Kirk wins Honda Classic.. Double trouble for Canadians.. final scoreboard

 PGA Tour : Honda Classic final leaderboard here

This year's Honda Classic ended in a playoff on the TPC National Champions course where Chris Kirk won in a playoff against Eric Cole on the 2nd hole worth $1.5m. 

Chris Kirk holds the trophy after winning the Honda Classic 

Kirk attributed his win the first in 8 years, his life and his family on remaining sober after a devastating battle with alcoholism. Cole is a 34 year old rookie who has a daily battle with type 1 diabetes. 

Canadians:

Both Adam Svensson 74, T49 -1 and Taylor Pendrith 71 -2 T42 got into double trouble in their final rounds.

Pendrith went out in -3 32, but in his last 6 holes made 2 doubles and a bogey to come home in 39 for the 71.

Svensson spent some cash as well, He was out in E 35, then went bogey, double bogey, bogey at 14,15 and 16 for 39 and his 74.

This week its the $20,000,000 designated event Arnold Palmer Invitational where Adam Hadwin, Taylor Pendrith, Corey Connors, Nick Taylor, Adam Svensson and Mac Hughes are in the field.

David Hearn and Michael Gligic are in the alternate field at the Puerto Rico Open.

Bryan Angus

The Sunday Story.... full leaderboards

 LPGA : Honda LPGA Thailand final scoreboard here

It wasn't the finish the locals were hoping for at this Honda LPGA Thailand, nor was it what Brooke Henderson had in mind.

After leading for 3 rounds rising Thai star Natthakritta Vongtaveelap had her worst round -1 71 -21 which allowed American Lilia Vu who blistered the Pattaya Old Couse at the Siam CC in -8 64 to catch and pass her by a shot for her first LPGA win at -22.

The other Thai star 20 year old Atthaya Thitikul was 3rd at -20

Brooke Henderson 69 70 69 73 had her worst round of the week with 5 bogey's, 4 birdies all the rest pars to finish middle of the pack T44 -7. To be fair Brooke's new Taylor Made clubs did not arrive until the final 2 rounds, having got lost in transit. Taylor Made staff provided her with a duplicate set.

Next week the tour flies to Singapore for the HSBC Women's World Championship, the third week of the Asian swing in China has been cancelled due to COVID.

DP World Tour : Hero Indian Open Results

Front runner for 54 holes Yannik Paul was caught and pipped by popular country man, 42 year old Marcel Siem who returned to the winners circle for the first time in 8 long years. He shot -4 68 while Paul (70) had to settle for the runner up spot for the 2nd straight week.

PGA Tour: Honda Classic leaderboard here

Shane Lowry first burst on the scene winning his native Irish Open as a pudgy amateur in the pouring rain at County Louth GC in Baltray in 2009 some 13 years ago.

Shane Lowry (Image: Getty Images)

Fast forward sunny Florida where he has a home in the same neighbourhood as Rory Mcllroy in Jupiter along with a mansion in Dublin the 2019 Open Champion was in full swing with -5 65 -9 total just 4 shots behind leader Chris Kirk at -13. He was the runner up here last year.

He was wearing a green ribbon on his hat after the sudden passing of his uncle Jimmy only 66. Only his wife and family convinced him to stay and play rather than attend the funeral in Ireland. "This week is for uncle Jimmy and his family"

Canadians:

Adam Svensson 67 70 69 -5 T15

Taylor Pendrith 69 69 69 -3 T32

Bryan Angus

Svensson climbs leaderboard at Honda Classic... full scoreboard

 PGA Tour : Honda Classic leaderboard here 

While much of eastern North America has been in the grips of an icy winter weather system, swanky Palm Beach Gardens has the type of day that has Canadian snowbirds flocking to Florida every winter.

Hot in the 80's F with a breeze perfect for tanning on the beach or by the pool.

Adam Svensson didn't spend much time doing either, but he was hot on the golf course posting a nifty -4 66 that moves him up the leaderboard T16 at -4 with a round to play. He will play at 11.35 on Sunday at this Honda Classic on TPC National Champion course.

The leader is American Justin Suh 66 64 -10 with Chris Kirk right behind 66 62 -9.

