.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/tarheel13/event/tarheel136/contest/1/leaderboard.htm






ALL-AMERICAN GATEWAY TOUR
COURESE: Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia, Peoria, AZ (7,259 yds, par 72)

CANADIAN CONTENT:      Richard Boychuk MC,     Aaron Crawford MC            Kent Eger T12 -6 73 67 70,       Craig Gibson MC     Adrian Kibsey MC,     Daniel Pow MC    Jordan Krantz 12 -6 67 72 71,      David Park T45 E 73 70 73

Final  The winner by 7 shots..Drew Scott -19 66 66 65 from Henderson Nevada


Live scoring click here   http://gatewaytour.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/gway13/event/gway1312/contest/1/leaderboard.htm




BryanA

Monday, April 15, 2013

Great Scott.. what a finish !!

Being Canadian, my mind went back to 2003 when Mike Weir wrote his name in our history books with a clutch 15 footer on 18 to get into the playoff with Len Mattice, which he won in a playoff at the 10th..

When Adam Scott sunk that same putt, this time from 20 feet, that swirled into the cup to give him the lead at -9 (69) with only Angel Cabrera left down the fairway standing between him and his place in Aussie history, that's what I thought of..

Moments after he screamed "C'mon, Aussie!", Cabrera answered with one of the greatest shots under the circumstances, a seven iron stuffed in there 3 feet from the flag,setting up an easy birdie and a 2-under 70. They finished at 9-under 279.

Another play-off at Augusta for Angel, another chance for Scott...

They both chipped close for par on the 18th in the first playoff hole, and Cabrera's 15-foot birdie putt on the 10th grazed the right side of the cup. Scott hit his 6-iron into about 12 feet, leaving him one putt away from a green jacket.

It was getting dark, Scott said he could barely read the putt. That's when he called over caddie Steve Williams and asked him to take over. Williams was on the bag for 13 of Tiger Woods' majors, and read the putt that helped Woods to the 1999 PGA Championship.

"I said, 'Do you think it's just more than a cup?' he said, 'It's at least two cups. It's going to break more than you think,'" Scott said. "He was my eyes on that putt."

With the world watching, he made the putt, he won the Masters, Angel Cabrera didn't lose it, and he offered Scott the warmest congratulations, a huge hug, and Scott becomes the first Aussie to win the Masters..

Scott didn't make a bogey after the first hole, and he really didn't miss a shot the rest of the day. He just couldn't get a putt to fall until it really mattered. Then, he made two of them.

Jason Day closed with a 70, his second close call at the Masters in three years. This one hurt far more because he had a two-shot lead when he stepped to the 16th tee, but he made bogey at 16 and 17.

Tiger Woods figured he would need a round of 65 to win, and he made two bogeys before his first birdie. Even a mild charge on the back nine wasn't going to help him, and he closed with a 70 to tie for fourth with Marc Leishman (72).

Brandt Snedeker, tied with Cabrera for the lead going into the final round, closed with a 75 and finished five shots behind.

What a great finish, and while I feel bad for Cabrera, I feel good for Scott and Stevie Williams for that matter, especially after Scott collapsed so publicly at Lytham and St Annes last summer.

Final results click here http://www.majorschampionships.com/masters/leaderboard.html





BryanA (notes from BBC Reuters, europeantour.com, pgatour.com)

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Leaders warming up to settle who will win the 77th Masters

Sneds, El Pato, Scotty, JD, Kuch, Tiger, Stricks...

Right now all these guys and others are getting set, warming up, hitting a few putts, chips, irons and full blooded drivers as they get set for one of the great days in golf every year..

Sunday afternoon at Augusta, this time on a partly cloudy warm calm day with a chance of showers later in the afternoon..

Will Brandt Snedeker, earlier this year the hottest golfer out of the gate with two T2 and a win at Pebble Beach, the best putter on tour win his 1st major.

Angel Cabrera, El Pato (the duck) named for his waddling gait, now 269 in the world, but after a scolding from his coach Charlie Epps, re dedicated to the game, to a proper diet and exercise plan, split up from his wife with his son on his bag....the winner in 2009 and a master of this course..
They are the last pair off at 2.40..

