Playoff's galore !! Weekend news and notes..

While most Canadian hockey fans are focused on the Stanley Cup playoffs, now down to the final between Vancouver and Boston starting Wednesday evening in Vancouver, golf gave it's own version of the playoffs this weekend

European Tour
Luke Donald continued his phenomenal play, and became the world's #1 when he birdied the 1st playoff hole, the par 5 18th at Wentworth to win the BMW PGA Championship, after Lee Westwood's 95 yard wedge landed right over the flag but spun back sideways and trickled right into the burn guarding the green.
full leaderboard click on European Tour

PGA Tour
Keegan Bradley, nephew of LPGA Hall of Famer Pat Bradley won the Byron Nelson Championship, parring the first hole of a playoff with Ryan Palmer on Sunday when he sunk a 2-foot par putt at the 419-yard 18th hole ,while Palmer made bogey after his approach went into the water
full leaderboard click on PGA Tour

Champions Tour
Tom Watson holed a 3 foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat former PGA Rules official David Eger, after both players had missed short putts on the 18th in regulation which would have won it for either of them.
full leaderboard click on PGA Tour go to Champions Tour

Watson closed with a 2-under 70 to finish at 10-under 278 and capture his 14th career major, six since turning 50 to go with five British Opens, two Masters and a U.S. Open.  At 61 he became the oldest player to win a major since the senior tour was created in 1980. He also became the second-oldest winner of the Senior PGA, behind only Jock Hutchison who was 62 in 1947.

Notes

* Rory Sabbatini has withdrawn from the Memorial this week saying he no longer needs to play it because he is now exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open. However after his big cussed out blow up with Sean O'Hair in New Orleans, Rory who tends to run hot under the collar at times is surrounded by speculation he is facing a suspension from the PGA Tour.

If he is suspended it won't affect him playing in the US Open (USGA) or the Open Championship (R&A)

* curse of the announcers.. Renton Laidlaw calling the playoff hole at Wentworth as Donald and Westwood surveyed their wedge shots to the green "the last thing we want here is for one of these guys to end up in the water "

* 17 and 18 at Wentworth were much more exciting before the changes, 18 has become a 2 shot layup, followed by a par 3 from 100 yards..

* both Manny Manessero +4 75,and Jordan Speith +6 77 had tough days but are simply brilliant teenagers who we can look forward to for many years to come..

* the GC is on my TV daily but they broke a golden rule of broadcasting thursday and friday when they stopped their coverage from Wentworth at noon with an hour of play left, going to old replayed programming until 2pm instead, so we missed the conclusion of each day. Never start something you can't finish..

* Here are the new world rankings as of minutes ago and I heard Kraig Khan of the GC opining that for him Luke Donald just doesn't seem like a world number 1..

Really, consider this, since the Accenture World Match Play in Tuscon back in February which Luke won, he has played 9 times, has been 1st twice, lost the Heritage in a playoff, was 2nd last week at the Volvo Match Play,  4th at the Masters and the Players, 6th at the WGC Cadillac, 8th in New Orleans, and 10th at the Honda...
That is a record that even Tiger Woods would have be proud of in his prime!!

1 Luke Donald, Eng 9.14 484.20 53 -101.08 274.72
2 Lee Westwood, Eng 8.74 410.81 47 -150.70 136.56
3 Martin Kaymer, Deu 7.41 370.30 50 -130.10 144.60
4 Phil Mickelson, USA 6.18 278.13 45 -126.26 116.22
5 Graeme McDowell, Nir 5.62 309.24 55 -97.72 73.46
6 Rory McIlroy, Nir 5.42 281.76 52 -113.50 87.49
7 Matt Kuchar, USA 5.15 267.93 52 -84.96 105.82
8 Steve Stricker, USA 5.15 211.06 41 -121.13 69.39
9 Paul Casey, Eng 5.12 230.42 45 -103.28 68.38
10 Charl Schwartzel, Zaf 5.10 285.38 56 -66.34 170.10
11 Bubba Watson, USA 4.98 233.84 47 -57.31 133.91
12 Ian Poulter, Eng 4.87 258.26 53 -100.90 86.36
13 Tiger Woods, USA 4.86 194.27 40 -163.78 42.80
14 Dustin Johnson, USA 4.86 237.93 49 -80.30 92.15
15 Nick Watney, USA 4.74 246.43 52 -66.55 147.29
16 K.J. Choi, Kor 4.45 236.00 53 -48.08 144.51
17 Jim Furyk, USA 4.38 210.48 48 -115.16 39.60
18 Hunter Mahan, USA 4.19 221.87 53 -84.22 91.73
19 Jason Day, Aus 4.14 186.24 45 -43.61 102.30
20 Francesco Molinari, Ita 4.10 221.22 54 -75.65 55.06

* my good friend and long time broadcast partner Bob Weeks reports in his latest blog at Scoregolf that Weirsy has split again with Mike Wilson.
" The big news for Weir is that he's once again parted ways with Mike Wilson. Weir said he just wasn't getting what he wanted from the relationship and so has decided to look elsewhere for a teacher. He's yet to settle on just whom he wants to work with, but has been listening to a number of the top teaching professionals. As he said, there's no shortage of instructors willing to offer an opinion."

* although Hale Irwin shot 73 to fall out of the top 3 at Valhalla, to be leading a major at 66 after 3 rounds while as he said afterward " I'm not really playing that well" is unbelievable

* the wind was so tough at the Byron Nelson only 5 players ended up under par.

* 64 world ranking points and a ton of cash, prestigious event, historic course not enough incentive to attract any Yanks to Wentworth ?? ( Daly sponsor's exemption, Yang won in Malaysia in 2009). Furthermore, not that Luke will need it, but the winner at Wentworth does not get a spot in the Masters, although Keegan Bradley does for winning the Byron Nelson.... can we say American bias...

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Luke Donald wins Wentworth and World #1

Luke Donald has just birdied the first playoff hole while Lee Westwood made 7 after his wedged 3rd spun off the green into the water, a dramatic ending to a dramatic day at this famous west course at Wentworth..

Lee actually played a better round, stedy while Luke was wild off the tee, but relied on his best in golf short game to save him time after time.

All week I have been writing here about the changes to 17 and 18 that have taken what used to be an eagle eagle finish off the books. Further to that, 18 has now become a 2 shot set up for a par 3 finish, bad design in my opinion

Full report to follow

For full scoreboard click on European Tour

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Irwin turns back the clock at Senior PGA at Valhalla

Think about this as you wait for a dry day to go golfing.. You are 65 years old, and leading the Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla !!

Hale Irwin has turned back the clock again this week at -9 is tied for the lead with unheralded Kiyoshi Murota, although it is a very slim 1 shot lead over some of the world's best.. Tom Watson -8, Nick Price -6, Lorne Roberts -5, Tom Lehman -5, Calc -4 and the man who only seems  to play the majors Eduardo Romero -4...

T1 - Hale Irwin -9 1:35 pm EDT - 69 68 70 - 207

T1 - Kiyoshi Murota -9 1:35 pm EDT - 66 67 74 - 207
3 - Tom Watson -8 1:26 pm EDT - 70 70 68 - 208
4 - Trevor Dodds -7 1:26 pm EDT - 67 75 67 - 209
5 - Nick Price -6 1:17 pm EDT - 67 70 73 - 210
T6 - David Eger -5 1:08 pm EDT - 74 68 69 - 211
T6 - Loren Roberts -5 1:08 pm EDT - 68 70 73 - 211
T6 - Tom Lehman -5 1:17 pm EDT - 73 70 68 - 211
T9 - Olin Browne -4 12:41 pm EDT - 68 70 74 - 212
T9 - Mark Calcavecchia -4 12:50 pm EDT - 72 69 71 - 212
T9 - Eduardo Romero -4 12:50 pm EDT - 73 67 72 - 212
T9 - Mark O'Meara -4 12:59 pm EDT - 68 72 72 - 212
T9 - Peter Senior -4 12:59 pm EDT - 73 68 71 - 212

Canucks
T27 - Rod Spittle +1 11:29 am EDT - 73 73 71 - 217

T37 - Jim Rutledge +3 10:17 am EDT - 75 73 71 - 219


Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Hot, windy Sunday in store at Byron Nelson.

With Palmer 73 and Sergio 74 backing up in windy conditions at TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving Texas, the field is bunched up behind them as play begins on Sunday, and in that group, just 4 shots back is the 17 year old amateur Jordan Speith, and wouldn't we all like to see him win here and 18 year old Matteo Manessero win the PGA at Wentworth !!

Weather for today is hot, 35C, overcast and windy 35km from the south..

Top 10 leaderboard (  for full leaderboard click on PGA Tour)

1 15 Ryan Palmer -5 12:15pm color info 65 67 73 205

2 33 Sergio Garcia -4 12:15pm color info 66 66 74 206
T3 76 Arjun Atwal -3 12:06pm color info 68 72 67 207
T3 80 Ryuji Imada -3 12:06pm color info 69 68 70 207
T5 8 Gary Woodland -2 11:57am color info 69 71 68 208
T5 14 Matt Kuchar -2 11:57am color info 69 71 68 208
T5 116 Joe Ogilvie -2 11:48am color info 66 70 72 208
T8 127 Rod Pampling -1 11:48am color info 70 68 71 209
T8 115 John Rollins -1 11:39am color info 68 70 71 209
T8 66 Jeff Overton -1 11:39am color info 64 74 71 209
T8 -- Jordan Spieth (a) -1 11:30am color info 69 68 72 209
T8 63 Keegan Bradley -1 11:30am color info 66 71 72 209
T8 4 Nick Watney -1 11:21am color info 68 68 73 209
T8 119 Tim Petrovic -1 11:21am color info 69 66 74 209
T8 161 Scott Piercy -1 11:12am color info 66 69 74 209

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Donald fights back, shares lead with Manny..

While most of London is focused on the drama about to unfold at Wembley as Man United take on Barcelona for the championship of the world, there was plenty of drama this morning down the road in Virginia Water on the very tough west course at Wentworth..

First here is the leaderboard..
T1 MANASSERO, Matteo -5 18 +1 66 70 72 - 208

T1 DONALD, Luke -5 18 +1 64 72 72 - 208
T3 ZANOTTI, Fabrizio -3 18 -2 71 70 69 - 210
T3 WESTWOOD, Lee -3 18 -2 72 69 69 - 210
T5 JACQUELIN, Raphaël -2 18 -2 72 70 69 - 211
T5 DREDGE, Bradley -2 18 -2 68 74 69 - 211
T5 DYSON, Simon -2 18 +1 71 68 72 - 211
T8 HANSON, Peter -1 18 -2 70 73 69 - 212
T8 EDFORS, Johan -1 18 Par 66 75 71 - 212
T8 HORSEY, David -1 18 +3 70 68 74 - 212
T8 LARA, José Manuel -1 18 +3 68 70 74 - 212
T8 QUIROS, Alvaro -1 18 +5 69 67 76 - 212

Matteo "Manny" Manassero 72, all 18 years of him in hot pink pants was out in 36 +1, then had 9 pars in a row,with several clutch putts like a curling 20 footer for par at 16 to start Sunday on top at -5

Luke Donald 72, nearly shot himself out of it with 40 on his front 9 which included 2 doubles, but 4 birdies coming home in 32 got the guy who has been playing like the world's #1 right back in it at -5 with Manny.

