Friday, December 27, 2013
Who are the hottest golfers of 2013 ??
It's freezing here, it's the holidays and Hawaii and South Africa are still a coupla' weeks away so here to warm you up is a link to the annual Golf Digest hottest golfers of the year..and I don't mean the best golfers.... if you know what I mean !!
I thought it would be Adam Scott, and good old Natalie Gulbis but noo !
Then again, remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder !!!
Enjoy..
http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/players/hottest_golfers
Lydia Ko splits with her coach
Teenage golf star Lydia Ko has split with the only coach she has had since she took up the sport as a 5-year-old. Ko told Television New Zealand that she was sad to have ended her partnership with Guy Wilson, whom she called a great coach and friend. But she said she and her family had decided it would be impossible to continue the relationship because she will be based in the United States and he in New Zealand.
“It doesn’t really work, him being here and him coming on the weeks that I’m not playing a tournament means I’ll only see him like 10 times a year, and to me that kind of situation didn’t work out,” Ko said.
Wilson, who worked with the 16-year-old Ko for 11 years, issued a statement saying he was “incredibly disappointed” the partnership is over.
Michael Yim, her agent at IMG, said that Ko worked with various teachers at the Leadbetter Academy in Florida before going to Taiwan for the Swinging Skirts tournament, an event she won two weeks ago in her second start as a professional.
Kim said Ko plans to meet with other teachers before deciding on a full-time coach.
Ko has won five professional tournaments,four as an amateur, while coached by Wilson, who said it had “been an honour to help develop Lydia into the No. 4 golfer in the world.”
“When I first met her the golf clubs were taller than she was and she didn’t know the first thing about a driver or a putter, but now she has one of the most envied swings in the women’s golf world,” Wilson said.
Born in South Korea and raised in New Zealand, Ko won the Women’s Canadian Open at 15 last year to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history and successfully defended the title this year
“It doesn’t really work, him being here and him coming on the weeks that I’m not playing a tournament means I’ll only see him like 10 times a year, and to me that kind of situation didn’t work out,” Ko said.
Wilson, who worked with the 16-year-old Ko for 11 years, issued a statement saying he was “incredibly disappointed” the partnership is over.
Michael Yim, her agent at IMG, said that Ko worked with various teachers at the Leadbetter Academy in Florida before going to Taiwan for the Swinging Skirts tournament, an event she won two weeks ago in her second start as a professional.
Kim said Ko plans to meet with other teachers before deciding on a full-time coach.
Ko has won five professional tournaments,four as an amateur, while coached by Wilson, who said it had “been an honour to help develop Lydia into the No. 4 golfer in the world.”
“When I first met her the golf clubs were taller than she was and she didn’t know the first thing about a driver or a putter, but now she has one of the most envied swings in the women’s golf world,” Wilson said.
Born in South Korea and raised in New Zealand, Ko won the Women’s Canadian Open at 15 last year to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history and successfully defended the title this year
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Happy Holidays !! Golf to savour in 2014
It's Christmas Day, a cold one with flurries on the way after one of the worst ice storms this region has endured, ever ! With too many still without power, it's hard to imagine the warm shores of Hawaii, or South Africa or down under but that is where we will be watching and covering golf as it continues in 2014 very soon.
The Fed Ex Cup and the Race to Dubai are already underway, the US Open is at Pinehurst #2 this year, the Open Championship at Hoylake in Liverpool, the PGA Championship at Valhalla GC in Kentucky and the Ryder Cup at beautiful Gleneagles in the rolling hills of Perthshire, Scotland.
While you have a moment here are live links to all of the major tours for your holiday season perusal.
To all of you Merry Christmas, happy holidays, thanks for your support again this year, I can hardly wait for all the drama to begin in Hawaii after the New Year !
Don't forget to join my Morning Show daily M-F 8am-11am www.nextsportstar.com and of course my Fairways Golf Show every Thursday 9am-10
European Tour http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/tournament/index.html
European Senior Tour http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/tournament/index.html
European Challenge Tour http://www.europeantour.com/challengetour/tournament/index.html
PGA Tour http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/schedule.html
Champions Tour http://www.pgatour.com/champions/news/2013/12/13/2014-champions-tour-schedule.html
Web.com Tour http://www.pgatour.com/webcom/schedule.html
PGA Tour Canada http://www2.pgatourcanada.com/leagues/cantour_events.cfm?clientid=3776&seasonnum=2014
LPGA http://www.lpga.com/events/golf-tournaments.aspx
The Fed Ex Cup and the Race to Dubai are already underway, the US Open is at Pinehurst #2 this year, the Open Championship at Hoylake in Liverpool, the PGA Championship at Valhalla GC in Kentucky and the Ryder Cup at beautiful Gleneagles in the rolling hills of Perthshire, Scotland.
While you have a moment here are live links to all of the major tours for your holiday season perusal.
To all of you Merry Christmas, happy holidays, thanks for your support again this year, I can hardly wait for all the drama to begin in Hawaii after the New Year !
Don't forget to join my Morning Show daily M-F 8am-11am www.nextsportstar.com and of course my Fairways Golf Show every Thursday 9am-10
European Tour http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/tournament/index.html
European Senior Tour http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/tournament/index.html
European Challenge Tour http://www.europeantour.com/challengetour/tournament/index.html
PGA Tour http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/schedule.html
Champions Tour http://www.pgatour.com/champions/news/2013/12/13/2014-champions-tour-schedule.html
Web.com Tour http://www.pgatour.com/webcom/schedule.html
PGA Tour Canada http://www2.pgatourcanada.com/leagues/cantour_events.cfm?clientid=3776&seasonnum=2014
LPGA http://www.lpga.com/events/golf-tournaments.aspx
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Four Canadians clinch Web.com Tour cards
Four Canadians secured their place on the Web.com Tour for the 2014 season after 108 holes of play at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., on Tuesday.
Nick Taylor of Abbottsford, B.C., Albin Choi of Toronto, Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ont., all finished inside the top 45 to ensure full playing status through to the second periodic re-order of the Web.com Tour’s 2014 season.
Former world amateur No. 1, Nick Taylor, finished as low Canadian in a tie for 11th after a 5-under 67 final round Tuesday. Taylor finished the 108 marathon at 19-under par and will be a rookie on the Web.com Tour in 2014 after finishing in seventh place on PGA TOUR Canada’s Order of Merit in 2013.
Roger Sloan will make a return back to the Tour after matching the low round of qualifying school with a 9-under 63. Sloan finished in a tie for 15th at 17-under par and will look to improve on last year’s rookie season.
Albin Choi and Cam Burke – both former Team Canada members – also punched their tickets to the Tour. Choi who started 2013 with no playing status on any professional circuit finished in a tie for 15th alongside Sloan after 2-under 70, while Burke carded an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for 22nd.
All four players will earn playing status as Category 4a members for the 2014 season. Each player will be exempt until the second periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, B.C., Devin Carrey of Surrey, B.C, Derek Gillespie of Oshawa, Ont., and Montreal’s Yohann Benson will each receive conditional status as Category 18 members for finishing inside the top 100. Riley Wheeldon will also play on the Web.com Tour in 2014 after finishing No. 2 on PGA TOUR Canada’s Order of Merit.
Zack Fisher of Texas claimed medalist honours after firing a 8-under 64 to finish at 31-under for the tournament. Fisher will be fully exempt for the entire 2014 season.
Full scores for the 11 Canadians in the field this week are below. For more information on the qualifying breakdown, click here.
Final Canadian Scores at Web.com Final Qualifying
Category 4a: Players finishing after the tenth and ties position through forty-fifth and ties position – exempt until the second periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
T11. Nick Taylor, Abbottsford, B.C. (-19) 69-70–72-67-68-67–413
T15. Albin Choi, Toronto, Ont. (-17) 69-71–67-69-69-70–415
T15. Roger Sloan, Merritt, B.C. (-17) 68-70–72-70-72-63–415
T22. Cam Burke, New Hamburg, Ont. (-16) 67-72–67-69-69-72–416
Category 18: Players after the forty-fifth and ties position – conditional status for the 2014 season, alternating with seventy-sixth through one hundredth (76-100) positions from the Web.com Tour Regular Season.
T56. Justin Shin, Maple Ridge, B.C. (-10) 64-74–73-69-72-70–422
T56. Devin Carrey, Surrey, B.C. (-10) 68-71–71-73-70-69–422
T67. Derek Gillespie, Oshawa, Ont. (-9) 71-67–72-67-75-71–423
T95. Yohann Benson, Montreal, Que. (-4) 73-74–70-71-69-71–428
Bryan Angus edit (release from Morgan Bell golfcanada.com)
Nick Taylor of Abbottsford, B.C., Albin Choi of Toronto, Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ont., all finished inside the top 45 to ensure full playing status through to the second periodic re-order of the Web.com Tour’s 2014 season.
Former world amateur No. 1, Nick Taylor, finished as low Canadian in a tie for 11th after a 5-under 67 final round Tuesday. Taylor finished the 108 marathon at 19-under par and will be a rookie on the Web.com Tour in 2014 after finishing in seventh place on PGA TOUR Canada’s Order of Merit in 2013.
Roger Sloan will make a return back to the Tour after matching the low round of qualifying school with a 9-under 63. Sloan finished in a tie for 15th at 17-under par and will look to improve on last year’s rookie season.
Albin Choi and Cam Burke – both former Team Canada members – also punched their tickets to the Tour. Choi who started 2013 with no playing status on any professional circuit finished in a tie for 15th alongside Sloan after 2-under 70, while Burke carded an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for 22nd.
All four players will earn playing status as Category 4a members for the 2014 season. Each player will be exempt until the second periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, B.C., Devin Carrey of Surrey, B.C, Derek Gillespie of Oshawa, Ont., and Montreal’s Yohann Benson will each receive conditional status as Category 18 members for finishing inside the top 100. Riley Wheeldon will also play on the Web.com Tour in 2014 after finishing No. 2 on PGA TOUR Canada’s Order of Merit.
Zack Fisher of Texas claimed medalist honours after firing a 8-under 64 to finish at 31-under for the tournament. Fisher will be fully exempt for the entire 2014 season.
Full scores for the 11 Canadians in the field this week are below. For more information on the qualifying breakdown, click here.
Final Canadian Scores at Web.com Final Qualifying
Category 4a: Players finishing after the tenth and ties position through forty-fifth and ties position – exempt until the second periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
T11. Nick Taylor, Abbottsford, B.C. (-19) 69-70–72-67-68-67–413
T15. Albin Choi, Toronto, Ont. (-17) 69-71–67-69-69-70–415
T15. Roger Sloan, Merritt, B.C. (-17) 68-70–72-70-72-63–415
T22. Cam Burke, New Hamburg, Ont. (-16) 67-72–67-69-69-72–416
Category 18: Players after the forty-fifth and ties position – conditional status for the 2014 season, alternating with seventy-sixth through one hundredth (76-100) positions from the Web.com Tour Regular Season.
T56. Justin Shin, Maple Ridge, B.C. (-10) 64-74–73-69-72-70–422
T56. Devin Carrey, Surrey, B.C. (-10) 68-71–71-73-70-69–422
T67. Derek Gillespie, Oshawa, Ont. (-9) 71-67–72-67-75-71–423
T95. Yohann Benson, Montreal, Que. (-4) 73-74–70-71-69-71–428
T117. Eugene Wong, North Vancouver, B.C. (E) 73-70-75-73-73-68–432
T136. Max Gilbert, St-Georges, Que. (+6) 73-74–74-72-70-75–438
140. Riley Wheeldon, Comox, B.C. (+7) 74-71–71-75-72-76–439
For complete scoring from Web.com Tour Final Qualifying, click here.T136. Max Gilbert, St-Georges, Que. (+6) 73-74–74-72-70-75–438
140. Riley Wheeldon, Comox, B.C. (+7) 74-71–71-75-72-76–439
Bryan Angus edit (release from Morgan Bell golfcanada.com)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Henrik Stenson named Golfer of the Year
Henrik Stenson has been named The 2013 Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year after an astonishing season.
The 37 year old from Gothenburg became the first player from Sweden to win the coveted award after creating history by completing an unprecedented transatlantic double by capturing the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and The Race to Dubai on The European Tour International Schedule following his success in the Tour Championship and FedExCup on the PGA TOUR.
Stenson’s commanding six-shot victory in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship offered a perfect microcosm of his season as he tamed the immaculate 7,675 yards Earth Course by missing only five fairways and four greens in compiling rounds of 68, 64, 67 and 64 for a tournament record 25 under par total of 263.
