American Kurt Kitayama leads at the Oman Open

European Tour Oman Open leaderboard http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2019/tournamentid=2019022/leaderboard/index.html#/leaderboard

Kurt Kitayama got off to another fast start as he fired a -6 66 to take the first round lead at the Oman Open. The American came through all three stages of Qualifying School in 2018 and was a winner in just his third European Tour start at the Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open.

 

He made an eagle and four birdies to get to -6 a shot ahead of Scotsman Scott Jamieson and Japan's Yusaku Miyazato.

Jamieson and Miyazato had set the target in the morning and Kitayama's effort was all the more impressive considering he had to tackle the higher winds on the Muscat coast.

“I’m delighted with that. Conditions were pretty tough so to be bogey free was really good. My putting was great, I had great speed. I made a few putts outside ten feet so that was really nice."

“I have a few more opportunities to play after my win. It makes it easier to plan my schedule but it’s my first year and I want to see most of the courses to plan for next year. I can understand why the guys rave about this golf course. It’s in great shape and it doesn’t get much purer than this.”

There are no Canadians in the field.

Bryan Angus
(europeantour.com)

Brooke Henderson drops 4 shots in 2 holes at HSBC Women's World Championship

LPGA Tour HSBC Women's World Championship leaderboard http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/hsbc-womens-world-championship/leaderboard

After round one at this HSBC Women's World Championship in steamy Singapore there is a jam packed leaderboard with 18 players within 2 shots of the lead, Brooke Henderson who T2 here last year is not one of them.

She began her week with a birdie at the first and was cruising along until she came to the par 5 8th. With her length par 5's are a strength, but not this time as she racked up a triple bogey 8, yes the dreaded snowman, and followed it with a bogey at the 9th, out in +2 38. Four shots gone in two holes.

She was all pars coming in except for a bogey at the par 5 16th, back in 37 for a +3 75 which sees her T47, 7 shots off the lead. Her numbers, 12/18 greens in regulation  10/14 fairways and 32 putts.

Firm, fast and bouncy is how players described the New Tanjong Course so scoring conditions were difficult most of the day due to gusty winds and slick greens. In form Minjee Lee and Ariya Jutanugarn were in the final grouping of the day and they posted -4 68's along with China's Yu Lui, American Amy Olsen and Celine Boutier from France to tie for the lead.

Three players withdrew from competition during the round. Amy Yang due to illness, defending champion Michelle Wie due to wrist injury and Sei Young Kim due to a back injury.

Bryan Angus

Brooke Henderson tee times at HSBC Women's World Championdship in Singapore

LPGA HSBC Women's World Championship tee times.. live scoring http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/hsbc-womens-world-championship/pairings

Brooke Henderson is the lone Canadian at this week's HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore and she's in one of the feature groups at 9.58am with Nelly Korda and Japan's Nasa Hataoka.

It's a restricted invitational field, 21 groups of 3. Michelle Wie is the defending champion. Her return to the victory circle here last season was her first win since 2014, when she won the US Women’s Open. The tournament’s switch to the Tanjong Course from the Searpong Course at Sentosa Golf Club in 2017 suits her game well. She’s won and finished T4 at Tanjong. Wie returned last week in her first event of the season after recovering from offseason wrist surgery.

Remember Singapore is 12 hours ahead of EST...

Bryan Angus

Six Canadians at Honda Classic.. Tee times.. live scoring

PGA Tour Honda Classic tee times https://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/the-honda-classic/tee-times.html

Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, and Brooks Koepka headline a rather weak field at this year's Honda Classic on PGA National at Palm Beach Gardens.

There are 6 Canadians in the field, including Monday qualifier Drew Nesbitt from Shanty Bay who has been playing on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica where he shot a 59 last year.

Regulars Mac Hughes, Nick Taylor, Ben Silverman, Adam Svensson and Roger Sloan who T2 in Puerto Rico last weekend round out the contingent.

Follow the live scoreboard here starting at 6.45 Thursday morning.

Bryan Angus

Nobody can beat Dustin Johnson....Roger Sloan T2 in Puerto Rico..final scoreboards

WGC Mexico Championship final leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/wgc-mexico-championship/en/leaderboard.html

On February 3rd, Dustin Johnson posed with the trophy he won at the Saudi International. .On February 24 he posed with the one he won in Mexico.

He is as good as there is in the men's pro game right now as he sits at #2 in the world this morning after dominating the WGC Mexico Championship shooting a final round 66 and winning by 5 shots at -21 over Rory McIlroy and a world class field.

He made only 1 bogey and 1 double and played all the other 70 holes in -24.! It is his 6th WGC title and at 34 was his 20th PGA Tour Championship and he will be awarded a life time membership as of 2022 with that accomplishment.

Rory did all he could, opened with a 63 and closed with -4 67 -16 birdieing 6 of his last 8 holes. He has been in the top five in all his four outings this year. Now 29, happily married he spent some time this week talking about how his new total focus from now on will be the 4 majors, the WGC's and the Ryder Cup. He announced he won't be playing in the Irish Open for the first time in years in order to concentrate on winning this year's Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, the highlight of his season.

Rounding out the top 5 were Paul Casey continuing his fine play, rejuvenated Ian Poulter and Kiradech Aphibarnrat all at -11.


PGA Tour Puerto Rico Open final leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/puerto-rico-open/leaderboard.html

Meanwhile at the windy Puerto Rico Open, Roger Sloan shot a final round 67 to end up T2 , his best ever finish on the PGA Tour and very timely considering he missed his last 2 cuts. He went out with 4 birdies 32, came back in with 3 more and 2 bogey's, 35.

His -12 total was 3 behind winner, American Martin Trainer getting his first PGA Tour title.

As I mentioned on Thursday this field was a real mixed bag of fringe players, has beens, young guns and guys rising through the ranks from around the world.

Trainer for example, was a winner on the Web.com but never on this tour, now has a million dollars (before tax!!), a 2 year exemption beginning at the Honda Classic next week. He hit the jackpot.

Daniel Berger, the 2015 Rookie of the Year has been recovering from a wrist/hand injury, and he T2 on his way back.  Former tour regulars like Boo Weekly T35, Tim Herron T42, Trevor Immelman T59, Ken Duke T62 all showed up for another shot at catching lightning in a bottle

David Hearn had a solid week T25th,  68 73 70 71 -6.

It's off to the Florida swing for the next 3 weeks for the regulars, starting with the Honda Classic this weekend. Many of these old guys will return home, or to the Web.com, waiting for their next invite, or padding their bank accounts until they turn 50 for the Champions Tour, or like Boo, going fishing or hunting with his buddies.

Bryan Angus

Will Dustin Johnson continue to dominate the WGC Mexico Championship

WGC Mexico Championship leaderboard
https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/wgc-mexico-championship/en/leaderboard.html

As is the case so often Dustin Johnson looks unbeatable after 3 rounds of a golf tournament, several weeks ago it was the Saudi Open which he hung on to win over Haotong Li, this week it's the WGC Mexico Championship and at -16 he's 4 clear of Rory McIlroy at -12.

His one blemish on Saturday, was a double bogey at the 10th after he hit the trees 3 times. However he made back to back birdies immediately after, to get those shots back and shot -5 66.

Rory is playing terrific golf as well. He had some bad luck on the bumpy poa anna greens lipping out for eagle and burning the edges on several occasions so had to settle for -3 68.

When Johnson hired Butch Harmon as his coach it made all the difference. He has taken this tall quiet American's already impressive game to another level. His wedge game is the best it's ever been and he doesn't miss read many putts.

Tiger proved once again he's human, shockingly 4 putting from 15 feet then 3 putting at the next, but he still shot 70 and at -6 he's still 10 behind the lead.

So will DJ continue to dominate and win his 20th  title, you know somebody will make a run at him..but it's really his to lose.

Follow live scoring on my link above.


Bryan Angus

Brooke Henderson finishes 6th at Honda LPGA Thailand

Honda LPGA Thailand final scoreboard http://www.lpga.com/leaderboard

Apart from a +1 73 on Friday that ended in an unfortunate double bogey 7, Brooke Henderson has returned from a 2 week bout of illness to shoot 66 66 68 to finish this Honda LPGA Thailand in 6th place at -15.