Taylor Pendrith eagled the final par 5 18th 69 69 -2 T29, He will play at 1046 on Sunday.

The cut fell at +1 so Ben Silverman 70 72 +2 missed by a shot while Michael Gligic 69 74 +3 is also finished for the week.

Bryan Angus 

Yannik Paul's lead shrinks to one heading into Sunday at Hero Indian Open.... full scoreboard

 DP World Tour : Hero Indian Open Leaderboard

Yannik Paul will take a narrow one-shot lead into the final round of the 2023 Hero Indian Open after bouncing back from a rocky start to sign for a 71 on Saturday.

Germany's Paul led by five at the halfway stage but made back-to-back bogeys at the second and third on day three to open the door for the chasing pack.

The 28-year-old bounced back brilliantly, though, reeling off a hat-trick of gains at the sixth, seventh and eighth to take a three-shot lead into the turn.

After making a good par save at the tenth, last week's Thailand Classic runner-up Paul created plenty of birdie chances over the next few holes but had to settle for pars.

There was a two-shot swing late in the day as Paul bogeyed the par-three 16th and fellow German Marcel Siem birdied the 17th up ahead, reducing Paul's advantage to a single shot.

Paul made a fabulous birdie three at the 17th to move two clear once more but after Siem made a birdie at the last, Paul could only manage a par there to head into the clubhouse on 11 under par.

Four-time DP World Tour winner Siem, who regained his card at the Qualifying School late last year, sat alone in second place on ten under after making six birdies and one bogey in his 67.

Dutchman Joost Luiten, who is a six-time winner, was another two shots back in third following his 68.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

Two Thai's are tops in Thailand...Henderson T27... full scoreboard

 LPGA : Honda LPGA Thailand full leaderboard here

There are two Thai's atop the leaderboard in Thailand, much to the sponsor and local fans delight.

Im not sure how they pronounce these, but Natthakritta Vongtaveelap 67 65 64 -20 is 4 shots ahead of compatriot Atthaya Thitikul 67 69 64 -16 in what is considered their national women's championship.

Brooke Henderson had another 4 birdies, just one bogey for 69 79 69 -8 T27,, well off the birdie barrage from the Thai players ahead of her heading into the final round

Sunday : 822 am 1st tee Brooke Henderson, Ryan O'Toole, A Lim Kim 

Bryan Angus

Paul stretches his lead at the Hero Indian Open... full leaderboard

 DP World Tour : Hero Indian Open Leaderboard

Yannik Paul stretched his lead at the top of the Hero Indian Open leaderboard to five shots after signing for a 69 on Friday morning.

The German began the day with a slender one-stroke advantage but made four birdies and a single bogey to move to ten under par and open up a commanding lead.

Home favourite Angad Cheema, Germany's Marcel Siem, Iceland's Gudmundur Kristjansson and Finn Mikko Korhonen were in a four-way tie for second on five under, with Dutchman Joost Luiten and India's Honey Baisoya another shot further back.

Kazuki Higa and Adrien Saddier became the first players to shoot bogey-free rounds this week with scores of 66 and 68 respectively and they sit on three under.

Paul, who is searching for his second DP World Tour crown, started from the tenth tee on day two and picked up his first birdie at the 11th.

Further gains followed at the 13th and 15th as last week's Thailand Classic runner-up Paul turned in 33 blows.

He dropped his first shot of the day at the short third but bounced back with a birdie from around five feet on the course's next par three - the fifth - to head into the clubhouse on ten under.

Paul was pleased with his performance and pinpointed patience as being key this week.

He said: "I played well. I probably played almost better today than yesterday.

"I felt the pins were in tougher spots today so you had a lot of downhill putts where you think you have a good look but it's actually two or three cups' break. 

"I think the key part is just staying patient. You have quite a few wedges but the pins are so tucked and the course in general is so firm, so you feel like you've got to make some birdies but par is fine too. You just have to stay patient and just focus on myself and see where I end up. 

"I like India, it's my first time in India. Every tournament I'm going to, I'm trying to win, so I'll just see what the weekend brings and take it from there."

The 28-year-old knows what it feels like to taste victory on the DP World Tour, having done so at last year's Mallorca Golf Open.