After winning the South African Open Championship at the end of last year, Stenson embarked on a “dream season” which saw him produce a remarkable level of consistency in golf’s biggest events.
A tie for second place in the Shell Houston Open earned Stenson a place in The Masters Tournament where he finished in a tie for 18th place. More consistent play – including being tied fifth in The Players Championship in Florida – took Stenson into the summer and a tie for third place in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open set the tone for an incredible run of results that would see him become the best player on the planet for the rest of the year.
Stenson finished second at The 142nd Open Championship, quickly followed that up with a tie for second at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational then a third place finish at the US PGA Championship with which he led The 2013 Race to Dubai.
Then came the start of that transatlantic double which would earn him a place in golf’s record books. Stenson charged to victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship then two weeks later claimed the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola to win the FedExCup.
Next on the agenda came The European Tour and The Race to Dubai’s inaugural Final Series. A tie for seventh at the Turkish Airlines Open was followed by one of the greatest performances in European Tour history in Dubai, where he claimed Number One honours and earned the Harry Vardon Trophy.
“Winning the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where I had made my home for ten years, in the style I won it, in front of so many family and friends, was something I will never forget. I’m not sure how I top it to be honest. I am not sure many people will get the chance to do what I did this year but I just need to keep working hard and pushing forward.
“The Majors are the biggest goal for me now and if I can continue to play at the level I have been then I feel I can have a pretty good shot at them.”
The Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year panel, which featured golf journalists from newspapers and magazines as well as commentators from radio and television, also reserved praise for several other worthy candidates, specifically Justin Rose, who became the first Englishman for 43 years to win the US Open Championship after his unforgettable performance at Merion in June
Bryan Angus (release from europeantour.com)
The 37 year old from Gothenburg became the first player from Sweden to win the coveted award after creating history by completing an unprecedented transatlantic double by capturing the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and The Race to Dubai on The European Tour International Schedule following his success in the Tour Championship and FedExCup on the PGA TOUR.
Stenson’s commanding six-shot victory in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship offered a perfect microcosm of his season as he tamed the immaculate 7,675 yards Earth Course by missing only five fairways and four greens in compiling rounds of 68, 64, 67 and 64 for a tournament record 25 under par total of 263.
After winning the South African Open Championship at the end of last year, Stenson embarked on a “dream season” which saw him produce a remarkable level of consistency in golf’s biggest events.
A tie for second place in the Shell Houston Open earned Stenson a place in The Masters Tournament where he finished in a tie for 18th place. More consistent play – including being tied fifth in The Players Championship in Florida – took Stenson into the summer and a tie for third place in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open set the tone for an incredible run of results that would see him become the best player on the planet for the rest of the year.
Stenson finished second at The 142nd Open Championship, quickly followed that up with a tie for second at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational then a third place finish at the US PGA Championship with which he led The 2013 Race to Dubai.
Then came the start of that transatlantic double which would earn him a place in golf’s record books. Stenson charged to victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship then two weeks later claimed the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola to win the FedExCup.
Next on the agenda came The European Tour and The Race to Dubai’s inaugural Final Series. A tie for seventh at the Turkish Airlines Open was followed by one of the greatest performances in European Tour history in Dubai, where he claimed Number One honours and earned the Harry Vardon Trophy.
“Winning the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where I had made my home for ten years, in the style I won it, in front of so many family and friends, was something I will never forget. I’m not sure how I top it to be honest. I am not sure many people will get the chance to do what I did this year but I just need to keep working hard and pushing forward.
“The Majors are the biggest goal for me now and if I can continue to play at the level I have been then I feel I can have a pretty good shot at them.”
The Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year panel, which featured golf journalists from newspapers and magazines as well as commentators from radio and television, also reserved praise for several other worthy candidates, specifically Justin Rose, who became the first Englishman for 43 years to win the US Open Championship after his unforgettable performance at Merion in June
Bryan Angus (release from europeantour.com)
Sunday, December 15, 2013
June Rogers, Scarborough grandmother wins Greatest Leaf Fan contest
June Rogers has been a season seat holder for the Toronto Maple Leafs for over 65 years. In 1946 with the help of Red Horner she bought 2 seats in the Greens for .25 per seat!!
She now is in the final stages of Alzheimers and barely recognizes familiar faces and people within her family.
However, when the TML are playing and the family says "he scores" she sits up and focuses on the TV and begins to clap. She is fully awake and ready to go whenever puck drops, particularly when Don Cherry comes on Coaches Corner, and in order to show her dedication to being a fan, the family have decorated the whole house in blue and white and have Leafs memorabilia all over so that when she comes home from her program she recognizes her home or as its known in her Scarborough neighbourhood "The fan zone".
Granddaughter Jennifer and daughter Leslie are June's loving caregivers and decided to enter her in Sportnet's Greatest Leaf contest, and she made it down to the final seven
Yesterday, after an anxious day sitting by their phones, Jennifer got the call to say that June had won !!!
" I can't believe it, I can't stop crying I'm so happy for her !" said an emotional Jennifer in a phone interview .."Now all of Canada will know what we have for years "
The family's house is a landmark in Scarborough, strangers stop and ask Leslie or Jennifer to take their picture amongst all the Leaf displays.
For the win the family will receive $10,000 badly needed to help June with her daily care..
Bryan Angus
She now is in the final stages of Alzheimers and barely recognizes familiar faces and people within her family.
However, when the TML are playing and the family says "he scores" she sits up and focuses on the TV and begins to clap. She is fully awake and ready to go whenever puck drops, particularly when Don Cherry comes on Coaches Corner, and in order to show her dedication to being a fan, the family have decorated the whole house in blue and white and have Leafs memorabilia all over so that when she comes home from her program she recognizes her home or as its known in her Scarborough neighbourhood "The fan zone".
Granddaughter Jennifer and daughter Leslie are June's loving caregivers and decided to enter her in Sportnet's Greatest Leaf contest, and she made it down to the final seven
Yesterday, after an anxious day sitting by their phones, Jennifer got the call to say that June had won !!!
" I can't believe it, I can't stop crying I'm so happy for her !" said an emotional Jennifer in a phone interview .."Now all of Canada will know what we have for years "
The family's house is a landmark in Scarborough, strangers stop and ask Leslie or Jennifer to take their picture amongst all the Leaf displays.
For the win the family will receive $10,000 badly needed to help June with her daily care..
Bryan Angus
Friday, December 13, 2013
Garcia wins in Thailand.... Kuchar, English win Shark Shootout
WEB.Com Q School
PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament Course
La Quinta, California
With only 36 holes remaining at the final stage of Web.com qualifying, six Canadians sit inside the top-45 at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.
Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ont., continues to lead the Canadian contingent after firing a 3-under 69 on Sunday. His 13-under total trails Utah’s Scott Pinckney by eight strokes and leaves him in a tie for 13th.
Toronto’s Albin Choi carded his fourth consecutive under-par round after a 3-under 69 and currently sits 16th at 12-under par. Choi sits one stroke ahead of Oshawa, Ont., native Derek Gillespie, who fired a 5-under 67 to vault up the leaderboard Sunday.
Nick Taylor of Abbottsford, B.C., made the biggest move of the day for the Canadians after a 5-under 67 moved him up 19 spots into a tie for 23rd. Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., also carded under-par rounds and both sit in a tie for 38th at 8-under par.
Full scores for the 11 Canadians in the field this week are below. The Canucks will look to finish inside the top-45 after 108 holes of play, which will give them exempt status until the Web.Com Tour’s second periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
To see more on the qualifying breakdown, click here.
Canadian Scores after Round 4 of Web.com Final Qualifying
T13. Cam Burke, New Hamburg, Ont. (-13) 67-72–67-69–275
T16. Albin Choi, Toronto, Ont. (-12) 69-71–67-69–276
T17. Derek Gillespie, Oshawa, Ont. (-11) 71-67–72-67–277
T23. Nick Taylor, Abbottsford, B.C. (-10) 69-70–72-67–278
T38. Justin Shin, Maple Ridge, B.C. (-8) 64-74–73-69–280
T38. Roger Sloan, Merritt, B.C. (-8) 68-70–72-70–280
T65. Devin Carrey, Surrey, B.C. (-5) 68-71–71-73–283
T107. Yohann Benson, Montreal, Que. (E) 73-74–70-71–288
T128. Riley Wheeldon, Comox, B.C. (+3) 74-71–71-75–291
T128. Eugene Wong, North Vancouver, B.C. (+3) 73-70-75-73–291
T135. Max Gilbert, St-Georges, Que. (+5) 73-74–74-72–293
For complete scoring from Web.com Tour Final Qualifying, click here.
PGA Tour
Franklin Templeton
Tiburon Golf Course at Ritz Carlton Resort
Matt Kuchar and Harris English set a tournament course record by finishing at 34 under at the Franklin Templeton Shootout on Sunday.
Kuchar and English beat the duo of Retief Goosen and Freddie Jacobson at the Tiburon Golf Resort’s Gold course. The winners shot 25 under in their last 28 holes.
Playing Sunday under a scramble format, they shot a 14-under 58. Goosen and Jacobson cut their deficit to three shots after three holes before Kuchar and English warmed up. They were 11-under 61 for the day and 27-under for the tournament.
Finishing third were Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, who had a 13-under 59 and went 26 under overall. Chris DiMarco and Billy Horschel were in fourth at 24 under.
Host Greg Norman and partner Jonas Blixt tied Steve Stricker/Jerry Kelly and Canada’s Graham DeLaet/Mike Weir at 19 under. They finished tied for 8th, earning (US) $80,000 each
Live scoring click here http://leaderboard.franklintempletonshootout.com/
EUROPEAN TOUR
The Nelson Mandela Championship
Mount Edgecombe GC
Durban
Round 3 final
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2013098/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y
Thailand Golf Championship
Amata Spring Country Club
Sergio Garcia shot a final-round 68 to beat Henrik Stenson by four strokes and win the Thailand Golf Championship at the Amata Spring Country Club
The 33-year-old Spaniard, who held the lead since the second round, turned in a solid final round that featured six birdies and two bogeys to finish on 22-under 266.
The victory is Garcia’s first this year with his last win coming at the Johor Open, an Asian Tour event in Malaysia last December.
Garcia raised some eyebrows by playing with his girlfriend, Katharina Boehm, as his caddie this week, but the partnership has proved to be effective.
Sweden’s Stenson, who recently made history when he became the first player to win the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup, matched Garcia’s 68 in his final round for an 18-under 270 total.
BryanAngus (notes from golfcanada.com europeantour.com )
PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament Course
La Quinta, California
With only 36 holes remaining at the final stage of Web.com qualifying, six Canadians sit inside the top-45 at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.
Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ont., continues to lead the Canadian contingent after firing a 3-under 69 on Sunday. His 13-under total trails Utah’s Scott Pinckney by eight strokes and leaves him in a tie for 13th.
Toronto’s Albin Choi carded his fourth consecutive under-par round after a 3-under 69 and currently sits 16th at 12-under par. Choi sits one stroke ahead of Oshawa, Ont., native Derek Gillespie, who fired a 5-under 67 to vault up the leaderboard Sunday.
Nick Taylor of Abbottsford, B.C., made the biggest move of the day for the Canadians after a 5-under 67 moved him up 19 spots into a tie for 23rd. Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., also carded under-par rounds and both sit in a tie for 38th at 8-under par.
Full scores for the 11 Canadians in the field this week are below. The Canucks will look to finish inside the top-45 after 108 holes of play, which will give them exempt status until the Web.Com Tour’s second periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
To see more on the qualifying breakdown, click here.
Canadian Scores after Round 4 of Web.com Final Qualifying
T13. Cam Burke, New Hamburg, Ont. (-13) 67-72–67-69–275
T16. Albin Choi, Toronto, Ont. (-12) 69-71–67-69–276
T17. Derek Gillespie, Oshawa, Ont. (-11) 71-67–72-67–277
T23. Nick Taylor, Abbottsford, B.C. (-10) 69-70–72-67–278
T38. Justin Shin, Maple Ridge, B.C. (-8) 64-74–73-69–280
T38. Roger Sloan, Merritt, B.C. (-8) 68-70–72-70–280
T65. Devin Carrey, Surrey, B.C. (-5) 68-71–71-73–283
T107. Yohann Benson, Montreal, Que. (E) 73-74–70-71–288
T128. Riley Wheeldon, Comox, B.C. (+3) 74-71–71-75–291
T128. Eugene Wong, North Vancouver, B.C. (+3) 73-70-75-73–291
T135. Max Gilbert, St-Georges, Que. (+5) 73-74–74-72–293
For complete scoring from Web.com Tour Final Qualifying, click here.
