New World order adds spice to Tiger's return

For many of you the return of Tiger Woods to competitive golf this week at Torrey Pines  (was originally called "The Andy Williams San Diego Open Invitational " back in 1968 when Tom Weiskopf won the first one, it's now on it's 9th title " The Farmers Insurance Open" ) will be the first time you pay any attention to golf in 2011, it isn't of any interest to many of you unless Tiger is playing...

No number of great stories, like Jhonattan Vegas overcoming the odds to become the first Venezuelan to win on the PGA tour to qualify for the Masters, or Martin Kaymer's stunning 8 shot win over a world class field in Abu Dhabi etc etc are of any interest, just Tiger.

For those of you who read all my stuff or listen to me on the radio you will know that I say there is good and bad in that. Good that Tiger draws attention from all fans to our sport, bad that our sport does not matter unless Tiger is playing and you know that my stance is that is bad for golf now and in the long run.

However the recent well documented change in power in world golf from the PGA tour to the European tour and the emergence of the best players in the world from that tour has only added spice to the ballyhoo you will experience with Tiger's return on Thursday.

It was of great enough interest to see how he is driving it, pitching and putting it, especially on 2 courses and in a tournament he has won 6 times, but more importantly now he has a mountain to climb.

No longer does he strike fear into the heart of the rest of the field, in fact at times last year there was empathy from his fellow pros, many of whom like Martin Kaymer this weekend still call him "the greatest player in the world"

No longer does he command our unmitigated respect and admiration for him as a man and all he stood for as his all too human personal life and his gradual recovery from it unravels in front of us.

No longer is he #1 or #2 in the world and guys he is not even close to being #3 or even #53..

Here are some facts from 2010..  Driving Accuracy 165th, GIR 167th, Scoring Average 138th, Sand Saves 123rd, Total Driving 192nd, Putts per round 58th, GIR fron fairway bunkers 149th, Total Eagles 122nd, Total Birdies 184th, Money List 68th etc etc..

Any of that sound like a world #3 ?  In 2009 he was  1st in many of these categories.. How far his game has fallen.

Here is the new top 10 in the world

1 Lee Westwood, Eng 8.69 399.85 46 -25.10 0.00

2 Martin Kaymer, Deu 8.09 388.43 48 -23.37 56.00
3 Tiger Woods, USA 7.13 285.03 40 -30.23 0.00
4 Graeme McDowell, Nir 6.42 359.24 56 -13.85 39.60
5 Steve Stricker, USA 6.02 258.94 43 -23.84 19.98
6 Phil Mickelson, USA 5.99 263.63 44 -26.57 2.02
7 Rory McIlroy, Nir 5.93 319.96 54 -21.41 33.60
8 Jim Furyk, USA 5.65 271.04 48 -21.99 7.00
9 Paul Casey, Eng 5.63 247.73 44 -21.51 3.92
10 Luke Donald, Eng

None of them except for Phil Mickelson are in the field this week ( incidentally all 5 of our Canucks are ) and we won't see Tiger up against the likes of McDowell, Kaymer or Westwood for 3 weeks when he goes to the middle east to play in Dubai. After that, they come over to play in the WGC Matchplay in late February or the WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral in the 2nd week of March when the European tour guys start their run over here for the Masters..

Remember how Graeme McDowell stuffed Tiger right in his own Chevron tournament late last year.!!

You see he has a mountain to climb now, and with the new world order it is going to be fascinating to watch him climb it, or fall on his arse trying...


Note : Congratulations are in order to Rod Spittle our Canuck on the Champions Tour for his T16 at the Mitsubishi in Hawaii... John Cook birdied 5 holes in a row to beat Tom Lehman., and to Dion Sirianni of Kamloops who tied for 25th place at the Asian Tour’s qualifying tournament in Thailand on Saturday to earn full playing privileges for 2011

Kaymer's clinic in Abu Dhabi moves him to #2 in the World...Shootout in store at the Hope..

Martin Kaymer still considers Tiger Woods the best player in the world and said of being ahead of him in the rankings: "Hopefully I can stay there for a while."