Paul feels that experience will stand him in good stead as he aims to become a two-time winner this weekend.

He added: "It feels good when you feel like you can first of all get over the line and second of all, make a putt when it matters. 

"I only noticed that last week, I was a bit calmer and more collected because you feel like you've gained experience last year and that helped me last week. 

"I'll try not to focus too much on the leaderboard, on a course like this anything can happen so I'll just focus on my game plan and see where I end up."

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

Four Canadians bunched after round 1 at the sunny, hot Honda Classic... full leaderboard

 PGA Tour : Honda Classic leaderboard here 

With round two under way early this morning Americans Billy Horschel and Joseph Bramlett took the opening round lead at -5 65 on the PGA National Champion course with a par of 70.

Canadians are bunched together on the leaderboard.

Taylor Pendrith -1 69

Michael Gligic -1 69

Adam Svensson E 70

Ben Silverman E 70

With much of the USA Canada's east coast experiencing brutal cold, windy winter weather system,  it is 80*f  and sunny down to Palm Beach Gardens.

Bryan Angus 

Henderson stalled at T36 in Thailand.. full leaderboard

 LPGA : Honda LPGA Thailand here

Golf fans in Thailand are delighted one of their own Natthakritta Vongtaveelap 67 65 leads the Honda LPGA Thailand by 2 shots at -12 heading into the weekend in Thailand with 13 players including Nelly Korda within 3 shots.

Brooke Henderson has stalled a bit with 69 70 -5. With 7 birdies and just 2 bogeys in 2 rounds she is playing well enough, driving 23/28 fairways and 27/36 greens with 29 putts per round, she will just need a few more birdies on " moving day" to get into contention for Sunday.

Round 3 : 8.08am (local) 10th tee Brooke Henderson, Elizabeth Szokol (USA), Xiyu Lin (China)

Bryan Angus 

German Yannik Paul leads in India.. full scoreboard

 DP World Tour: Hero Indian Open Leaderboard

Yannik Paul produced a back-nine birdie blitz to lead the 2023 Hero Indian Open by one shot after an entertaining first round at DLF Golf and Country Club

The German, who came second at last week's Thailand Classic, continued his fine form on Thursday afternoon as he cancelled out an opening bogey with eight birdies in his next 17 holes to sign for a 65.

Paul finished his round with a flourish, closing with four successive birdies to reach seven under par and overtake home hope Honey Baisoya at the top of the leaderboard.

Morning starter Baisoya had set the early clubhouse target at six under after making eight birdies and a double bogey in his 66.

The 26-year-old sits alone in second, one ahead of Finn Mikko Korhonen on five under, while Indian duo Shubhankar Sharma and Angad Cheema shared fourth spot with Iceland's Gudmundur Kristiansen on four under.

Paul is searching for his second DP World Tour title after winning the 2022 Mallorca Golf Open last October.

He started his round with a bogey at the first but got the shot straight back as he birdied the second.

Six pars followed before Paul got his second birdie of the day at the ninth, lifting his approach to inside five feet and holing the putt.

He made it back-to-back gains from around 12 feet at the tenth before another birdie on the 13th took him to three under.

After holing from ten feet for a birdie at the 15th, Paul got another from long range on the short 16th before continuing his charge with two more gains at the 17th and 18th to hit the front as the sun began to set.

He said: "I obviously played well today. I knew it was a challenging course but I just tried to focus on one shot at a time. 

"I had a great finish - four birdies in the last four - that helps, but tomorrow is a new day so I’ll focus on what I can control and see where I end up. 

"It's my sixth week in a row so I took it pretty easy Monday through Wednesday because after a long stretch you can just feel it here, feel it there. I just played a nine-hole pro-am yesterday afternoon then walked the back nine on Tuesday, just to conserve as much energy as I could because I knew it would be challenging here, mentally as well as with the golf shots. 

“It’s a tricky course, I think you just have to be 100 per cent committed to every shot and 100 per cent focused. 

"I don’t really have a number that I want to get to because that’s tough to control. I’m just trying to stay focused on my process and see where I end up come Sunday.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

LIV Series 2023 begins Friday in Mexico...who cares ?