What of the 3 Aussie's Scott, Day (230pm) and Leishman (220pm) trying to exorcise the demons of Greg Norman and his 6 shot meltdown in 1996.. They may have numbers on their side, but this is not a team game...

220pm...Matt Kuchar, the smiling assassin, the games nicest guys', and one of it's most ruthless competitors

210pm Little Tim Clark who lives in North Carolina but hails from Soth Africa, injured so much recently but has been 2nd here before, and with his long handled putter working it's magic this week, this sublime little ball striker could steal the show..but he is paired with Tiger, who right or wrong will be the show.

200pm... Steve Stricker, now the veteran pro with the gold plated short game, especially on the greens will need a career round to get there at -2 as will one of the games colourful young guns Rickie Fowler

150pm... the always fit Berhard Langer, a two time winner now dominating the Senior circuit is back in the top 10 this time with Lee Westwood who I think really let himself down with that 73 yesterday when he just couldn't make a birdie (all pars) on the back nine. These guys will need a 66 to give themselves a chance..

Around 750pm tonight, Bubba Watson will be in the Butler Cabin putting the Green Jacket, that looks so cheap but is worth a lifetime, one one of these guys.

Before that let's enjoy the wild ride that is the back nine at Augusta on Sunday..

Live scoring click here http://www.majorschampionships.com/masters/leaderboard.html

Back nine at Augusta National will decide Masters....again.

A day filled with high drama before a shot was struck at Augusta National, ended with Brandt Snedeker and Angel Cabrera tied for the lead, and Tiger Woods only four shots back. For a few tense hours in the morning, it was not clear if Woods was going to get a chance to play. (see my blog 'Woods / Ridley mess-up.. Tiger should have WD )

Snedeker has been building toward a moment like this for the last year, and he seized his chance on a glorious afternoon with a bogey-free round of 3-under 69. After opening with 12 pars, he birdied both the par 5s and stuffed his tee shot to 4 feet for birdie on the par-3 16th to take the lead. Cabrera joined him at 7-under 209 with a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole, capping off a round in which he twice made bogey on the par 5s

Cabrera, whose two major titles include a Masters win in 2009, has plunged to No. 269 in the world. Snedeker on the other hand strted this year red hot with two T2 and a win.

Adam Scott rammed home a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole for a 69 and was one shot behind at -6. He was runner-up here to Schwartzel in 2011, and golf fans vividly remember last summer at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, where he bogeyed his last four holes and finished one shot behind Ernie Els

Two more Aussies, Marc Leishman (72) and Jason Day (73) were another shot behind at -5 and as they keep getting reminded the Masters is the only major an Australian has never won, a point driven home with every mention of Greg Norman losing a six-shot lead on the last day in 1996

Day was in the lead for most of the day, going 18 straight holes without a bogey until he missed short par putts on the last two holes.

Matt Kuchar (69) was three shots back at -4, and Woods was right behind at -3.

Lost in all of this were Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson.

Rory had two bogeys and a triple bogey over a five-hole stretch in the middle of his round after he'd briefly moved to within three strokes of the lead. "The margins are very small on this course and when you get on the wrong side of some of these slopes, you can't help but get a penalty," said McIlroy, who closed in 42. "I felt like I was done in on 11 and 15, but that's the way it goes." He shot 79.
But much like the rest of his season, Saturday's round was wildly inconsistent with four bogeys, a double, a triple, one birdie and a dozen pars. For the week, he has more bogeys, 11 than birdies 9, and has just 59 percent of his fairways and taken 87 putts

Mickelson, always a favorite to win at Augusta, seemed out of sorts with the greens from the start has shot 76 77.

Other guys who were in contention early but aren't now... David Lynn shot 80, Fred Couples dropped out with 77, Dufner 75, DJohnson 74, Schwartzel 75, Luke Donald 75 and how about Keegan Bradley at 82..

Here's the great news, Tianlang Guan the 14 year old sensation holed a 70 footer for par on 18 to get in at 77 and is +9 going into Sunday.