Typically modest of this 25 year old German superstar who has just decimated a very strong field to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship for the 3rd time in a row, they'll need a new trophy next year because he gets to keep this one.

He shot 66,66 this weekend for a record breaking -24 264 total, eight shots clear of Rory McIlroy who had a 65,69 ( -16 total) weekend of his own !! Retief Goosen (64) and who else, Graeme McDowell (67) were T3 at -14.

Kaymer did not have a single bogey in his final 60 holes..Of his last 18 rounds 15 have been in the 60's.. He becomes the quickest player to earn over €10 million in European Tour Official Career Earnings, in just 100 events, beating the previous record of Sergio Garcia who took 111 events to pass the €10 million mark in 2007..

I consider this my home course, it suits my game perfectly  he would say afterward.. No kidding !!

The records go on and on, and trust me for those of you who don't follow this guy, he will be the world's number 1 player sooner rather than later.

For the first time in 18 years, European golfers occupy the top 2 spots in the world. Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer were the last. Graeme McDowell has also pushed Phil Mickelson out of the #4 spot.

Phil Mickelson (70) T37 was never a factor and now flies back to Torrey Pines where he and Tiger will get all the hoopla next week

Lee Westwood (73) had a poor showing this week and ended up T64 and Charl Schwartzel (72) cooled off but still finished T8

Paddy Harrington visited the broadcast booth with some great insight, notably that he thought Rory McIlroy's game will improve more playing in Europe this year as opposed to the States because every time he tees it up in Europe he is expected to be in contention, if not to win, and being in contention every week will make him a better player..

Paddy also talked about how he grew up playing with a half set of clubs, his brother had the other half, and he is adamant that young players should do the same to make them better shot makers. He would not let them use any wedge higher than a PW and would take their drivers out of the bag.

Finally he also mentioned that Martin Kaymer's father would not let him use a tee, forcing him to learn how to 'squeeze" the golf ball when striking it..

World Rankings

1. Lee Westwood
2 Martin Kaymer
3 Tiger Woods
4 Graeme McDowell
5 Steve Stricker
6. Phil Mickelson


Leader board

 1 KAYMER, Martin -24 18 -6 67 65 66 66 264

2 MCILROY, Rory -16 18 -3 71 67 65 69 272

T3 GOOSEN, Retief -14 18 -8 70 71 69 64 274
T3 MCDOWELL, Graeme -14 18 -5 66 70 71 67 274

T5 MAYBIN, Gareth -12 18 -3 71 67 69 69 276
T5 LYNN, David -12 18 Par 69 68 67 72 276

7 CABRERA-BELLO, Rafael -11 18 -6 71 73 67 66 277

T8 MOLINARI, Francesco -10 18 -6 71 72 69 66 278
T8 GONZALEZ, Ricardo -10 18 -5 72 68 71 67 278
T8 SCHWARTZEL, Charl -10 18 Par 64 71 71 72 278


PGA Tour.. Bob Hope Classic

10 players are within 5 shots of the lead going into today's final round, and most of them are a bunch of guys in their 20's including the 2 leaders Gary Woodland (66)  and Jhonattan Vegas (66) at- 24

Chris Baryla (70),  Mike Weir (72) and Matt McQuillan (77) all missed the cut
Stephen Ames (68) sterts the day 9 shots off the lead..

Leader board

T1 4 Gary Woodland (PP) -24 65 69 64 66 264
T1 3 Jhonattan Vegas (PP) -24  64 67 67 66 264

3 11 Martin Laird (PP) -22  68 68 64 66 266

T4 14 Chris Kirk (PP) -21  69 68 64 66 267
T4 10 Bill Haas (PP) -21  69 68 68 62 267
T4 15 Daniel Summerhays (PP) -21  69 66 68 64 267
T4 24 Keegan Bradley (PP) -21  66 67 68 66 267

8 36 Greg Chalmers (PP) -20  67 67 65 69 268

T9 21 Kevin Na (PP) -19  69 67 68 65 269
T9 40 Charles Howell III (PP) -19  66 66 70 67 269
T9 7 Matt Kuchar (PP) -19  66 70 67 66 269
T9 23 Boo Weekley (PP) -19  65 66 72 66 269


Bryan Angus

Vegas joined by Woodland on top at the Hope..Kaymer running away in Abu Dhabi

AP...Gary Woodland shot an 8-under 64 on Friday to join Jhonattan Vegas in the lead after three rounds of the Bob Hope Classic, remember they play 5 here.