This 2023 golf season on the PGA and DP World Tours has gotten off to a sensational start with world #1 Jon Rahm winning in style three times, twice in the much ballyhooed $20,000,000 designated events with 50 of the worlds top players in attendance and more to come.

Rory opened his 2023 with a stirring win at the $9,000,000 Rolex Series Hero Dubai Classic with the DP World Tours strongest field.

TV ratings soared when Tiger joined the proceedings last week at Riviera, things couldn't get much better.

On Friday the 2nd year of the rival LIV Series gets under way in Mayakoba, Mexico... Did you know ?

I suspect many of you didn't and if I'm right, that begs the question, what can they do this year to match what is happening on the PGA and DP World Tours. 

By now all the furor caused by well known golfers like Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia etal has died down. The public has made up their minds.

None of those players are being missed at all, they could not have added anymore. In fact they are quite happy playing in virtual obscurity simply because they have already banked their sign up fortunes with more guaranteed to come. Easy money, and most of the big names have enough qualifications to show up and play the majors, so far...

This year they have 48 players in 14 events all around the world sharing an estimated $400,000,000.

They have no major TV network but have signed up with the American CW Channel. Have you ever heard of it, or subscribed to it. Certainly not is the answer in all of the world except for those who do in the States

However, and I think apart from not being allowed to accrue world ranking points, their hope to focus on the "team" aspect of their tournaments seems to be a lost cause.

The Ryder Cup of course is still the most exciting 3 days in golf around the world. 

The Presidents Cup for the first 11 matches was so one sided it didn't capture that intrigue, however after the Ernie Els led International squad at Royal Melbourne forced the USA team into a famous Sunday fightback to winning 16-14, new life has breathed into these matches. All of Canada will be watching in 2024 when Mike Weir leads that team in Montreal.

Country, continental pride is at stake, not money..

So how do the 4 Aces led by Dustin Johnson, or the Majesticks led by Ian Poulter or Ripper GC led by Cam Smith stack up.

Many may not know this but in the cricket world, in the Indian Premier League every team has a high profile, ultra rich owner. That seems to be what LIV is hoping to attract, to make sense of the huge Saudi investment.

The ever confident Greg Norman says "The most popular sports in the world are team sports and our league format has already begun building connections with new audiences around the world. Our major champions and Hall of Famers are committed to this platform "

The truth as Rory McIlroy pointed out is that several of Norman's top executives left the LIV after collecting their years salary, Matt Goodman director of franchises, Communication officer Jonathan Grella and CEO Atul Khosla. Not a healthy endorsement.

Finally and this is the real twist, The huge money invested by the Saudi PIF was in my opinion the catalyst for the PGA Tour and their "strategic alliance" with the DP World Tour to pour all of this new money and incentives into their business. They were shaken up, and responded.

So now what is left for the LIV. Who needs them ? Who cares?

I guess time will tell, but I can't see any reason or need for them. 

Bryan Angus

Henderson opens Honda LPGA Thailand T28, Jam packed leaderboard..Friday TEE TIMES

 LPGA : Honda LPGA Thailand SUMMARY

The strange start to the LPGA season continues a month after Brooke Henderson won the opening Tournament of Champions back in January.

They are all in Thailand for the Honda LPGA.

There are 16 players within 2 shots of the lead, with 5 tied at -7 65. All the scores are available by clicking SUMMARY. Among them is local Thai rookie Jaravee Boonchant much to the delight of the crowd.

After winning the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions 

Brooke had a solid start, 4 birdies 1 bogey all the rest pars 34 out 35 in -3 69 T28.

TEE TIME : She will play round 2 with Charley Hull and Jodi Ewart Shadoff both from England at 715am local.

Playing the Pattaya Old Course means there is no surprise with the low scores, the average winning score over 10 years is -21

Newly married Lydia Ko who has won 3 of her last 4 events shot a bogey free 4 68 T17.

Bryan Angus

Honda Classic field suffers a "designated event sandwich".... Four Canadians... full tee times..

 PGA Tour : Honda Classic Leaderboard

As recent as last year any field offering up $8,400,000 in prize money, with $1.4m to the winner would be enough to attract a top class field.