With the 2 leaders stalling with 72's the rest of the field is now bunched up behind them, none more than current #1, Lee Westwood 69, -3 who has been steady if unspectacular all week so far and will now go out with a chance to post a score in the second last group tomorrow.

Fabrizio Zanotti 69 -3 will be paired with Westwood. He is ranked 282 in the world, from Paraquay, so tomorrow will be the biggest day of his career so far..

Alvaro Quiros will be fun to watch on Sunday. He shot 76 today with 2 triples !! including the dreaded snowman at 17 and starts tomorrow -1, 4 shots back, hide the woman and children !!

Luke has to end up ahead of Lee to get that ever changing #1 spot, just another side bar to what will be another exciting Sunday in the long history of the west course at Wentworth, fittingly a history that the man they are honouring this week, Seve Ballesteros played such a prominent role in.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Garcia and Palmer lead the Byron Nelson

Ryan Palmer and Sergio Garcia shared the second-round lead at 8-under 132 after a sun-soaked round Friday when the wind was gusting up to 36 mph

Garcia who won here in 2004 shot -4,66 and Palmer shot a 67. Palmer never plays well at the Nelson with only one cut made in his seven previous appearances so he decided to let his caddie James Edmondson call the shots, and Palmer just executes and so far so good.

It is great to watch all the young guys like Matteo Manassero who is leading at Wentworth and at this tourney it's 17 year old local amateur Jordan Speith who T4 last year and has made the cut again at -3.He shot 68 on Friday but has a little problem..

His high school graduation ceremony is Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m, 20 miles away from the course."Right after the round I'm going to shoot over there as quickly as possible," Spieth said. "I don't know how long (graduation) usually lasts."

Unfortunately all 5 Canucks MC..

CUT 142 Stephen Ames 71 82 153
CUT 123 David Hearn 73 74 147
CUT 247 Mike Weir 74 70 144
CUT 248 Chris Baryla 71 77 148
CUT 228 Matt McQuillan 73 73 146

For a full leaderboard click on PGA Tour

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Beisiegel qualifies for men's Canadian Tour

cantour.com:  The Canadian Tour's Spring Qualifying School wrapped up yesterday in what is sure to go down as a history making moment in the world of golf. Isabelle Beisiegel, the 32 year old Montreal native became the first woman to successfully achieve status on a men's professional golf tour.


"I still can't believe it. It's a little overwhelming." Isabella said following her round. The former member of the University of Oaklahoma golf team who was competing in a Canadian Tour Qualifying School for her third time, shot a 4 under par 68 in round 3 at the Morningstar Golf Club to put her inside the number needed to earn status going into the final round.

Her fourth round score of 75, and a tournament total of 296 (+8) was good enough to earn the last non-exempt card.

By successfully earning status on the Canadian Tour, the former LPGA member and current Futures Tour member becomes the first women to successfully earn status on a Men's Professional Golf Tour via Qualifying School.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Little known Japanese golfer leads US Senior PGA by 4 shots

Little known Japan’s Kiyoshi Murota fired a -5 67,-11 for the tournament for a 4 shot lead over Nick Price 67,70 and 65 year old Hale Irwin 69,68 -7 in cool, overcast conditions at Valhalla, in Louisville Kentucky..

Speaking through an interpreter Murota said that his biggest achievements in golf were winning on the Senior Pro circuit in Japan twice, and winning the Pacific Masters, but he is virtually unknown in North America

Canucks
T46 13 Rod Spittle +2 F +1 73 73 - - 146

T61 13 Jim Rutledge +4 F +1 75 73 - - 148
They are both projected to make the cut projected at +4

About one-third of the field will need to finish their second rounds this morning, beginning at 7:30 since play was suspended due to darkness at 8:20 p.m Friday. After that, the cut will be made and the third round will begin at approximately 10:55 a.m.

Top10 Leaderboard
1 - Kiyoshi Murota -11 F -5 66 67 - - 133

T2 - Nick Price -7 F -2 67 70 - - 137
T2 5 Hale Irwin -7 F -4 69 68 - - 137
T4 - Olin Browne -6 F -2 68 70 - - 138
T4 - Loren Roberts -6 F -2 68 70 - - 138
6 15 Gary Hallberg -5 F -5 72 67 - - 139
T7 26 Eduardo Romero -4 F -5 73 67 - - 140
T7 5 Chien-Soon Lu -4 F -2 70 70 - - 140
T7 5 Tom Watson -4 F -2 70 70 - - 140
T7 3 Mark O'Meara -4 F E 68 72 - - 140

For a full leaderboard click on PGA Tour on the right side of this post.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Donald, Manassero & Quiros share the halfway lead at Wentworth

On a day when the entire field except Rory McIlroy got the memo about wearing Navy Blue in honour of Seve, and players including Ian Poulter had a go at Ernie's toughened up re-design of Wentworth, there is a 3 way tie at the top of a tightly packed leaderboard, and I hope we get to see it on the Golf Channel, because for some reason, it must have something to do with satellite time slots, they keep leaving play on progress at noon, est, and they then go to fill for the next 2 hours, not even live, which I suggest to you shows just where on their schedule of importance the BMW PGA lies.

Alvaro Quiros 67, finished with 3 birdies (16,17,18) to catch Luke 72, and moments later they were joined by 18 year old Italian sensation Matteo Manassero (Manny) 70,when he birdied the 18th.

With players rolling big numbers, Justin Rose 9 on the 17th, Korean teenager Seung-yul NOH 11 on the 18th for example, Luke Donald's 64 yesterday is looking more and more special, because this course is very long and tough. Tees were put back and some stiff pin placements kept scoring in check all day

I haven't seen this many 3 woods and utility clubs into par 4's since the 70's !!

The cut fell at +5.for the full leaderboard click on European Tour on the right side of this post.


T1 DONALD, Luke -6 18 +1 64 72 - - 136

T1 QUIROS, Alvaro -6 18 -4 69 67 - - 136
T1 MANASSERO, Matteo -6 18 -1 66 70 - - 136

T4 LARA, José Manuel -4 18 -1 68 70 - - 138
T4 HORSEY, David -4 18 -3 70 68 - - 138
T4 AIKEN, Thomas -4 18 -4 71 67 - - 138
7 DYSON, Simon -3 18 -3 71 68 - - 139
T8 JAMIESON, Scott -2 18 -2 71 69 - - 140
T8 AGUILAR, Felipe -2 18 -1 70 70 - - 140
T8 WHITEFORD, Peter -2 18 -2 71 69 - - 140
T8 LEVET, Thomas -2 16 Par 69 - - - 69
T8 ZANOTTI, Fabrizio -2 12 -2 71 - - - 71
T13 HANSEN, Anders -1 18 +1 69 72 - - 141
T13 OTTO, Hennie -1 18 Par 70 71 - - 141
T13 VELASCO, Alvaro -1 18 -1 71 70 - - 141
T13 WESTWOOD, Lee -1 18 -2 72 69 - - 141
T13 CLARKE, Darren -1 18 +1 69 72 - - 141
T13 YANG, Y. E. -1 18 -1 71 70 - - 141

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Els defends Wentworth as players rip new design

Yesterday I wrote about my feelings on the new layout at Wentworth and mentioned like Augusta much of the roar has been taken out of the finish at the great west course. Today starting with Ian Poulter, some of the players have voiced their displeasure.

Here is the article from the Telegraph..
Ian Poulter's hopes of following his World Match Play victory last Sunday with the BMW PGA Championship title nosedived when he finished his second round today with a double bogey seven.

But it was not just the 539-yard 18th and its controversial new stream in front of the green that led the Ryder Cup star to giving vent to his feelings.

On whether he will be back in 12 months' time Poulter said: ''Who knows? I don't know what I'm going to do. I've got no idea. ''I'll speak freely - many others may not. I don't like this golf course. Period. End of story.

''I don't have a problem with tough golf courses and level par (his halfway total after a 74) is hanging in there. ''But I'm walking off the golf course and I'm absolutely headless. Absolutely fuming. It's not fun golf. You're watching, you tell me. Is it fun?''

Poulter stayed away in 2008 and 2009 because of his poor record and the state of the West Course greens, but millions were then spent on improving the conditions and toughening it up.

''I've loved this golf course from a kid. You could be five shots back and had a chance, but you can't finish eagle-eagle (now). ''That's the re-design. They got what they want.''

Poulter's pitch to the par five last spun into the hazard and he then failed to get up and down with his next attempt.

Twenty minutes later Korean Noh Seung-yul had an 11 on the same hole, while two groups ahead of Poulter his 2008 Ryder Cup partner Justin Rose ran up a quadruple bogey nine on the 17th.

That did not even involve going out of bounds. He drove right into a bush, had to go back to the tee because he thought it was his best option, clipped a tree with his next drive and once down near the new-look green thinned one chip and duffed another.

Paul Casey, who played with Poulter the first two days and is one over after a 71, said: ''I used to really enjoy playing this golf course and now it's a grind. ''I think Richard Csring (the billionaire owner), from what I've heard, was perhaps wanting something like level par to win.

''Well he might get that, but does that make it entertaining?

''One of the beautiful things about Wentworth (he too attended as a child) is always the great finish and the fact that guys could finish with maybe four threes (two birdies, two eagles) and shoot up that leaderboard. ''It's very, very difficult now.''

Ernie Els, the man called in by Wentworth to make the changes, responded to the comments by saying: "Wentworth is now a fair and honest test of golf.

"I can understand people saying things in the heat of the moment. A guy comes off the 18th when he's just made double and he's going to be hot. "What they say two minutes after finishing might not be indicative of what they think two hours later. Players who do not have a good time on the 18th will have a go.


"But you have to look at the overall picture. I believe you will not find better surfaces to putt on anywhere in the world at the moment, but unfortunately you only hear the negative comments and very little positive.

"It's two weeks before the US Open, it's the Tour's flagship event and should be played on a major championship style lay-out. "This course is by no means unfair. It was last year, but it is not this. It is a true test of the game."

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Donald calls it "one of the best rounds I've played"

"That was probably one of the best rounds I've ever played to be honest".

Luke Donald has just completed his round of -7 64 in a wet and windy morning on the west course at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship and he is currently leading in the clubhouse by 2 shots.

Matteo Manassero and Johan Edfors are both in at -5 66. Ian Poulter is at -3 playing the 12th..