Vegas maintained his steady play  with a -5 67, on the Silver Rock course, keeping a share of the lead for the second straight day.

Woodland and Vegas are the same age (26) with the same Nationwide Tour background, and they have similarly ferocious power off the tee. They're among the longest hitters in the Hope field.

Australia's Greg Chalmers (65) was a stroke back at 17-under 199, while Scotland's Martin Laird was 16 under after a bogey-free 64. Sixteen players were within five shots of the lead, including Matt Kuchar (13 under after a 67) and second-round co-leader Boo Weekley, also 13 under after a 72 at Silver Rock

Currently the cut is projected at -7, so here are our Canucks's scores.

Stephen Ames -11 shot another -4 68  and is at La Quinta today, 7 shots back
Chris Baryla is right on the cut line at -7 also playing LQ today he shot -2 70 on Friday
Matt McQuillan shot a +1 73 Friday and he is at -2 playing LQ today so needs 67 at least today maybe lower
Mike Weir is at +2 and will miss the cut..

EUROPEAN TOUR

I was out early at the gym this morning then over for the big Scottish breakfast I make Dad every Saturday so we didn't see a shot of this so here is the leader board and remember Kaymer has won this the last 2 years !!

With a 5 shot lead it should be three !!

1 KAYMER, Martin -18 18 -6 67 65 66 - 198

2 MCILROY, Rory -13 18 -7 71 67 65 - 203
3 LYNN, David -12 18 -5 69 68 67 - 204
T4 NOREN, Alexander -10 18 -5 66 73 67 - 206
T4 SCHWARTZEL, Charl -10 18 -1 64 71 71 - 206
T6 MAYBIN, Gareth -9 18 -3 71 67 69 - 207
T6 MCDOWELL, Graeme -9 18 -1 66 70 71 - 207
T8 GOYA, Tano* -8 18 -7 70 73 65 - 208
T8 COLSAERTS, Nicolas -8 18 -3 72 67 69 - 208
T8 ECHENIQUE, Rafa -8 18 -1 69 68 71 - 208
T8 FASTH, Niclas -8 18 -1 66 71 71 - 208


CHAMPIONS TOUR

I watched a bunch of this last night and these guys make what is a tough Hualalai course at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii with a steady breeze blowing right off the Pacific look easy. Freddie got a lot of air time with his new running /golf shoes by ECCO, but Russ Cochrane has come alive ever since they went to play in Korea late last year.
 
Here is the AP report
Russ Cochrane had two eagles and six birdies in a career-best 10-under 62 on to take the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship.

The 52-year-old left-hander, a two-time winner last season, was near-perfect in his bogey-free round on a breezy day at Hualalai. He had a two-stroke lead over defending champion Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw.

With son Ryan on the bag, Cochran missed just one green in regulation. After making the turn in 32, Cochran had two eagles and two birdies in the next six holes to shoot atop the leaderboard.

On the 566-yard 11th, Cochran hit a 4-iron to 5 feet for eagle. He took the outright lead at 9 under four holes later, sinking a 20-foot eagle putt after a second hybrid approach.

Cochran's 6-foot birdie putt on No. 15 gave him a two-stroke lead over the Hall of Fame duo Watson and Crenshaw, who were already in the clubhouse. Cochran had birdie putts on the last three holes, but couldn't add to his lead.

After going decades on the PGA Tour without touching a trophy, Cochran last year won the Posco E&C Songdo Championship and SAS Championship in consecutive starts in September and had 11 top-10 finishes. He ended up fourth on the money list with nearly $1.8 million


Bryan Angus

Kaymer opens up a 3 shot lead after round 2 in Abu Dhabi.. Harrington disqualified

Round 2 has just wrapped up in Abu Dhabi and 3 of the hottest names in golf are at the top, and one called Padraig Harrington isn't, more on that later..