Not so anymore, and after all the hoopla of back to back designated events worth $20,000,000 in Phoenix and LA with the worlds top 20 required to play, the PGA Tour lands with a dull thud in ritzy Palm Beach, Florida for this weeks Honda Classic where Sungjae Im #18 and Shane Lowry #20 are the only players in the top 30 to show up, and Lowry lives in Florida.

The defending champion is a fine Austrian player, Sepp Straka #31, who is relatively unknown to Americans.

Worse for the Honda, is that the AP Invitational up at Bay Hill is another $20m designated event next week, followed by the Players at $25m, ensuring that most all of the best are taking this week off at home.

The same fate faces our $9m RBC Canadian Open June 8-11. It has the unnecessarily designated $20m Memorial the week before and the US Open in LA the week after worth $20m, then the Travellers who are designated this year. You can be assured that defending champion Rory McIlroy won't be at the Oakdale G&CC, nor will many of the top 60. 

For the last two weeks the excitement for the game of golf, with Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler winning in dramatic fashion and especially with Tiger showing up has been at an all time high with casual fans, non golf media all in on the act.

However this week is the new downside, and it begs the question, which events will be designated next year.

I could also suggest that the WM Phoenix Open hardly needed the $20m extra hype, its always sold out without it and Riviera always attracts a top field, so could that designation be better placed elsewhere ?

There are four Canadians playing this week 

Michael Gligic 1st tee 8.29, 

Ben Silverman  1st tee 1.24 (sponsors exemption) 

 

Adam Svensson 1st tee 12.29  

Taylor Pendrith 10th tee 1.02

Bryan Angus

Lydia Ko gets married.. wins LET in Saudi Arabia... final scores

 LET : Saudi Arabia Ladies Championship 

Photo: Aramco

Beth Ann Nichols 

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February 19, 2023 11:45 am ET

Life is so good for Lydia Ko right now that she sometimes wonders if it’s real. The Kiwi, fresh off a honeymoon that included eight rounds of golf and an ace, won her first start of the season at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International.

Ko won $750,000 for her efforts, which follows a record-setting $2 million first-place prize at last year’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. While she didn’t earn a coveted LPGA Hall of Fame point for this week’s victory – a Ladies European Tour-Sanctioned event – Ko marches into next week’s event in Thailand in a terrific frame of mind. She needs two more points to qualify for the LPGA Hall. A regular-season LPGA tournament is worth one point and majors are worth two.

“I think I’ve just been very grateful,” she said. “A lot of great things happening, especially in the last few months again and again.”

Bryan Angus (edit)

Rahm rules after big win at the Genesis Invitational. final results, prize money

 PGA Tour : Genesis Invitational final scores here.

He's won 5 of his last 9 starts on the DP World and PGA Tours, he's already won 3 times on this side of the pond after a another brilliant week, this time on the venerable Riviera course the venue for the Genesis Invitational.

Jon Rahm of Spain celebrates with the trophy at Genesis Invitational

He drives it well, hits all of his irons with accuracy, putts better than anyone right now, including in the clutch, and he's back to the worlds #1 spot, yes you can say Jon Rahm rules

He and Max Homa had a tight match going until Rahm's clutch 45 footer on the 14th then a soaring 8 iron to inside the leather on the par 3 16th put him ahead for good, 65 68 65 69 -17 worth $3,600,000 against 64 68 69 68 -15, $2,180,000 for the California Kid Max Homa

I like the way big Jon handles his stature in this game. His hero being from Spain is of course Seve, who's temperament he shares, his idol Tiger whom he grew up watching, and of whom he is so respectful. 

"Apart from Tiger in the past, he's the most consistent player in our game, I've known him since he was world #1 amateur, until now when he's world #1 professional, he's always been like this " said Homa in a post round interview.

Canadians :

T9 Adam Svensson 67 71 68 69 -9 didn't quite match Nick Taylor's 2nd place $2.18m from last week however a top 10 in this kind of company on Riviera is nothing to sneeze at. He won $545,000.

T33 Nick Taylor 69 74 70 68 -3 worth $104,429

T50 Mac Hughes 72 70 71 71 E worth $48,867

61st Corey Connors 71 72 75 69 +3 worth $44,600

66th Adam Hadwin 67 73 75 75 +6 worth 42,600 for 2nd last place.