PGA Tour
Franklin Templeton
Tiburon Golf Course at Ritz Carlton Resort
Matt Kuchar and Harris English set a tournament course record by finishing at 34 under at the Franklin Templeton Shootout on Sunday.
Kuchar and English beat the duo of Retief Goosen and Freddie Jacobson at the Tiburon Golf Resort’s Gold course. The winners shot 25 under in their last 28 holes.
Playing Sunday under a scramble format, they shot a 14-under 58. Goosen and Jacobson cut their deficit to three shots after three holes before Kuchar and English warmed up. They were 11-under 61 for the day and 27-under for the tournament.
Finishing third were Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, who had a 13-under 59 and went 26 under overall. Chris DiMarco and Billy Horschel were in fourth at 24 under.
Host Greg Norman and partner Jonas Blixt tied Steve Stricker/Jerry Kelly and Canada’s Graham DeLaet/Mike Weir at 19 under. They finished tied for 8th, earning (US) $80,000 each
Live scoring click here http://leaderboard.franklintempletonshootout.com/
EUROPEAN TOUR
The Nelson Mandela Championship
Mount Edgecombe GC
Durban
Round 3 final
Dawie van der Walt shot a 4-under 66 Saturday to win the Nelson Mandela Championship by two shots, giving the tournament a South African victory in a week when the country bids farewell to its former president.
Van der Walt finished with a three-round total of 15-under 195 as the sun eventually shone on the final day of the rain-shortened event. It was his second European Tour victory. England’s Matthew Baldwin (68) and Spain’s Jorge Campillo (68) were tied for second.
Even before the rain disrupted the first two days, organizers had changed the schedule ensure the tournament didn’t run over into Sunday out of respect for the state funeral of Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid leader who died last week.
Van der Walt finished with a three-round total of 15-under 195 as the sun eventually shone on the final day of the rain-shortened event. It was his second European Tour victory. England’s Matthew Baldwin (68) and Spain’s Jorge Campillo (68) were tied for second.
Even before the rain disrupted the first two days, organizers had changed the schedule ensure the tournament didn’t run over into Sunday out of respect for the state funeral of Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid leader who died last week.
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2013098/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y
Thailand Golf Championship
Amata Spring Country Club
Sergio Garcia shot a final-round 68 to beat Henrik Stenson by four strokes and win the Thailand Golf Championship at the Amata Spring Country Club
The 33-year-old Spaniard, who held the lead since the second round, turned in a solid final round that featured six birdies and two bogeys to finish on 22-under 266.
The victory is Garcia’s first this year with his last win coming at the Johor Open, an Asian Tour event in Malaysia last December.
Garcia raised some eyebrows by playing with his girlfriend, Katharina Boehm, as his caddie this week, but the partnership has proved to be effective.
Sweden’s Stenson, who recently made history when he became the first player to win the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup, matched Garcia’s 68 in his final round for an 18-under 270 total.
BryanAngus (notes from golfcanada.com europeantour.com )
Thursday, December 12, 2013
PGA Tour Canada 2014 schedule
PGA TOUR Canada’s second season will include 12 $150,000 events in 2014, with the race for Web.com Tour status for The Five going coast-to-coast from May to September.
The season will begin with the PC Financial Open, a new event May 26th to June 1st at Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, British Columbia and conclude at the TOUR Championship of Canada presented by Freedom 55 Financial September 8th to 15th at Sunningdale Golf & Country Club in London, Ontario.
Route
After kicking off the season with PGA TOUR Canada’s first event in Vancouver, the Tour will head to Victoria, British Columbia for the 32nd playing of the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist, June 2nd to 8th at Uplands Golf Club. Following an off week, the Tour will resume at the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON, June 16th through 22nd at Fort McMurray Golf Club in Fort McMurray, Alberta.
The SIGA Dakota Dunes Open presented by SaskTel will mark the first of three events in as many weeks, returning to Dakota Dunes Golf Links outside Saskatoon, Saskatchewan June 30th to July 6th, followed by The Players Cup, July 7th through 13th at Pine Ridge Golf Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba and the inaugural Thunder Bay Golf Classic July 14th to 20th at Whitewater Golf Club in Thunder Bay, Ontario, after which the top three players on the PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit will earn exemptions into the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA TOUR.
The season will resume when the ATB Financial Classic moves to a new date, taking place July 28th through August 3rd at Sirocco Golf Club in Calgary, Alberta. Players will then compete at the inaugural Forces and Families Open, a new event supporting the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families, August 4th through 10th at Hylands Golf Club in Ottawa, Ontario.
The 2014 season will make an exciting run to the finish with four events in four weeks, starting with The Great Waterway Classic at Loyalist Golf and Country Club just outside of Kingston, Ontario August 18th through 24th, followed by The Wildfire Invitational presented by PC Financial August 25th to 31st outside Peterborough, Ontario, where the top 128 players on the Order of Merit will compete in a unique pro-am format. The Tour will then head east for the Cape Breton Celtic Classic presented by PC Financial September 1st through 7th at The Lakes Golf Club outside Sydney, Nova Scotia.
The 2014 season will conclude by returning to Sunningdale Golf and Country Club in London, Ontario for the TOUR Championship of Canada presented by Freedom 55 Financial, taking place September 8th through 14th and concluding the race for The Five. Below is a full list of the events for the 2014 schedule.
Date Event Location
May 26-June 1 PC Financial Open Vancouver, BC
June 2-8 Bayview Place Island Savings Open pres. by Times Colonist Victoria, BC
June 16-22 Syncrude Boreal Open pres. by AECON Fort McMurray, AB
June 30-July 6 SIGA Dakota Dunes Open pres. by SaskTel Saskatoon, SK
July 7-13 The Players Cup Winnipeg, MB
July 14-20 Thunder Bay Golf Classic Thunder Bay, ON
July 28-Aug. 3 ATB Financial Classic Calgary, AB
Aug. 4-10 Forces and Families Open Ottawa, ON
Aug. 18-24 The Great Waterway Classic Kingston, ON
Aug. 25-31 The Wildfire Invitational pres. by PC Financial Peterborough, ON
Sept. 1-7 Cape Breton Celtic Classic pres. by PC Financial Syndey, NS
Sep. 8-14 TOUR Championship of Canada pres. by Freedom 55 Financial London, ON
Bryan Angus (edit)
Canucks at Web.com Q School this week
Eleven Canadians will begin their quest at securing or improving playing status for the Web.com Tour’s 2014 season this week at PGA West’s TPC Stadium and Nicklaus tournament courses in La Quinta, Calif., December 12-17.
This year marks the beginning of the PGA TOUR’s new qualifying format that will see players given status solely on the Web.com Tour for the 2014 season at the conclusion of 108 holes. In past years, the top-25 players were awarded a direct ticket to the PGA TOUR.
- Category 2a: Winner and ties of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament Medalist – exempt for the 2014 season and from periodic re-order.
- Category 4: Players finishing after the Winner and ties through tenth and ties position – exempt until the third periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
- Category 4a: Players finishing after the tenth and ties position through forty-fifth and ties position – exempt until the second periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
- Category 18: Players after the forty-fifth and ties position – conditional status for the 2014 season, alternating with seventy-sixth through one-hundredth (76-100) positions from the Web.com Tour Regular Season.
For scoring, pairings and information on Web.com Final Qualifying, click here.
Report by MorganBell Golf Canada
Info from MorganBell (Golf Canada)
This year marks the beginning of the PGA TOUR’s new qualifying format that will see players given status solely on the Web.com Tour for the 2014 season at the conclusion of 108 holes. In past years, the top-25 players were awarded a direct ticket to the PGA TOUR.
Canadians in the field at Final Qualifying:
- Yohann Benson, Montréal, Que.
- Cam Burke, New Hamburg, Ont.
- Devin Carrey, Surrey, B.C.
- Albin Choi, Toronto, Ont.
- Max Gilbert, St-Georges, Que.
- Derek Gillespie, Oshawa, Ont.
- Justin Shin, Maple Ridge, B.C.
- Roger Sloan, Merritt, B.C.
- Nick Taylor, Abbotsford, B.C.
- Riley Wheeldon, Comox, B.C.
- Eugene Wong, North Vancouver, B.C.
Web.com Tour membership
After the conclusion of play in the Final Qualifying Stage the contestants in the Final Qualifying Stage will be eligible for 2014 Web.com Tour membership, unless the PGA TOUR, in its sole discretion, elects not to award a membership based on other factors. Contestants who are; under the age of 18; an amateur; or do not become members will be included to determine the following categories as described in the Web.com Tour Tournament Regulations.- Category 2a: Winner and ties of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament Medalist – exempt for the 2014 season and from periodic re-order.
- Category 4: Players finishing after the Winner and ties through tenth and ties position – exempt until the third periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
- Category 4a: Players finishing after the tenth and ties position through forty-fifth and ties position – exempt until the second periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
- Category 18: Players after the forty-fifth and ties position – conditional status for the 2014 season, alternating with seventy-sixth through one-hundredth (76-100) positions from the Web.com Tour Regular Season.
For scoring, pairings and information on Web.com Final Qualifying, click here.
Report by MorganBell Golf Canada
Info from MorganBell (Golf Canada)
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Johnson beats Woods in a playoff..... final wrap all tours
EUROPEAN TOUR/SUNSHINE TOUR – RSA NEDBANK GOLF CHALLENGE
SITE: Sun City, South Africa SCHEDULE: Thursday-Sunday.
COURSE: Gary Player Country Club (7,831 yards, 7,161 metres, par 72).
PURSE: $6.5-million. Winner’s share: $1.25-million.
Round 4 Final
Thomas Bjorn shot a closing -7 65 and has won the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City over Sergio Garcia and overnight leader Jamie Donaldson
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2013096/leaderboard/index.html
EUROPEAN TOUR/ASIAN TOUR – HONG KONG OPEN
SITE: Hong Kong.
SCHEDULE: Thursday-Sunday.
COURSE: Hong Kong Golf Club (6,699 yards, 6,126 metres, par 70).
PURSE: $1.3-million. Winner’s share: $295,112.
Round 4 Final
Miguel Angel Jimenez rolled in an 18 foot putt at the 1st playoff hole to become the oldest winner in European Tour history, breaking his own record when he won in Hong Kong last year.
The Spaniard ripped a drive down the 18th hole to leave just a short iron in, and when he wedged left of the hole, he poured in a slick putt from right to left down the slope and into the hole. Prom Meesawat had looked like securing a par having missed the green short, while Stuart Manley pushed his approach behind the hospitality unit and after a free drop had looked like struggling for his four. It didn't matter for either though, as Jimenez secured the win with a birdie three.
Ernie Els playing with a heavy heart after the death of Nelson Mandela was at the bottom of the field. It appears he is in for an equipment change. On Wednesday morning, Golf Digest South Africa deputy editor Barry Havenga tweeted that the four-time major winner will depart Callaway at the end of the year his contact was set to expire for a new equipment company.
While it's unclear where he's headed, Havenga dropped interesting hint, noting that Els will "play equipment/wear apparel from 4 different brands – owned by 1 company."
Over the course of the last few months, Els has tested new equipment, including UST Mamiya's Recoil graphite shafts at the Asian Tour's Venetian Macau Open; Titleist's Pro V1x golf ball at the Presidents Cup and Venetian Macau Open; and TaylorMade's Lethal golf ball at the CIMB Classic.
Going off Havenga's tweet, there's reason to believe TaylorMade, which refused to comment on Els' future, could be a potential landing spot.
TMaG, the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company, is comprised of four equipment and apparel companies -- TaylorMade, adidas, Ashworth and Adams Golf.
Els also spent a portion of his career as a TaylorMade staffer, winning the 1997 U.S. Open and 2002 British Open with the company. And then there's the fact that Els played the Lethal ball at the CIMB Classic in October
PGA TOUR – NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL WORLD CHALLENGE
SITE: Thousand Oaks, California.
SCHEDULE: Thursday-Sunday.
COURSE: Sherwood Country Club (7,052 yards, 6,448 metres, par 72).
PURSE: $3.5-million. Winner’s share: $1-million.