The big winner so far this year is Augusta National, in fairly benign weather conditions the best the world's best can take from her par is 7 shots...so although there are 12 players within 5 shots as we head into the fabled back nine on Sunday.. somehow or other she will decide who the winner will be..

For live scoring click here http://www.majorschampionships.com/masters/leaderboard.html



Bryana (notes from BBC, Reuters and pgatour.com)

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Leaders set to tee off on a sunny Saturday at Augusta.. live scoring

Jason Day a young Aussie who finished 2nd here in 2011 takes a one shot lead at -6, onto the first tee in a few minutes with a Masters favourite and soon to be Golf Hall of Famer, Fred Couples as the last group out on a gorgeous sunny Saturday at the Masters and I can tell you there are some lower scores out there already.

Tim Clark has it at -5 through 14 to sit at -3

Nick Watney is also at -5 through 15 -2 total.

The pins are more accessible, the breeze is down, Tiger birdied his first hole under a cloud of controversy, it all has yet to unfold..

Tianlang Guan, playing a little faster is in with a creditable 77..I will have the full story of today's play around 6pm

Meanwhile here is a link to the live scoreboard http://www.majorschampionships.com/masters/leaderboard.html


Bryan A

Tiger, Ridley & Rules Committee mess up...but Tiger should have WD

Sorry I couldn't get to this earlier as I just got in as of 1250pm, just about an hour before Tiger will be teeing off (145pm) and I certainly have a problem with that.

If you missed it the rules committee at Augusta headed by Fred Ridley and consisting of rules officials from the USGA, PGA Tour, R&A, Asian Tour and the Masters decided to issue a 2 shot penalty to Tiger for his illegal drop on 15 yesterday, (I outlined the details in my earlier blog this morning)

I have just watched the entire press conference with Fred Ridley and in summation, Tiger broke a rule in ignorance, Fred Riley and his committee didn't think he had originally and allowed him to sign what in fact was a wrong score card, and allowed him to leave the grounds thinking all was well, then changed their minds after another call at 10pm following a Tiger TV interview where he unknowingly admitted he had dropped inappropriately, but when they met with Tiger this morning at 8am they decided to give him a 2 shot penalty, but said it would be grossly unfair to DQ him after their original decision.

Here are the details..He broke rule 26, which governs drops, but after 2 different calls to the club from TV viewers, and a meeting between themselves and Tiger this morning they chose to invoke rule 33 inserted into the rulebook in 2011 after Paddy Harrington nudged his ball forward by a dimple or so while marking it with a coin, finished his round, signed his card and was DQed afterward for that infraction after a TV viewer called in. It's casually known as the TV HD rule and it says a player can't be DQed because of it.

Bear with me a moment here so you know what happened in Tiger's case.

After the drop on 15 a viewer called the Masters Club to complain about where he dropped the ball which was wrong. They reviewed the drop and decided Tiger had made no infraction...

Wrong and mistake #1...

Tiger signed, practised, did an interview with ESPN and went home. Call number 2 from a TV viewer to the Masters club from a different viewer at around 10pm, notifying them that Tiger in that ESPN interview admitted he dropped the ball 2 yards further back to give him a perfect distance to play the same shot in that had hit the pin in the first place.

Following that call they reviewed the tape of the drop again, changed their minds when they realized he just admitted on an interview aired around the world that he improved his lie, and in doing so he clearly was unaware that he had broken any rule.... or why would he have admitted to it ..

After meeting with Tiger this morning at 8am, they all agreed he had broken rule 26, and he clearly did but they invoked the rule 33-7 rather than DQ him for signing the wrong scorecard because they had let him go home and took responsibility for their original decision that he had complied with the rules.

First let me say Tiger absolutely did not try and cheat, that's stupid, he doesn't need to and the world was watching. Secondly the Rules Committee got it wrong twice in my opinion, and that's another story.

However in these cases ignorance is not bliss. A player not knowing a rule does not excuse you from paying the appropriate penalty from breaking it.

Tiger has decided, protected by rule 33-7 to go ahead and play, now at -1 instead of -3, just 5 shots off the lead.