Out in -1 35, Brooke finished strong making 3 birdies in her last 4 holes for -3 33. She drove the ball well over the week, hit 60/72 greens in regulation and averaged 29 putts, all of those stats right near the top of the field

The winner at -22 was South Korean, Amy Yang who shot 65 to edge Aussie Minjee Lee ( 66 -21) and hard charging Carlota Ciganda from Spain, (63 -20) at Siam Country Club's Pattaya Old Course.  It was her fourth overall LPGA Tour win, three of them here (2015, 2017)

Yang made 6 birdies in her first nine holes including 5 in a row to set the groundwork for her win, as she survived two weather delays during the final round. "I tried to stay calm and stayed patient out there. I just enjoy coming here. I love the golf course, which is why I always play well here."

She earned $240,000 of the $1.6 million purse, is expected to move from #37 to # 2 in the Race to the CME Globe following the win.

Next week it's the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore.


Bryan Angus

Dustin Johnson tops a world class field at WGC Mexico Championship

WGC Mexico Championship https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/wgc-mexico-championship/en/leaderboard.html

Dustin Johnson  hasn't made a bogey in 36 holes, shooting 64, 67 to lead this WGC Mexican Championship at -11 just 2 shots clear of a world class field headed by Rory McIlroy 63 70 -9 and Matt Kuchar 66 67 -9.

DJ plays so well at this Chapultepec Golf Club that he putted for birdie on every hole on a course where he won two years ago, when he was #1 and says he likes the course for the thinking required.

"It makes you focus. You've got to think, and you're doing a lot of calculations with the numbers and trying to figure out how far the ball is going to actually go. So I enjoy it. It's pretty narrow, but it's tree-lined, so I do like that"

All the talk after round 1 was Rory after his effortless 63, and his new found lease on life, and he started round two with 2 birdies but stalled on the 9th when he 4 putted from 15 feet for a double bogey.

" It's funny, I had breakfast with a few of the boys that played later yesterday and they said it was going to be hard to hole putts in the afternoon, and they were right. I had a couple go the opposite way on me. I missed a couple short ones. But overall, I stayed patient. After I made the double on 9, I sort of righted the ship and made a lot of pars and made one birdie. It could have been worse. It could have been better, but still in a good position going into the weekend."

Ryder Cup teammates Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood are next at -7. Fleetwood opened with a pair of eagles on his way to the low round of the day 65.

Tiger, resplendent in pink and black is having another solid week T8 after his -5 66.

Last year's world player of the year Francesco Molinari is in a group at -4.

Playing at altitude in smog ridden Mexico City the ball is travelling farther than usual leading to some exciting scoring with guys like DJ and Rory hitting long irons over 300 yards. The tricky greens have kept the scoring somewhat in check.



Bryan Angus

Roger Sloan just a shot off the lead at Puerto Rico Open

PGA Tour Puerto Rico Open leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/puerto-rico-open/leaderboard.html

Battling gusting ocean winds in sunny Puerto Rico, Roger Sloan crafted a -5 67 tying the low round of the day and he finds himself T4 at -7 just a shot off the three way lead at the Puerto Rico Open, held by DJ Trahan 67, Nate Lashley 68, and Mexican Roberto Diaz 68, all at -8.

Sloan (70,67) is back on the PGA TOUR after earning his Tour card via Web.com Tour Finals in 2018. He made an eagle on the par-4 17th, holing a wedge from 75 yards.

Afterwards Roger said he's benefitting from lessons he learned in his first year on tour. His best result was earlier this year at the Desert Classic T12.

“The calendar year's just kind of getting started. We're almost here at the midpoint of the season, but I'm excited for the next few months, it's going to be good.”

Trahan (69 67) who had battled a bad attitude earlier in his career, is now 38, hasn't won in 11 years while Lashley (68 68) is on a medical exemption and is no stranger to playing well in the Caribbean, having won three times on PGA Latinoamerica in 2016.

David Hearn has followed his opening 68 with a battling +1 73 T19 at -3.

Adam Svensson, Taylor Pendrith and Ben Silverman all missed the cut.



Bryan Angus

Brooke Henderson 66 vaults back in contention at Honda LPGA Thailand

Honda LPGA Thailand leaderboard http://www.lpga.com/leaderboard

Overnight in North America, Brooke Henderson has tied the low round of the day with another sparkling -6 66 to sit T7 at -11 four shots off the lead held by Aussie Minjee Lee (67 ) and American Amy Yang (66) both at -15, going into Sunday's final round of this Honda LPGA Thailand.

Brooke was bogey free and her eagle at the par 5 7th gave her the boost she needed.

" I had a 6 iron in there and managed to get it close so I could tap it in for eagle. That gave me some momentum. I just wanted to make some birdies to climb up the leaderboard and was able to do that."

Yang and Lee lead second-round leader Jenny Shin -13, by two shots and has a large group of pursuers with nine players, including Brooke, within four shots of the lead.



Bryan Angus

David Hearn T3 at Puerto Rico Open.. Round 2 live scoring..

PGA Tour Puerto Rico Open leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/puerto-rico-open/leaderboard.html

David Hearn is the epitome of veteran guys on the fringes of the PGA Tour who are in Puerto Rico  hoping it will be the week that will turn it all back around for them again.

He's off to a good start T3 after an opening -4 68 just 2 shots off the lead.

Other Canadians: Corey Connors T12 -3 69, Roger Sloan -2 70, Ben Silverman +2 74, Adam Svensson +6 78


Round 2
With round 2 underway the clubhouse leader at -8 is DJ Trahan on a very windy day in paradise. Roger Sloan has posted a very good -5 67 and is in currently T3 -7.


Bryan Angus

Henderson slips to T16 at Honda LPGA Thailand

Honda LPGA Thailand leaderboard http://www.lpga.com/leaderboard

Brooke Henderson wasn't as sharp in round 2 of this Honda LPGA Thailand as she did on her opening -6 66 but still she was out in -1 35 and got back in at even par until she made a double bogey 7 at the last to end up +1 73 to drop down to a T16 at -5, 6 shots behind.

She only hit 8/14 fairways and was up to 32 putts, compared to 13/14 and 27 on Thursday.

The leader going into the weekend is yet another South Korean, Jenny Shin. She bogeyed the 6th then made 5 birdies including the par 5 18th for a -4 68.

Three players are T2: Lizette Salas of the United States (68), Minjee Lee of Australia (69), and first-round leader Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea (71).



Bryan Angus

Brooke Henderson fires -6 66 at Honda LPGA Thailand

Honda LPGA Thailand leaderboard http://www.lpga.com/leaderboard

Showing no signs of rust after two weeks in sick bay, Brooke Henderson opened her account at the Honda LPGA Thailand with a bogey free -6 66 T5 in a group just 3 shots off the lead held by Eun Hee Ji -9 63.

Brooke had 3 birdie nines of 33 for her 66. 13/14 fairways, 15/18 greens in regulation, and 27 putts sum up her scorecard.

Two shots back are Minjee Lee of Australia, Danielle Kang of the United States, and Jenny Shin of South Korea, each with a 65 -7. In the group at -6 with Brooke are Americans Jennifer Song and Lizette Salas, and Australian Katherine Kirk.

Ji won her fifth U.S. LPGA Tour title in her previous event last month, the season-opening Tournament of Champions in Florida.

Henderson is the only Canadian in the field and she and her sister Brittany will continue on to play in Singapore next week.


Bryan Angus

This week's focus is on Mexico, Puerto Rico and Thailand...Round 1 tee times

PGA Tour Champions, Web.com, European Tour are all off this week, so my focus is on the WGC Mexico Championship, the PGA Tour at the Puerto Rico Open and the LPGA Tour stop at the Honda LPGA Thailand.

WGC Mexico Championship tee times https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html

There are no Canadians in this week's WGC event which used to be at Doral in Florida, and after the Cadillac company withdrew their sponsorship it was moved to Mexico City three years ago.

"World player of the year", last year, Francesco Molinari makes his 2019 start, we'll see what form this quiet little Italian known as "Frankie" brings with him.