Martin Kaymer shot a beautiful -7 65, -12 132 total good for a 3 shot lead over guess who Charl Schwartzel who 'slipped' to a -1 71  -9 135 and the ever present Graeme McDowell -2 70 -8 136.

Rory McIlroy got back into contention with his -5 67  -6 138, he is T7.

Phil Mickelson had a -2 70 and is T25 and Lee Westwood is right on the cut line at E after an uncharacteristic +3 75 which included 2 doubles and a bogey on a back nine of 41..


1 KAYMER, Martin -12 18 -7 67 65 - - 132

2 SCHWARTZEL, Charl* -9 18 -1 64 71 - - 135
3 MCDOWELL, Graeme* -8 18 -2 66 70 - - 136
T4 LYNN, David -7 18 -4 69 68 - - 137
T4 FASTH, Niclas -7 18 -1 66 71 - - 137
T4 ECHENIQUE, Rafa -7 18 -4 69 68 - - 137
T7 MAYBIN, Gareth -6 18 -5 71 67 - - 138
T7 MCILROY, Rory* -6 18 -5 71 67 - - 138
T7 KJELDSEN, Søren -6 18 -3 69 69 - - 138
T7 COLES, Robert -6 18 -2 68 70 - - 138


PADDY HARRINGTON DISQUALIFIED

Following on the heels of Eliot Saltman's 3 month ban for incorrectly marking his ball, Padraig Harrington has been disqualified for touching his ball after he marked it on the 7th green. The ball moved a dimple and a half forward and he failed to replace it.

Here is the official story from his press conference including his views on the penalty and the role of TV in penalties and you will notice the lack of yelling and arguing with the referee like so many other sports despite Paddy's bitter disappointment

Padraig Harrington has been disqualified from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after being called to review an incident in his opening 65.

The three-time major winner, one off the lead overnight in Abu Dhabi, did not tee off in the second round after his hand brushed the back of his ball as he replaced it in front of his marker on the seventh green.

Andy McFee, European Tour Senior Referee, explained the ruling in a statement which said: “Harrington was disqualified for a breach of Rule 6-6d for signing for the wrong score on hole seven during the first round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

“On the seventh green, Padraig replaced his ball and as he began to remove his marker, his finger was seen on TV to brush the ball, causing it to move. The movement of the ball during the specific act of replacing it is covered by Rule 20-3a and there is no penalty to this movement, but the ball must be replaced.

“Because the ball was not replaced, there is a breach of Rule 20-3a, the penalty for which is two strokes. As this penalty was not included in the score for hole seven, Padraig was disqualified for a breach of Rule 6-6d, signing for the wrong score on hole seven.”

Harrington said: "I was aware I hit the ball picking up my coin. I looked down at the time and was pretty sure it had just oscillated and had not moved, so I continued on.
"In slow motion it's pretty clear the ball has moved three dimples forward and it's come back maybe a dimple and a half.

"At the end of the day that's good enough, but I wouldn't have done anything differently yesterday - there was nothing I could do about it at that moment in time.
"If I'd called a referee over it would have been pointless because if he'd asked me where my ball was I'd have said it was there. As far as I was concerned it didn't move."

He added: “I felt I knew the rule at the time. I applied the rule as best I could in the situation but looking at the video today, it's pretty clear that it, you know, it's a hundred per cent looks like the ball has moved forward and not far enough back, and that's the issue at heart.

“I do believe that the rule is correct in terms of we have to be very precise about how we mark our golf balls and position the golf ball is in, and I do agree, I do fully agree, even though it's only a dimple and a half, in the end of the day, you know, somebody down the road could use five dimples as being okay and the next guy would use an inch as being okay.

“So I think it's fair enough that the penalty is there on the face of it.”

McFee also said: "It's a minute movement, but it's a movement and he never replaced it, so he should have included a two-stroke penalty.

"The fact that he is unaware he moved the ball unfortunately does not help him. Because he signed for a score lower than actually taken the penalty is disqualification."