That is wrong, wrong wrong...he is losing much more that a golf tournament by playing and I know some would say he did a pretty good job losing his public persona in the last two years..

It's more than that, it's the worst thing a golfer can risk losing.. his integrity..

If he goes on to win it will always be with the caveat's.."He cheated,.. he caught a break because he's Tiger, ...the Master's just doing what they want.... CBS pulled some strings,... how come they nailed a 14 year old kid with a penalty for slow play when the whole field was slow.."

And what if he does win and goes on to get #19 and beat Jack's 18, one of golf's holy grails and history looks back and says" yeah but he should never been allowed to play that '13 Masters".

Now all we are talking about is Tiger and the committee ruling and his decision to play..Not all the great stories out there..

It's wrong, wrong , wrong... Tiger, as nearly all his peers interviewed today have said, should have WD and taken the high road, taken a leadership role even though he unknowingly broke the rule and the Committee, indeed their Chair Fred Ridley missed the call.

Golf at these levels is littered with stories of guys who have had to WD or been DQ'ed simply because they did not know they were mistaken.. Tiger has caught a break here because he and the Rules Committee both messed up..

He just can't win now, even if he does..


BryanA

Breaking News ... Tiger facing possible disqualification !

Tournament officials at Augusta, already smarting for the one shot penalty they assessed 14 year old Tianlang Guan for slow play, have another controversial decision to make this morning.

Tiger Woods may well have made an illegal drop after his much publicized wedge shot into 15 hit the pin and spun back into the water.

Tiger decided not to use the assigned drop area, and here's where the possible problem occurred
He went back to where his original shot was played, but decided to move two yards further back, from where he produced a stunning shot to make bogey.

Rule 26-1 states that he should play his second attempt as near as possible from the spot of the first, and in Woods' own words he decided to move it two yards back

This is what he said is his post round interview..
"I went down to the drop area, that wasn't going to be a good spot, because obviously it's into the grain and it was a little bit wet, so I went back to where I played it from, but I went two yards further back and I took, tried to take two yards off the shot of what I felt I hit. I felt that that was going to be the right decision to take off four right there. And I did, it worked out perfectly"

It is the fact that he moved the ball further back that could be his undoing, as that could be deemed by officials to be a breach of the rules, and that would carry a two-shot penalty.

Further complicating matters is, since Woods had already signed his scorecard for an incorrect scorecard comes with the penalty of disqualification from the event.

This will come down to a discussion with Tiger and the referee. I believe it is a real touchy decision If he did it deliberately because he preferred one or two more yards to give him a perfect yardage then he should be disqualified.

If he just thought it was near enough the original spot then that's fine but only he knows.

He seemed to indicate in the interview (" I tried to take two yards off the shot" ) that he did it deliberately, leaving officials no option but to DQ him.

Especially after referee John Paramor, interviewed after the Guan decision for slow play, said it didn't matter that he was 14, or who he was, he was simply applying the rules of golf..

We'll see if they have the balls to announce they are applying those rules to Tiger later this morning !!

Masters... Round 2 wrap..live Saturday scoreboard and tee times

As I mentioned in earlier up dates, scores were higher on Friday than Thursday, because as is the custom at Augusta, on Friday they pick the toughest spots to place the pins.

For example, one pin was tucked on top of a mound toward the front of the fifth green. The par 5s played into an opposite wind on the back nine, and they were not easy to reach with players like Jim Furyk being forced to lay up.

So nobody was running away from the field, in fact it became bunched, but as always there was high drama through out the day as the cut fell at +4 for the low 50 and ties, and players within 10 shots of the lead.

Jason Day fired a 4-under 68 for a one-shot lead over fellow Aussie Marc Leishman and Masters favourite, Fred Couples and despite being the first player at Augusta National to get hit with a one-shot penalty for slow play, teen sensation Guan Tianlang still made history Friday as the youngest player to make the cut in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event.