66 or so of the top players from around the world are in the field, headed of course by Tiger Woods, playing the event for the first rime paired with Bryson DeChambeau and Mexican star Abraham Ancer.

Tiger mentioned in his press conference that because they are playing at altitude the field will have to adjust to how far the ball flies, and also since the air is so thin the ball doesn't curve as much as it does at sea level.

All the tee times see my link above.


PGA Tour Puerto Rico Open tee times https://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/puerto-rico-open/tee-times.html

While all the stars are just across the Gulf of Mexico, there are a full field of guys hoping to take advantage of their absence in Puerto Rico. There are 6 Canadians.

Taylor Pendrith has Monday qualified, Adam Svensson, Corey Connors, Ben Silverman, David Hearn and Roger Sloan.

Guys like Guy Boros, Robert Allenby, Frank Lickliter, Angel Cabrera, Dicky Pride, Tim Herron etal rarely show up in a regular PGA Tour event so this week is a big bonus for them. You'll be hard pressed to find a headliner.. Heck even Boo Weekly has put down his fishing rod to show up.


Honda LPGA Thailand tee times http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/honda-lpga-thailand/leaderboard

The tour has flown into Thailand from the Australian Open, Brooke Henderson returns from illness and will also play in Singapore next week. She and her sister Brittany always enjoy Thailand.

Follow all the tee times and pairings in my link above.

Play begins on Friday.

Bryan Angus

Steve Striker named 2020 US Ryder Cup captain

No surprise moments ago veteran Steve Stricker has been named the captain of the 2020 US Ryder Cup team to be staged at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin 19 months from now.

Good guy Striker has been part of their Ryder Cup program as a player and a vice and as a Wisconsin native he was the logical choice.

He has named Jim Furyk is first Vice Captain. Furyk of course was the captain of the team that was thrashed in Paris last year.

More to follow

Bryan Angus

Golf broadcasting on TV badly needs much more LIFE !

In my opinion as a 30 year veteran of producing, writing and broadcasting sports, we have to step up the way we cover golf on TV. Listening to 4 days of Nick Faldo and Terry Gannon (for example) commentating off  a TV is dull, sometimes annoying, certainly not entertaining.

Let Gannon or his ilk, quarterback the team from the truck, let him write his intros and extros, then hand off under the direction of the producer to the rest of the team either on foot with a group or actually watching play from the towers strategically placed on course, the way it was at the Masters under CBS golf producer, pioneer Frank Chirkinian.

Can you imagine Foster Hewitt or Bob Cole or Joe Bowen calling hockey games from the sterility of a CBC studio down on Front  Street, instead of amongst the crowd at Boston Garden or wherever?  Well that's what golf is doing and it needs much more LIFE, and that includes the players and fans as well.

Putting microphones on curlers has saved the pro game on TV from being nothing more that a niche sport for mainly wealthy white guys and gals. Now it casts a much bigger shadow. The players now take for granted they will be wearing microphones.

It's long past time for golfers to get on with the same.

Tiger's success covers a lot of mediocrity in today's broadcasts. The bosses point to ratings that go up whenever he shows up, but those days are coming to an end.

Let's get these spoiled guys of today out of their suits, get some mud on their shoes, some wind in their face and for goodness sake some life in their coverage.

Bryan Angus

Weir finishes T35 at Lecom Suncoast Classic

Web.com Tour LeCom Sunset Coast Classic final scoreboard https://www.pgatour.com/webcom.html

After 3 rounds in the 60's Mike Weir stalled at -10 with a +3 75 to finish T35 at the LeCom Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. While he was out in -1 35, his back nine let him down with a 4 bogey, 40.

He drove the ball as well as ever this week, 12/13 fairways hit, but crucially his greens in regulation slipped to T60 with only 9/18, his lowest of the week.

American Mark Hubbard won by 2 shots at -26 after a closing -5 67 for his first win on the Web.com Tour and his first since 2013 on the PGA Tour Canada.



Bryan Angus

Holmes handles the weather best to win in the wind at Riviera

PGA Tour Genesis Open final scoreboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/genesis-open/leaderboard.html

In the end Mother Nature threw a swirling, gusting wind into her mix of torrential rain, cold by California standards, fog and yes even sunshine at last week's Genesis Open at Riviera.

After Justin Thomas, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Si Woo Kim, Rory McIlroy and for a while even Tiger made their runs at her, it was long hitting Kentuckian JB Holmes who emerged in the wind on Sunday afternoon to shoot -1 70 to catch Thomas who blew up to a +4 75, and win his first PGA title since 2015.

He birdied his first hole the made a steady string of pars featuring clutch putting the rest of the way in, while Thomas 3 putted the 13th and 14th to lose his 4 shot lead.

Nick Taylor shot a commendable +1 72 to finish -3 T33 while Adam Hadwin had a difficult weekend finishing 2nd last with a pair of 77's.

It was a testing three days for these pros who gathered to contest this prestigious title after the pouring rain which began on Tuesday wiped out 7 hours of play on Thursday forcing them to play catch up all weekend.

Tiger for example didn't play at all on Thursday so was up at 3am every morning playing as many holes as possible. On Sunday he put the final touches on a -6 65 to complete his 3rd round which had the crowd hollering, and he began as quickly on his first nine of round 4. However he admitted he ran out of gas come the back nine and slumped to +1 72, but still T15.

All in all despite or because of the weather, the result was in doubt until the end which made for good viewing.

Speaking of which see my next posting re how we cover golf on TV these days and see if you don't agree with me.



Bryan Angus

Stephen Ames battles for lead, Jimenez wins Chubb Classic in playoff

PGA Tour Champions Chubb Classic final scoreboard https://www.pgatour.com/champions.html

Stephen Ames continued his fine play as he led or was tied for the lead for most of Sunday's crowded leaderboard at the Chubb Classic.

However after going bogey free for 46 holes he drove out of bounds at the 11th leading to a double bogey, dropping him 2 shots behind Olin Browne.

Ames playing in the final pairing birdied the 13th to pull within one and watched as Browne doubled his final hole leaving Ames, Browne, Austin, Langer and Jimenez all tied for the lead at -13.

A bogey at 15 and another at 18 sealed his fate while Miguel Jimenez went on to beat Bernhard Langer and Browne with a 5 foot par putt on the first hole of the playoff. He shot a -5 66 -13, 200. It is the Spaniard's 7th PGA Tour Champions title.

" I work hard, practice a lot, go to the gym except for smoking and drinking !. This is what I love to do, play golf around the world"

Ames shot 71 to end up T6 -11 with Tom Lehman, Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie and Retief Goosen



Bryan Angus

The Sunday schedule at Riviera, Genesis Open live scoring

PGA Tour Genesis Open leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/genesis-open/leaderboard.html

Good Sunday morning on this long Family Day weekend in Ontario, with a little more snow in our forecast.

Weather of course controls the play, on what organizers hope will be the final day at the Genesis Open at historic Riviera in L.A. I can report the sun has come out, it's still cool but there is chance of light rain and high winds moving in mid afternoon in L.A. Riviera is soft after all the rain, so the players can attack the pins when they have the chance, as a result scoring is lower so far today.

Here's what you need to know: (updated)

They are all playing the 3rd round this morning. They started at 6.45am PST.  The leader Justin Thomas is at -17 playing the 15th. By the way he has a 5 shot lead over Adam Scott. So he will begin his final round around 11.45am PST. It will be dark by 5.45pm PST. So they will be able to finish.

The field which will not be re-paired to save time, they will simply continue on to the 4th round in the group they are in as they finish. They are paired in threesomes, playing off split tees, #1 and #10.

Tiger was up at 3am to start his day, and he shot -6 65 on today's round ,at -7 total and he will begin his 4th round at 10.10am PST off the 10th tee.

Canadians: Adam Hadwin shot a 3rd round 77 and is at +4, Nick Taylor -3 68 T29 -4



Bryan Angus

A look at why Mike Weir continues his fine play at Suncoast Classic

Web.com Suncoast Classic leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/champions/tournaments/chubb-classic/leaderboard.html

Mike Weir is not going to win this Suncoast Classic at his new home on the Web.com Tour, but for his legions of fans in Canada it is heartening to see his steady improvement as he begins to get into a regular schedule again, after years of wondering where and when he'd be playing next.