FIELD: Keegan Bradley, Jason Day, Jason Dufner, Jim Furyk, Bill Haas, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Hunter Mahan, Ian Poulter, Webb Simpson, Jordan Spieth, Steve Stricker, Bubba Watson, Lee Westwood, Tiger Woods.
Round 4 Final
Zach Johnson put together the storybook finish at Sherwood on Sunday that for the longest time belonged to Tiger Woods.
Johnson rallied from four shots behind with eight holes to play, holed out from a drop area for par on the last hole to force a playoff, and beat the No. 1 player in golf at the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge when Woods missed a 5-foot par putt on the first extra hole
They were tied after Johnson hit his tee shot to 4 feet for birdie on the 17th hole. Playing from the left rough, Woods came up just short and watched his approach tumble down the elevated green and into the bunker. Johnson followed with his worst shot of the week, an 8-iron so weak that it came up well short and into the hazard.
Johnson knew Woods had a difficult bunker shot, and if he figured if he could stick his wedge close from 58 yards away in the drop zone, a bogey might be enough to get into a playoff. The ball bounced three times and then spun back a few inches into the cup for an unlikely par and a 4-under 68
http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/northwestern-mutual-world-challenge/leaderboard.html
PGA TOUR LATINOAMERICA – ARGENTINA OPEN
SITE: Buenos Aires, Argentina
SCHEDULE: Thursday-Sunday
COURSE: Nordelta Golf Club
PURSE: $150,000
CANADIANS: Matt Johnston +1 73, Adam Cornelson 78
Round 4
Columbia's Marcelo Rozo at -10 shot a final round 72 to win the Argentina Open
Live scoring http://www.pgatourla.com/leaderboard/m2013017/#.UqG-w-Yo50s
LPGA TOUR – QUALIFYING SCHOOL, FINAL STAGE
SITE: Daytona Beach, Florida
SCHEDULE: Wednesday-Sunday
COURSE: LPGA International
CANADIANS:
5. Jennifer Kirby (-12) 71-69-69-71-68 – 348
T32. Maude-Aim̩e LeBlanc (-2) 71-73-73-71-70 Р358
T44. Lorie Kane (E) 72-73-73-72-70 – 360
T65. Erica Rivard (+5) 77-72-69-70-77 – 365
T70. Jessica Shepley (+8) 73-76-750-67-77 – 368
— MISSED CUT —
T71. Natalie Gleadall (+4) 73-73-71-75 – 292
T71. Stephanie Sherlock (+4) 73-74-72-73 – 292
T79. Sara-Maude Juneau (+5) 77-70-74-72 – 293
T102. Ashely Sholer (+8) 73-78-71-74 – 296
T122. Nicole Vandermade (+11) 78-74-79-68 – 299
Paris, Ont. native and former Team Canada member, Jennifer Kirby, finished 5th at the LPGA‘s Final Qualifying Tournament Sunday to earn exempt status on the Tour for 2014 The 22-year University of Alabama alumnae tallied five solid sub-par rounds (71-69-69-71-68) to finish the five-day, 90-hole event at 12-under par.
Kirby joins fellow Canadians Sue Kim of Langley, B.C., Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Lorie Kane of Charlottetown and Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Toronto as full-time LPGA Tour members in 2014.
Kim and Sharp earned their way back onto the LPGA Tour via their play on the Symetra Tour, while Lee-Bentham finished in the top 80 of the Tour’s money list just one year after she won medalist honours at Q-School.
Kirby was the only one of the 10 Canadians who started the week to gain full (Category 12) status.
Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que. tied for 32nd at 2-under par. She will have conditional status next year.
Kane, a four-time winner on the Tour, finished tied for 44th. She was looking to improve her priority standing in order to get into more tournaments in 2014.
Jaye Marie Green of Boca Raton, Fla. completed the wire-to-wire victory to earn medalist honors. The 19-year-old finished 29-under with a 10 shot victory over South Korean Mi Rim Lee
http://rts.symetrascoring.com/?__utma=105709790.918345640.1386175267.1386175267.1386175267.1&__utmb=105709790.0.10.1386175267&__utmc=105709790&__utmx=-&__utmz=105709790.1386175267.1.1.utmcsr=google|utmccn=%28organic%29|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=%28not%20provided%29&__utmv=-&__utmk=132717582
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
No longer the "Silly Season" : 48 of the world's best play for $10m
It's that week again, the Challenge weekend where 30 world stars are at the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City, South Africa playing for $6.5m and 18 more are at Tiger's, this year called the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge in One Thousand Oaks, California for another $3.5m, pretty good cash for what used to be " the silly season" !
Along with a European/Asian Tour tournament in Hong Kong this week there are still spots for the Masters up for grabs, as the world's top 50 will get an invite, and the prize money and points now available at Sun City and at the Northwestern make these events very important.
Sun City
US Open Champion Justin Rose is hoping to bring down the curtain on the most successful year of his career with a victory at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
Born in Johannesburg, the Englishman has strong ties with South Africa with some of his closest family still living in the country where he won his professional title at the 2002 Nashua Masters.
Rose is always a popular figure with South African fans and he will be given a hero’s reception at the Gary Player Country Club when he is announced on the first tee as the reigning US Open Champion.
“South Africa’s very close to my heart, not only because I was born here, but also because I have a lot of family here. My brother lives in Joburg and my mom lives down in George. I haven’t seen them all for quite a while and from that perspective it’s wonderful to catch up.
Rose will no doubt be joined in the mix by the likes of Henrik Stenson, Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Luke Donald as 30 of the world’s very best players do battle for the US$6.5 million prize fund on offer at Sun City.
Stenson, of course, is the world’s form player who is enjoying a run of form that saw him become the first man in history to win The European Tour’s Race to Dubai and the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup in the same season.
The Swede is also a former champion of the Nedbank Golf Challenge having lifted the title in 2008 and would love to add to that, especially as the tournament is featuring on The European Tour for the first time in its illustrious 33-year history.
“It’s an exciting time for the tournament with the changes in place and the field increasing to 30 players and now being a part of The Race to Dubai. The increase in the field brings more guys into it obviously and makes it more difficult to win given the quality of the field but I am sure all the guys are looking forward to the chance.
Of all the players in the field, no-one has won this event more than Els. The big South African has registered a hat-trick of victories here (1999, 2000 and 2002) and remains the biggest draw in town for the huge galleries that will flock to the Gary Player Country Club this week.
Oosthuizen is looking ominous having finally shaken off the niggling back injury that has plagued his season, while Schwartzel and Donald still have the taste of victory in their mouths having respectively triumphed at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa and the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan.
Tigers Charity
The 2013 Northwestern Mutual World Challenge returns to Sherwood Country Club welcoming an elite 18-player field that will include host Tiger Woods, defending champion Graeme McDowell, 2013 PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner, 10 of the top 20 players in the FedExCup standings and an impressive roster of players from the 2013 Presidents Cup.
The Northwestern Mutual World Challenge is a four-round, 72-hole stoke-play event with a $3.5 million purse and players competing for a $1 million winner's check. The unique showcase, which awards Official World Golf Ranking points, will be held at the challenging par-72, 7,052-yard Sherwood Country Club for its 15th year. The 2013 field includes: Tiger Woods has won the World Challenge five times throughout his career. This year he won the Farmers Insurance Open, the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational, THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, finishing the season with five TOUR wins. The event also showcases top European players on TOUR such as 2012 defending World Challenge champion Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter. A fan favorite, McDowell won last year's event in an intense final round, defeating Keegan Bradley by three strokes. McDowell had an impressive 2013 season, most notably winning his second PGA TOUR victory at the RBC Heritage by defeating Webb Simpson in a sudden-death playoff. Rory McIlroy is fresh off his win at the Australian Open. and despite a poor season he continues to make his mark with a total of six PGA TOUR Lee Westwood's best finish this season came at The Open Championship where he finished tied for third, opening with rounds of 72-68-70 to carry a two-stroke lead into the final round. He finished four strokes behind champion Phil Mickelson. Ian Poulter ended the PGA Tour season strong with four top-10 finishes and has as usual been right in contention in the Race to Dubai Jason Dufner's biggest moment this season came at the PGA Championship when he defeated Jim Furyk by two shots at Oak Hill Country Club, earning his third career TOUR victory. Finishing the season at No. 6 in the FedExCup standings, Matt Kuchar has had a successful 2013 season, winning the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Memorial Tournament. Hunter Mahan has five career victories on the PGA TOUR, the last two coming during the 2012 season at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Shell Houston Open. Brandt Snedeker's biggest moment this season came when he claimed his sixth PGA TOUR title with his victory at the RBC Canadian Open, after trailing Hunter Mahan by eight strokes after the second round. . Zach Johnson has made his mark on the TOUR this season with eight top-10 finishes, including winning the 2013 BMW Championship at Conway Farms. Bubba Watson has four career victories on the PGA TOUR, the most notable being the 2012 Masters Tournament. This season Watson has had three top-10 finishes Rounding out this exceptional field are veterans Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker.In addition the World Challenge will feature two rising young stars, Keegan Bradley and Jason Day
Along with a European/Asian Tour tournament in Hong Kong this week there are still spots for the Masters up for grabs, as the world's top 50 will get an invite, and the prize money and points now available at Sun City and at the Northwestern make these events very important.
Sun City
US Open Champion Justin Rose is hoping to bring down the curtain on the most successful year of his career with a victory at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
Born in Johannesburg, the Englishman has strong ties with South Africa with some of his closest family still living in the country where he won his professional title at the 2002 Nashua Masters.
Rose is always a popular figure with South African fans and he will be given a hero’s reception at the Gary Player Country Club when he is announced on the first tee as the reigning US Open Champion.
“South Africa’s very close to my heart, not only because I was born here, but also because I have a lot of family here. My brother lives in Joburg and my mom lives down in George. I haven’t seen them all for quite a while and from that perspective it’s wonderful to catch up.
Rose will no doubt be joined in the mix by the likes of Henrik Stenson, Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Luke Donald as 30 of the world’s very best players do battle for the US$6.5 million prize fund on offer at Sun City.
Stenson, of course, is the world’s form player who is enjoying a run of form that saw him become the first man in history to win The European Tour’s Race to Dubai and the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup in the same season.
The Swede is also a former champion of the Nedbank Golf Challenge having lifted the title in 2008 and would love to add to that, especially as the tournament is featuring on The European Tour for the first time in its illustrious 33-year history.
“It’s an exciting time for the tournament with the changes in place and the field increasing to 30 players and now being a part of The Race to Dubai. The increase in the field brings more guys into it obviously and makes it more difficult to win given the quality of the field but I am sure all the guys are looking forward to the chance.
Of all the players in the field, no-one has won this event more than Els. The big South African has registered a hat-trick of victories here (1999, 2000 and 2002) and remains the biggest draw in town for the huge galleries that will flock to the Gary Player Country Club this week.
Oosthuizen is looking ominous having finally shaken off the niggling back injury that has plagued his season, while Schwartzel and Donald still have the taste of victory in their mouths having respectively triumphed at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa and the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan.
Tigers Charity
The 2013 Northwestern Mutual World Challenge returns to Sherwood Country Club welcoming an elite 18-player field that will include host Tiger Woods, defending champion Graeme McDowell, 2013 PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner, 10 of the top 20 players in the FedExCup standings and an impressive roster of players from the 2013 Presidents Cup.