"It was tough conditions out there - the wind was swirling, there was some rain showers, and this isn't an easy course in the best of conditions. So to pretty much have total control of the golf ball today doesn't happen very often in golf but that's how I felt today. I was just seeing the shots and I was able to hit them. So it was very, very satisfactory today - very, very pleasing.

Monty was out in 30 but had 3 bogey's in his last 4 holes to turn a great round into just a good one. He is by the way, the heavy Monty these days, very heavy...

Wentworth has always been one of my favourite courses, especially with the 5,5 finish which always provided a possible 3,3 finish, but since Ernie has changed the course, only the really long hitters are even taking a chance of getting home in 2 which much like the Masters has taken some of the excitement out of the finish.
He also had all the bunkers dug up and re-designed and re configured all 18 greens !!

The morning flight has had the best of the conditions, the lates will have the course 2 or even 3 shots tougher.

1 DONALD, Luke -7 18 -7 64 - - - 64

T2 MANASSERO, Matteo -5 18 -5 66 - - - 66
T2 EDFORS, Johan -5 18 -5 66 - - - 66
T4 McGOWAN, Ross -3 18 -3 68 - - - 68
T4 DREDGE, Bradley -3 15 -3 - - - - -
T4 POULTER, Ian -3 11 -3 - - - - -
T7 FERRIE, Kenneth -2 18 -2 69 - - - 69
T7 QUIROS, Alvaro -2 18 -2 69 - - - 69
T7 CLARKE, Darren -2 18 -2 69 - - - 69
T7 MONTGOMERIE, Colin -2 18 -2 69 - - - 69
T7 LEVET, Thomas -2 18 -2 69 - - - 69

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Tiger's agent leaves IMG...

The upheaval surrounding Tiger Woods continues with the golfer's long-time agent Mark Steinberg confirming he is leaving IMG, the Cleveland-based agency that has guided the golfer since he turned professional in 1996. The former world No1 will now face the choice of signing with Steinberg, a mainstay of his entourage and the author of some of the biggest sponsorship deals in the history of sport, or remain with IMG.
"I am committed to both," Woods said hours before his agent's departure from IMG was made public. He no longer has that option.

Within the world of golf it is widely expected that Woods will opt to go with Steinberg should he form his own company. The agent has looked after the golfer's business affairs for the past 12 years during which time he negotiated multiple deals with corporate America, the most eye-popping of which has been a Nike deal said to be worth $20m a year.

He also negotiated a $55m fee in 2008 for Woods's first golf course design project, The Tiger Woods Dubai. The golfer was paid in full despite the course being subsequently abandoned because of the global economic downturn.

Analysis to follow Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Blown Blog

I am not sure what I did, and Jaspreet Mangat, one of the best guys I ever hired at the Fan590 is not here, but my entire last 2 hours of Golf this week has vanished into the computer mist...

So here is a Coles Notes version

European Tour  BMW PGA 7 of the top 9 guys are here, Simon Khan defends.. Wentworth West Course.. Euro Tour flagship event.. only 2 Yanks, Daly and Yang have bothered to show up.. week od celebration for Seve  all players wear blue on Friday..

Champions Tour  Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla in Kentucky where ther are a lot of WD inclufing Azinger, Langer, Couples etal... Kenny Perry is a favourite at home in Kentucky annd Spittle and Rutherford are our 2 Canucks

PGA Tour Byron Nelson Championship has slipped since his death and to give you an example Mike Weir was the 9th alternative and he is playing... 10 Matt Kucher is the top ranked player..

LPGA Tour  has 30 stars including Alena Sharp in an exhibition event in Rio where they are promoting golf in South America and the inclusion of it at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Schwartzel receives Honourary Life Membership

This just in from Roddy Williams of the European Tour office..

Masters Champion Charl Schwartzel has been presented with European golf’s highest award of Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour, following in the footsteps of the three other reigning Major Champions.

The South African received his silver Honorary Life Membership card and money clip last night from George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, at a special ceremony involving his fellow South African Major Champions, Retief Goosen and Louis Oosthuizen, during the Tour’s Players’ Awards dinner on the eve of the BMW PGA Championship.

Schwartzel will take his place in the field for The European Tour’s flagship event tomorrow alongside US Open Champion Graeme McDowell, Open Champion Oosthuizen and US PGA Champion Martin Kaymer, who all received Honorary Life Memberships last November ahead of the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World.

In April Schwartzel produced a stunning finish at Augusta National to complete an historic clean sweep of the Major Championships by European Tour Members, birdieing the last four holes to win the Masters Tournament by two strokes from Australian pair Adam Scott and Jason Day.


His victory came exactly 50 years after compatriot Gary Player became the first overseas player to win the Masters Tournament and was only the third victory by a South African at Augusta National, following Player’s three triumphs and Trevor Immelman’s Green Jacket success in 2008.

Schwartzel becomes the sixth South African to be awarded Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour, following Player (1995), Els (1998), Goosen (2002), Immelman (2008) and Oosthuizen (2010).

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Ole Seve raises nearly $1m for cancer research

This just in from my pal Roddy Williams at the European Tour Office..
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Olé Seve! raises over £600,000 for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation

The golfing world paid a handsome tribute to one of the game’s greatest champions at Wentworth Club on Monday when the Olé Seve! invitational event raised a staggering £618,168 in aid of the Seve Ballesteros Foundation (SBF).

Olé Seve!in Aid of the Seve Ballesteros Foundation, co-hosted by Wentworth Club Chairman Richard Caring and European Tour Chief Executive George O’Grady, brought 24 leading professionals and their amateur teams together for a celebration of the life of Seve Ballesteros, who died on May 7 at the age of 54.

The pro-am and subsequent auction in Wentworth Club’s magnificent ballroom raised a grand total of £618,168 for the SBF, supporting Cancer Research UK. The sum helped swell to over £1.3 million the amount now raised since Ballesteros launched his Foundation and formed a strong partnership with Cancer Research UK.

Local hero Ross Fisher and his team of Galib Virani, Francois Joseph Fury and Steven Ho won the pro-am competition with an 18 under par score before auctioneer Jonny Gould took the stage to help engineer a rousing finale to an evening which also had its sombre moments in the form of a moving video about the devastating effects of brain cancer.

The 24 players, including five Major Champions, helped make the day a spectacular success through their efforts on and off the course, as nine top of the range auction items raised just under £350,000, with two very special items closely connected to Seve attracting the highest bids of the night.

A Rolex Daytona wrist watch once owned by Ballesteros was auctioned for £65,000 with a gold Ping Putter, a replica of the iconic model wielded by the Spaniard when he won The Open at St Andrews in 1984, raising £55,000.

Ivan Ballesteros, nephew of Seve and long-time spokesman for the Ballesteros family, commented: “The Seve Ballesteros Foundation is Seve’s biggest legacy. He fought all the way and lost the battle 16 days ago, but he started the Foundation for research so that people can win these battles.”

It was left to Ballesteros’s great friend and confidant, José Maria Olazábal, to close the function with an emotional speech in honour of the five-time Major Champion.

He said: “Unfortunately, we lost a great man and a dear friend, but it is not a sad time because Seve lived life to the full. I never saw any other player with his heart and determination. He was a pioneer. He opened doors and changed the image of golf into the truly exciting game it is today. He was a true genius.

“When cancer struck he had two goals – the first was never to give up and the second was to help as many people as possible. That’s why he started up his Foundation and is why this is a very important day. Seve can’t be here but I am sure he would be proud of what everyone has achieved today.”

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Tiger continues to fall, now #12

In the absence of Tiger Woods there is not a dominant world #1 right now, although Luke Donald, who came within a couple of holes of winning both World Match Play's this year, and Lee Westwood who won 2 weeks in a row before last weekend are in the best form of the top 5.

This week the European tour has it's flagship event the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and a week of tributes to Seve, and the PGA stop is the Byron Nelson.

1 Lee Westwood, Eng 8.08 379.54 47 -143.57 98.16

2 Luke Donald, Eng 8.03 425.35 53 -95.94 210.72
3 Martin Kaymer, Deu 7.49 374.37 50 -123.43 142.00
4 Phil Mickelson, USA 6.29 283.27 45 -121.12 116.22
5 Graeme McDowell, Nir 5.71 314.32 55 -92.64 73.46
6 Rory McIlroy, Nir 5.46 283.78 52 -108.27 84.28
7 Charl Schwartzel, Zaf 5.16 288.73 56 -63.16 170.10
8 Steve Stricker, USA 5.15 216.28 42 -115.91 69.39
9 Paul Casey, Eng 5.13 230.94 45 -99.55 65.17
10 Matt Kuchar, USA 5.10 264.94 52 -80.73 98.60
11 Bubba Watson, USA 5.04 236.75 47 -54.41 133.91
12 Tiger Woods, USA 5.03 201.08 40 -156.98 42.80
13 Dustin Johnson, USA 4.98 239.12 48 -76.80 89.85
14 Ian Poulter, Eng 4.87 258.24 53 -96.57 82.01
15 Nick Watney, USA 4.79 244.09 51 -63.76 142.16
16 K.J. Choi, Kor 4.56 236.99 52 -45.82 143.25
17 Jim Furyk, USA 4.39 215.30 49 -110.34 39.60
18 Hunter Mahan, USA 4.18 225.92 54 -80.17 91.73
19 Francesco Molinari, Ita 4.13 223.26 54 -72.07 53.52
20 Ernie Els, Zaf 4.08 228.21 56 -103.87 20.68

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Canucks fail to grab a spot at International Final qualifier

We had 4 Canucks playing in the International Final qualifier  for the Open Championship on Monday in Texas where 8 spots were up for grabs and none of them made it.International Final Qualifying (IFQ) events for The Open Championship were introduced in 2004 and are held on five continents to give more players from around the world the chance to gain direct entry into the championship
4 have already been held now the next one is June 6 at Sunningdale in Berkshire, England
Regional Qualifying for the 2011 Open will be played on 20 June 2011 at 16 clubs, all in the UK

PGA Tour players still can get into the British Open over the next few months through a special money list that includes The Players Championship and the five consecutive tournaments through the AT&T National; and for being the highest finisher among the top 10 not already exempt in the AT&T National and the John Deere Classic. (AP)

David Hearn T29 E 70
Mike Weir T55 +4 74
Chris Baryla NR (did not turn in scorecard)
Stephen Ames WD

May 23 (Reuters) - Brian Davis booked his place in this year's British Open on Monday when he won the U.S. qualifying tournament at the Gleneagles Country Club in Texas after Sergio Garcia withdrew because of an infected finger.


Davis, of England, shot six-under-par 64 to win the single-day event, which offered eight automatic qualifying berths, and was reduced from 36 holes to 18 because of heavy rain and lightning.

American Chad Campbell finished outright second with 65, one shot ahead of compatriots, Davis Love III, Spencer Levin, Chris Tidland and Bob Estes and Australia's Nathan Green, who also all qualified for golf's oldest major, to be played at Royal St George's at Sandwich in July.