The severity of the penalty will inevitably spark debate but Harrington was swift to back the rules.

“I would argue, though, in general, it does serve the game well that we have the best rules of any sport. They are applied across the board all the time. It's the one thing all golfers love about their sport is the fact that we can stand up and say, we have the best rules, we are the fairest, we call them on ourselves.

“I think in this situation and other situations like that, with the new technology, maybe going forward, that the penalties can be changed. But the actual rulings have to stay where they are. You know, as I said, 1 1/2 dimples becomes, as I said, half an inch becomes an inch; where do you stop?

“The rules are good, we abide very well, the players love the fact that we apply them and everybody who plays the game. You know, if there's somebody in your golf club that doesn't apply the rules, you know, everybody knows about it, and everybody ostracizes them. We love the standard that we play by. We have to stick to that, that's the best thing about our game.”

The role of television in this incident will also be a hot topic but again Harrington was swift to answer that point.

"I want to be on television. I want to have those ten million people watching me because that means I'm doing well.
"f I'm not on television and nobody is watching, I'm missing the cut.
"At the end of the day, like anything else, there's a little bit of extra responsibility not just with the rules but your etiquette, everything like that. When you get up the ranks and you get on that television, you have responsibilities and you're playing with a bigger audience and there's more distractions and there's more things going on.


"And if you want to be the best player in the world, if you want to be one of those players, you have to accept that there is the little bit of extra responsibility as you become a better player, and you'd better embrace it.

"The fact that the camera isn't on the guy who is down the field doesn't make any difference. As he becomes a better player, it will be on him. There's no competitive edge, let's say in, that sense. And it's fair enough. That's the responsibility of any player doing what it takes."

Bryan Angus

'Jhonny' Vegas beats the odds to lead the' Hope' with Boo..

In his home country of  Venezuela golf is viewed  by President Hugo Chavez as a pastime of the rich, and he is constantly threatening to take over the land they occupy to build homes..

Maybe if Jhonattan Vegas keeps up his fine play and wins the Hope, he will be able to temper his President's viewpoint,.. no telling what a little positive publicity not to mention a financial contribution can do to win over a politician !!!

I noticed the wind had got up a bit in otherwise perfect scoring conditions ( what else do you ever see at the Hope) and Vegas shot a 5-under 67 on the Nicklaus private course to go with his opening 64 -13 131 


Weekley had a 66 to match Vegas at -13. Charles Howell III (66) and Chris Couch (65) were a stroke back at -12

Mike Weir continues to struggle in a tournament he usually excels at. He shot at nasty +3 75 which included 3 double bogey's, he leads the tournament in that category with 4 already. He is all over the place with his driver T119 in accuracy and T117 in GIR.  He is T121st near the bottom of the field and I can already hear the question " is Weirsy done ?"

Better news for Stephen Ames who moved up 24 spots to a T30 with a -4 68  -7 total, 6 shots off the lead. He had 6 birdies in his round playing the North Palmer course and he is our top Canuck

Chris Baryla dropped 8 spots T62 @-5 after his -2 70 on the same course. He had 4 birdies on the first nine but slipped a bit with 3 bogey's and a birdie on the back

Matt McQuillan came back to earth with a thud. He took a double bogey 6 on his first hole, dropping 76 spots to a T80 after a +4 76 on the North Palmer course. He went on to add 5 bogey's and 3 birdies and although he putted well (T15) he is near the bottom of the field T117 in GIR and driving accuracy T108..

T1 1 3 Jhonattan Vegas (NP) -13 F* -5  64 67 131
T1 3 1 Boo Weekley (NP) -13 F* -6 65 66 131

T3 7 11 Charles Howell III (PP) -12 F -6  66 66 132
T3 17 12 Chris Couch (SR) -12 F -7  67 65 132
T5 5 23 Keegan Bradley (PP) -11 F -5  66 67 133
T5 15 24 Brian Davis (NP) -11 F* -6  67 66 133
T7 13 38 Cameron Tringale (NP) -10 F* -5  67 67 134
T7 3 16 John Senden (LQ) -10 F* -4 66 68 134
T7 47 16 Jeff Overton (PP) -10 F -7  69 65 134
T7 13 38 Greg Chalmers (PP) -10 F* -5  67 67 134
T7 3 38 Peter Tomasulo (LQ) -10 F -4  66 68 134
T7 3 38 Gary Woodland (LQ) -10 F* -3 65 69 134