The final leaderboard / prize money is available above. 

Special mentions: 

Will Zalatoris, the string bean from Florida closed with 64 and I am amazed at how much game he's got in that body of his. Finished 4th $980,000.

Sahith Theegala was driving his Volkswagen up and down the California coast in 2021/22 to tournaments when he almost won the WM Phoenix Open T3, T2 RSM Classic, T4 two weeks ago at Torrey Pines and after T6 this week worth $700,000 he has accrued just over $6,000,000 and is 33rd in the OWGR. 

Rory didn't have his A game this week, I watched him paired with Tiger and Justin Thomas. He was just stunning off the tee, On Friday the par 5 17th 605yds summed up his week. After a huge drive 388 yards he was standing on the green 40 yards from the hole in two. Tiger had found the fairway bunker, only advanced it 100 yards and then smashed a cut 6 iron to 3 feet while Rory was busy fixing all the plug marks waiting patiently on the green. Tiger holed his birdie 4 while Rory hit his chip fat, then 2 putted for the par 5 and walked off shaking his head. He never did master the poa annua greens.

Tiger finished T45 69 74 67 73 -1 which is almost immaterial, casual golf fans watched around the world in droves just to see some flashes of his former greatness. He clearly enjoyed being back out with the boys, at one point secretively gave Justin Thomas a tampon after out driving him, which of course was caught on camera causing the usual brouhaha on social media..oi vey !

Bryan Angus 

Olesen produces commanding win at the Thailand Classic... final results

 DP World Tour; 2023 Thailand Classic Results

Thorbjørn Olesen cruised to his seventh DP World Tour title as an exhibition of frontrunning saw him win the 2023 Thailand Classic by four shots.

The Dane went into the final round with a two-shot lead before making birdies at the first, second and sixth to stretch his advantage early on.

Six successive pars in the middle of Olesen's round allowed his countryman and playing partner Nicolai Højgaard to close the gap to two strokes once more, but the 33-year-old responded with a hat-trick of birdies from the 13th to move five clear with three holes to play.

And he safely parred his way home to sign for a bogey-free 66 and finish the tournament on 24 under par.

The win continues Olesen's fine record of converting 54-hole leads into victories, having now achieved the feat six times on the DP World Tour.

Germany's Yannik Paul finished alone in second place on 20 under after closing his 68 with a birdie.

Joost Luiten and Alexander Knappe were then in a tie for third another two shots further back.

Olesen got off to a fantastic start on Sunday, sending his approach at the first to around four feet before tapping in for an opening birdie.

He followed that up with another gain on the second and then moved to 21 under with a five-foot birdie putt at the sixth.

Olesen had to settle for pars on the next six holes before getting his fourth birdie of the day at the par-three 13th, rolling in from around 20 feet to restore the three-shot lead he had held at the turn.

He then sent his approach to a similar distance on the 14th before holing from long range once again to climb to 23 under.

And he made it three birdies in a row from close range on the par-five 15th before making a good par save at the 16th, having missed the fairway with his tee-shot.

After a long wait at the 17th tee, Olesen safely found the island green before two-putting for par and he also parred the last to keep his card clean.

Olesen, whose previous victory had come at last year’s Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett, was delighted to return to the winner's circle.

He said: "It's very special. Obviously the British Masters win was incredible, with my family, and it had been a long time since I won the last time.

"But equally this one, all the hard work and all the sacrifice from my wife. It's really nice."

Olesen was pleased with his performance on Sunday, adding: "It felt really good today, felt steady, I felt like I was in control and I just enjoyed playing golf today, which was very nice."

Meanwhile, Olesen's fellow Dane Oliver Hundebøll won a BMW iX xDrive40 after he made a hole-in-one at the par-three 13th on his way to a closing 67.

eropeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

It's Svensson's turn..Rahm the man Sunday at the Genesis Invitational... full scoreboard

 PGA Tour : Genesis Invitational here

Last week it was Nick Taylor's turn in Phoenix, finishing 2nd worth $2.18m, the biggest cheque by far in Canadian pro golf.