The final qualifying spot went to American Jerry Kelly, who won a playoff after six players finished tied for eighth after matching rounds of 67. (Chris DiMarco, Mark Leishman, Justin Hicks, DA Points, Brandt Snedeker)

Garcia pulled out after just four holes, complaining that his finger was too sore to hold the club. The Spaniard had played in each of the last 13 editions of the British Open, with a best-finish of second in 2007, but was not guaranteed a start this year because his ranking has slipped to 73.

But the 31-year-old, who has struggled with his form and motivation over the past few years, expects to be back in action later this week and could enter other qualifying events yet to be played.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Pettersen edges Kerr for Match Play title..

In a week that saw our own Alena Sharp ranked #50 get all the way to the final 16, Norway's Suzann Pettersen #5 has edged Cristie Kerr #3 of the States 1up in a tightly contested match at the Sybase Match Play Championship at the Hamilton Farm GC, in Gladstone, New Jersey

Pettersen was 2 up, but Kerr birdied the 17th to send it to the last green. Pettersen sank a 15-foot birdie putt to seal the match and clinch her first victory of the 2011 season. Pettersen’s last win came at the 2009 CN Canadian Women’s Open.


Despite feeling under the weather for the majority of the week, Pettersen managed to win six straight matches to capture the title and the $375,000 first-place winner’s check.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Toms recovers to win the Colonial

When David Toms coughed up his 7 shot lead to Charlie Wi yesterday my first thoughts were "at least it's Saturday he has Sunday to recover". It was tough not to cheer for him.

Well he has (67 -15) and just won by a shot over Charlie Wi (69 -14..) He deserves the win on the basis of his play over the last 2 weeks

Bo Van Pelt and Zach Johnson charged in for third and fourth, both with 65's
David Hearn 71 ended up -1 T44

Top 10 Leaderboard

1 1 4 David Toms -15 F -3 color info 62 62 74 67 265

2 1 38 Charlie Wi -14 F -1 color info 64 67 66 69 266
3 14 41 Bo Van Pelt -10 F -5 color info 68 69 68 65 270
4 25 39 Zach Johnson -9 F -5 color info 68 69 69 65 271
T5 12 93 Robert Karlsson -8 F -3 color info 69 68 68 67 272
T5 7 105 Chez Reavie -8 F -2 color info 62 71 71 68 272
7 22 109 Kevin Stadler -7 F -3 color info 69 68 69 67 273
T8 9 19 Bill Haas -6 F -1 color info 67 67 71 69 274
T8 5 43 John Senden -6 F 3 color info 65 66 70 73 274
T10 25 127 Kris Blanks -5 F -2 color info 69 68 70 68 275
T10 25 77 Kevin Streelman -5 F -2 color info 72 67 68 68 275
T10 7 155 Rod Pampling -5 F E color info 65 69 71 70 275
T10 7 15 Hunter Mahan -5 F E color info 67 69 69 70 275
T10 7 8 Martin Laird -5 F E color info 69 70 66 70 275
T10 6 47 Paul Goydos -5 F 3 color info 70 65 67 73 275

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Poulter wins World Match Play

Ian Poulter has just won the World Match Play at the very hilly Finca Cortesin course in Spain 2&1, in what I thought was a sloppy final, really not befitting the #1 spot in the world, and certainly not up to the standard that Luke Donald has set for himself in matchplay

The turning point came on 15, when Poulter missed the green with a 4 iron, bladed his chip and made bogey 5. Donald was on the back fringe, needing a 2 putt to square the match and he rolled the first past then horse shoed the 3 foot return out.

Then on 16 both players  had wedges in their hands for their approach, Luke pulled his left and long 25' but Poulter hit his stiff to go dormie 2.

Poulter ended up making a 7 footer for par on 17 for the win, and he and Luke now get on a plane together with a bottle of bubbly and head back to Wentworth for next week's BMW PGA championship, on the same Burma road course that made this tournament famous when it started as the Piccadilly World Match Play back in 1964

It was a single knockout event then until the round robin format change that they played this week which certainly provided a feast of golf.

Donald has been battling a sore throat this week and I tweeted earlier today that he didn't look too happy, his body language was very negative at times, and in his green side interview right after his win, Poulter said "it's been a long week, I think we are all a bit fed up"..

He took 65 shots over 16 holes (I didn't count a hole he was conceded) so probably shot 74, Poulter took 60 shots over 16 holes (he took at least 6 on the hole he conceded) so probably shot 71, as I say it was a sloppy final, neither guy had their A game, but Poulter just made a few key putts, Donald missed that 3 footer and that was the difference. Keep in mind though in his last 53 events, Luke Donald has been in the T10 27 times

Finca Cortesin is a dramatic, hilly course, certainly a challenge to walk for players and spectators, the players seem to be supportive of it, but it seems to lack the drama that was so much a part of Wentworth all those years..

Maybe I am just looking back through rose coloured glasses..For full results of the week click on European Tour on the right side of this page

Note: Poulter as you know is the best dresser in pro golf and he has a ball marker to match. Made of platinum with his kid's names engraved on it in diamonds, he lost it somewhere on the back nine, and the European tour dispatched a staffer in a cart and to Poulter's relief he found it !!

Here are the projected world rankings  1.Westwood 2 Donald 3 Kaymer 4 Mickelson 5 McDowell

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Donald and Poulter in the final !!

europeantour.com  England's Luke Donald and Ian Poulter, the last two winners of the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona, won through to face each other in the final of the Volvo World Match Play Champoionship in Spain.


Donald, who needs to take the title to become World Number One for the first time, repeated his victory over German Martin Kaymer in February's final at Dove Mountain - with an even bigger 5 and 3 margin this time.

In the other semi-final Poulter was two down with four to play, but Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts bogeyed the 15th and 16th and lost when he ran up a bogey six on the first extra hole.

Donald won three holes in a row from the second and, after running up a double bogey seven on the next, birdied the long eighth and then took the 226 yard tenth when Kaymer double bogeyed.

The next four were shared and Donald did not even have to putt at the 15th after his opponent found a greenside bunker.

Colsaerts chipped in at the second and went three up after seven, but then made a mess of the eighth and Poulter, conqueror of Westwood in the last 16, halved the next five.

Colsaerts remained two up with four to play, but three-putted the 15th and then had to take a penalty drop after a wild drive down the next. Poulter won it with a par four and was all square.

Colsaerts birdied the last two holes, but Poulter matched them with putts of nine and five feet to take the game into sudden death.

Poulter won at the first extra hole after Colsaerts, much the longer off the tee again, missed the green this time, fluffed a chip and ran up a bogey six.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Semi's are set at Volvo World Match Play.. Westwood is out..

It's 12.30pm Saturday and after a serious morning of blogging starting at 4.30am, I have just got back in on a glorious warm May 24 weekend Saturday, so I missed the quarter finals, so here are the results along with the afternoon results from the last 16..

The final 4 are Kaymer vs Donald, and Poulter vs Coltsaerts

Three months ago Luke Donald beat Martin Kaymer to win the Accenture World Match Play they are back in head-to-head in the semi final of the Volvo World Match Play. Donald has now won his last 11 matches, including the Ryder Cup in Wales

Andrew Coltsaerts the big hitting Belgian who won in China for his first European title 3 months ago and is ranked 105 in the world has now beaten GMac, Vegas, Goosen and McIlroy on his way to his semi with Ian Poulter.


Last 16 Seung-yul NOH 1 Hole Alvaro QUIROS

Last 16 Martin KAYMER 3&2 Søren KJELDSEN
Last 16 Ross FISHER 1 Hole Charl SCHWARTZEL
Last 16 Luke DONALD 19th Johan EDFORS
Last 16 Jhonattan VEGAS 1 Hole Nicolas COLSAERTS
Last 16 Graeme MCDOWELL 3&2 Rory MCILROY
Last 16 Aaron BADDELEY 3&2 Francesco MOLINARI
Last 16 Lee WESTWOOD 1 Hole Ian POULTER


Quarter Finals

QF Alvaro QUIROS 2 Holes Martin KAYMER
QF Charl SCHWARTZEL 2 Holes Luke DONALD
QF Nicolas COLSAERTS 2&1 Graeme MCDOWELL
QF Francesco MOLINARI 2 Holes Ian POULTER

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Wayne and Janet Gretzky in a star studded field at BMW Charity Pro Am

I have been watching the highlights of this and I can tell you Janet Gretzky and her partner are 62,61 -20 T10, while her hubby Wayne and his partner are 62,63 -19 T18 going into today's play at this great pro am down in Greenville NC..

We have 4 Canucks.
Richard T Lee  T62 -4
Bryan DeCorso T79 -3
Jon Millls T128  E
Andrew Parr T150 +3

Here is the pgatour.com report from the course
Hoosier Travis Hampshire followed up yesterday's sizzling round of 60 with a three-under-par 68 today while Englishman Greg Owen fired a 63 to catch the first-round leader at the halfway mark of the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation.


Hampshire and Owen are tied at 15-under-par, 131 after 36 holes. Both played Thornblade Club in Greenville Friday after spending Thursday at Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg, S.C. The co-leaders head to Bright's Creek Country Club in Mill Spring, N.C. tomorrow before returning to Thornblade Club on Sunday for the final round of the popular pro-am tournament that features 25 celebrities

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Alena Sharp through to the final 16 at the Sybase Match Play

Hamilton's Alena Sharp is through to the final 16 at the Sybase Match Play Championship. She is ranked 50th of the 64 women who started play on Thursday and in a tight match yesterday she beat the defending champ and #16 seed Sun Young Yoo 2&1. Yoo made a bogey 4 on the par 3 16th allowing Alena to go 2 up, and the match ended in par at the 17th.

Here are today's matches and Alena is in good company with the likes of #1 seed Na Yeon Choi, #3 Cristie Kerr, #4 Yani Tseng, Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer Suzann Petterson etal...


49 (6) MIYAZATO, Ai

   (11) PARK, Inbee  9:04 AM

50 (3) KERR, Cristie
    (47) BAE, Kyeong  9:12 AM

51 (18) STANFORD, Angela
     (33) LEE, Meena  9:20 AM

52 (10) CREAMER, Paula
     (35) LANG, Brittany  9:28 AM

53 (1) CHOI, Na Yeon
    (50) SHARP, Alena  9:36 AM

54 (5) PETTERSEN, Suzann
    (21) LEWIS, Stacy  9:44 AM

55 (9) WIE, Michelle
    (42) GUSTAFSON, Sophie  9:52 AM

56 (4) TSENG, Yani
    (62) GRANADA, Julieta

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Toms is lapping the field at the Colonial..Hearn makes the cut

The combination of a soft course and a golfer right on top of his form, has produced a tie for the 36 hole scoring record on the PGA tour by David Toms..