Tiger Woods, since you were asking, played better than his score of -1 71 indicates. He actually tied for the lead by his 8th hole and was right in the mix until a stroke of bad fortune when he hit a lob wedge 3rd at 15 that hit the flagstick and caromed backward off the green and into the water, turning a sure birdie into a scrambling bogey 6.

He then over clubbed his approach into 18, hitting it to the back of the green, and made a 3 putt bogey for his 71,.. the good news for Tiger fans.. He's just 3 shots off the lead at -3.

Freddie Couples, who shared the 36-hole lead at the Masters last year, birdied the 18th hole for a 71, -5 total, and will play in the final group with Day

Angel Cabrera (2009 champ) birdied five of his last six holes for a 69 and is at -4 along with Jim Furyk (71) and Brandt Snedeker (70).

At -3 along with Tiger are Adam Scott (72), Lee Westwood (71) and Justin Rose (71).


As if that is not compelling enough for the weekend, I haven't even mentioned Rory yet !
He was chugging along until he hit a magnificent 5-wood from about 275 yards on #8 that set up a short eagle putt. He added three more birdies on the back nine and had a -2 70, leaving him only four shots out of the lead

Mike Weir shot +7 79 and did not make the cut.

Just a note on perhaps the story of the day Tianlang Guan and his penalty for slow play. While John Parmor who incidently is the Referee in Chief of the European Tour, and is held in the highest regards throughout the world of golf is receiving a lot of guff for the decision, he was merely following the rules of speed of play that the players themselves have established.

Playing with Matteo Manassero and Ben Crenshaw, he was informed his group was out of position as it left the 10th green. They were on the clock on the 12th hole, meaning players would be timed to make sure they hit their shots within the 40-second limit. The teen got his first bad time with his second shot on the 13th hole, and it was clear he was in trouble after his shot into the 17th when Paramor walked out to speak to him...... They were a hole and a half behind.

So the stage is set for another compelling weekend, the sun is set to come out, and with a crowded leader board, Rory, Tiger in the hunt, so many storylines, I will tell you all of them right here !


Live scoreboard click here http://www.majorschampionships.com/masters/leaderboard.html

Round 3 tee times click here http://www.majorschampionships.com/masters/event-info/tee-



BryanA  (notes from pgatour.com)




times.html

Friday, April 12, 2013

Worst of the weather misses Augusta as Friday gets under way

Thursday's benign conditions, sunny skies and little wind made for ideal scoring and as a result 45 of the 92 players shot par or better, with journeyman Aussie Mark Leishman and Sergio Garcia atop the list at -6 66.

Dustin Johnson, next at -5 67 and guys similar length off the tee are making a mockery of the recently re-vamped Augusta National, for example he had a 9 iron second into 13 and a wedge into 15 .. both par 5's, and in both cases the big boys are just back to ripping it a mile high over the corner and completely bypassing all the design features that are supposed to make it a drive drawn around the corner, then a risk and reward decision, 3 wood or long iron from the top of the hill over the pond or Rae's Creek, or lay up for your wedge third..

Six players are at -4 68 including Kuchar, evergreen Freddie Couples, and Rickie Fowler who shot -4 despite two doubles..

Tiger was out in -2 34 but strangely came back in E, for a pedestrian 70, and every time Rory would make a birdie, he'd follow it with a bogey, he finished up at 72.

Mike Weir playing at three quarter speed was delighted to be around with +1 73, the same score that the teenage sensation Tianlang Guan posted, including a chip in at 18.

Dave Perkins joined me from the Media Center to say the rains expected overnight did not arrive, just a little sprinkling, although there are thunder showers in the forecast. Even if it did rain, the new sub air system under every green means they greens keepers can dry them out very quickly.

I expect another day of low scoring, many of the guys had trouble with the greens being slower than usual believe it or not, Mickelson said they look fast but they are not what he has become accustom to, but that will change as the weekend wears on and they will be running as of old come Sunday.

For tee times and live scoring click http://www.majorschampionships.com/masters/leaderboard.html

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

77th Masters pairings..

The 77th Masters gets under way on Thursday and I will have live reports on it all right here as well as a live link to the leaderboard.