He opened this week with 66, then 68 and yesterday's 69 which began with bogey, par double bogey, but followed with 3 straight birdies to get right back to E. As play begins today he is T10 at -13, 8 shots behind lanky American Mark Hubbard at -21.

A close look at Mike's stats won't surprise anyone who's been following his career. Johnny Miller once described the slightly built lefty as "the best player in the world from 100 yards in".

This week it's driving accuracy and his short game that is keeping him near the top of the leaderboard. He's T7th in sand saves, T4 in scrambling, and 7th in putts per GIR, this after 3 putting 12 times last week. He's also driving the ball decently again, he hit 12/13 fairways yesterday, is nearly at 85% over the week. He's still not long, T62 in distance.

Follow his scoring today on my live link above.

Bryan Angus

Stephen Ames tied for lead at Chubb Classic, Langer lurks.. live scoreboard

PGA Tour Champions Chubb Classic leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/champions/tournaments/chubb-classic/leaderboard.html

Stephen Ames, tied for the first-round lead with Sandy Lyle after a then-course record 63, had a -4 68 to keep a share of the top spot in this Chubb Classic at -11, 131 with Glen "all" Day (66) ( nicknamed for his notoriously slow play) and Ken Tanigawa (66) in Naples, Florida.

However just look who are lurking right behind them as they begin play today!

Kevin Sutherland broke the course record with a 62 and he's a stroke back with Bernhard Langer (64), Colin Montgomerie (63), Woody Austin (65), Tom Byrum (65), Dan Olsen (67) and Kent Jones (67) all at -10.

If that weren't enough, rookie Retief Goosen (65) and Steve Stricker (66) lead the group at -9 under.


Bryan Angus

Alena Sharp T6..Nelly Korda wins ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open

LPGA ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open final leaderboard http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/isps-handa-womens-australian-open/leaderboard

Nelly Korda has joined her sister Jessica in the winners circle at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open with rounds of  71 66 67 67 -17, two shots clear of the field.
Defending champion Jin Young Ko was second after a 64. Jessica won this title seven years ago, her father won the Aussie Men's tennis title, her younger brother the junior title.

“I’m just happy to finally be a part of the club,” said the 20-year-old Korda at the trophy presentations. “There’s maybe something in the air here. We love coming down under and we really enjoy our time here"

Meanwhile Alena Sharp rounded off a strong week with a closing -4 68 to finish T6 at -10. It is her second straight good result after she finished T17 the Vic Open last week. Her fellow Canadian Jaclyn Lee also shot 68 to finish T22 -6 in her LPGA debut.

They are both taking the long flight home, so will not be joining Brooke Henderson who is returning from illness to play in Thailand next week. They will play at the Founders Cup in a few weeks time.


Bryan Angus

Saturday news on Alena Sharp, Stephen Ames... live scoreboards.

LPGA Tour ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open scoreboard http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/isps-handa-womens-australian-open/leaderboard

Nelly Korda leads this Women's Australian Open by 3 shots 71 66 67 -12 as she tries to join the family love affair with Australia, her dad a national tennis champion, her younger brother a national junior tennis champion, and her sister Jessica a past champion at this event.

Alena Sharp continues her fine play T9, 69 71 70 -6.  Jaclyn Lee has had a very impressive first LPGA event, 72 71 71 -2 T30.


Champions Tour Chubb Classic scoreboard https://www.pgatour.com/champions/tournaments/chubb-classic/leaderboard.html

Scotland's Sandy Lyle and Stephen Ames went out together and tied the course record at -8 63 and they begin play today with a share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour, Chubb Classic.

Stephen had a hole-in-one on the par 3,140 yard 12th hole. He finished strongly in last year's Charles Schwab playoffs, wintered in the Turks and Cacois islands, then spent a month in Hawaii where he got his only senior title, the 2017 Mitsubishi Electric Classic.

Bernhard Langer, the Oasis Championship winner last week had a 68, and he's won here 3 times, 2011, 2013 and 2016.

Bryan Angus

Mike Weir is in contention at the Suncoast Classic... Web.com live scoreboard

Web.com Suncoast Classic live scoreboard https://www.pgatour.com/webcom/tournaments/lecom-suncoast-classic/leaderboard.html

Mike Weir is T8 after two rounds of the Web.com Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic.
after rounds of 66-68 -10. He trails the leaders by 6 shots as round 3 gets under way today.  He is playing in his third straight Web.com event. He T41st last week at the Panama Championship, but M/C in Colombia.

"I’m excited about my game and I love to compete,” Weir said. “The PGA Tour Champions is less than a year and a half away for me, so I want to be sharp for that. And who knows, if I play well enough out here I could get my PGA Tour card back at 49 years old, which would be pretty fun"

As I mentioned yesterday he is taking advantage of a new category that gives the top three players on the PGA Tour career money list ages 48 and 49 eligibility for most Web.com events. He is 38th on that list and with many ahead of him still able to play the PGA Tour, he can use the rule to get into as many as 20 events.

So far he is E today through 7 holes. Michael Gligic 72 67 -5. Albin Choi, Ryan Yip and Brad Fritsch all missed the cut.

Follow the live scoring link above

Bryan Angus

Saturday story at Riviera .. Genesis Open live scoring..

PGA Tour Genesis Open scoreboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/genesis-open/leaderboard.html

For a start Saturday has dawned warm bright and sunny, a beautiful southern California winter morning, a stark contrast to Thursday's torrential rain which backed the field up by 7 hours.

Yesterday the field slogged through a damp, cool overcast day, played until dark and by 7am PST this morning they began the job of getting all 72 holes completed come 5.30 Sunday evening.

The first job is to establish a cut of top 70 and ties, that should happen around 2.30pm PST today and should be around -1, they will change all the pins, re-pair and set out for round 3, which will end in darkness at around 5.45pm tonight.

Then it will be back out at 7am PST Sunday morning to complete rounds 3 and hopefully round 4.

The weather for today is perfect, but Sunday will have rain showers, particularly in the morning, which they will try to play through as there is no electricity in the forecast.

As for the golf, Justin Thomas and a resurgent Adam Scott lead the way at -11 with identical scores of 66, 65. JB Holmes is next at -10 63,69. Rory is at -7 72, 63.

Half of the field are out completing their 2nd rounds. Adam Hadwin is one of them after he opened with -3 68, and Nick Taylor E 71. Mac Hughes 72 72 +2 has completed his 2nd round and will MC.

Tiger has posted 70 71 -1 T54, right on the cut line, and boy did he ever miss a few real short putts yesterday. He's never won at Riviera.

So a full days play ahead, follow the live scoreboard link above.

Bryan Angus

Alena Sharp is T10 at the Women's Australian Open... Ko misses the cut

LPGA Tour ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open leaderboard http://www.lpga.com/leaderboard

As a teenager Lydia  Ko played in 53 straight professional tournaments without missing a cut. She was by far and away the best female player in the world, sometimes the best, period.

Then 2 years ago, in an attempt to improve, apparently, she changed everything, clubs, coach, ball, fitness regime, clothing line..... and she's never been the same. Today she shot 77 to miss yet another cut, along with Georgia Hall by the way. I looked up her stats and in a nutshell, she is shorter off the tee than 3 years ago and more importantly less accurate, much less.

Golf is full of stories of players who change equipment while at the top. Most recently world #1 Justin Rose changed to Honma after winning his way to #1 playing Taylor Made. To be honest, I just think they all get those big $$$ signs in their eyes, but won't admit it.

Alena Sharp has been playing steadily better, a combination of hard work and I think personal happiness after declaring her love for her caddie Sarah Bowman. She has shot 69 71 -4 to sit T10. Alena kept her card by finishing 92nd in 2018. She dropped her coach Tristan Mullally and is now working with Brett Saunders who was formerly with Adam Hadwin. She has a home in Arizona and recently became an American citizen.