The Northwestern Mutual World Challenge is a four-round, 72-hole stoke-play event with a $3.5 million purse and players competing for a $1 million winner's check. The unique showcase, which awards Official World Golf Ranking points, will be held at the challenging par-72, 7,052-yard Sherwood Country Club for its 15th year. The 2013 field includes: Tiger Woods has won the World Challenge five times throughout his career. This year he won the Farmers Insurance Open, the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational, THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, finishing the season with five TOUR wins. The event also showcases top European players on TOUR such as 2012 defending World Challenge champion Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter. A fan favorite, McDowell won last year's event in an intense final round, defeating Keegan Bradley by three strokes. McDowell had an impressive 2013 season, most notably winning his second PGA TOUR victory at the RBC Heritage by defeating Webb Simpson in a sudden-death playoff. Rory McIlroy is fresh off his win at the Australian Open. and despite a poor season he continues to make his mark with a total of six PGA TOUR Lee Westwood's best finish this season came at The Open Championship where he finished tied for third, opening with rounds of 72-68-70 to carry a two-stroke lead into the final round. He finished four strokes behind champion Phil Mickelson. Ian Poulter ended the PGA Tour season strong with four top-10 finishes and has as usual been right in contention in the Race to Dubai Jason Dufner's biggest moment this season came at the PGA Championship when he defeated Jim Furyk by two shots at Oak Hill Country Club, earning his third career TOUR victory. Finishing the season at No. 6 in the FedExCup standings, Matt Kuchar has had a successful 2013 season, winning the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Memorial Tournament. Hunter Mahan has five career victories on the PGA TOUR, the last two coming during the 2012 season at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Shell Houston Open. Brandt Snedeker's biggest moment this season came when he claimed his sixth PGA TOUR title with his victory at the RBC Canadian Open, after trailing Hunter Mahan by eight strokes after the second round. . Zach Johnson has made his mark on the TOUR this season with eight top-10 finishes, including winning the 2013 BMW Championship at Conway Farms. Bubba Watson has four career victories on the PGA TOUR, the most notable being the 2012 Masters Tournament. This season Watson has had three top-10 finishes Rounding out this exceptional field are veterans Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker.In addition the World Challenge will feature two rising young stars, Keegan Bradley and Jason Day
Thursday, November 28, 2013
McIlroy catches Scott on the last hole to win Australian Open... Live scoring
Emirates Australian Open
November 28 - December 1, 2013
Royal Sydney Golf Club,
Sydney
Round 4 Final
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy has snatched the Emirates Australian Open title from the hands of Adam Scott to claim his first victory of the year at Royal Sydney Golf Club.
Trailing Scott for the majority of Sunday, the World Number 6 sunk a 12 foot birdie on the 18th green to collect his first title since November 2012, while it was heartbreak for Scott who bogeyed the last.
McIlroy’s final round of 6-under 66 was just too good for Scott who with a 1-under 71, (his worst round of the tournament), finished at 17-under the card in second position.
2006 Australian Open Champion John Senden finished in third position, for his trouble claiming one of three spots up for grabs in the 2014 Open Championship.
Live scoring click here http://www.pga.org.au/scores
Alfred Dunhill Championship
Leopard Creek GC
Malelane RSA
Round 4 Final
Live scoring click here http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2013095/leaderboard/index.html
November 28 - December 1, 2013
Royal Sydney Golf Club,
Sydney
Round 4 Final
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy has snatched the Emirates Australian Open title from the hands of Adam Scott to claim his first victory of the year at Royal Sydney Golf Club.
Trailing Scott for the majority of Sunday, the World Number 6 sunk a 12 foot birdie on the 18th green to collect his first title since November 2012, while it was heartbreak for Scott who bogeyed the last.
McIlroy’s final round of 6-under 66 was just too good for Scott who with a 1-under 71, (his worst round of the tournament), finished at 17-under the card in second position.
2006 Australian Open Champion John Senden finished in third position, for his trouble claiming one of three spots up for grabs in the 2014 Open Championship.
Live scoring click here http://www.pga.org.au/scores
Alfred Dunhill Championship
Leopard Creek GC
Malelane RSA
Round 4 Final
Charl Schwartzel continued his remarkable sequence of results at Leopard Creek Country Club with a four shot victory over a spirited Richard Finch in the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
A winner by 12 shots last year, the 29 year old has also been a runner-up four times in the event where he collected his first European Tour title in 2005.
After a double bogey on the tenth hole of his first round, the World Number 21 went 62 holes without dropping a shot and a closing 67 saw him finish 17 under par for the week.
A winner by 12 shots last year, the 29 year old has also been a runner-up four times in the event where he collected his first European Tour title in 2005.
After a double bogey on the tenth hole of his first round, the World Number 21 went 62 holes without dropping a shot and a closing 67 saw him finish 17 under par for the week.
Live scoring click here http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2013095/leaderboard/index.html
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
"Double Down Under"..Jason Day wins leads Australia to World Cup
It was originally called the Canada Cup when it was founded back in 1953 by Canadian industrialist John Jay Hopkins, who hoped it would promote international goodwill through golf. They changed its name to the World Cup in 1967 and it traveled the globe and grew to be one of golf's most prestigious tournaments throughout the 1960s and 1970s, but interest in the event faded to the point that the event was not held in 1981 or 1986.
After 3 years from 2007 through 2009 at the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China it was changed to a bi-centennial event and this year it is at the Royal Melbourne GC in Australia with a format that will mimic the Olympic format in 2016
Players in the top 15 on the Official World Golf Ranking gain access to the World Cup, with the exception that there will be no more than four players for any country. After the top 15, up to two players are allowed per country until the field of about 60 is filled.
Individual stroke-play was instituted this year for all four rounds to mirror the Olympic format, and the best two scores from each country will determine the team placings.
The individual competition offers $7 million in prize money. The winning individual player gets $1.2 million; the winning team gets $600,000. Twenty-five teams played, including David Hearn of Brampton, Ontario and Brad Fritsch of Ottawa for Canada
PGA TOUR/EUROPEAN TOUR - WORLD CUP OF GOLF
COURSE: Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Composite Course (7,024 yards, par 71).
PURSE (INDIVIDUAL): $7 million. Winner’s share: $1.2 million.
PURSE (TEAM): $1 million. Winners’ shares: $300,000 each.
CANADIANS David Hearn 70 71 71 71, Brad Fritsch 71 73 70 73
Round 4 final
After nearly withdrawing due to a family tragedy, Jason Day made an emotional return to golf at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf to win his first tournament in more than three years at Royal Melbourne on Sunday.
His 7-foot putt to save par on the 16th hole held off a faltering Thomas Bjorn. Day had a 70 for a 10-under total of 274. That was two strokes better than Denmark's Bjorn, who finished with a 71 after two late bogeys.
Day's last victory came at the HP Byron Nelson Championship on the PGA TOUR in 2010, although he's had four top-five finishes in majors since 2011.
The World Cup was Day's first tournament in five weeks and came less than two weeks after he learned that eight of his relatives, including his grandmother, died in the devastating Nov. 9 typhoon in the Philippines.
Masters champion Adam Scott finished third after a 66, three strokes behind. Scott, who was trying to win his third tournament in a row, shot a 75 on the opening day, including a 9 on the 12th hole, and spent the rest of the tournament trying to catch up.
Day earned $1.2 million for winning the individual title and helped Australia win the team portion of the World Cup. Day and Scott, who each holed approach shots for eagles Sunday, shared the $600,000 first-place team prize.
American Matt Kuchar shot a 71 to finish fourth in individual stroke-play, three behind Day.
Ryo Ishikawa of Japan (69) and Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand (70) finished tied for fifth, seven behind the winner
David Hearn 71 and Brad Fritsch 73 ended up 5th in the team standings
Live scoring http://worldcup.pgatour.com/leaderboard.aspx
LPGA TOUR - CME GROUP TITLEHOLDERS
COURSE: Tiburon Golf Club (6,540 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $2 million. Winner’s share: $700,000.
CANADIANS: Rebecca Lee-Bentham 65 76 75 75 +3
Round 4 Final
Shanshan Feng of China seized control early and was flawless in the final round of the LPGA Tour season, closing with a 6-under 66 to win the LPGA Titleholders and claim the richest prize in women’s golf Sunday.
Gerina Piller stayed within one shot and had a 10-foot birdie attempt on the final hole that would have forced a playoff. It narrowly missed, and Piller had to settle for a 69 and her best finish on the LPGA Tour
Natalie Gulbis, tied for the 54-hole lead with Pornanong and Piller, wasn’t up to the task. Going for her first win in six years, Gulbis didn’t make a birdie until the 14th hole, and by then she couldn’t stop a spectacular slide. Gulbis closed with an 82
Inbee Park, who clinched player of the year last week in Mexico, had a 68 to finish fifth. She won the LPGA Tour money title.
The only other award at stake Sunday was rookie of the year. That went to Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand, who closed with a 72. She won by one point over Caroline Masson of Germany.
Lydia Ko, the two-time Canadian Women's Open champion, finished her first tournament as a pro in a tie for 21st at 4-under par. After leaving more than $1-million in prize money on the table competing as an amateur, the Korean-born New Zealander cashed her first official cheque as a pro for $16,063.
Toronto's Rebecca Lee-Bentham carded a second straight round of 75 to finish in a tie for 43rd at 3-over par
Live scoring http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx
CHAMPIONS TOUR - QUALIFYING SCHOOL, FINAL STAGE
COURSE: TPC Scottsdale Champions Course
CANADIANS Jim Rutledge T2 65 67 72 65 -15, Marc Girouard 74 70 77 73 +10, Ken Tarling 69 73 76 75 +9
Round 4 Final
Neither rain, nor near-sleet, nor gloomy skies, could keep Wes Short Jr. (Austin, Texas) from his appointed final round. After a three-hour rain delay at the start, Short battled through adverse weather conditions and then near darkness late in the day to win the 2013 Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament at the par-71 Champions Course at TPC Scottsdale.
With temperatures only reaching the low 60s, Short, posted a 3-under 68 in a steady afternoon drizzle on Friday and his 72-hole total of 20-under 264, tied an all-time Champions Tour record set by Jeff Freeman at this same venue two years ago
Short Jr. easily outdistanced both Mike Reid (Westminister, Md.) and Canadian Jim Rutledge (Victoria, B.C.) by five strokes, earning him medalist honors by the largest margin in a National Qualifier since Bob Gilder in 2000
Rutledge started the day outside the top 12 and was looking at having no exempt status for 2014 before he teed off. However, after turning in 2-under 33, he made four birdies on the back nine to shoot 65, equalling the low round of the day, and he quickly moved up the leaderboard into an eventual T2, the fourth straight year he’s finished among the top eight at the National Qualifier. Rutledge also finished T2 at TPC Scottsdale in 2011
Live scoring http://www.pgatour.com/champions/tournaments/champions-tour-q-school/leaderboard.html
EUROPEAN TOUR/SUNSHINE TOUR - SOUTH AFRICA OPEN
COURSE: Glendower Golf Club (6,899 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $1.49 million. Winner’s share: $235,685.
Round 4 Final
Denmark’s Morten Ørum Madsen won his first European Tour title with a two shot victory in the South African Open Championship hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni.
Madsen got his season off to the perfect start by winning the opening event of the 2014 Race to Dubai after picking up five shots in his last round, all with birdies, to finish ahead of South Africans Jbe Kruger and Hennie Otto at Glendower GC on 19 under par.
The 25 year old, ranked 244 in the world before this win, made consistent scores throughout the four days, overcoming four bogeys in his first round with just three more in the rest of the tournament.
Madsen was today playing alongside overnight leader and pre-tournament favourite Charl Schwartzel, who squandered a three shot lead to finish tied for fourth with Italy’s Marco Crespi on 16 under.
Live scoring http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2013094/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y
PGA TOUR LATINOAMERICA - CHILE OPEN
COURSE: Los Leones Golf Club, Santiago, Chile ( 6,948 yards, par 72)
PURSE: $150,000
CANADIANS Adam Cornelson 71 73 69, Matt Johnston MC
Round 4 Final
Timothy O'Neal of Savannah Georgia made an eagle on the first hole of a three-man sudden-death playoff to win the 87th Abierto de Chile on Sunday.
With the victory, his second on NEC Series PGA TOUR Latinoamérica this season, O'Neal jumps to No. 3 on "Los Cinco" and is in position to earn Web.com Tour status for the 2014 season. O'Neal of Savannah, Ga., Florida's Ryan Blaum and Argentina's Sebastián Saavedra finished 72 holes at 13-under 275.
The playoff was contested on No. 18, a 511-yard par-5 where O’Neal had about 200 yards to the flag on his second shot.
“I was in between the 4- and the 5-iron," he said. "I went with the 4-iron and I hit it a little left, but luckily it caught the slope and rolled back towards the hole and I had about a six-footer for eagle, which I was fortunate to make.”
After that fortunate break, his opponents' chances of beating him all but evaporated. Saavedra, who had reached the playoff after a record-breaking round of 10-under 62, made a great sand shot to get within a foot of the hole in three.
Meanwhile Blaum, who almost holed out from a greenside bunker for the win in regulation, missed a 25-foot putt from off the green past the hole on his eagle try. For Blaum it was his second runner-up finish in a row
Live scoring http://www.pgatourla.com/leaderboard/m2013015/?lg=en#.Uo31Y-Yo7Mw
WEB.COM TOUR - QUALIFYING SCHOOL, SECOND STAGE
COURSES: Plantation Preserve GC (FL), Southern Hills Plantation (FL), Bear Creek Golf Club (CA), Shell Landing GC (MS)
CANADIANS: Jon Mills, Yohann Benson, Ben Silverman, Max Gilbert, Matt Hill, Corey Renfrew, Eugene Wong, Darren Wallace
Yohann Benson of Montreal finished tied for fourth at the Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club in Plantation, Florida to move on to the final stage. Ben Silverman (T50) of Thornhill, Ont. and Jon Mills (T67) of Belleville, Ont. both failed to advance.