I am working on my Masters picks for all you poolies and will be giving you 10 guys not called Tiger for your perusal.

The pairings for round 1 have just been posted, and here are some notables..

Mike Weir will be a game time decision as he is carrying a ribcage injury. He has been hitting a few balls at half speed, and is playing as many holes today as it will allow..This is the 10th anniversary of his 2003 Masters win.

Weir, Westwood , Furyk 9.06

Woods, Donald, Scott Piercy (won the Canadian Open) 1045

Ben Crenshaw (61), Matteo Manassero (19), T Guan (14 year old amateur from China) 12.24

Mickelson, Oosthuizen. Kaymer 1.30

McIlroy, Bradley, F Jacobsen 1.41


Round 1 pairings click here http://www.masters.com/en_US/players/pairings/index.html

Stay tuned for my Masters preview..


Bryan A

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Laird holds off McIlroy to win the Valero...final scoring all tours..

Rory McIlroy fired a closing 66, but it wasn't quite enough to catch Scotland's Martin Laird..

Here is a full report as well as reports and live scoring to all other tours...



LPGA TOUR - KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: Mission Hills Country Club (6,738 yds, par 72)
PURSE: $2 million. Winner’s share: $300,000.

Round 4

lpgatour.com   Inbee Park took her three shot lead into the final round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship (@KNCGolf) and never looked back. The South Korean continued her putting prowess she exhibited all week at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club and carded a 3-under 69 on Sunday en route to the four-stroke victory and her second-career major title. The win marks the third-straight South Korean to win an LPGA Tour major championship and fifth of the last seven.

No one came within four shots of Park throughout the day until fellow South Korean and close friend, Rolex Rankings No. 9 So Yeon Ryu (@1soyeonryu), birdied her final hole on No. 18 to post the low round of the week, a 7-under 65, to finish 11-under par for the tournament and runner-up honors.



For live scoring click  http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx





PGA TOUR - TEXAS OPEN
COURSE: JW Marriott, TPC San Antonio, Oaks Course (7,522 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $6.2 million. Winner’s share: $1,116,000.

CANADIAN CONTENT: Brad Fritsch T37 E 70 73 75 70

Round 4

pgatour.com  Martin Laird has spent the last six months on the driving range looking for answers to his struggling game. The Scottish golfer finally found what he was looking for and then some on Sunday, winning the Valero Texas Open with a final-round 9-under 63 to hold off a resurgent Rory McIlroy and some of the world's best along the way

He punctuated the overall 14-under effort with birdies on the final three holes, earning a trip to next week's Masters and plenty of confidence in a recent swing change along the way

McIlroy, who only entered the tournament late last week, closed to within a shot of Laird when he sank a 13-foot birdie putt on the 204-yard par-3 16th to reach 11 under. He shot 66 to end up 2nd.

The former world No. 1 had struggled with his consistency for much of the year entering the week, but he made seven birdies on Sunday. It was exactly the kind of competitive final round McIlroy envisioned when he signed up in advance of next week's first major of the year.

He continued to struggle off the tee, hitting just seven of 14 fairways for the third time this week Sunday. However, he needed only 26 putts, by far his best effort on the greens for the week.


Live scoring click here  http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/valero-texas-open/tee-times.html






WEB.COM TOUR - BRAZIL CLASSIC
COURSE: Sao Paulo Golf Club (6,574 yards, par 71).
PURSE: $675,000. Winner’s share: $121,500.

CANADIAN CONTENT: Adam Hadwin T60 -3 67 72 66 76, Matt Hill T37 -6 68 66 71 73, Jon Mills MC, Richard Scott T37 -6 7166 70 71 

Round 4   

pgatour.com Chile’s Benjamin Alvarado fired a 2-under 69 Sunday at the Sao Paulo Golf Club and won the inaugural Brasil Classic presented by HSBC, the Web.com Tour’s initial stop in the South America country.

Alvarado, the third-round leader, held off all challengers to finish at 19-under 265 and win by one stroke over South Africa’s Dawie van der Walt (66) and by two over Californian Kevin Kim (68).