Jaclyn Lee continues her rookie season 72 71 -1 T32

Wei-Ling Hsu is just 24 and emerging as Taiwan’s best player and she leads after rounds of 65 69 along with Swede Madelene Sagstrom 67 67 -10. They are 3 ahead of a group at -7 including Nelly Korda.


Bryan Angus

Round 1 resumes at soggy Riviera in the Genesis Open

PGA Tour Genesis Open leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html

After a 7 hour delay yesterday half of the field got some play in at the weather plagued Genesis Open in L.A. Jordan Spieth was -5 through 12 holes when play was called.

Riviera GC is saturated after receiving more than 2" of rain in 48 hours and sadly there is more of the same forecast for this afternoon and Sunday looking ahead.

Play began at 10am EST this morning under cloudy skies and if I were a betting man I'd say they'll be lucky to finish round 1 today. The rain expected is just 1/4" so there is a chance they could slog through it.

Follow all the scoring on my live link..


Bryan Angus

Mike Weir off to another good start on Web.com Tour

Web.com Tour Suncoast Classic leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/webcom/leaderboard.html

I know it's early but Mike Weir is off to his second straight good start on his new home the Web.com Tour. Last week it was the Panama Open where he opened with -6 66, eventually ending T48 after three putting 12 times.

Now 48, Weir will take advantage of a Web.com Tour exemption that gives status to past PGA Tour members aged 48-49, and he expects to play at least 20 times on this tour, this season.

This week’s Lecom Suncoast Classic in Florida, is his third start of the season and third straight week of competition, and has posted another -6 66 in his first round, T2

He made an eagle 2 at the 4th, out in -4 32 and added 3 birdies on the back nine, with a single bogey at the par 3 17th.

The clubhouse lead is -8 64 posted by American Maverick McNealy.

Bryan Angus

Round one suspended at rainy Riviera.. Genesis Open scoreboard

PGA Tour Genesis Open leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/genesis-open/leaderboard.html

breaking news : "The PGA Tour has decided to re-set the scores of the 10 groups who made it onto the course before play was suspended when play resumes. Their next weather update will be 1pm PST (4pm EST)"


Phil Mickelson can even make a story out of a weather delay.. Good morning and Happy Valentines Day to all the gals today, and a gentle reminder to you guys who may have let it slip your mind !

It's a soaking wet rainy Thursday morning at Riviera in L.A. Phil who won here in 2008 and 2009 is playing the back nine first, clad head to foot in black as usual. The par 4 10th is driveable. He hit his into the greenside bunker and was a about to play when the horn sounded. Allowed to continue the hole under current suspension rules, he blasted out over the green, plugged into another, blasted out again into a third, blasted out again into the hole.. routine par 4, giving the few who are watching something to cheer about before they head to the beer tent..

This field is headlined by Tiger of course, and has 3 Canadians. Adam Hadwin, Nick Taylor and Mac Hughes.

The stars are all here, Bubba Watson defends, Rory, Justin Thomas, DJ, Jon Rahm, Paul Casey, Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth etal join Tige and Phil.

Weather: there is rain in the forecast for much of Thursday and Friday and some of Sunday. Organizers have reduced the field to just those who have qualified to try and get play in round 2 completed come dinner time on Friday. Remember last week at Pebble Beach, the sun sets on the west coast at 5.45pm, and traditionally they never get 2 rounds in on time at Riviera. With this weather forecast expect the same.

Follow my live scoring link above.

Bryan Angus

Good guy Micheal Gligic wins the Web.com Panama Championship

I mentioned earlier last week that Mike Weir who has such a good record at Pebble Beach doesn't qualify for an invite there anymore, instead he continues his sojourn on the Web.com and opened with a solid 66 in very windy conditions. He faded away from the lead as the week went on, however another Canadian did anything but.

Micheal Gligic, now 29, shot 70 70, then 67 65 on the weekend for his first victory on the Web.com Tour in his first career start at the Panamá Championship. The journeyman has spent nearly 10 years between tours before earning Web.com Tour status with a T13 finish at the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament last December.

“I still can’t really believe it, to be honest. You come to every golf tournament to win and to actually do it is a whole different ball game, and it’s really overwhelming,” Gligic said. “I knew I was right there, and every shot really counted. I gave it my all and fortunately I was good by one shot.”

Gligic, is from Burlington, but resides in Kitchener,  finished at -8 272 at the Panama Golf Club, one shot better than Xinjun Zhang of China.

This win will go a long way to gaining PGA Tour status in 2020. Well done Micheal, and how good is the Canadian pro game looking these days !

Bryan Angus
(notes from canadianpress.)

Mickelson ties O'Meara with 5th Pebble Beach Pro-Am victory

PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am final leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html

As is so often the case, the morning after, Monday morning, dawns bright and sunny unlike the bad weather all weekend, all the crowds are gone, the workmen are out tearing down the fencing, the stands, cleaning up the garbage, recovering the million miles of cables, removing all the porta potties, all the business of what they call 'take down" from a major event.

Today at the Pebble Beach GL, all that is on hold for just a little while as Phil Mickelson puts the final touches on his 44th win, and his 5th AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am.

Remember he wanted to finish in the dark last night, Paul Casey, 3 shots behind, said enough is enough we'll come back and finish tomorrow. If I were him I'd have pulled the plug when the sun set after the 15th hole, to give him 3 holes to recover, rather than two.

As it has happened Paul holed his par putt at 16, they halved the 17th and Phil sauntered down the 18th with a 3 shot advantage in front of the few friends, remaining amateurs and officials, all that needed deciding would be could Paul birdie and finish second alone, and could he and his partner win the pro-am.

Paul made birdie 4, for 2nd at -16 and the pro-am victory for his partner Don Colleran, who finished 2nd last year, Phil birdied for 65 -19 with his late grandfathers lucky silver dollar in his pocket. He is the oldest winner at 48.

I agree with his coach and analyst Peter Kostas, Paul is going to have to start playing more aggressively on Sunday's to close out these opportunities he has been missing.

Phil was second in the Desert Classic last week and is swinging and playing like he is in his prime. Now it's off to LA and Riviera CC for the players...the workmen can start "take down"

Canadians: Adam Hadwin T18 (72) -8, Nick Taylor (71) -6, Ben Silverman T45(73) -4

Bryan Angus

Monday finish for AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am

Play will resume under sunny skies believe  it or not at Pebble Beach GL.. That's the good news.. the bad news is they have run out of time to get round 4 completed. Here's why

Play will begin at 1pm PST with the leaders, Paul Casey and Phil Mickelson set to tee off shortly thereafter. Darkness falls at 5.48pm. That leaves say 4.5 hours to get play finished, virtually impossible considering a) the course is saturated, b) each group has amateurs playing with them c) average time for a PGA Tour round is in excess of 5 hours d) Pebble Beach GL is a very difficult championship course thus takes longer.

Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo who are killing time on air until play begins, admitted they have virtually no chance of completing play today, and that's the last thing they want to tell their viewing audience.

There is no rain in the forecast for tomorrow...

So there you have it.... Monday finish for this year's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro AM

Bryan Angus

Play suspended at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am

"If you don't like the weather, wait a minute" is an old Scottish saying that holds true for Carmel Bay today, the site for Pebble Beach GL.

I posted the weather forecast in my last missive, citing rain showers this morning and so far that's spot on, except for the hail !

After an hours delay to begin this championship Sunday, play began under ever changing skies, and at 14.04 EST, 11.04 on the west coast a full hail storm blew through, and with a second rain cell about to hit, the officials have suspended play and taken the players off the course.

Presently they are in a holding pattern until the next cell blows through, then if all goes according to plan they will recover the course where necessary and resume play.

Paul Casey and Phil Mickelson have not began they're final round yet.

Bryan Angus

Will his Ryder Cup performance help Paul Casey win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am

PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/at-t-pebble-beach-pro-am/leaderboard.html

Firstly, the all important weather forecast for Carmel Bay today calls for rain showers this morning dissipating to an overcast cool afternoon, 49*f the high, winds anywhere from 10-20mph NW.