Bryan Angus

Why Lee Westwood will not be at the Players Championship

Here is the reason behind world number 1 Lee Westwood's decision not to play at the Players Championship in May, considered the toughest field in golf and the fifth major, and it all comes down to his decision not to play primarily on the PGA tour this year, and also to the rules the PGA tour has governing non members

Clearly this will cause a controversy over here, but it is simply a result of the hectic world wide schedule that he is committed to..

Here is what he told the media in Abu Dhabi just minutes ago..

Reuters..Lee Westwood has defended his decision not to play in golf’s unofficial fifth major at the Players Championship and criticised PGA Tour members for not coming over to Europe.


The British world number one finished joint fourth last year at one of the sport’s most lucrative events (Players) and his decision will not please the PGA Tour, which would want the world’s top-ranked player in the elite Sawgrass field. “I am not a member of the PGA Tour so I don’t need to play the event,” Westwood told Reuters after posting a three-under-par 69 in the Abu Dhabi Championship first round on Thursday.

“After the two opening World Golf Championships (events) I would bracket our (European Tour) PGA Championship in May as just as important as it offers exemption for anybody in the world’s top 50 to play,” he added.

“I don’t see many of them (Americans) wanting to take up that offer. So you can’t really please everyone, can you?”

A non-PGA Tour member is entitled to accept three invitations, and if he is inside the top-50 in the world rankings, can contest the Players Championship.

Westwood has accepted invitations to play the Honda Classic in March, the Houston Open the week before the year’s first major at the U.S. Masters in April, and the St. Jude Championship in June where he is the defending champion.

The Englishman will also play three events in a row starting with the Feb. 23-27 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, the Honda Classic and the WGC-Cadillac Championship.

“Even with an invite I would not be able to prepare properly and that’s not the way to go into a big event like the Players,” added the 37-year-old Englishman. “I can understand what the PGA Tour might feel about my decision and they have every right to think that.”

Westwood intends to take a week’s break when the Players tournament commences on May 12 at Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida.

“I wouldn’t want to be playing in the Players Championship given that I wouldn’t have played (on the U.S. Tour) since the Masters in early April,” he said.

Westwood will also play in the inaugural Indonesian Masters at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club in from April 21-24 before taking part in the Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea the following week.


Here is Lee's proposed schedule for the early part of 2011

20 - 23 January 2011
Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship: Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, UAE

03 - 06 February 2011
Commercialbank Qatar Masters: Doha Golf Club, Qatar, UAE

10 - 13 February 2011
Omega Dubai Desert Classic 2011: Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, UAE

23 - 26 February 2011
WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship: Ritz Carlton GC, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona, USA

03 - 06 March 2011
The Honda Classic: PGA National Champion Course, Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA

10 - 14 March 2011
WGC - Cadillac Championship: Doral Resort & Spa, Doral, Florida, USA

31 March 2011 - 03 April 2011
Shell Houston Open: Redstone GC Tournament Course, Humble, Texas, USA

07 - 10 April 2011
MASTERS TOURNAMENT: Augusta National, Georgia, USA

21-24 April 2011
Indonesian Masters- Royal Jakarta GC

28 April 2011 - 01 May 2011
Ballantine's Championship: Blackstone GC, Icheon, Seoul, South Korea

June 09 - 12
FedEx St. Jude Classic..TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee

16 - 19 June 2011
US OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP: Congressional CC, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

14 - 17 July 2011
THE 140TH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP: Royal St George's, Sandwich, Kent

11 - 14 August 2011
US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Georgia, USA


Bryan Angus

Schwartzel leads in Abu Dhabi... McQuillan just 2 behind at La Quinta.