Plantation Fl
http://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq13/event/pgatq1328/contest/1/leaderboard.htm
Quebec's Max Gilbert, the 2013 PGA Tour Canada Tour Championship winner, finished tied for fourth at the Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Florida. Matt Hill of Sarnia, Ont. missed advancing to the final stage by three strokes after finishing tied for 31st.
Brooksville Fl
http://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq13/event/pgatq1329/contest/1/leaderboard.htm
Former top ranked amateur Eugene Wong of North Vancouver was among five Canadians who advanced to the final stage of Web.com qualifying school.
Wong, the former NCAA player of the year in 2010, finished tied for seventh at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, California despite a final round 78.
Darren Wallace of Vancouver wasn't as fortunate. His final round 74 left him one stroke shy of advancing to the final stage. Cory Renfrew of Victoria finished 55th and also missed the cut.
Murreita, Ca
http://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq13/event/pgatq1330/contest/1/leaderboard.htm
Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ont., finished tied for eighth at Shell Landing Golf Club in Gautier, Mississippi. Derek Gillespie of Oshawa, Ont., was tied for 11th and also moved on. However, Stuart Anderson of Sooke, B.C. missed making the final stage by a single stroke as did Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont. Marc-Etienne Bussieres (33rd) of Gatineau, Quebec and Toronto'sDavid Lang (73rd) also missed the cut.
Gautier MS
http://pgatq.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/pgatq13/event/pgatq1331/contest/1/leaderboard.htm
Fellow Canadians Albin Choi, Justin Shin, Roger Sloan and Devin Carrey previously advanced through a pair of second stage qualifiers last week
Bryan Angus ( files from europeantour.com, pgatour.com)
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Uihlein...USGA...It's all about 'U' this morning..
We had this info last Sunday but out of respect from our colleague who asked it be held back until it became official, I am posting it now. Tip of my cap to Uihlein who comes from one of America's wealthiest families (Wally Uihlein is the chairman and chief executive officer of the Acushnet Company, a golf equipment manufacturer which comprises Titleist and other brands), so he could have spent his life lying on a beach, but he chose to go play the Challenge Tour and earn his stripes.
europeantour American Peter Uihlein has been awarded the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award following a hugely successful first season on The European Tour, in which he won his maiden title and finished 14th in The Race to Dubai.
The 24 year old is the first player from the USA to win the prestigious award, and follows in the footsteps of golfing legends such as Sir Nick Faldo (1977), Sandy Lyle (1978), José MarÃa Olazábal (1986) and Colin Montgomerie (1988) and more recently Sergio Garcia (1999), Ian Poulter (2000), Paul Casey (2001), Martin Kaymer (2007) and Matteo Manassero (2010).
Having turned professional in December 2011 following a glittering amateur career, Uihlein secured a European Challenge Tour card for 2013 and made a promising start. He also received several invitations for European Tour events, and took advantage of the opportunities to notch top ten finishes in the Tshwane Open and the Open de España early in the season.
His season-changing victory came in May, at the Madeira Islands Open, through which he earned full European Tour playing rights and meant his schedule changed dramatically for the rest of the year. He continued to show he could deal with the step up, finishing tied tenth in both the BMW International Open and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, before a fine spell in the second half of the campaign.
In August the Floridian was denied a second title by a barnstorming finish from Grégory Bourdy in the ISPS Handa Wales Open where he finished second and he maintained that superb form at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, where he came within a whisker of recording the first 59 in European Tour history at Kingsbarns in the second round.
The 12 under par 60 helped him tie for the lead after 72 holes, but he was thwarted by David Howell at the second hole of a sudden-death play-off. In his next appearance on The European Tour, Uihlein tied for fifth in the BMW Masters presented by SRE Group, the first event in the inaugural Final Series.
The Oklahoma State University graduate was thrilled to be the 49th recipient of the award, which was launched in 1960.
“I was supposed to start the year on the Challenge Tour, but instead I was 11th in The Race to Dubai heading into the final event, so it wasn’t what I’d planned on but obviously it’s fantastic the way it has worked out.”
Before joining the paid ranks, Uihlein won the 2010 US Amateur Championship, and won four points from four matches in the 2009 Walker Cup.
USGA Power struggle
(by Ron Sirak for Golf Digest)
Personally most of us don't give a rat's about who reports to who in the sleepy offices of the USGA, more importantly what the decisions are being made at the governing body of the game in the States..
However apparently they are no different from so many other offices, and here is a report by our fine colleague Ron Sirak about the power play that has been taking place down in New Jersey..
Nager's plan, presented in September during the Walker Cup at the National Golf Links of America, not only failed, but its audacity unified a group not unfamiliar with political infighting and coalesced support for USGA executive director Mike Davis and incoming president Thomas J. O'Toole Jr., both of whom would have had diminished roles under the proposed restructuring.
According to sources, Nager, who described himself as a "lame duck" in an interview with Golf Digest, wanted O'Toole removed from the 15-person Executive Committee and passed over as president, and he wanted Davis to report to a chief executive.
"I am maintaining my commitment to confidentiality—apparently others haven't," Nager told Golf Digest. "I hold myself to a higher standard. It is not appropriate for me to discuss this while I am still in office. The issue that needs to be discussed is what makes for a great organization as opposed to a mediocre organization. I am trying to be as dignified and gracious as I can. Not everyone loves me. But leadership is a lonely responsibility."
"I have tried to promote such discussions at the USGA. But to encourage candor in the discussions, I have also asked that our discussions be kept private among the participants. In this spirit, I prefer to avoid comment on this story, regardless of any inaccuracies in it."
As an ex-president, Nager, 55, stood to remain in an influential position in the USGA, if past protocol had been followed. In two years, he would have become vice chairman of the five-person Nominating Committee, and in four years he would have chaired that committee. But that was before Nager's idea to take the power away from the Executive Committee and give it to a long-term chief executive—perhaps himself.
"The USGA can't get to Tom O'Toole fast enough," says one longtime insider, describing the mood at the Far Hills, N.J., headquarters as O'Toole prepares to succeed Nager as president beginning with the organization's annual meeting in February.
According to another source, Nager had lost the support of the USGA Nominating Committee, Executive Committee, staff and many past presidents, a startling slide so soon after a string of successes that included prevailing over the PGA Tour and PGA of America on banning the anchored putting stroke and negotiating a $1.1 billion TV deal with FOX. The FOX deal was announced Aug. 7, a month and a day before the Walker Cup ended.
Bryan Angus
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Stenson wins the 'double", Scott wins Aussie Masters
Henrik Stensen having already won all the marbles on the PGA Tour including the $10m bonus has just won the Race to Dubai, completing what has become known as the "double..
European Tour
DP World Tour Championship, Dubai
Jumeirah, Golf Estates
UAE
Round 4 Final
Henrik Stenson hailed a "dream season" as he claimed a historic double in fitting fashion by storming to victory in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Stenson became the first man to win The Race to Dubai and FedEx Cup on the US PGA Tour thanks to a commanding six shot victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The 37 year old carded a flawless closing 64, signing off in style with a tap-in eagle on the 18th, to finish with a tournament-record total of 25 under par, with money list rival Ian Poulter a valiant second following a 66.
France's Victor Dubuisson was two shots further back in third, with Dutchman Joost Luiten fourth and a trio of former World Number Ones - Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood - sharing fifth
Stenson won his first European Tour title in 2001 but then went through the first of two career slumps, the second coming in 2011 and leaving him 230th in the Official World Golf Ranking at the start of last year.
Add in some serious health problems - one caused by a parasite infection he contracted while on holiday - and Stenson's form in 2013 is all the more remarkable, with a share of third place in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open followed up by runners-up finishes in The Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and third place in the US PGA Championship in a five-week spell.
He then won the second FedEx Cup play-off event, the Deutsche Bank Championship, to move to the top of the standings, and although Tiger Woods regained top spot as Stenson finished 33rd in the BMW Championship in Chicago, as one of the top five heading into Atlanta Stenson's destiny was firmly in his own hands
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2013/tournamentid=2013090/leaderboard/index.html
PGA Tour
OHL Classic at Mayakoba
LPGA
Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Banamex
Guadalajara, Mexico
Round 4 Final
Lexi Thompson displayed nerves of steel during the final round of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational as she sank a 5-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to clinch her second LPGA Tour victory this season
The Floridian fired rounds of 72-64-67-69 to claim a one-stroke victory over Stacy Lewis.
It was head-to-head battle between Thompson and Lewis throughout the majority of Sunday’s final round. After both players made the turn at 2-under-par for the day, Lewis dropped three strokes behind Thompson with a bogey at the par-4 12th.
Despite the untimely bogey, Lewis quickly recovered with back-to-back birdies at the par-4 12th and par-3 13th to pull even with Thompson. The string of birdies would continue for Lewis at the par-4 14th and for the first time this week, she found herself atop the leaderboard by one stroke.
While Lewis quickly made her way to the top of the leaderboard, she saw her lead dwindle with a bogey at the par-3 17th to drop into a tie with Thompson
http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx
Former amateur stars Albin Choi and Justin Shin were among the four Canadians who advanced to the final stage of the Web.com Tour qualifying school
Choi, the former Canadian Amateur Champion and an eight time winner in college, finished tied for 16th at a second stage qualifier at Deerwood Golf Club in Kingwood, Texas. He was joined by Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., who finished tied for third, and Devin Carrey of Surrey, B.C., who finished in a tie for eighth. Sloan is looking to get back onto the Web.com Tour after finishing 87th on the money list in his rookie campaign in 2013
Dustin Risdon of Calgary (T33 at Kingwood), Edmonton's Steve Lecuyer (T64 at Kingwood) and Will Mitchell of Whitby, Ont. (T56 at McKinney) all failed to advance past the second stage
Over at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, B.C. finished 15th and was among the 22 players who advanced to the final stage. Shin, like Choi, turned pro earlier this year after leaving college. The former Team Canada National Team Member made one of three cuts on PGA Tour Canada, finishing tied for 18th at the Great Waterway Classic in his first professional event.
There are four more second stage qualifiers scheduled for this week.
Everyone advancing to the final stage in La Quinta, California next month is guaranteed at least conditional status on the Web.com Tour in 2014
Australian Masters
Nov 14-17, 2013
Round 4 Final
Adam Scott has successfully defended his Talisker Masters title, winning by two shots at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
Starting the day four shots clear of the field, Scott saw his lead dwindle as American Matt Kuchar fired around the composite layout.
A playoff loomed as the pair were tied on 14-under the card before a double bogey on the 18th for Kuchar handed Scott the title.
“You can’t think about the result until you’re walking up the last and you know where things stand,” said Scott who made par on the last to finish with a tournament total of 14-under 270.
The Talisker Masters is Adam Scott’s second PGA Tour of Australasia title in as many weeks meaning the Queenslander has only the Emirates Australian Open standing in the way of his Aussie golf Triple Crown
Live scoring click here http://www.pga.org.au/scores
European Tour
DP World Tour Championship, Dubai
Jumeirah, Golf Estates
UAE
Round 4 Final
Henrik Stenson hailed a "dream season" as he claimed a historic double in fitting fashion by storming to victory in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Stenson became the first man to win The Race to Dubai and FedEx Cup on the US PGA Tour thanks to a commanding six shot victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The 37 year old carded a flawless closing 64, signing off in style with a tap-in eagle on the 18th, to finish with a tournament-record total of 25 under par, with money list rival Ian Poulter a valiant second following a 66.
France's Victor Dubuisson was two shots further back in third, with Dutchman Joost Luiten fourth and a trio of former World Number Ones - Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood - sharing fifth
Stenson won his first European Tour title in 2001 but then went through the first of two career slumps, the second coming in 2011 and leaving him 230th in the Official World Golf Ranking at the start of last year.
Add in some serious health problems - one caused by a parasite infection he contracted while on holiday - and Stenson's form in 2013 is all the more remarkable, with a share of third place in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open followed up by runners-up finishes in The Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and third place in the US PGA Championship in a five-week spell.