Live scoring click here   http://www.pgatour.com/content/pgatour/webcom/leaderboard.html






ASIAN TOUR - PANASONIC OPEN INDIA
COURSE: Delhi Golf Club, New Delhi (6,963 yds, par 72)
PURSE: $300,000

CANADIAN CONTENT: Richard T. Lee T8 -4 72 68 77 67, Ron Harvey Jr (alternate)

Round 4

Australian Wade Ormsby claimed a nerve-jangling maiden Asian Tour title at the Panasonic Open India to deny Thai veteran Boonchu Ruangkit from a historic victory at the Delhi Golf Club on Sunday.

Ormsby overcame a disastrous triple bogey on the third hole to shoot a final round one-under-par 71 to win the US$300,000 tournament by one stroke from the 56-year-old Boonchu, who was bidding to become the oldest winner on the region’s premier Tour.

The wire-to-wire win earned Ormsby’s the winner’s cheque of US$54,000 and moved him up to eighth place on the Order of Merit.


Live scoring click here  http://www.asiantour.com/tournaments/40/leaderboard/





NGA TOUR - NESMITH CHEVROLET CLASSIC
COURSE: Sapelo Hammock Golf Club, Shellman Bluff, Ga. (6,698 yds, par 72)
PURSE: $150,000

CANADIAN CONTENT: Stuart Anderson MC Marc-Etienne Bussieres MC, Max Gilbert MC, Mathieu Gingras MC, Sebastian Szirmak MC, Riley Wheeldon MC


Final

Some people may have scoffed when Justin Lower said that NGA TOUR fields are so deep there could be 18 different winners this season. But with each passing event, Lower’s words only become more prophetic.

M.J. Daffue became the sixth different winner in six events this season by outlasting Sihwan Kim on Sunday afternoon in the NeSmith Chevrolet Classic at Sapelo Hammock Golf Club. The former Lamar University standout from Pretoria, South Africa, used a 4-under 67 in the final round to finish at 12-under par and earned his first victory on the NGA TOUR by single stroke over Kim



Live scoring click here  http://www.ngatour.com/leaderboard/pro2013011/





eGOLF PROFESSIONAL TOUR - FOUNDERS CLUB CLASSIC
COURSE: Founders Club at St. James, Southport, N.C. (7,016 yds, par 72)

CANADIAN CONTENT: Mackenzie Hughes T3 E 72 72 72, Cam Burke  1st  69 69 76 -2, Ryan Terdik MC Robbie Greenwell MC, Brett Nymeyer, MC

Final wrap

On a day only the BBC and the powers that be at the Open Championship could love, Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ontario overcame a double-bogey on the first hole of his final round (and four consecutive bogeys to finish) to post a final-round 76 and earn his first professional title at the eGolf Tour’s inaugural Founders Club Classic at St. James Plantation.

The Founders Club Classic was the sixth of 24 scheduled events on the 2013 eGolf Tour schedule, and was contested this week at the Founders Club at St. James Plantation in Southport, NC.

Burke entered Thursday’s final round on the heels of a 69-69—138 (6-under) start to his week, and in possession of a one-shot lead over Carlos Sainz Jr. of Elgin, IL. From the outset, it was apparent that Mother Nature would play a role in the outcome of the tournament.

Steady overnight rains in the scenic coastal town gave way to a constant drizzle and occasional downpour on Thursday morning, which paired with a 20-30 mph wind to create some of the most difficult playing conditions in the eGolf Tour’s 12-year history..


Live scoring click  http://tarheel.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/tarheel13/event/tarheel1317/contest/1/leaderboard.htm







SUNCOAST LADIES TOUR
COURSE: Rio Pinar Country Club, Orlando, FL (6,259 yds, par 72)

CANADIAN CONTENT: Natalie Gleadall T13 79 69 75 +7, Chelcia Petersen (a) 21 77 78 71 +10

Winner Cindy Feng (a)  72 72 69 -3 (Orlando Florida)


Live scoring click here  http://www.suncoastseries.com/2013%20TOUR/0.Tournaments/0.9RIOPINAR/RESULTS.pdf




BryanA