I've been writing a lot about Charl Schwartzel early in this 2011 season, after his sensational South African swing culminating in his win last week in Joburg and earlier this morning he continued his great play with a -8 64 to take the first round lead at this Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

During that swing and including today he is only- 69 for his last 17 rounds !!! Obviously the world's hottest golfer right now and he thinks he is having trouble with his swing !!


“I've been struggling with my game, with my swing, for a while. Around a golf course like this, it's not best thing to be doing that.
“It just worked well today - drove the ball well and gave myself lots of opportunities and converted most of my chances, just a really solid round.”

He is #23 in the OWGR right now....“I feel I'm a good enough player to be in the top ten in the world. I don't like to think too far ahead, sort of play with each week what it gives you.

 Padraig Harrington is second at -7 65 and he has a new putting practice routine where he makes 3 practice putts over the top of the ball !! "One thing showed up in the States last year. I was about 156th in every putting category, so something needed to be done."


He hasn't won on tour since the 2008 PGA

Graeme McDowell is still red hot and he showed it by making birdie on his last 5 holes to come home in 30 for a -6 66, good for 3rd along with Niclas Fasth and Alex Noren, both Swedes..
Defending champ Martin Kaymer -5 67 and Lee Westwood is at -3 69.. Phil Mickelson is at -1 71 playing in the middle East for the first time.

Figure this one out.. World #1 Lee Westwood  confirmed that he will not be playing the Players Championship in Florida in May because of US PGA Tour restrictions placed on him as a non-member. More on that later.

McDowell held his breath because he had to have a ruling from the referee after his round, but Andy McPhee ruled his ball had oscillated but not moved as he addressed it before his pitch to the last.


 1 SCHWARTZEL, Charl -8 18 -8 64 - - - 64

 2 HARRINGTON, Padraig* -7 18 -7 65 - - - 65
 T3 NOREN, Alexander* -6 18 -6 66 - - - 66
T3 MCDOWELL, Graeme -6 18 -6 66 - - - 66
T3 FASTH, Niclas* -6 18 -6 66 - - - 66
T6 KAYMER, Martin* -5 18 -5 67 - - - 67
T6 WILLETT, Danny -5 18 -5 67 - - - 67
T8 BOYD, Gary* -4 18 -4 68 - - - 68
T8 EDFORS, Johan -4 18 -4 68 - - - 68
T8 HANSEN, Anders* -4 18 -4 68 - - - 68
T8 GARRIDO, Ignacio* -4 18 -4 68 - - - 68
T8 RUMFORD, Brett -4 18 -4 68 - - - 68
T8 COLES, Robert* -4 18 -4 68 - - - 68
T8 GREEN, Richard -4 18 -4 68 - - - 68
T15 WESTWOOD, Lee* -3 18 -3 69 - - - 69


PGA TOUR Bob Hope Classic

Much is made of rookies on tour being at a disadvantage in part because they have to learn all the nuances of new tour courses...

Kingston's Matt McQuillen made nonsense of that theory, firing a -7 65 to T4 in a group that included Boo Weekley.
My pal and fine golf writer for the Sun and Golf News Now Ian Hutchinson was the first I saw to mention that Matt had been out in California practising in preparation for this season and it has obviously paid off..

He scorched the first 9 holes on the Palmer Private course with 4 birdies and an eagle for 30 !!

He only got into the field because Donnie Hammond withdrew.

Chris Baryla of Vernon, B.C., and Calgary's Stephen Ames both shot a -3 69 T53 on the Palmer course while Mike Weir of Bright's Grove, Ont., opened with an even-par 72 T107, also over the Palmer course.


The leader is tour sophomore Derek Lamely who's -9 63 included a birdie/eagle streak of 7-under (Nos. 2-7/B-B-B-B-E-B) in 6 holes !!!

Play is under way in round 2.

Bryan Angus




































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McDowell survived a rules inquiry after his round, with European Tour senior referee Andy McFee judging that the Ulsterman's ball had oscillated but not moved as he addressed it before his pitch to the last.



His 66 stood as a result and Willett was alongside him after another birdie at the 17th, but the 23 year old vicar's son finished with a disappointing bogey six and slipped back to joint sixth.