He then won the second FedEx Cup play-off event, the Deutsche Bank Championship, to move to the top of the standings, and although Tiger Woods regained top spot as Stenson finished 33rd in the BMW Championship in Chicago, as one of the top five heading into Atlanta Stenson's destiny was firmly in his own hands
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2013/tournamentid=2013090/leaderboard/index.html
PGA Tour
OHL Classic at Mayakoba
El Camaleon
Riviera Maya, Mex
Canadians Mike Weir 72 69 72 75 Stephen Ames 76 68 MC
Round 4 Final
Harris English won the rain-delayed OHL Classic at Mayakoba for his second PGA TOUR title, pulling away for a four-stroke victory in a 29-hole Sunday finish.
English closed with a 6-under 65 after completing the third round in the morning with a 68. He moved into contention Saturday morning in the second round, matching the lowest round of his tour career with a 62
The 24-year-old former University of Georgia star finished at 21-under 263. Brian Stuard shot a 67 to finish second.
Third-round leader Robert Karlsson had a 72 to drop into a tie for sixth at 15 under.
http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
Canadians Mike Weir 72 69 72 75 Stephen Ames 76 68 MC
Round 4 Final
Harris English won the rain-delayed OHL Classic at Mayakoba for his second PGA TOUR title, pulling away for a four-stroke victory in a 29-hole Sunday finish.
English closed with a 6-under 65 after completing the third round in the morning with a 68. He moved into contention Saturday morning in the second round, matching the lowest round of his tour career with a 62
The 24-year-old former University of Georgia star finished at 21-under 263. Brian Stuard shot a 67 to finish second.
Third-round leader Robert Karlsson had a 72 to drop into a tie for sixth at 15 under.
http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
LPGA
Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Banamex
Guadalajara, Mexico
Round 4 Final
Lexi Thompson displayed nerves of steel during the final round of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational as she sank a 5-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to clinch her second LPGA Tour victory this season
The Floridian fired rounds of 72-64-67-69 to claim a one-stroke victory over Stacy Lewis.
It was head-to-head battle between Thompson and Lewis throughout the majority of Sunday’s final round. After both players made the turn at 2-under-par for the day, Lewis dropped three strokes behind Thompson with a bogey at the par-4 12th.
Despite the untimely bogey, Lewis quickly recovered with back-to-back birdies at the par-4 12th and par-3 13th to pull even with Thompson. The string of birdies would continue for Lewis at the par-4 14th and for the first time this week, she found herself atop the leaderboard by one stroke.
While Lewis quickly made her way to the top of the leaderboard, she saw her lead dwindle with a bogey at the par-3 17th to drop into a tie with Thompson
http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx
Former amateur stars Albin Choi and Justin Shin were among the four Canadians who advanced to the final stage of the Web.com Tour qualifying school
Choi, the former Canadian Amateur Champion and an eight time winner in college, finished tied for 16th at a second stage qualifier at Deerwood Golf Club in Kingwood, Texas. He was joined by Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., who finished tied for third, and Devin Carrey of Surrey, B.C., who finished in a tie for eighth. Sloan is looking to get back onto the Web.com Tour after finishing 87th on the money list in his rookie campaign in 2013
Dustin Risdon of Calgary (T33 at Kingwood), Edmonton's Steve Lecuyer (T64 at Kingwood) and Will Mitchell of Whitby, Ont. (T56 at McKinney) all failed to advance past the second stage
Over at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, B.C. finished 15th and was among the 22 players who advanced to the final stage. Shin, like Choi, turned pro earlier this year after leaving college. The former Team Canada National Team Member made one of three cuts on PGA Tour Canada, finishing tied for 18th at the Great Waterway Classic in his first professional event.
There are four more second stage qualifiers scheduled for this week.
Everyone advancing to the final stage in La Quinta, California next month is guaranteed at least conditional status on the Web.com Tour in 2014
Australian Masters
Nov 14-17, 2013
Par Rating: 71
The Royal Melbourne Golf Club Inc.
Adam Scott has successfully defended his Talisker Masters title, winning by two shots at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
Starting the day four shots clear of the field, Scott saw his lead dwindle as American Matt Kuchar fired around the composite layout.
A playoff loomed as the pair were tied on 14-under the card before a double bogey on the 18th for Kuchar handed Scott the title.
“You can’t think about the result until you’re walking up the last and you know where things stand,” said Scott who made par on the last to finish with a tournament total of 14-under 270.
The Talisker Masters is Adam Scott’s second PGA Tour of Australasia title in as many weeks meaning the Queenslander has only the Emirates Australian Open standing in the way of his Aussie golf Triple Crown
Live scoring click here http://www.pga.org.au/scores
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Sunday Golf story..Scott wins Aussie PGA... Dubuisson stuffs the field in Turkey
EUROPEAN TOUR - TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN
COURSE: The Montgomerie Maxx Royal (7,100 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $7 million. Winner's share: $1,166,600.
Round 4 Final
Live scoring click http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2013/tournamentid=2013088/leaderboard/index.html
PGA TOUR - MCGLADREY CLASSIC
COURSE: Sea Island Resort, Seaside Course (7,005 yards, par 70).
PURSE: $5.5 million. Winner's share: $990,000.
CANADIANS: Stephen Ames 67 79 MC, Brad Fritsch 74 74 MC, David Hearn 74 66 70 69 -1, Mike Weir 70 71 68 72
Round 4 Final
In the final round of the The McGladrey Classic at Sea Island Golf Club, Chris Kirk shot a 4-under 66 to win his second PGA TOUR event, earning 500 FedExCup points
Tied for the lead in The McGladrey Classic, Kirk was on the other side of the 18th fairway trying to envision an approach that would cover the flag and set up a birdie chance for the win. Those plans changed when Baird, with the ball below his feet in a fairway bunker, topped a 4-iron and watched his ball roll 90 yards and into a hazard. Baird is now 0-for-365 in his PGA TOUR career, and it looked for the longest time that he finally would win.
Kirk played for par, closed with a 4-under 66 for a one-shot victory, and became the first player from Sea Island to win The McGladrey Classic
Live scoring click http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
LPGA TOUR/JAPAN LPGA TOUR - MIZUNO CLASSIC
COURSE: Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club (6,506 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $1.2 million. Winner's share: $180,000.
CANADIANS; Rebecca Lee-Bentham, -1 71,70
Round 3 Final
Live scoring click here http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx
PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA/ONEASIA TOUR - AUSTRALIAN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: RACV Royal Pines Resort (7,378 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $1.25 million. Winner's share: $225,000.
CANADIANS: Richard T. Lee
Round 4
U.S. Masters champion Adam Scott shrugged off a two-hour lightning suspension to fire a four-under-par final-round 67 on Sunday and claim a four-stroke victory in OneAsia’s Australian PGA Championship, presented by Coca-Cola.
Aussie Scott, who spent his childhood on the Gold Coast, was 14-under-par for four rounds at the 6,747-metre (7,378-yard) RACV Royal Pines Resort course, with American Rickie Fowler (68) second and Australian PGA academy trainee Jack Wilson (68) alone in third at eight under.
Live scoring click http://live.oneasiatour.info/html/livescoring.html?season=2013~tourn=auto
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT TOUR - PGM MIDF KLGCC MASTERS
COURSE: Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club
PURSE: $65,000
CANADIANS: Lindsay Renolds
NOTES: Renolds is coming off a tie for fourth in the previous event. He currently trails Iain Steel by just $2,000 for third place on the Tour's money list. ...The top three players on the Order of Merit at the end of the season will secure playing rights on the Asian Tour for 2014.
PGA TOUR LATINOAMERICA - PERU OPEN
COURSE: Los Inkas Golf Club, Lima, Peru
PURSE: $150,000
CANADIANS: Mackenzie Hughes 73 73 MC, Derek Gillespie 65 74 70 -7, Matt Johnston 72 77 MC
Round 4 in progress
Live scoring click here http://www.pgatourla.com/leaderboard/m201314/#.UnuIx-Yo50s
eGOLF PROFESSIONAL TOUR - CABARRUS CLASSIC
COURSE: Cabarrus Country Club, Concord, N.C.
CANADIANS: Ted Brown 70 67 67 -12 T5, Cam Burke MC
Round 3 Final
At the Mid Pines Classic in August, T.J. Howe of Osceola, PA earned his second win of the 2013 season before heading off to what would be a successful week at the pre-qualifying stage of Web.com Tour Q-School. At the eGolf Tour’s Cabarrus Classic this week, Howe again persevered, this time grabbing win No. 3 on the year with a final-round 68 at host Cabarrus Country Club.
With Q-School’s second stage laying on the horizon next week in Texas, Howe hopes to again use victory’s momentum as a propeller further up the ladder of golf’s pecking order – and eventually onto the PGA TOUR.
Live scoring click http://tarheel.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/tarheel13/event/tarheel1322/contest/1/leaderboard.htm
Bryan Angus ( files from BBC Reuters, europeantour.com pgatour.com lpga.com )
COURSE: The Montgomerie Maxx Royal (7,100 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $7 million. Winner's share: $1,166,600.
Round 4 Final
Victor Dubuisson kept his cool in the face of a high-profile chasing pack to earn his first professional victory amid Henrik Stenson just staying top of the Race To Dubai standings at the Turkish Airlines Open by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Despite France’s Dubuisson heading into the final round with a five-shot lead, there were many that believed he would succumb to the pressure of having the likes of Ian Poulter, Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson hot on his heels.
He dispelled those beliefs with a masterful performance that belied his tender years, picking up the title and subsequent €848,930 prize on the back of a near-flawless 69.
While the 23 year old's victory represented a worthy story in itself, the Race standings quickly came into focus, too, with The European Tour’s season finale just days away.
It is still Stenson, aiming to top the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic following his FedEx Cup triumph, who leads the way following his seventh-placed finish.
He holds around a 214,000-point lead over Rose, with Poulter sitting just behind in fourth having ended this event joint sixth
Despite France’s Dubuisson heading into the final round with a five-shot lead, there were many that believed he would succumb to the pressure of having the likes of Ian Poulter, Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson hot on his heels.
He dispelled those beliefs with a masterful performance that belied his tender years, picking up the title and subsequent €848,930 prize on the back of a near-flawless 69.
While the 23 year old's victory represented a worthy story in itself, the Race standings quickly came into focus, too, with The European Tour’s season finale just days away.
It is still Stenson, aiming to top the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic following his FedEx Cup triumph, who leads the way following his seventh-placed finish.
He holds around a 214,000-point lead over Rose, with Poulter sitting just behind in fourth having ended this event joint sixth
Live scoring click http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2013/tournamentid=2013088/leaderboard/index.html
PGA TOUR - MCGLADREY CLASSIC
COURSE: Sea Island Resort, Seaside Course (7,005 yards, par 70).
PURSE: $5.5 million. Winner's share: $990,000.
CANADIANS: Stephen Ames 67 79 MC, Brad Fritsch 74 74 MC, David Hearn 74 66 70 69 -1, Mike Weir 70 71 68 72
Round 4 Final
In the final round of the The McGladrey Classic at Sea Island Golf Club, Chris Kirk shot a 4-under 66 to win his second PGA TOUR event, earning 500 FedExCup points
Tied for the lead in The McGladrey Classic, Kirk was on the other side of the 18th fairway trying to envision an approach that would cover the flag and set up a birdie chance for the win. Those plans changed when Baird, with the ball below his feet in a fairway bunker, topped a 4-iron and watched his ball roll 90 yards and into a hazard. Baird is now 0-for-365 in his PGA TOUR career, and it looked for the longest time that he finally would win.
Kirk played for par, closed with a 4-under 66 for a one-shot victory, and became the first player from Sea Island to win The McGladrey Classic
Live scoring click http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
LPGA TOUR/JAPAN LPGA TOUR - MIZUNO CLASSIC
COURSE: Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club (6,506 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $1.2 million. Winner's share: $180,000.
CANADIANS; Rebecca Lee-Bentham, -1 71,70
Round 3 Final
Taiwan’s Teresa Lu ended an eight-year quest for her first professional win as she captured the Mizuno Classic title by two-shots over South Korea’s Chella Choi. Lu overcame a two-stroke deficit on Sunday and fired the low-round of the week with an 8-under 64 to finish with a three day total of 14-under-par 202
Live scoring click here http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx
PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA/ONEASIA TOUR - AUSTRALIAN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: RACV Royal Pines Resort (7,378 yards, par 72).
PURSE: $1.25 million. Winner's share: $225,000.