The third round is all done, play is underway today, with Paul Casey who posted a -5 67 on Spyglass yesterday, and quietly built a 3 shot lead at -15 over Phil Mickelson going into the final round of this AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Mickelson is looking to tie Mark O'Meara's 5 wins here today and he is at his entertaining best in this weather on this course. He mixed sensational shot making, with errant drives and missed short putts on his way to -2 70 -12 total. 

Now the question is, can this most affable Englishman, Casey, who has never won in his three previous times with a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour hang in there today for the win ? I say he can.

In the last three years in this position he's laid an egg on Sunday averaging rounds of +2 or worse. I've interviewed Paul several times on his trips to Canada, he is very polite, a perfect gentleman, extremely talented, probably has never fulfilled his enormous potential partially due to injury.

He starts the day playing as Phil's straight man and there are others within striking distance including Jason Day at -9.

However I think that several things have changed. One, he was put under the gun at last year's Ryder Cup after being a captain's pick and was solid getting 2/3 points including a halve with Brooks Koepka in Europe's runaway win.  Phil on the other hand wasn't very good, to say the least.

Secondly, he hasn't played here in 16 years and relates their are two reasons he loves to play here. “One is the weather. If you have great weather, this is one of the best places on the planet. And two, if you have the right partner, it can be wonderful. I can at least guarantee one of those elements.”

He is playing with Don Colleran, of FedEx, and they have a 4 shot, lead in the pro-am and the weather will be decent, you could say very English, so those may factor in his favour as well.

Adam Hadwin (65) is the top Canadian at -8 T14th. Nick Taylor (71) and Ben Silverman (69) are -5.

Mackenzie Hughes (78),  Adam Svensson (72), Corey Conners (70), David Hearn (79) and Roger Sloan (76) all missed the cut.

Bryan Angus

Celine Boutier and David Law winners at the ISPS Handa Vic Open

There were a few things I liked about this year's ISPS Handa Vic Open. Although the stars stayed away, only 4 of the top 50 women for example came to compete for a small purse, $1.5m, there was a lot to like.

Men and women playing the same courses for the same prize money, spectators walking on the course, with their dogs, good links style course 13 Beach Club, relaxed vibe. It just looked like a great place to go for a good walk in beautiful seaside surroundings and watch some interesting golf while you do.


Women http://www.lpga.com/leaderboard

French woman Celine Boutier played better in difficult weather than the rest over the weekend, 69 72 to win by 2 shots at -8. Boutier is 25, her rookie season was 2017. She resides in Dallas, was an all American at Duke University. She wins $165,000, it's her first LPGA Tour win, she has 2 on the LET.

Alena Sharp rode a strong start to end up T15 at -2 while A.C Tanguay who opened  66 T2, ended up T32 at +1. Jaclyn Lee shot 81 in her 3rd round MDF.


MEN :http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2019/tournamentid=2019016/leaderboard/index.html#/results 

Scottish rookie David Law birdied the 16th then eagled the last to catch then pass leader Wade Ormsby who made double bogey at the 17th, and gets his first European Tour win with a final round 66 -18 total a shot ahead of a posse of Aussie's including Ormsby and Brad Kennedy at -17.

Law graduated from the Challenge Tour last year, this is only his 4th European Tour event, and considering he was planning a career with Scottish Hydro until last year, this was a big moment to say the least.

"It's massive," he said. "It's not something I expected. For me just being out here playing on the European Tour was enough. I've been loving the four events I've played so far and to just be a European Tour player was what I was happy with. To have won today, it sort of changes things a little bit. I'll go home, reflect a little bit on things and reassess"

Canada's Austin Connelly 70 68 73 -3 MDF.

 

Bryan Angus

Sharp and Tanquay T15 after 3 rounds in the wind and rain ISPS Handa Vic Open

LPGA/LET Tours ISPS Handa Vic Open leaderboard http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/isps-handa-vic-open/leaderboard

Canadian press

 Alena Sharp (77) and A.C. Tanguay (75) are T15th -2 after 54 holes of the LPGA Tour’s ISPS Handa Vic Open.  Brittany Marchand and Jaclyn Lee missed the cut.

In an afternoon of survival, Kim Kaufman survived an up-and-down day to card a third-round 75 and take a two-stroke lead at -10 into the final round. It was a day that saw a combination of bright sunshine, sideways rain and whipping winds that reached gusts of 30 mph. Scores soared on this Beach Golf links style course.

“I went to school in west Texas, which is pretty windy, but this was up there,” said Kaufman of the day’s weather conditions. “It really felt like a British Open day, but we all just fight and good things that happen and bad things that happen would happen to everyone"

France’s Celine Boutier took advantage of playing in the afternoon wave’s first group, before the worst of the winds picked up shooting a -3 69, tied for the day’s low round, and jumped from 12th to a T2. She is joined by second by leading Australian Su Oh, who shot a +2 74. Japan’s Haru Nomura, who started in the day two strokes behind Kaufman in second, struggled to a +4 76 and fell into 4th.

Bryan Angus

.

Star studded field battles the elements at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am

PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html

Well as predicted the heavens opened along the Pacific Coast Highway yesterday afternoon finally suspending play in round 2 of this AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am, forcing many in the field (48 teams) to return at 10.10am local time this morning to resume, then begin their 3rd rounds which they have with the weather co-operating so far.

With the clouds rolling in again this afternoon, the wind picking up with the tide, and more rain not far away, we'll see how much of round 3, if any, will be left to finish Sunday morning. The problem is heavy rain is expected overnight into Sunday morning at least, as you can see from this link https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USCA0183:1:US.

The cut is now predicted at -3. This is the last day of the 3 course rotation, there will be a 54 hole cut, and the survivors and their celebrities will begin round 4 on Pebble Beach GL. If they run out of time the weather looks clear for a possible Monday finish.

Phil Mickelson and Paul Casey started play today in a 5 way tie for the lead at -10 along with Jordan Spieth, Lucas Glover and Scott Langley. Spieth had to come back early to finish 2 holes.

As it stands right now Paul Casey who is playing Monterey, is the leader at -12 halfway through his 3rd round, Mickelson and Spieth are at -11, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Jason Day are in a large group at -10.

The top Canadian is Adam Hadwin -4 today and T20 at -6 through the turn. Nick Taylor is at -5 through 11, Ben Silverman at -4 playing the back nine, Mac Hughes having a tough day at +4, -2 total.

Corey Connors +3, as is Adam Svensson, David Hearn +5 and Roger Sloan +10 so they may not be playing round 4.

Bryan Angus

Mike Weir drops back in round 2 in the wind at Panama Championship

Web.com Panama Championship leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/webcom/tournaments/panama-championship.html

After opening with a solid -6 66 in windy conditions to sit T2 at the Web.com Panama Championship, Mike Weir has just completed his 2nd round with  +3 73 currently T20 -1. He went out in even par 35, but had 3 bogeys at 14 16 and 17 coming in at 38.

He was out in the early wave, so we'll see how the rest of the field makes out on one of this tour's toughest courses in very windy conditions. The cut is currently projected at +2.

After his opening round yesterday he had this to say. “My ball striking was great today. I hit all but one fairway and all but one green, I was pin high a lot and had a lot of close chances today. It was really all ball striking out there today.

Despite being one of the shorter hitters in the field, the 48-year-old mentioned he feels comfortable in the windy conditions at the Club de Golf de Panamá.“I have a lower ball flight, so I don’t have to change too much. I think the firm conditions help me because I don’t hit it high but can still get some roll. I’ve always seemed to play well in tougher conditions.”

New Zealand’s Tim Wilkinson putted the lights out with a -5 65 to take the first-round lead.

Canadians : Michael Gligic shot E 70, Albin Choi 72 69 +1, Brad Fritsch 72 70 +2, Ryan Yip 76 73 MC


Bryan Angus

Rain, wind, cool temperatures set to hit round 2 at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am.

PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/at-t-pebble-beach-pro-am/leaderboard.html

Yesterday the breeze picked up in the afternoon but the rain stayed away on a partially sunny day at Carmel Bay in this AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am, however today will be a different story as the weatherman is being true to his prediction.