Here is a report from pgatour.com
Coming off a playoff loss Sunday to K.J. Choi in THE PLAYERS Championship, the 44-year-old Toms tied the mark of 124 set by Pat Perez in the 2009 Bob Hope Classic. Perez had rounds of 61 and 63.


Already off to another impressive start before a 2-hour weather delay in the middle of his second round, Toms took full advantage after heavy rain softened the course and the wind stopped. On the eight holes he completed when play resumed, he had four birdies -- and came up just short of two more.

"I came out and the conditions were perfect for scoring, and my mindset was to just keep making birdies, try to separate myself a little bit," Toms said. "I just went out and played great the last eight holes or so, some of the best golf I've played in a long time."

Steven Bowditch (64) and Charlie Wi (67), who finished before the delay, were tied for second with Mark Wilson (66) and John Senden (66). Wilson played in the same group with Toms.

Canucks...only David Hearn made the cut
T42 10 115 David Hearn -2 F E info 68 70 138

CUT 131 Stephen Ames 71 74 145
CUT 243 Mike Weir 72 77 149

Leaderboard
1 4 David Toms -16 F -8 color info 62 62 124

T2 2 60 Charlie Wi -9 F* -3 color info 64 67 131
T2 19 68 Steven Bowditch -9 F -6 color info 67 64 131
T2 7 1 Mark Wilson -9 F -4 color info 65 66 131
T2 7 34 John Senden -9 F -4 color info 65 66 131
T6 26 8 Rory Sabbatini -8 F -6 color info 68 64 132
T6 3 38 Rickie Fowler -8 F -1 color info 63 69 132
8 7 111 Chez Reavie -7 F* 1 color info 62 71 133
T9 30 26 Kevin Na -6 F -5 color info 69 65 134
T9 3 107 Kent Jones -6 F -2 color info 66 68 134
T9 3 41 Marc Leishman -6 F -2 color info 66 68 134
T9 149 Rod Pampling -6 F -1 color info 65 69 134
T9 12 19 Bill Haas -6 F* -3 color info 67 67 134

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Latest scoreboard from Volvo World Match Play

GMac may get beaten by Rory in all their friendly matches but he is 3up at the turn this morning, as is Martin Kaymer (thru12) against the Dane Soren Kjeldsen..

it's 5am est and here's the latest.. just click on European Tour on this page for the complete scoreboard..

Last 16 Seung-yul NOH AS after 13 Alvaro QUIROS


Last 16 Martin KAYMER 3UP after 12 Søren KJELDSEN

Last 16 Ross FISHER 1UP after 11 Charl SCHWARTZEL

Last 16 Luke DONALD AS after 10 Johan EDFORS

Last 16 Jhonattan VEGAS 1UP after 10 Nicolas COLSAERTS

Last 16 Graeme MCDOWELL 3UP after 9 Rory MCILROY

Last 16 Aaron BADDELEY 1UP after 8 Francesco MOLINARI

Last 16 Lee WESTWOOD 1UP after 7 Ian POULTER

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Final 16 set at World Match Play..who they are and how they got there

Results from the afternoon matches at the Volvo World Match Play and the matches for the round of 16 tomorrow..

Amongst all the story lines Luke Donald is still on course for the Match Play double and could meet Lee Westwood who is looking for his 3rd straight win, in the final..

Good pals Graeme McDowell and Rory McIroy have played many times for a pint and a few quid, but tomorrow is a little more expensive !! "He beats me every time we play together." said McDowell "But this is the Northern Ireland match play championship and I'm hoping it's going to be different. It's the Volvo World Match Play and the pressure is on."I am sure he will expect to beat me, but it will be a great game and I am excited about it.
"I stopped playing him because he's too good. I'm more of an observer and he just tends to beat me up

Lee Westwood (Notts Forest) and Ian Poulter (Arsenal) are 2 of golf's best players and tweeters !!! Another set of pals and Ryder Cup teammates to savour tomorrow..

Afternoon Results
H Francesco MOLINARI 3&2 Paul LAWRIE
G Charl SCHWARTZEL 5&4 Johan EDFORS
F Paul CASEY 1 Hole Søren KJELDSEN
E Rory MCILROY 3&2 Nicolas COLSAERTS
D Graeme MCDOWELL 1 Hole Jhonattan VEGAS
C Martin KAYMER 2&1 Seung-yul NOH
B Luke DONALD 3&1 Ross FISHER
A Lee WESTWOOD 4&3 Aaron BADDELEY

Final 16 play 18 holes of match play tomorrow morning, then the quarter-finals in the afternoon...

Here is the draw and how they got there..

Top half of the draw
Last 16 1 07:45 Seung-yul NOH v Alvaro QUIROS
Noh hit a tee shot to within three feet of the flag on the 17th and with a birdie two won 2 and 1 and eliminated fellow S Korean Y.E Yang to go through with Alvaro Quiros who spun his approach into the 14th hole for an eagle two that completed a 5 and 4 victory over Denmark's Søren Kjeldsen.


Last 16 1 07:55 Martin KAYMER v Søren KJELDSEN
Kaymer has so far defeated Koreans Y E Yang and Noh Seung-yul. Soren Kjeldsen got through with a huge curling putt on the final hole eliminated Paul Casey from his group..


Last 16 1 08:05 Ross FISHER v Charl SCHWARTZEL
Fisher got through after an astonishing win over Ryan Moore earlier in the day.Moore went four up on the outward half and was still three ahead with four to play, but Fisher won them all.
Schwartzel got through because of the first three-man play-off in the history of the event. That was because Schwartzel, Edfors and Miguel Angel Jiménez all won one game and lost one. Jimenez went out when he bogeyed the first extra hole and Schwartzel topped the group when Edfors bogeyed the next

Last 16 1 08:15 Luke DONALD v Johan EDFORS
Donald,overcame defending champion Ross Fisher 3 and 1 for his 2nd win and Johan Edfors got through in that 3 man playoff when Jimenez was eliminated from his group.

Bottom half of the draw

Last 16 1 08:25 Jhonattan VEGAS v Nicolas COLSAERTS
Nicolas Colsaerts the Belgian the 28 year old,beat Rory McIroy 3&2 and while Vegas lost on the final green today to GMac he got through after beating Louis Oosthuizen

Last 16 1 08:35 Graeme MCDOWELL v Rory MCILROY
McDowell topped his group when he followed up his win over Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen with a last green victory against Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas.
McIlroy would have avoided McDowell, at least for the time being ,if he had defeated Nicolas Colsaerts and topped his section, but he lost 3&2 so meets GMac tomorrow

Last 16 1 08:45 Aaron BADDELEY v Francesco MOLINARI
Francesco put out Scotland's Paul Lawrie 3&2, and although Westwood beat Baddeley 4&3 today, Aaron beat Paul Lawrie yesterday to qualify..

Last 16 1 08:55 Lee WESTWOOD v Ian POULTER
Westwood was in dazzling form for the second day running, seven under par in beating Australian Aaron Baddeley 4 and 3.
Poulter has shown that under the tournament's new format it is also possible to come through the group without winning.

He halved with Scot Paul Lawrie just as he had with Italian Francesco Molinari, but progressed because Molinari then ended the hopes of 1999 Open Champion Lawrie.


 Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Friday morning Match results at Volvo World Match Play

Here are the results from this mornings play at  the Finca Cortesin course in Casares, Andalucia, Spain..

H Ian POULTER Match Halved Paul LAWRIE

G Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ 2&1 Johan EDFORS
F Alvaro QUIROS 5&4 Søren KJELDSEN
E Retief GOOSEN 1 Hole Nicolas COLSAERTS
D Louis OOSTHUIZEN 1 Hole Jhonattan VEGAS
C Y. E. YANG 2&1 Seung-yul NOH
B Ryan MOORE 1 Hole Ross FISHER
A Anders HANSEN 1 Hole  Aaron BADDELEY


Afternoon Matches underway

H Francesco MOLINARI AS after 2 Paul LAWRIE

G Charl SCHWARTZEL 1UP after 1 Johan EDFORS
F Paul CASEY 13:00 Søren KJELDSEN
E Rory MCILROY 13:10 Nicolas COLSAERTS
D Graeme MCDOWELL 13:20 Jhonattan VEGAS
C Martin KAYMER 13:30 Seung-yul NOH
B Luke DONALD 13:40 Ross FISHER
A Lee WESTWOOD 13:50 Aaron BADDELEY

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Toms and Reavie lead at Colonial, Sharp wins her opening match

David Toms and Chez Reavie both shot -8,62 to take the lead after one round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Toms lost a playoff to K.J. Choi last week and has obviously carried that form to Texas where he continues to drive it straight and putt very well and remember like Hamilton CG for example, bombers don't have an advantage at Colonial.

Chez Reavie, remember him, our winner from that soaking wet, thunderstorm plagued 2008 Canadian Open at the Abbey is coming back after surgery last year.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was the low Canadian with a 2-under 68, while Stephen Ames of Calgary shot 1-over 71. Mike Weir of Bright's Grove, Ont., and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., each shot 72.

Rickie Fowler was the subject of all the golf tweeters yesterday as he flirted with 59 before a double-bogey at his last hole (9th) took a bit of shine off that. Still -7 63 was awfully good.

Morning conditions with no wind, fast fairways and holding greens were ideal for scoring, that's why you see all the 62's, 63's and 64's on the scoreboard.

The 66's in the afternoon wind were just as impressive and watch for those guys like Sergio who played late, to benefit from the calm early conditions this morning.

Canucks
T32 112 David Hearn -2 F* -2 info 68 68

T76 130 Stephen Ames 1 F* 1 info 71 71
T94 246 Mike Weir 2 F 2 info 72
T94 246 Nick Taylor 2 F 2 info 72

Leaderboard
T1 4 David Toms -8 F* -8 color info 62 62

T1 33 Chez Reavie -8 F -8 color info 62 62
3 30 Rickie Fowler -7 F* -7 color info 63 63
T4 39 Brendon de Jonge -6 F* -6 color info 64 64
T4 42 Stewart Cink -6 F -6 color info 64 64
T4 35 Brian Gay -6 F -6 color info 64 64
T4 98 Nathan Green -6 F -6 color info 64 64
T4 79 Charlie Wi -6 F -6 color info 64 64
T9 150 Rod Pampling -5 F* -5 color info 65 65
T9 3 Mark Wilson -5 F* -5 color info 65 65
T9 44 John Senden -5 F* -5 color info 65 65
T12 110 Boo Weekley -4 F -4 color info 66 66
T12 40 Adam Scott -4 F* -4 color info 66 66
T12 147 Henrik Stenson -4 F -4 color info 66 66
T12 21 Spencer Levin -4 F -4 color info 66 66
T12 26 Tommy Gainey -4 F* -4 color info 66 66
T12 111 Kent Jones -4 F* -4 color info 66 66
T12 78 Sergio Garcia -4 F -4 color info 66 66
T12 43 Marc Leishman -4 F* -4 color info 66 66
T12 16 Steve Marino -4 F* -4 color info 66 66

for a full leaderboard click on PGA tour on the right side of this post.