Adam Svensson

This Sunday it's Adam Svensson's turn. With rounds of 67 71 68 -7 he is T6. Last week that paid $652,500. To see how much every stroke can be worth at these $20,000,000 designated events consider these numbers from last week.

5th $820,000  4th $980,000  3rd  $1,380,000   2nd  $2,180,000  1st  $3,600,000

He is unlikely to catch big Jon Rahm 65 68 65 -15 who has a commanding 3 shot lead over Max Homa 64 68 69 -12 then Keith Mitchell 64 69 69 -11, but you can see if Adam can keep playing the way he has been, the dividends of making the cut are just enormous. He is in the penultimate pairing. 

TEE TIME : 1255pm 1st tee Adam Svensson -7 Gary Woodland -9  Patrick Cantlay -10 

Rahm won the first 2 tournaments of 2023, his worst finish was 7th, while Homa won at Torrey Pines 2 weeks ago, they have been the 2 best players this season on the PGA Tour, Rahm will finally return to world #1 with a win. Both have great records of winning in California. 

TEE TIME : 1.06pm 1st tee Jon Rahm -15, Max Homa -12, Keith Mitchell -11

It wasn't such a good moving day for the other 4 Canadians.

Mac Hughes 72 70 71 E  Nick Taylor 69 74 70 E are both T55

TEE TIME 12.22 10th SH Kim E, Mac Hughes E, Nick Taylor E

Adam Hadwin 67 73 75 +2  65th He started with a birdie 4 at the 1st hole, but then trouble. Bogey's at 4,6 and 9 and a triple at the par 4,7th. He drove it wide right into heavy rough, barely moved it with his 2nd, out into the fairway for 3, missed the green short sided 4, pitched on for 5, 2 putts for the 7 and out of contention with 40 strokes. 

Corey Connors 71 72 75 67th Corey had 4 bogey's and a double at the par 3 5th, against 2 birdies.

Rory hasn't had much luck on the greens 67 69 73 with 3 bogey's, just 1 birdie on Saturday,T18 -4. 

Tiger had his best day of the week after making the cut in last place at +1.  69 74 67. He began with a birdie 3 at the10th, added another at the par 3 14th and then thrilled his crowd at the 1st with a 310 yd drive, then a 190 approach to 3 feet for the eagle. He begins his Sunday 12 shots behind, but for his legions it was just nice to see him play better.

SUNDAY weather: More of the same, sunny high 20*c, slight breeze 6kph SW.

Bryan Angus

Saturday TEE TIMES..Genesis Invitational....live scoreboard

PGA Tour : Genesis Invitational: Saturday Tee Times here.

The 2nd round has just been completed and the Saturday pairings off split tees are available 

All 5 Canadians are as follows.

1206  1st tee  Adam Hadwin -2, David Lipsky, Scott Piercy

1239  1st tee  Adam Svensson -4, Harris English, Jhonattan Vegas

1250  10th tee  Mac Hughes E, Luke Donald, Adam Scott

1.01  10th tee  Corey Connors +1, Nick Taylor +1, Emiliano Grillo

Notables :

1.23  1st tee Rory McIlroy -6, Matt Kuchar, Danny Willett

1,45  1st tee  Max Homa -10, Jon Rahm -9, Keith Mitchell -9   (****leaders)

1,12 10th tee  Christiaan Bezuidenhout +1, Matthias Schwab +1, Tiger Woods +1

Weather : Partly sunny, 61*f, very little breeze.

Bryan Angus

Denmark's Olesen leads in Thailand heading into Sunday... complete scoreboard..

DP World Tour : Thailand Classic Leaderboard

Thorbjørn Olesen will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the 2023 Thailand Classic after firing a flawless 64 on Saturday.

The Dane bedecked in a nifty turquoise shirt and pants, began the day three shots off the lead but made four birdies on each nine on Moving Day to reach 18 under par and take over at the top of the leaderboard.

The 33-year-old has made a strong start to the 2023 campaign, finishing in the top 20 in all three of the events he has played so far.

And he will bid to convert that fine form into a seventh DP World Tour title in Sunday's final round.

His countryman Nicolai Højgaard and Germany's Yannik Paul were Olesen's nearest challengers on 16 under, with Joost Luiten another shot further back in solo fourth.