86% probability that rain is set to begin for much of the day at around 10am PST (1pm EST), with the wind quartering from the SE up to 20kph, swinging to the SW later. The high for the day is 12*c.

The leaderboard is speckled with big names. With round 2 well underway Phil Mickelson is -4 this morning through 9 holes and leads at -10. Jordan Spieth is at -7, Jason Day -6, Dustin Johnson -5, all early in their round.

Canadians : Mac Hughes is at -4, Nick Taylor , Adam Svensson are -3, Ben Silverman -1, Adam Hadwin E, Corey Connors and David Hearn are +3 and Roger Sloan +4

Bryan Angus

Alena Sharp T5 at ISPS Handa Vic Open.. Mens and Women's live scoreboards

LPGA Tour ISPS Handa Vic Open leaderboard http://www.lpga.com/leaderboard

Women;
With a second straight round of 69 Alena Sharp is now the top Canadian in this ISPS Handa Vic Open. This time it was on the Beach Course and she is T5 -7.

Anne Catherine Tanquay dropped back into T12 after she posted +1 74 on the Creek course, she is -5 heading into the weekend.

Jaclyn Lee making her LPGA debut shot a 69 on the Creek Course and moved up to T32 at -3, while Brittany Marchand also made the cut T41 with a 70 to get to -2.

The leader by 2 shots is now American veteran Kim Kaufman with a pair of 66's -13 total.


Men: http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2019/tournamentid=2019016/leaderboard/index.html#/leaderboard

Austin Connelly has made the cut on the men's side, T44 -4 68 on the Creek course, -6 total.

The leaders by a shot at -14 are Aussies Jason Scrivener and Nick Flanagan as Australians occupied the top five spots heading into the weekend. Wade Ormsby was at -13, a shot clear of Matt Jager and Brad Kennedy.

Bryan Angus

Tanguay and Sharp in contention at ISPS Vic Open.. Flanagan leads the men.

Women: http://www.lpga.com/leaderboard

Anne Catherine Tanguay has opened her 2019 LPGA season with a bogey free -6 66 T2 at the ISPS Handa Vic Open at the Beach Club south of Melbourne Australia. Tanguay, from Quebec City regained her status via LPGA Q school.

Su Oh of Australia held the lead for most of the day with Tanguay, both at -6 under. Kim Kaufman joined them in a T2 with a 66 in the afternoon.

However it was England's Felicity Johnson who made a late move with a -8 65 on the Creek course to snatch the lead going into round 2..

Meanwhile veteran Alena Sharp is T10 with -4 69 on the Creek course. Brittany Marchand and Jaclyn Lee are T97 +1. Brooke Henderson had to withdraw due to illness.

This event features men from the Australasian /European Tour playing alternative holes with women from the LPGA /LET tours. The Beach course is being played as a par-72 for both men and women; the Creek is par-72 for men and 73 for women. Both courses will be used for the first two rounds of the tournament

Men: http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2019/tournamentid=2019016/leaderboard/index.html#/leaderboard

On the men's side it was Nick Flanagan, an Australian who won the 2003 U.S. Amateur, who shot a -10 62 on the Creek course to take a two-stroke lead. Among those tied for second were Flanagan's roommate, James Nitties, and Kurt Kitayama, Hugo Leon and Callum Shinkwin.

Nitties (62) who has no status on any tour started on the back nine at the Beach course, tied a record for consecutive birdies with nine, equaling Mark Calcavecchia's record at the 2009 Canadian Open.

Canadian Austin Connelly is T88 -2 70.


Bryan Angus

Eight Canadians at rainy Pebble Beach this week. Pro, celebrity tee times

PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am  pro/celebrity tee times https://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/at-t-pebble-beach-pro-am/tee-times.html

There are eight Canadians at this week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Corey Connors, Adam Hadwin, David Hearn, MacKenzie Hughes, Ben Silverman, Roger Sloan, Adam Svensson and Nick Taylor will all play on the iconic links.

Incidently, here is a link to the weather forecast for Carmel, California https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USCA0183:1:US and as often happens there at this time of year, it's going to be a rainy, cool weekend, particularly Friday and Sunday.

As always they play Pebble Beach GL, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula, and each player has a celebrity partner, more and more often it's a corporate big shot, although Bill Murray will play as usual with D.A Points while Wayne Gretzky will play with pre tournament favourite Dustin Johnson, fresh off his win in Saudi Arabia.

Some pros are pro-am specialists, guys like Mark O'Meara enjoyed the camaraderie winning this event a record 5 times, while others not so much. I remember playing in the Canadian PGA Pro-Am one year, late on a cold, windy Wednesday afternoon and ahead of us Dave Barr played hole after hole about as far away from his group of hackers and whackers as he possibly could without being rude!

So get ready for your annual views of the gorgeous scenery from Carmel Bay with the cute sea otters and the players resting on the fence at the 18th tee, along with one of America's most expensive 8 mile sections of coastline.

It all starts tomorrow.

Bryan Angus

My final thoughts on this week's Saudi International

I watched all of last week's inaugural Saudi International, won by Dustin Johnson and starring China's Haotong Li's four eagle Saturday.

I thought a lot about the European Tour's expansion into the Middle East, 30 years in Dubai, and more recently into Turkey, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Qatar. I thought about each of their reasons why, and I thought about a guy we all know well in this part of the world, Toronto's Keith Pelley, at one time was my boss at Rogers, now the CEO of the European Tour and who's foresight thus far in his career is admirable.

I thought about a golfer having qualms about playing in Saudi, yet quite happy to play in China with it's human rights abuses. What about countries they play in that are dictated or who house evil organizations. How long before atrocities are forgiven, or forgotten. I thought about players who flocked to play during apartheid years ago in South Africa.

One thing I do know is that none of the nationals live in those Middle East countries are flocking to play on the mostly magnificent courses that are being built, mainly with direct or indirect funding from the ruling families. They are for tourists or Europeans working there on visa's. So why build them? The reasons are as varied as their beliefs. For example, Dubai wants to replace diminishing oil reserves with tourism, Qatar wants much the same and has been awarded the 2022 World Cup which is a huge financial undertaking which has provided thousands of jobs.

In the case of Saudi Arabia it appears obvious despite Keith's stance that the event is part of Saudi's international plan moving forward,  at this time in their history which is acute with human rights transgressions including the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was brutally chopped up and discarded in a vat of acid, that the event was staged to put the regime of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in a good light around the world.

Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson among others received appearance fees that would set most of us up for retirement and as I said last week, they were only going to avoid the tough questions and applaud the organizers, and to be good members in standing of the European Tour, and they did to varying degrees.

Pro golfers have a pretty good life and are awarded accordingly, as any small group of extraordinarily talented professionals should be. They, especially the European Tour play in 50 different countries this year, many with questionable pasts so this is not a clear cut decision.

This time around considering their unabated, appalling record on human rights including the current war in Yemen, I feel I witnessed an expensive PR event on behalf of the ruling regime and only time will change my mind on that.

Bryan Angus

Brooke Henderson withdraws from the ISPS Handa Vic Open

Brooke Henderson is ill and as a result has been forced to withdraw from this week's LPGA stop at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in Australia.

Taking to twitter she posted " I am sad to announce that I unfortunately must W/D from the ISPS Handa Vic Open due to illness. While I am disappointed that I am unable to compete this week, I wish all the best to the tournament staff sponsors and competitors. Thank you for all your ongoing support."

She is scheduled to play the following week at the ISPS Handa Australian Open at the Grange GC in Adelaide.

Brooke hasn't said what ails her.

Bryan Angus

Rickie Fowler stumbles over the finish line to claim Phoenix Open title..

PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open final scoreboard https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html

It never seems to fail, a player goes into Sunday with a 5 shot lead having played flawless golf all week, seemingly insurmountable, then the tables turn and he/she either blows the lead and loses, or stumbles and eventually staggers across the finish line much to their relief.

The latter was the case in my opinion with Rickie Fowler who'd shot meticulous rounds of 64 65 64 going into Sunday, but after standing on the 11th fairway up by five he chipped strongly onto the green and watched in amazement as it rolled over the green, around the bunker and into the water. He took a normal drop, walked up to survey his approach and turned to watch his ball roll back into the water..!! Lying 5 he chipped to 16 feet and made that putt for the bad luck triple bogey 7 which he followed with a bogey at the 12th and his lead was gone to be replaced by South African Branden Grace.