LPGA

64 women are playing the Sybase Match Play at Gladstone in New Jersey where the top 32 seeds randomly drew opponents from the bottom 32 for the opening round.

Our lone Canuck, #50 Alena Sharp of Hamilton was an upset winner, outgunning #17 Mika Miyazato of Japan 4 and 3, with a 5 birdie display. It gets even tougher today as she meets last year's winner #16 Sun Young Yoo at 12.14 today.

Probably the biggest upset was  #30 Meena Lee beating #@ Jiyai Shin 2up in a match she led all the way.

For full results click on LPGA tour on the right side of this post..

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Thursday's results, Friday's matches at Volvo World Matchplay

Here are today's results with a brief description of each match, also a full explanation of the format and Friday's matches...just for you !!

H Francesco MOLINARI Match Halved Ian POULTER
Molinari won the first 3 holes, Molinari was 1up on the 12th. Poulter made a clutch 12' to save par on 17, then birdied the par 5 18th to square the match


G Charl SCHWARTZEL 6&5 Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ
Schwartzel didn't win a hole in the match which ended on the 13th green.

F Paul CASEY 3&1 Alvaro QUIROS
Although Alvaro was 2up after 2 holes this match was close until the Spaniard made birdies to win 14 and 17

E Rory MCILROY 1 Hole Retief GOOSEN
This was a tight match, the biggest lead to the Goose who was 2up after 7, then they traded holes until they were AS on 14, Rory birdied 15 to go 1up and they both parred in

D Graeme MCDOWELL 3&1 Louis OOSTHUIZEN
This match was AS as they walked off the 10th, then GMac eagled the par 5 11th and added 2 birdies while the Open champion could not make a birdie in his last 8 holes

C Martin KAYMER 2&1 Y. E. YANG
AS at the turn, but Y.E made 3 bogey's in 4 holes starting at the 12th and Martin won them all to end the match at 17..

B Luke DONALD 4&3 Ryan MOORE
Luke was 3up after 7, then dusted the American off with birdies at 14 and 15. Never in doubt

A Lee WESTWOOD 6&5 Anders HANSEN
Anders only made 2 bogey's, but Lee made 6 birdies with no reply, a good old arse kicking


In case you wondered how this format works here is the official release, and I have listed all the groups for you in a previous post, just click on Groups and Matches for World Match Play..

The Volvo World Match Play Championship will see the field of 24 players drawn into eight groups of three.


Round robin group matches will be played on Thursday and Friday with players grouped according to their Official World Golf Ranking as of the Monday of the Championship. The three players in each group will play each other once. Players will be awarded two points for a win and no points for a loss. If a match is tied after 18 holes each player shall receive one point.

The top two players in each group will progress to the knock-out stages. Should, after all matches have been played, two or more players are tied on points the following criteria will be used to determine the order:

i) Where two players are tied within a group (in any position within the group) then their specific head to head match result will be used to identify which player is placed higher

ii) If two or more players are still tied then those players will compete in a hole-by-hole play-off.

iii) If all three players win one match in their respective group then all three players shall play-off.

The knock out stage will consist of the last 16 and quarter-finals, played on Saturday, and semi-finals and final, played on Sunday. All matches will be over 18 holes. There will be no third and fourth place play-off on Sunday.

Friday's matches


9 07:45 Gary Player Ian POULTER (ENG) v Paul LAWRIE (SCO)
10 07:55 Assar Gabrielsson Miguel-Angel JIMÉNEZ (ESP) v Johan EDFORS 11 08:05 Greg Norman Alvaro QUIROS (ESP) v Søren KJELDSEN (DEN)
12 08:15 Gustaf Larson Retief GOOSEN (RSA) v Nicolas COLSAERTS (BEL)
13 08:25 Ian Woosnam Louis OOSTHUIZEN (RSA) v Jhonattan VEGAS (VEN)
14 08:35 Arnold Palmer Y.E. YANG (KOR) v Seung-yul NOH (KOR)
15 08:45 Mark McCormack Ryan MOORE (USA) v Ross FISHER (ENG)
16 08:55 Seve Ballesteros Anders HANSEN (DEN) v Aaron BADDELEY (AUS)
17 12:40 Gary Player Francesco MOLINARI (ITA) v Paul LAWRIE (SCO)
18 12:50 Assar Gabrielsson Charl SCHWARTZEL (RSA) v Johan EDFORS (SWE)
19 13:00 Greg Norman Paul CASEY (ENG) v Søren KJELDSEN (DEN)
20 13:10 Gustaf Larson Rory MCILROY (NIR) v Nicolas COLSAERTS (BEL)
21 13:20 Ian Woosnam Graeme MCDOWELL (NIR) v Jhonattan VEGAS (VEN)
22 13:30 Arnold Palmer Martin KAYMER (GER) v Seung-yul NOH (KOR)
23 13:40 Mark McCormack Luke DONALD (ENG) v Ross FISHER (ENG)
24 13:50 Seve Ballesteros Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) v Aaron BADDELEY (AUS)

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Tiger will fall out of top 10

I have been saying the obvious every since he has tried this comeback. Tiger Woods has not played like he belongs in the top 50 nevermind the top 10.

VIRGINIA WATER, England - Tiger Woods will fall out of the top 10 in the world ranking next week, ending an amazing streak of being top 10 in the world for 14 consecutive years.


Woods' last win was 18 months ago in Australia. He started this year at No. 2 and has been steadily dropping points. With more points coming off his two-year ledger, the highest he can be in the next ranking is No. 11.

The last time Woods was not in the top 10 was April 6, 1997, when he was at No. 13. He won the Masters the next week for the first of his 14 majors, and has stayed in the top 10 since.

Luke Donald or Martin Kaymer can take the #1 spot with a win this weekend.

Here is the world top 20 going into this weekend..

1 Lee Westwood, Eng 8.10 380.52 47 -136.51 92.08

2 Luke Donald, Eng 7.52 398.47 53 -91.61 179.52
3 Martin Kaymer, Deu 7.25 362.42 50 -117.19 123.80
4 Phil Mickelson, USA 6.41 288.35 45 -116.04 116.22
5 Graeme McDowell, Nir 5.62 309.22 55 -87.60 63.32
6 Rory McIlroy, Nir 5.44 283.05 52 -102.92 78.20
7 Steve Stricker, USA 5.27 221.47 42 -110.72 69.39
8 Tiger Woods, USA 5.20 207.85 40 -150.21 42.80
9 Paul Casey, Eng 5.18 232.91 45 -95.19 62.77
10 Matt Kuchar, USA 5.12 266.00 52 -76.81 95.74
11 Bubba Watson, USA 5.09 239.40 47 -51.76 133.91
12 Charl Schwartzel, Zaf 5.03 281.69 56 -59.90 159.96
13 Dustin Johnson, USA 4.95 242.73 49 -73.19 89.85
14 Nick Watney, USA 4.84 246.77 51 -61.08 142.16
15 K.J. Choi, Kor 4.66 237.77 51 -43.60 141.80
16 Jim Furyk, USA 4.55 218.25 48 -105.55 37.76
17 Ernie Els, Zaf 4.16 233.16 56 -98.89 20.68
18 Hunter Mahan, USA 4.16 224.55 54 -76.21 86.40
19 Adam Scott, Aus 4.10 205.04 50 -51.64 70.69
20 Jason Day, Aus 4.07 179.28 44 -39.61 91.34

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

This week's golf and analysis..

PGA Tour
This is Ben Hogan's event and for years out of respect for him and a love of the Colonial course this always had a strong field. Palmer, Nicklaus, Trevino, Watson have all won here, but in recent years with all the money players make and the strength of golf in Europe and worldwide this event and next week's Byron Nelson have suffered. For example this week 6 of the world's top 9 have opted to play the Volvo World Match PlayinSpain and Mickelson for some strange reason is taking another week off !!


Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
Site: Fort Worth.
Course: Colonial Country Club (7,204 yards, par 70).
Purse: $6.2 million. Winner's share: $1,116,000.
Canucks ; Mike Weir, Stephen Ames, David Hearn, Nick Taylor
Last year: Zach Johnson won his seventh PGA Tour title, shooting 65-66-64-64 for a tournament-record 21-under 259 total. Brian Davis was second, three strokes back.

Notes: Phil Mickelson, the 2000 and 2008 winner, is skipping the tournament. No. 10 Matt Kuchar is the highest ranked player in the field. …Champions Tour player Kenny Perry, the 2003 and 2005 winner, is making his 22nd start at Colonial. …Ben Hogan won his hometown event five times. Mike Weir, fighting a left wrist injury, has made one cut in nine starts this year, shooting 76 or higher in his last 10 rounds. … The Byron Nelson Championship is next week at TPC Four Seasons in Irving.

European Tour
Originally called the Piccadilly World Match Play founded by the late Mark McCormack who was looking to showcase his new client Arnold Palmer in 1964, this was the only Match Play event apart from the Ryder Cup in pro golf and it was must see on the Burma course at Wentworth. Arnie won the first one, and all the big American names came over to be challenged by an International field. Seve, Ernie, Gary Player all have glittering records at this event which sadly has declined in importance in the modern game. However 6 of the world's top 9 and a newformat at a newish course have restored it's honour, and it is this week's top event.
I listed all the groups and Thursday and Friday's round robin matches yesterday


Volvo World Match Play
Site: Casares, Spain.
Course: Finca Cortesin Golf Club (7,380 yards, par 72).
Purse: $4.82 million. Winner's share: $1,135,040.
Last year: No tournament. In November 2009, England's Ross Fisher beat Anthony Kim 4 and 3 in the final at Finca Cortesin.

Notes: Top-ranked Lee Westwood, No. 2 Luke Donald, No. 3 Martin Kaymer, No. 5 Graeme McDowell and No. 6 Rory McIlroy top the 24-man field along with Masters champion Charl Schwartzel. … The event was played at Wentworth in England from its inception in 1964 to 2007. … After round-robin play in eight three-man groups, the top two in each group will advance to the round of 16. … Westwood is coming off consecutive victories in the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea and the Asian Tour's Indonesian Masters. … Donald won the World Golf Championships-Match Play Championship in Arizona in February, beating Kaymer 3 and 2 in the final

LPGA
More match play for us to enjoy this weekend for the women, with 64 of the LPGA's best in the field in New Jersey, where like all the rest of us in the northeast have been getting a soaking. The weather is scheduled to improve however and we have 1 Canuck, Alena Sharp in the field...