CANADIANS: Richard T. Lee
Round 4
U.S. Masters champion Adam Scott shrugged off a two-hour lightning suspension to fire a four-under-par final-round 67 on Sunday and claim a four-stroke victory in OneAsia’s Australian PGA Championship, presented by Coca-Cola.
Aussie Scott, who spent his childhood on the Gold Coast, was 14-under-par for four rounds at the 6,747-metre (7,378-yard) RACV Royal Pines Resort course, with American Rickie Fowler (68) second and Australian PGA academy trainee Jack Wilson (68) alone in third at eight under.
Live scoring click http://live.oneasiatour.info/html/livescoring.html?season=2013~tourn=auto
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT TOUR - PGM MIDF KLGCC MASTERS
COURSE: Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club
PURSE: $65,000
CANADIANS: Lindsay Renolds
NOTES: Renolds is coming off a tie for fourth in the previous event. He currently trails Iain Steel by just $2,000 for third place on the Tour's money list. ...The top three players on the Order of Merit at the end of the season will secure playing rights on the Asian Tour for 2014.
PGA TOUR LATINOAMERICA - PERU OPEN
COURSE: Los Inkas Golf Club, Lima, Peru
PURSE: $150,000
CANADIANS: Mackenzie Hughes 73 73 MC, Derek Gillespie 65 74 70 -7, Matt Johnston 72 77 MC
Round 4 in progress
Live scoring click here http://www.pgatourla.com/leaderboard/m201314/#.UnuIx-Yo50s
eGOLF PROFESSIONAL TOUR - CABARRUS CLASSIC
COURSE: Cabarrus Country Club, Concord, N.C.
CANADIANS: Ted Brown 70 67 67 -12 T5, Cam Burke MC
Round 3 Final
At the Mid Pines Classic in August, T.J. Howe of Osceola, PA earned his second win of the 2013 season before heading off to what would be a successful week at the pre-qualifying stage of Web.com Tour Q-School. At the eGolf Tour’s Cabarrus Classic this week, Howe again persevered, this time grabbing win No. 3 on the year with a final-round 68 at host Cabarrus Country Club.
With Q-School’s second stage laying on the horizon next week in Texas, Howe hopes to again use victory’s momentum as a propeller further up the ladder of golf’s pecking order – and eventually onto the PGA TOUR.
Live scoring click http://tarheel.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/tarheel13/event/tarheel1322/contest/1/leaderboard.htm
Bryan Angus ( files from BBC Reuters, europeantour.com pgatour.com lpga.com )
Monday, November 4, 2013
Golf Canada to announce new title sponsor for Canadian Women's Open..
Golf Canada and the LPGA Tour will hold a media conference on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. to announce the new title sponsor of the Canadian Women’s Open Golf Championship.
The media conference will take place downtown Toronto at Real Sports Bar & Grill and media unable attend in person can join via teleconference.
In additional to the title sponsor, Golf Canada and the LPGA Tour will also announce the host venue for the 2014 Canadian Women’s Open.
The media conference will take place downtown Toronto at Real Sports Bar & Grill and media unable attend in person can join via teleconference.
In additional to the title sponsor, Golf Canada and the LPGA Tour will also announce the host venue for the 2014 Canadian Women’s Open.
My pal Ian Hutchinson, a regular on my FAIRWAYS Golf Show ( Thursday's 9-10am www.nextsportstar.com ) tells us on his Golf News Now blog that it will be CP taking over as the sponsor from CN and the venue in 2014 will be back at the London Hunt Club...
Scott Simmons, CEO of Golf Canada is scheduled to join me at 905an on Fairways this week.
Stay tuned..
Bryan Angus
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Johnson wins a thriller in Shanghai....Couples wins in San Fran
EUROPEAN/PGA TOURS
WGC-HSBC Champions
Sheshan International
Shanghai, China
Canadian Graham DeLaet 71 68 65 69 T6 -15
Round 4 Final
Dustin Johnson survived a final round European assault to claim the WGC-HSBC Champions after a fascinating finish in Shanghai.
He recovered superbly from seeing his overnight three shot lead wiped out in the first two holes with a decisive scoring burst - playing the last six holes in five under par at Sheshan International to card a closing 66 and finish 24 under par, three ahead of defending champion Ian Poulter.
All three members of the final group shot 66, meaning Poulter finished one ahead of Ryder Cup team-mate Graeme McDowell, with another player responsible for the 'Miracle at Medinah', Spain's Sergio Garcia, two shots behind in fourth after a closing 63.
Johnson began the final round three shots clear of Poulter but three-putted the opening hole as the Englishman birdied the first and second, while McDowell birdied the first three to share the lead with Poulter.
Birdies on the eighth and ninth got Johnson back into a share of the lead and although Poulter edged in front with a birdie on the 12th, Johnson birdied the 13th and matched Poulter's birdie on the 14th to set up a grandstand finish.
Johnson was left alone in the lead when Poulter was unable to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the 15th, although with the 16th being a reachable par four and the par five 18th still to come, the result was far from settled.
None of the final group tried to drive the green on the 16th, although Johnson's length meant he could hit a long iron just ten yards short and he promptly chipped in for an eagle two.
Poulter's birdie putt did not look like going in until it just caught the left edge of the hole and wobbled in, but Johnson still held a two shot lead on 23 under with two to play.
That became a three shot lead thanks to a birdie on the 17th from five feet and gave Johnson a welcome cushion playing the 18th, the hole where he drove into the water to run up a double bogey seven on Saturday.
Unsurprisingly Johnson hit an iron off the tee and laid up with his second, eventually missing a short birdie putt after Poulter and McDowell had done likewise
Live scoring click http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/hsbc-champions/leaderboard.html
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Charles Schwab Cup Championship,
TPC Harding Park
Round 4 Final
Fred Couples won the Champions Tour's season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship on Sunday, and Kenny Perry topped the yearlong points race to earn a $1 million annuity.
Couples ended a 16-event winless streak dating to the Senior British Open in July 2012, closing with a 2-under 69 for a six-stroke victory over Bernhard Langer, Peter Senior and Mark O'Meara. He has nine victories in four seasons on the 50-and-over tour after winning 15 times on the PGA TOUR.
Live scoring click http://www.pgatour.com/champions/leaderboard.html
Bryan Angus ( notes europeantour.com pgatour.com)
WGC-HSBC Champions
Sheshan International
Shanghai, China
Canadian Graham DeLaet 71 68 65 69 T6 -15
Round 4 Final
Dustin Johnson survived a final round European assault to claim the WGC-HSBC Champions after a fascinating finish in Shanghai.
He recovered superbly from seeing his overnight three shot lead wiped out in the first two holes with a decisive scoring burst - playing the last six holes in five under par at Sheshan International to card a closing 66 and finish 24 under par, three ahead of defending champion Ian Poulter.
All three members of the final group shot 66, meaning Poulter finished one ahead of Ryder Cup team-mate Graeme McDowell, with another player responsible for the 'Miracle at Medinah', Spain's Sergio Garcia, two shots behind in fourth after a closing 63.
Johnson began the final round three shots clear of Poulter but three-putted the opening hole as the Englishman birdied the first and second, while McDowell birdied the first three to share the lead with Poulter.
Birdies on the eighth and ninth got Johnson back into a share of the lead and although Poulter edged in front with a birdie on the 12th, Johnson birdied the 13th and matched Poulter's birdie on the 14th to set up a grandstand finish.
Johnson was left alone in the lead when Poulter was unable to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the 15th, although with the 16th being a reachable par four and the par five 18th still to come, the result was far from settled.
None of the final group tried to drive the green on the 16th, although Johnson's length meant he could hit a long iron just ten yards short and he promptly chipped in for an eagle two.
Poulter's birdie putt did not look like going in until it just caught the left edge of the hole and wobbled in, but Johnson still held a two shot lead on 23 under with two to play.
That became a three shot lead thanks to a birdie on the 17th from five feet and gave Johnson a welcome cushion playing the 18th, the hole where he drove into the water to run up a double bogey seven on Saturday.
Unsurprisingly Johnson hit an iron off the tee and laid up with his second, eventually missing a short birdie putt after Poulter and McDowell had done likewise
Live scoring click http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/hsbc-champions/leaderboard.html
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Charles Schwab Cup Championship,
TPC Harding Park
Round 4 Final
Fred Couples won the Champions Tour's season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship on Sunday, and Kenny Perry topped the yearlong points race to earn a $1 million annuity.
Couples ended a 16-event winless streak dating to the Senior British Open in July 2012, closing with a 2-under 69 for a six-stroke victory over Bernhard Langer, Peter Senior and Mark O'Meara. He has nine victories in four seasons on the 50-and-over tour after winning 15 times on the PGA TOUR.
Live scoring click http://www.pgatour.com/champions/leaderboard.html
Bryan Angus ( notes europeantour.com pgatour.com)
Friday, November 1, 2013
DJ ties course record cruises to 5 shot lead in Shanghai....live scoreboards
Dustin Johnson equalled the Sheshan International course record with a brilliant nine under par 63 to take control of the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
The Ryder Cup star birdied six of his first seven holes in a blistering start and, having dropped his only shot of the day at the tenth, picked up four shots in his last six holes.
That took the big-hitting Johnson to 12 under par, and five shots clear of compatriots Bubba Watson and Boo Weekley and first round leader Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy reached ten under par with a hat-trick of birdies on the way out, but did not create a single birdie opportunity on the back nine and paid a heavy price for a gamble on the last.
Having seen his tee shot leak right and finish a yard from the water, the undeterred 24 year old went for the green in two at the par five but only succeeded in finding the lake. After taking a drop, McIlroy fired a spectacular fourth to ten feet, but missed the putt for a third bogey of the day and level par 72.
Graham Delaet 71 68 -5 is T11, 7 shots off the pace
Live scoring click http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/hsbc-champions/leaderboard.html
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Charles Schwab Cup Championship
Round 1
Australia's Peter Senior shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead in the Champions Tour's season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
The 54-year-old Senior had nine birdies, an eagle and three bogeys at TPC Harding Park to match the event first-round record set by Jim Thorpe in his 2003 victory at Sonoma Golf Club.
"That was probably the best round of golf I've played this year," Senior said. "I putted well and hit it well."
David Frost shot 64, missing a short putt on the 18th hole. Fred Couples was third at 65, and Mark O'Meara had a 66. Bernhard Langer, Steve Elkington and Duffy Waldorf shot 67.
Charles Schwab Cup points leader Kenny Perry topped the group at 68. Perry entered the event 612 points ahead of second-place Langer. If Langer wins the tournament, Perry needs only to finish fifth or better take the season title and $1 million annuity
Live scoring click http://www.pgatour.com/champions/leaderboard.html
Bryan Angus (edit, notes from europeantour.com, pgatour.com )
The Ryder Cup star birdied six of his first seven holes in a blistering start and, having dropped his only shot of the day at the tenth, picked up four shots in his last six holes.
That took the big-hitting Johnson to 12 under par, and five shots clear of compatriots Bubba Watson and Boo Weekley and first round leader Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy reached ten under par with a hat-trick of birdies on the way out, but did not create a single birdie opportunity on the back nine and paid a heavy price for a gamble on the last.
Having seen his tee shot leak right and finish a yard from the water, the undeterred 24 year old went for the green in two at the par five but only succeeded in finding the lake. After taking a drop, McIlroy fired a spectacular fourth to ten feet, but missed the putt for a third bogey of the day and level par 72.
Graham Delaet 71 68 -5 is T11, 7 shots off the pace
Live scoring click http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/hsbc-champions/leaderboard.html
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Charles Schwab Cup Championship
TPC Harding Park ∙ San Francisco, CA
Round 1
Australia's Peter Senior shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead in the Champions Tour's season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
The 54-year-old Senior had nine birdies, an eagle and three bogeys at TPC Harding Park to match the event first-round record set by Jim Thorpe in his 2003 victory at Sonoma Golf Club.
"That was probably the best round of golf I've played this year," Senior said. "I putted well and hit it well."
David Frost shot 64, missing a short putt on the 18th hole. Fred Couples was third at 65, and Mark O'Meara had a 66. Bernhard Langer, Steve Elkington and Duffy Waldorf shot 67.
Charles Schwab Cup points leader Kenny Perry topped the group at 68. Perry entered the event 612 points ahead of second-place Langer. If Langer wins the tournament, Perry needs only to finish fifth or better take the season title and $1 million annuity
Live scoring click http://www.pgatour.com/champions/leaderboard.html
Bryan Angus (edit, notes from europeantour.com, pgatour.com )
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