Rickie stumbled to +3 74 which included to his credit 2 birdies at 15 and 17 to seal the deal on his Sunday rollercoaster ride with a 2 shot victory, his 5th.

His playing partners helped his cause as neither could mount a challenge, Matt Kuchar shot 75 to end up 4th, Justin Thomas, his roomie, shot 72 to end up 3rd while Grace who found the water at the 18th finished 2nd with his -1 69.

It was a windy, wet, cool, rainy day and we saw right away it wasn't going to be a day for low scoring. I watched Rickie's demeanour in his warm up and he seemed tense. I thought an early turning point came at the 3rd where he shanked his long iron approach and got a break when it settled wide right on a cart path. He chose to play off that lie, chipped on and made a gutsy 30 foot putt while Kuchar three putted his attempt to gain at least 2 shots and he never got closer.

Canadians David Hearn ended up T33 -6, Adam Hadwin T44 -5.

The PGA Tour sets off to California for the next two weeks, Pebble Beach and Riviera before the WGC in Mexico.

Bryan Angus

It's Fowler's to lose on Super Bowl Sunday at Phoenix Open

PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/

It's a big day in the USA for sports fans, Super Bowl Sunday is primed and ready to go in Atlanta between the overwhelming favourites from New England and the LA Rams who got in on that blown pass interference call against the New Orleans Saints.

Meanwhile in the wind and rain over in Phoenix it's the final round of the Waste Management Open, and tee times have been moved forward 4 hours and paired in 3's to get the round in and done before the nation tunes into the football game.

The final pairing has just teed off at 12.45pm EST, 10.45am in Arizona. Rickie Fowler -20, Matt Kuchar -16, Justin Thomas -15 should provide the winner, although the way Fowler is playing it's his to lose. He'll have to come back to the field.

As I mentioned the weather is cold by Phoenix standards, raining and windy, not conducive to low scoring.

David Hearn is at -6 and Adam Hadwin at -5 as they play their final rounds.

Follow the live scoring link above.

Bryan Angus

Dustin Johnson holds on to win the first Saudi International

European Tour Saudi International final scoreboard http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2019/tournamentid=2019014/leaderboard/index.html#/results

Despite some hard charging over the weekend by Haotong Li ( 62 69 -17) and young Tom Lewis ( 62 65 -16) and Australian, Min Woo Lee ( 63 63 -15) world #3, Dustin Johnson was the best of the bunch at this inaugural Saudi International with rounds of 68 61 65 67 -19 good for a 2 shot victory

His win saved some blushes for the the wealthy organizers as world #1 Justin Rose missed the cut while #2 Brooks Keopka T57 and new honorary member for life Patrick Reed was 56th. Another of the marquee players Bryson DeChambeau fought back to finish T6 at -11 68 68 68 65.

It was Johnson's 6th European Tour win, and I thought his bogey putt after going in the water at the 16th to drop just one stroke to rising Chinese star Li was the turning point.

"It feels really good .Any time you can win a professional golf tournament, no matter where it is in the world, it's a big win. I'm honoured to be the champion and I'm very pleased with the win. The things that I've been working on are working and I've still got a lot of room for improvement. I'm very pleased with where the game is at."

"I've got a lot of confidence in what I'm doing and I feel like I'm hitting a lot of really good golf shots. So misses are starting to get better and I'm not making as many mistakes, even though I did on 16. But for the most part, that was about the only really bad shot I hit this week."

"So I'm pleased with where the game's at, and to get a win here, it's a big win, gives me a lot of confidence going for the rest of the year"

 

It was a good fortnight for international golf with two Americans, DeChambeau winning last week in Dubai and DJ in Saudi today. The more Americans get out of their comfort zones in the States like this is good for golf and is long overdue.

This tour heads down under to Victoria and Perth Australia for 2 weeks, then its a WGC in Mexico for the top players, before they return to the Middle East in Oman and Qatar. Like I said earlier, 50 different countries on this schedule !


Bryan Angus

Haotong Li steals the show at Saudi International.. Garcia disqualified

European Tour Saudi International leaderboard http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2019/tournamentid=2019014/leaderboard/index.html#/leaderboard

Dustin Johnson was cruising along in the lead late in this 3rd round of the Saudi International at -16 following his sensational 61 yesterday with a -5 65 today.

However was China's young star Haotong Li who stole the show with 3 eagle 2's. ..all on par 4's and the early research suggests that is a first in the European Tour's game.

He chipped in at the 1st and 10th then may have hit the shot of the year, a massive 388 yd drive to within 4 feet for his 3rd eagle 2.

To put the icing on the cake he smashed 2 shots onto the par 5 18th and you guessed it he holed the 10 footer to finish eagle, eagle for a share of the lead!

He made up 4 strokes in 2 holes and shot 62 with 4 eagles and will be in the final pair in tomorrow's final round.

Last week he made all the headlines with a controversial penalty assessment on his final hole, this week those headlines are for the right reason.

Breaking News: Sergio Garcia has been disqualified for damaging 2 greens in fits of bad temper. He has since apologized once he cooled down.

Bryan Angus

Fowler, Thomas share a house and top billing in Phoenix

PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/waste-management-phoenix-open/leaderboard.html

Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas are symptomatic of today's young pros. Best buddies, fabulously wealthy in their 20's, go on holidays together, sharing a house with each other and all the while sharing the final pairing together.

Fowler birdied his last 4 holes including a crowd pleaser within the leather at the par 3 16th amphitheater,  for a -6 65 -13 total while his housemate Thomas posted a 66 of his own -12 total.

Branden Grace went lower -7 64 and he's at -11 with Trey Mullinix Matt Kuchar and Cameron Smith all at -10 .

Bubba Watson called his friend Bryson DeChambeau for advise on his arm lock putting style and has incorporated it this week to good effect at -9.

David Hearn continues his good form with a 68 T11 at -7 while Adam Hadwin made the cut with 67 and he is at -3.

Bryan Angus

Hearn leads Canucks at Waste Management Phoenix Open

PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html

David Hearn and Blair Hamilton Monday qualified to join Adam Hadwin, Nick Taylor and Mackenzie Hughes at this week's Waste Management Phoenix Open.

While Hearn has partial status on the PGA Tour he has taken full advantage with an opening round -4 67 to T11, just 3 shots behind leaders Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Harold Varner at -7.

Meanwhile 25-year-old Hamilton has never been a PGA Tour member playing last year on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamerica. He has opened with +2 73.

Hadwin, Taylor and Hughes are all T90 after +1 72's

Three time winner Phil Mickelson is in with -3 68.


Bryan Angus

Dustin Johnson sets course record 61 to lead Saudi International

European Tour Saudi International leaderboard http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2019/tournamentid=2019014/leaderboard/index.html#/leaderboard

As always the late wave on Thursday becomes the early wave on Friday. In this part of the world the desert wind picks up in the afternoon.

Dustin Johnson, now the world #3 took advantage of the calm conditions this morning to shoot -9 61, seven birdies, and an eagle, to grab the clubhouse lead at -11, three shots ahead of Haotong Li (65) at -8.

That breaks the course record of 63 set yesterday by Thomas Pieters who is out in the late wave today, and is struggling in the wind at +3 through 16.

Justin Rose hasn't missed a cut in a regular tour tournament on the European Tour in 8 years, until this week where with the cut falling at E he is in at +2. After his win last week in California he had a very long flight through several time zones, and lost his clubs for a while to boot. He was clearly struggling to keep his concentration.

Other notables: Ian Poulter 68 67 -5, Brooks Koepka 69 70 -1, Bryson DeChambeau 68 68 -4, Sergio Garcia 69 70 -1, Henrik Stenson 68 74 MC, Ernie Els 70 73 MC,

There are players from 11 countries in the top 11 so far, typical of this European Tour that will travel to 50 countries this year.

The 3 Saudi players in the field finished dead last at a combined 65 over par.


Bryan Angus



Bryan Angus