Sybase Match Play Championship
Site: Gladstone, N.J.
Course: Hamilton Farm Golf Club (6,585 yards, par 72).
Purse: $1.5 million. Winner's share: $375,000.
Last year: South Korea's Sun Young Yoo won her first LPGA Tour title.
Canucks: Alena Sharp plays Mika Miyazato of SKorea at 10.54am

Notes: Hamilton Farm also was the site of match-play events in 2005 and 2006. Marisa Baena won in 2005, and Brittany Lincicome took the 2006 title, beating Michelle Wie, Lorena Ochoa and Juli Inkster in the final three matches. … After single rounds Thursday and Friday, the third round and quarterfinals will be played Saturday and the semifinals and final are set for Sunday. … Hall of Famer Karrie Webb has won two of the first six events this year, taking the HSBC Women's Championship in Singapore and LPGA Founders Cup in Phoenix in consecutive starts. …Natalie Gulbis received a sponsor exemption and is in a yummy match vs Suzann Petterson . The two-day Brazil Cup is next week in Rio de Janeiro.

Nationwide Tour

This is one of the best pro-ams in golf with all kinds of celebs showing up to raise money for charity.Wayne and Janet Gretzky are in the field,, and we have 4 Canucks.


BMW Charity Pro-Am
Site: Greer, S.C.
Courses: Thornblade Club (7,024 yards, par 71), The Carolina Country Club (6,951 yards, par 72) and Bright's Creek Golf Club (7,435 yards, par 72).
Purse: $600,000. Winner's share: $108,000.
Canucks : Richard T Lee, Jon Mills, Bryan DeCorso, Andrew Parr
Last year: Justin Hicks closed with a birdie for a two-stroke victory over four players. He finished at 20-under 266.

Notes: The final round will be played on the Thornblade Club. The Carolina Country Club is in Spartanburg, S.C., and Bright's Creek is in Mill Spring, N.C.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Groups and Matches for Volvo World Match Play

Here are the groups and Thursday and Friday's matches at the Volvo World Match Play at the Finca Cortesin GC, Andalucia Spain, with 24 of the World’s best players divided up into eight groups for the first two days of match play.


With the World’s top three players headlining the field for the first time in Spain, the field includes six of the leading nine players in the World, all four current Major Champions and players from 14 nations.

Each player plays a round robin in their group on Thursday and Friday, with 16 guys advancing to the weekend.


Pool A  (Seve Ballesteros)
Anders HANSEN 
Aaron BADDELEY
Lee WESTWOOD 

Pool B  (Mark McCormack)
Ryan MOORE
Luke DONALD
Ross FISHER 

Pool C  (Arnold Palmer)
Martin KAYMER 
Seung-yul NOH 
Y. E. YANG

Pool D  (Ian Woosnam)
Jhonattan VEGAS 
Graeme MCDOWELL 
Louis OOSTHUIZEN 

Pool E  (Gustaf Larson)
Nicolas COLSAERTS
Retief GOOSEN 
Rory MCILROY 

Pool F  (Greg Norman)
Søren KJELDSEN 
Alvaro QUIROS 
Paul CASEY 

Pool G  (Assar Gabrielsson)
Charl SCHWARTZEL 
Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ
Johan EDFORS

Pool H  (Gary Player)
Paul LAWRIE 
Francesco MOLINARI
Ian POULTER

Thursday's matches..

1 12:05 Gary Player Francesco MOLINARI (ITA) v Ian POULTER (ENG)
2 12:20 Assar Gabrielsson Charl SCHWARTZEL (RSA) v Miguel-Angel JIMÉNEZ
3 12:35 Greg Norman Paul CASEY (ENG) v Alvaro QUIROS (ESP)
4 12:50 Gustaf Larson Rory MCILROY (NIR) v Retief GOOSEN (RSA)
5 13:05 Ian Woosnam Graeme MCDOWELL (NIR) v Louis OOSTHUIZEN (RSA)
6 13:20 Arnold Palmer Martin KAYMER (GER) v Y.E. YANG (KOR)
7 13:35 Mark McCormack Luke DONALD (ENG) v Ryan MOORE (USA)
8 13:50 Seve Ballesteros Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) v Anders HANSEN (DEN)

Friday's matches

9 07:45 Gary Player Ian POULTER (ENG) v Paul LAWRIE (SCO)
10 07:55 Assar Gabrielsson Miguel-Angel JIMÉNEZ (ESP) v Johan EDFORS (SWE)
11 08:05 Greg Norman Alvaro QUIROS (ESP) v Søren KJELDSEN (DEN)
12 08:15 Gustaf Larson Retief GOOSEN (RSA) v Nicolas COLSAERTS (BEL)
13 08:25 Ian Woosnam Louis OOSTHUIZEN (RSA) v Jhonattan VEGAS (VEN)
14 08:35 Arnold Palmer Y.E. YANG (KOR) v Seung-yul NOH (KOR)
15 08:45 Mark McCormack Ryan MOORE (USA) v Ross FISHER (ENG)
16 08:55 Seve Ballesteros Anders HANSEN (DEN) v Aaron BADDELEY (AUS)
17 12:40 Gary Player Francesco MOLINARI (ITA) v Paul LAWRIE (SCO)
18 12:50 Assar Gabrielsson Charl SCHWARTZEL (RSA) v Johan EDFORS (SWE)
19 13:00 Greg Norman Paul CASEY (ENG) v Søren KJELDSEN (DEN)
20 13:10 Gustaf Larson Rory MCILROY (NIR) v Nicolas COLSAERTS (BEL)
21 13:20 Ian Woosnam Graeme MCDOWELL (NIR) v Jhonattan VEGAS (VEN)
22 13:30 Arnold Palmer Martin KAYMER (GER) v Seung-yul NOH (KOR)
23 13:40 Mark McCormack Luke DONALD (ENG) v Ross FISHER (ENG)
24 13:50 Seve Ballesteros Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) v Aaron BADDELEY (AUS)

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummbles

Nice recognition for veteran Halldorson

Canadian Tour Deputy Commissioner and PGA TOUR Winner Dan Halldorson Honoured with ScoreGolf Lifetime Achievement Award


OAKVILLE, Ontario (May 17, 2011) Canadian Golf Hall of Famer and current Canadian Professional Golf Tour Deputy Commissioner, Dan Halldorson has been awarded with SCOREGolf's Lifetime Achievement Award. Halldorson becomes just the seventh SCOREGolf Lifetime Achievement Award Winner and first since 2001.

"Dan Halldorson was selected as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for his long and consistent contribution to the game of golf in Canada. As a player and now an administrator he has been a tireless promoter of Canadian golf and has always been willing to help his fellow Canadian golfers whether they be his peers or younger players coming up. For that reason, we chose to honour him on the 30th anniversary of his first SCOREGolf Award win as Canada's top touring professional," commented SCOREGolf Editor Bob Weeks.

Past winners of SCOREGolf's Lifetime Achievement Award include Robert H. (Tex) Noble, 1990; Richard (Dick) Grimm, 1992; Marlene Streit, 1994; Gary Cowan, 1999; Moe Norman, 2000; Sandra Post, 2001.

Halldorson is a two time PGA TOUR award winner as well as a seven time Canadian Tour Winner. In addition to his stellar individual accomplishments Halldorson also represented Canada a number of times highlighted by his two World Cup wins in 1980 with Jim Nelford and 1985 with Dave Barr.

Halldorson was honoured at the annual SCOREGolf awards, which took place on Monday May 16, 2011 at Angus Glen Golf Club.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Tiger expecting to play US Open

AP>>> Tiger Woods says he didn't do any more damage to his left leg at The Players Championship and expects to play the U.S. Open next month.


Woods made it only nine holes last week at The Players - his shortest tournament ever - when he withdrew after nine holes because of what he described as a chain reaction of pain from his left knee to left Achilles and tightening in his calf. He shot 42 on the front nine.

On his website Monday, Woods said he irritated the knee and Achilles without making them worse. He said doctors have advised rest, cold water therapy and soft tissue treatment, which he said he already had been receiving.

"Aggravating my injury is very disappointing," Woods said. "I'll do whatever is necessary to play in the U.S. Open, and I'm hopeful I can be there to compete."

The U.S. Open is June 16-19 at Congressional, a course on which Woods won in 2009 at the AT&T National.

He did not say how long it would take to recover.

His website said he was doubtful to play at the Memorial Tournament, which begins June 2, while he tries to strengthen his leg. It said playing before the U.S. Open would be a "week-to-week" decision, although Woods has never played the week before the U.S. Open and has never played the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn.

Woods reported a mild sprain of the medial collateral ligament and a mild strain of his Achilles from hitting a shot off the pine straw under the Eisenhower Tree on the 17th hole of the Masters in the third round. He played the final round and shot 67.

He said he did not practice until Monday of The Players, and did not play any golf until his practice rounds. Woods looked fine the 9-hole practice rounds he played last week, and swing coach Sean Foley said he was pleasantly surprised to see Woods look as though he had not lost much from when he had last played in the Masters.

Woods said he hurt himself on the opening tee shot at Sawgrass.

If he plays at Congressional, he likely will have played nine holes of competition between the Masters and the U.S. Open.

Minutes before the statement was posted on his website, Woods said on Twitter, "Bummed that my left leg has me on the sidelines, but I want, and expect, to be at the US Open. Will do all I can to get there."

It would not be the first time Woods has played the U.S. Open with so little competition.When he won his last major at the 2008 U.S. Open, he had not played a tournament in two months because of arthroscopic surgery on his left knee immediately after the Masters. Doctors later discovered stress fractures in his left leg. Woods wound up winning at Torrey Pines in a 19-hole hole playoff.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

France gets 2018 Ryder Cup

France will host The Ryder Cup for the first time in 2018. The historic announcement, which will see golf’s greatest team event return to the Continent of Europe for the first time in 21 years, was made by Ryder Cup Europe at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.


Le Golf National on the outskirts of Versailles near Paris, the well-established home of the Alstom Open de France, will become only the second Continental venue – following Club de Golf, Valderrama, in Spain in 1997 - when the 42nd edition of The Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States is contested in the autumn of 2018.

Five nations – France, Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain – had participated in an exhaustive and comprehensive Bid Process – the first conducted by Ryder Cup Europe - to identify the country best qualified to follow Medinah Country Club, Illinois, USA, next year; Gleneagles, Scotland, in 2014 and Hazeltine, Minnesota, USA, in 2016 as host of the biennial contest.

Richard Hills, Europe’s Ryder Cup Director, had led a four-strong Bid Committee, comprising 2018 Bid Director David MacLaren, Ryder Cup Match Director Edward Kitson and Financial Director Jonathan Orr, to examine and evaluate each Bid, including a series of thorough site inspections to the five countries who had confirmed their desire to stage The Ryder Cup in seven years’ time. A sixth, Sweden, had dropped out of the race in the spring of 2010.

The objective of the bid process was to enable Ryder Cup Europe to arrive at the correct sporting and commercial decision in terms of the host for 2018. To this end, the Bid Committee evaluated the five candidates on five specific criteria, namely: (i) a commitment to the development of a world-class golf facility (new or existing); (ii) provision of ancillary facilities, suitable access and infrastructure commensurate with the staging of an international sporting event; (iii) demonstrable government , private sector and golfing community support; (iv) commercial opportunities available to The Ryder Cup, and (v) contribution of the bid country to the development of golf - for example: historical contribution to the professional game, golf tourism, development of levels of golf participation, professional tournament golf at all levels, player participation within past Ryder Cups, and legacy.