Olesen opened his third round with a birdie at the first before picking up another shot from around 15 feet at the third.

A beautiful approach into the sixth set up another birdie there, and he holed from ten feet at the ninth to close the front nine with his fourth gain of the day.

After making another birdie from around ten feet at the tenth, Olesen gave himself a good eagle chance on the 11th but had to settle for a third straight birdie.

And he made it four in a row at the 12th before pulling off a good par save on the 13th to keep his card clean.

Olesen then got his eighth birdie at the par-five 15th, having reached the green in two from a fairway bunker and two-putted.

He continued to give himself chances on the way home but parred the final three holes.

Olesen said: "I think overall it was a pretty good round. 

"I didn't get in a lot of trouble and at some of the par fours and par fives I hit it pretty close and could two-putt for birdie.

"I made it fairly easy today for myself, which is nice. It's not always like that."

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

 

Cut line at +1 keeps all five Canadians and Tiger in for the weekend... full scoreboard

 PGA Tour : Genesis Invitational Leaderboard

Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Hideki Matsuyama and Matt Fitzpatrick are all big names in this game but none will feature in the lucrative weekend beginning this morning on Riviera at the Genesis Invitational.

It could have been much worse with the cut sitting at E most of the day, it eventually slipped to +1 with the hard bumpy poa annua greens taking their toll, and with 14 players still coming back out early to finish round 2, it is where it will stay.

That means all 5 Canadians will be in play, and in the bigger picture a struggling Tiger has squeezed in with them T60th 69 74. 

If you were watching on line, he drove it poorly T105 in accuracy and 81st in strokes gained off the tee, He also lost 2 shots to the field in SG putting which was painful to watch him miss 5 putts inside 8 feet. He faded badly making bogey's in 3 of his last 4 holes. Only some superb iron play kept him in touch early on.

So Max Homa, the California Kid leads again after 36 holes 64 68 -10 with Jon Rahm 65 68, Keith Mitchell 64 69 and Lee Hodges 67 66 all T2 -9.

Canadians: 

Adam Svensson 67 71 -4 T12

Adam Hadwin 67 73 -2 T29

Mac Hughes 72 70 E T51

Corey Connors 72 71 +1 T60

Nick Taylor 69 74 +1 T60

Round 3 tee times have not yet been posted until round 2 is completed early this morning 710am local (10.10am est). Round 3 is expected to begin off split tees 8.40am local 11.40am est)

Bryan Angus

Spaniard Cabrera Bello leads after 36 holes in Thailand... complete scoreboard

 DP World Tour : Thailand Classic Leaderboard

Rafa Cabrera Bello holds a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the 2023 Thailand Classic after finishing his second round with a flourish.

Four-time DP World Tour winner Cabrera Bello started brightly playing the back nine first on Friday morning, but his two early birdies at the 11th and 12th were cancelled out by a double-bogey five on the difficult 17th.

The 38-year-old staged an impressive recovery, though, firing seven birdies in his last ten holes to sign for a 65 and go into the weekend on -13 

Fabrizio Zanotti is Cabrera Bello's nearest challenger on 11 under after making an eagle, four birdies and one bogey in his 67.

Kazuki Higa, Thriston Lawrence, Alexander Knappe, Yannik Paul, Thorbjørn Olesen and Christoffer Bring were then in a six-way tie for third another shot further back, one clear of the group containing home favourite Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

Cabrera Bello gave himself another outside birdie chance at the ninth - his last hole of the day - but had to settle for a closing par and the clubhouse lead.

None of the later starters were able to catch Cabrera Bello, who was pleased with his response to the double bogey - his only blemish of the week so far.

He said: "The 17th is a tough hole and it was pretty windy. I got a wind gust, I didn't hit that bad of a shot, but it is what it is.

"I just kept my head down and kept focusing on what I was doing. The birdie on the 18th put me right back on track and I played an excellent front nine.

"I've been doing a lot of work over the break on my swing and trying to make it better. I feel some weeks it really clicks, other weeks it's not quite there. 

"I'm trending in the right direction and happy the swing is feeling good this week and I'm making good scores."

The cut fell at -3. Nice to see the DP World Tour allowing the guys to wear shorts.. finally..

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)