The Bid Committee was assisted significantly in their evaluation procedure by three prominent external advisers in Michael Payne, Jaime Byrom and Nick Bitel, who brought considerable experience from their specialist sporting backgrounds, namely the Olympic Movement, FIFA and the London Marathon respectively.

France has hosted 118 European Tour, 60 European Challenge Tour and 12 European Senior Tour events. Ten French golfers have won 24 tournaments on The European Tour and 36 players have gained 51 wins on the European Challenge Tour while Thomas Levet and Jean Van de Velde have represented Europe in The Ryder Cup in 2004 and 1999 respectively.

Le Golf National, an impressive ‘stadium’ course which has received high praise over the past 20 years, will next month stage the 2011 Alstom Open de France for the tenth successive year and the 19th time in total since its inception 1991

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Coppinwood is flourishing under President Kevin Thistle

" Take Major Mac east to the end, north on Durham 30 to Webb Street, east to concession 4, north 2 driveways" were my instructions from the best golf manager in the business, in my opinion Kevin Thistle...

I could feel the city stress draining from my body as I turned onto the roller coaster ride called Webb Street, cut through the farmlands just minutes from the hassle called the 404..

It got even better when I turned through the main gates on Concession 4, exactly 50k from my front door in Don Mills...

These guys who work here need to be reminded I said to myself, how lucky they are to be employed by the 38 wealthy guys who bought this beautiful course..

As I fought to find a parking spot and saw all the carts and hustle and bustle I thought this looks like Angus Glen on a tourney day, and it was...

Kevin Thistle spent 16 years building Angus Glen, one of this country's most successful "Public' courses...

Not public like Tam O'Shanter, but Public like $175 per round.. 2 Canadian Men's Opens and 1 Women's etc etc...

Kevin and I have known each other since the late Art Stollery, Kev and I sat at the driving range when the new South Course was getting set to open in the mid 1990's

Kevin with his "customer is king" attitude was da man responsible for the enormous success that is Angus Glen, and he leaves them in great shape..

However 3 years ago Coppinwood, a private course NE of Angus Glen was in  trouble.
The course cost some $29m to build and was not attracting members..

38 wealthy members bought the course for less than half the price and turned to the best in this business Kevin Thistle to manage it.

Kevin has adapted, going from 4 tournaments a day plus members use to 1 tourney a week on Monday's then members only the rest of the time..

When he took over there were 150 members, now there are 375 near the max.. Now tourney's are lined up, all a great cash flow, all due to Kevin's contacts..

You may never play this private course but I will tell you for those like Sportsnet's Darren Millard have a golfing heaven to enjoy...

For a start there are 3 practice holes, not practice ranges, but holes.... And there are 4 different practice areas. Amazing...

The course itself is hilly and demanding and beautiful and the clubhouse to me is a 7 out of 10 but has all the amenities

Kevin has already put his mark on this beautiful track, but also feel he has more to do to get the most out of this course and his staff...Like a Canadian Open ??

Question is will his members let him ??

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

It's the Tank ...and the Turtle..

As it turned out this Players championship was about the Tank and .. the turtle..

My friend Guy Boros and I were talking on the putting green at the Hamilton GC before the 2003 Canadian Open. Guy was practising in the shade of a tree but was still sweating profusely, and he hadn't even teed off yet.

We joked a little about how he would probably lose a few pounds then he said, 'this heat won't bother my partner, the Tank, he's relentless, he's indestructable'

He was referring to KJ Choi, who of course beat David Toms on the first playoff hole, when Toms missed a 3 footer for par.

KJ actually earned his nickname as a 95 pound teenage power lifter who could squat 350 pounds. He said after his win that he  can hit a high fade, and that shot suits TPC Sawgrass. He also said that the experience he got playing 4 rounds at the Masters with Tiger enabled him to stay very calm inside playing in the final group with Toms and McDowell..

He was the first south Korean to win on the PGA tour back in 2002, and he is on his way back home today to play in his national championship, and in that golf mad nation he will receive a hero's welcome

I was saying yesterday here how I thought there would be a 3 way playoff, well I was close and didn't count on GMac shooting a 79 to end up with Phil Mickelson at T33.

He admitted in his post round interview that the bad bounce he got on 18 in round 3, when he was sailing along with a 3 shot lead at -14, which turned a birdie or par into a double bogey deflated him a bit, then bogey's at 6 and 7 ' took all the air out of me"

In the end it was the relentless Tank, hitting fairways and greens with that high fade who stayed calm under pressure and eventually took the championship when a valiant Toms missed that little put on the playoff hole.

The 16th hole played a big role in the championship as Toms went for the green with his 2nd shot in regulation, and dumped it in the pond and made bogey 6 to let  KJ  draw even.

It was also where ... the turtle comes into the story. If you didn't see it google YouTube 'turtle takes a dive at Players". This fellow scampered across the green, stuck his neck way out to peek over the edge of the railway ties, and to the urging of the crowd finally dove in !!

I spoke today with Alan Foley who is with the Florida Fisheries and Wildlife Commission who tells me it was " a Florida Spiny Softshell" about 2 1/2 feet long. They are very shy around humans so you can imagine his surprise when he found himself the centre of attraction.

Softshells are found in a variety of waters: lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, even ditches. Some species are quite aggressive. They are carnivores and as such are able to render some very painful bites should they be so inclined
Some larger species snag ducks and other small aquatic birds by grabbing them from below. Other species may feed on frogs, tadpoles, mudpuppies, snails, molluscs, and worms

The Tank and .... the Turtle..

1 1 6 K.J. Choi -13 F -2 color info 70 68 67 70 275

2 22 David Toms -13 F -2 color info 66 68 71 70 275
3 7 59 Paul Goydos -11 F -3 color info 69 70 69 69 277
T4 2 Luke Donald -10 F -1 color info 69 67 71 71 278
T4 5 Nick Watney -10 F -1 color info 64 71 72 71 278
T6 18 28 Jason Day -9 F -4 color info 69 70 72 68 279
T6 10 14 Hunter Mahan -9 F -3 color info 70 67 73 69 279
T6 10 34 J.B. Holmes -9 F -3 color info 68 69 73 69 279
T6 4 -- Alvaro Quiros -9 F -1 color info 67 73 68 71 279
T6 2 21 Jason Dufner -9 F E color info 69 70 68 72 279
T6 2 10 Aaron Baddeley -9 F E color info 70 67 70 72 279

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Round 4 tee times

Would you rather have 16, 17 and 18 at TPC Sawgrass on your front nine or back nine ??

The leaders all play the course in the traditional manner 1-18, but because of the weather delay the lower half of the field will start on 10th with a chance to get the final 3 holes 16,17 &18 that caused such carnage this morning out of the way early, and possibly before the worst of the wind which usually picks up as the day goes on and the tide comes in.

The leaders will go off at 1.42, McDowell, Choi and Toms...

TPC Sawgrass Tee #1


11:30 am Stroud, Chris Jones, Matt Willis, Garrett
11:41 am Cabrera, Angel Mediate, Rocco Chalmers, Greg
11:52 am Moore, Ryan Day, Jason Davis, Brian
12:03 pm Mickelson, Phil Marino, Steve Gay, Brian
12:14 pm Perry, Kenny Hoffman, Charley Cink, Stewart
12:25 pm Mahan, Hunter Glover, Lucas Allenby, Robert
12:36 pm Romero, Andres Karlsson, Robert Holmes, J.B.
12:47 pm Hanson, Peter Molder, Bryce Wi, Charlie
12:58 pm Levin, Spencer Kaymer, Martin Sabbatini, Rory
1:09 pm Quiros, Alvaro Goydos, Paul O'Hair, Sean
1:20 pm Donald, Luke Stricker, Steve Watney, Nick
1:31 pm Dufner, Jason Love III, Davis Baddeley, Aaron
1:42 pm McDowell, Graeme Choi, K.J. Toms, David

TPC Sawgrass Tee #10

11:30 am Campbell, Chad Immelman, Trevor Overton, Jeff
11:41 am Rose, Justin Johnson, Zach Curtis, Ben
11:52 am Couch, Chris Schwartzel, Charl Goosen, Retief
12:03 pm Kuchar, Matt Streelman, Kevin Verplank, Scott
12:14 pm Pettersson, Carl Crane, Ben Leonard, Justin
12:25 pm Garcia, Sergio Jacobson, Fredrik Manassero, Matteo
12:36 pm Johnson, Dustin Pavin, Corey Byrd, Jonathan
12:47 pm Bradley, Keegan Bohn, Jason Kelly, Jerry
12:58 pm Poulter, Ian Merritt, Troy Simpson, Webb
1:09 pm Haas, Hunter Watson, Bubba Laird, Martin
1:20 pm Garrigus, Robert O'Meara, Mark Atwal, Arjun
1:31 pm Blanks, Kris Chappell, Kevin

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Darren Clarke wins the Iberdrola Open in Mallorca

Chris Wood started today with a 4 shot lead, slipped horribly to a +6 76 to finish 2nd yet again, but it let the old warrior, the man they call the prince to catch then overtake him for a very popular win at the Iberdrola Open in sunny Mallorca.

Now for the Northern Ireland daily double... Darren Clarke then Graeme McDowell !

europeantour.com   The Ryder Cup Vice Captain had reduced Wood's overnight advantage to one within three holes, but a double bogey at the 11th after finding water looked to have cost him a first win since the 2008 KLM Open.


But Wood encountered numerous problems on the back nine - three-putting the 12th and 13th and driving out of bounds at the 15th as he came back in 40, despite coming within millimetres of a hole in one at the last.

And Clarke finished in style, holing a putt from the fringe at the 14th, nailing his approach to six feet at the 15th, saved par with a brilliant approach from a fairway bunker and then chipping in to scramble par at the next.

1 CLARKE, Darren -6 18 -1 65 70 70 69 274

T2 LYNN, David -3 18 Par 68 68 71 70 277
T2 WOOD, Chris -3 18 +6 67 65 69 76 277
4 FORSYTH, Alastair -2 18 Par 68 72 68 70 278
T5 LAWRIE, Paul -1 18 Par 68 69 72 70 279
T5 STORM, Graeme -1 18 Par 71 71 67 70 279
T5 OLAZÁBAL, José Maria -1 18 +3 71 69 66 73 279
T5 LOWRY, Shane -1 18 +4 72 70 63 74 279
T9 MCGRANE, Damien Par 18 Par 68 74 68 70 280
T9 AIKEN, Thomas Par 18 +2 70 72 66 72 280
T9 BOURDY, Grégory Par 18 +3 63 77 67 73 280

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles