Internationals' brilliant rally brings Presidents Cup alive..

Presidents Cup teams http://www.presidentscup.com/

Friday four-ball results, Saturday foursome pairings http://www.presidentscup.com/livescoring.html

There was some awful golf, there was some brilliant shots, there was a rarely invoked penalty, but most important there was a tremendous rally by the Internationals in front of massive crowds to breathe life back into this Presidents Cup and set up an enthralling set of foursome and four-ball matches on Saturday.

After trailing 4-1 at the completion of the foursomes on Thursday, which Charl Schwartzel said "really woke us up" they went out overnight (here) and won 3 matches and halved another and as a result the U.S. will go into Saturday's morning foursomes with a 5.5 to 4.5 lead.

After a strong pep talk from captain Nick Price following Thursday's debacle Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace got them off to a massive start handily beating the heavily favoured Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson, 4 & 3 after Oothuizen rolled in a long birdie putt on the eighth, and then Grace won nine and ten with birdies of his own. Spieth said afterwards it was the "worst round of golf I've played in a  long time, so yeah Merry Christmas to them"

In the second match Danny Lee let nerves get the better of him but his partner, Sangmoon Bae delighted the enormous Korean crowd  when he dramatically rolled in a 20 foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to clinch the win over Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler. That putt will be one of the lasting memories of this first Presidents Cup played in Asia.

Charl Schwartzel back in the team after a bout with a vicious virus played beautifully and along with his partner Thongchai Jaidee gave the Internationals their third win by beating Bill Haas and Chris Kirk 2 & 1 after both Americans drove into the water on the 18th.

The only U.S. win was supplied by Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes, who beat Marc Leishman and Steven Bowditch 2 up in a sloppy match full of sprayed tee shots, missed putts and some brilliant recoveries.

Now to the feature match where Australia's two best, Adam Scott and Jason Day managed a halve for the Internationals playing Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson who as usual was at the center of attention after he lost a hole when he was penalized for changing his ball to a different type at the 7th hole, then holed a brilliant 140 yard bunker shot

First  Phil on the changed ball incident.  "It threw me for a loop that we have a one-ball rule that we've never really had and I didn't think much about it. But it's my responsibility to know that. I should have at least asked about before I teed off."

He explained that since Day and Scott were so long they could reach the par 5 7th, he changed to a firmer ball in order to get more distance off the tee. Now the plot thickens because after he was informed he had violated the One-Ball Condition, an official incorrectly told Mickelson to pick up his ball when Mickelson actually could have continued playing in an attempt to win or halve the hole. The U.S., which was all square in the match, lost No. 7 to Day’s birdie

As a result captain Jay Haas was informed that, as a penalty for Mickelson’s violation, another hole was added to the team’s deficit, dropping them to 2 down in the match.

Later we received this missive from the Match Committee read: “The penalty for breach of (the one-ball rule) is a one-hole adjustment to the state of the match. This means that at the conclusion of the seventh hole … the state of the match is adjusted by one hole.”

The problem I have with all this is that Mickelson could have continued playing the hole in order to win or halve it.  Had he halved Day’s birdie at No. 7, the U.S. would have been just 1 down after the penalty was applied.

Next the bunker shot.  After he drove into a fairway bunker with a pretty steep lip at the 12th Mickelson took his stance then cleanly clipped a pitching wedge from 140 yards, and we all watched as it landed on the green, jumped to the right and went straight in the hole for an eagle to give the United States the lead, his second holed bunker shot this week.

Jason Day got that one back with a birdie at the par-5 15th hole but his partner Adam Scott who has changed back to a traditional length putter missed opportunities at the next two holes failing to make a 20 footer at the 16th and 10 footer at 17. He changed back and forth from a crossed handed grip, to the claw, to a normal grip and that tells you all you need to know about his putting woes.

In fact despite getting the 2 hole penalty in their favour it took a pressure packed 7 foot putt at 18 by Day to salvage a halve in the match.

So there are 8 matches on the slate for Saturday (they start around 7pm EST tonight) and I have posted the morning foursomes which the US have dominated so far  in the link above and they will be followed by four-balls and there is rain is in the morning forecast in the morning.

Rain or shine, we now have a match to look forward to after the International rally.

Bryan Angus

USA dominates foursomes at Presidents Cup, Friday four-ball pairings, preview

Presidents Cup Teams http://www.presidentscup.com/

Presidents Cup foursome results, and Friday fourball pairings  http://www.presidentscup.com/livescoring.html

Official world rankings http://www.owgr.com/ranking

If you are just getting up and about and thinking of watching a little Presidents Cup action, you are too late.!!

Korea is 13 hours ahead of EST, and play for day one foursomes is already in the books and I have good news and bad news..

First the good news is for the American team and supporters as they have got off to a dream start, up 4-1. The bad news is for the event itself. The last thing the Presidents Cup needs is another USA win
especially another whitewash. With a losing 8-1-1 record, it is time for the International Team to make a match of it.

Only the South African pairing of Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen managed a win, 3&2 over Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed.

Playing with his Aussie mate Steven Bowditch, Jason Day did manage to make a monster putt on the 17th to get to 1 down against Mickelson and Zach Johnson, but ended up conceding the match on the 18th. Phil has now won 21 Presidents Cup matches, second to Tiger's 24.

Big bombers Bubba Watson and fill in JB Holmes got just the start International captain Nick Price didn't want, a sold 3&2 win over Adam Scott who has gone off the radar since winning the Crown Plaza in May 2014, after he got married following the Masters and subsequently had a daughter Bo Vera Scott, and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama.

Anirban Lahiri is Indian and has had a dream year, now ranked 39th in the world and the little Thailand star Thongchai Jaidee is a great competitor but they were just overwhelmed by Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker who won 3 of the first 4 holes and never looked back winning 5&4.

Now who is going to beat Jordan Spieth and the guy he asked captain Jay Haas to play with, Dustin Johnson in foursomes? Certainly not Kiwi Danny Lee and Aussie Marc Leishman who can both make a ton of birdies when they are hot, but with DJ hitting all the par 5's and Spieth making a lot of putts they are a deadly combo and were 2 up after 2 winning 4&3.

Here is a link with videos to the pgatour.com recap http://www.presidentscup.com/news/2015/10/08/match-recaps-day1.html

Friday preview

So obviously the Internationals can make a game of it on Friday in the fourballs, and they better or this one is all over.. again.

Captain Haas has left all his winning pairings together, and has replaced Kuchar and Reed with Chris Kirk and his son Bill Haas

Captain Price has put his winning pair Grace and Oosthuizen out first, but they are up against DJ and Spieth, so good luck.

Korean star Sangmoon Bae has a dream come true as he makes his Presidents Cup debut at home, and he and Danny Lee who is a Kiwi although born in Korea, have a very tough assignment against Rickie and Jimmy Walker, so we could easily be looking at 6-1 ??

I like the pairing of Adam Scott with Jason Day, I mean just say here's our best, see what you can do boys. They play Phil and Zach Johnson though, the Aussies simply must play up to their potential for the win, remember they won the 2013 World Cup together.

Honestly if I put down Bubba and JB Holmes against Steven Bowditch and Marc Leishman you'd say who and who for the last two, right?  With all due respect to these two fine Aussies who grew up together as amateurs, only Bubba and JB can beat Bubba and JB in this one, and although Bubba is one of the all time flakes, JB is a very solid under rated pro.

Bill Haas and Chris Kirke play Thongchai and Charl Schwartzel who has been sick with a virus, but is the best player of the four and I pick an International win here.

Prediction: 3-2 USA    7-3 total.

Bryan Angus

Thorbjorn Olesen recovers to win the Dunhill Links...

European Tour Alfred Dunhill Links Championship leaderboard http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2015/tournamentid=2015076/leaderboard/index.html#oBX5qZ635e9rOLhg.97

Thorbjørn Olesen held his nerve to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and claim his third European Tour title.

The Dane came second at this event in 2012 and went one better just minutes ago, posting -1 71 to finish the week on -18, two shots clear of American duo Brooks Koepka 67, and Chris Stroud 68.

Englishman Chris Wood closed with a bogey free 65 to finish a shot further back alongside Benjamin Hebert 70, Bernd Wiesberger 66, Joakim Lagergren 69 and Kiradech Aphibarnrat 69.

Starting play this morning on a cooler, breezy partly sunny day at St Andrews Olesen had a 3 shot lead over Florian Fritsch a part time player from Belgium, but after making a birdie on the first he made a double at the second and a bogey at the third to let the charging pack back in.

Olesen has struggled to regain his form this year after injuring his wrist, and Fritsch is part time because he has a fear of flying so only plays tournaments he can drive to ! He shot a 64 playing with John Daly who he said relaxed him to the point he wasn't even thinking about what score he was posting until he added them all up at the end.

The Old Course had dried out since Thursday and the fairways were playing fast and hard, it was much cooler and the breeze was up, so the low scoring of the first 3 days was well earned today.

So ends a great week for golf in St Andrew's played  for 3 days in glorious sunshine and calm conditions before the breze got up today. The players have 3 tournaments left before the "Final Series" and next week it is the British Masters at Woburn GC down in central Bedfordshire in the historic town of Woburn.

Bryan Angus
(notes from europeantour.com)







Bryan Angus

Crowded leaderboard into the weekend at Dunhill Links in Scotland

European Tour Alfred Dunhill Links Championship leaderboard
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2015/tournamentid=2015076/leaderboard/index.html#hCcYYQlSriCyuk7U.97

As play got under way this morning Jimmy Mullen and Anthony Wall shared a one-stroke lead after Mullen, who I mentioned yesterday is making his pro debut, added a -3 69 at St. Andrews to his opening 64 at Kingsbarns to finish on -11, 133 alongside fellow England's Wall.

Remember they play over three courses, alternating between St. Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie with the final round at the Old Course on Sunday.

Mullen, just 21 turned professional after winning all 4 points in September’s Walker Cup victory over the United States. Meanwhile Wall shot a -4, 68 at St. Andrews with seven birdies and three bogeys.

It's a crowded leaderboard as just a shot behind Mullen and Wall is Ireland’s Paul Dunne (70), veteran Welshman Jamie Donaldson (65), Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen (66) and American Chris Stroud (66).

Scoring conditions were just ideal and the lowest rounds of the day came at Kingsbarns, where Bradley Dredge -8 and Kiradech Aphibarnrat -6 both shot -9,63

Defending champion Oliver Wilson could only card a second consecutive 74 to finish +4 and will likely miss the cut projected at -4.

Of note Ernie Els is -4 on today's round at the turn, playing the Old Course and has move up to -9 T8

There is a Canadian in the field. Richard T. Lee of Toronto sits T102 after a second-round -4 68.

Bryan Angus
(notes from europeantour.com)

Spieth wins Player of the Year, Furyk withdraws from Presidents Cup

No surprise here as Jordan Spieth was voted PGA Tour player of the year, giving him a sweep of the awards board. Winning the Tour championship removed any doubt that Jason Day's fabulous summer had provided.

Just to remind you, Spieth had five wins this year, including the Masters and U.S. Open to become the youngest player since Tiger Woods to win the Jack Nicklaus Award. Spieth also won the Arnold Palmer Award by topping the money list with a record $12 million, and the Vardon Trophy for having the lowest adjusted scoring average. Woods is the only other player to sweep the awards, win a major and the FedEx Cup.

Spieth will lead the Presidents Cup against Day and his International mates in South Korea next week. The Americans are 8-1-1 in the ten events so far and are heavy favourites again. Jim Furyk has had to withdraw with a wrist injury. JB Holmes will replace him

Daniel Berger was voted rookie of the year.

Bryan Angus

Walker Cup team mates leading Dunhill Links in glorious sunshine

European Tour Alfred Dunhill Links Championship leaderboard http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2015/tournamentid=2015076/leaderboard/index.html#KFiUPOmsIiBQ7BbX.97

You will never see Carnoustie, the Old Course or Kingsbarns in more pristine conditions than we are watching over these first two days of this Dunhilll Links Championship. Emerald green with nothing but blue skies and brilliant sunshine are showing off these three jewels in the golfing world.

Spectators are in for free for the first 3 days, they haven't erected the huge stands that are necessary to house the Open Championship so the courses look more like they are day in and day out. I am so impressed with the new Kingsbarns which looks like a links but isn't really in that it hasn't been built on land linking the sea to the mainland, but it looks like it's been there for a long time and I am glad they built a stone clad traditional looking Scottish clubhouse instead of some monster 5 star hotel. It like the rest of the course, fits..

Two young Walker Cup team mates England's Jimmy Mullen (-11) and Irishman Paul Dunne (-10)  both playing St Andrews today and both playing their first pro tournament, lead the way after opening 64's in round one and continue to do so as play is under way in round two.

Martin Kaymer and Jamie Donaldson, much more well known, are lurking just behind at -9 currently, playing Kingsbarns. As always Carnoustie is playing the toughest of the three courses. There are 5 players at -8, so a long way and many twists and turns to come

Consider Paul Dunne's life recently. He led the Open championship going into the final round, then won the Walker Cup in convincing fashion, turned pro and here he is leading his first tournament ! Mullen won all 4 of his matches in the Walker Cup, only the fourth man to do so. Mullen ranks 1695th in the World Rankings while Dunne is World Number 942.

They both will try and get their cards via Q school, however a win here by either would change all that.

The weather will get partly cloudy tomorrow with rain in the forecast for Sunday, but more importantly no significant wind.

Bryan Angus

A wonderful week of golf at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

European Tour Alfred Dunhill Links Championship leaderboard http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2015/tournamentid=2015076/leaderboard/index.html#8YmEk1QzIfU20TbE.97

For those of you who have never travelled over to Scotland to visit and in particular play golf it is hard for me to put into words exactly how wonderful an experience it is. In fact as a golfer your journey is not complete until you do. The links courses, the people, the history, the food and drink, the smell of the salt sea air and the camaraderie are unsurpassed.

This week is a marvellous event, now called the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship where most of the top European Tour stars are paired with a combination of celebrities, family members or, and I could do without this, giants of industry, and they all play St. Andrews, Carnoustie and the relatively new Kingsbarns over 4 days, with a format similar to the annual AT&T pro-am at Pebble Beach,

The weather as always is embraced, or endured depending on your point of view, but it is usually a factor on the famous links courses on Scotland's south east coast. Today the sun is shining, it's calm, so the lads and a few lasses are in short sleeves and the scoring will be low.

I was asked earlier this week why this prestigious event was sponsored by a company that makes it's billions making cigarettes, considering that line of sponsorship is banned in Canada and all I can say is that I never thought for a minute when Peter Jackson or du Maurier were sponsoring the Canadian Open that it made one child or adult anywhere run out and start smoking. Many other factors are responsible for that, peer pressure for kids, or mom's and dad's who smoke are much more responsible than Alfred Dunhill spending millions to sponsor a golf tournament.

A Swede called Kristoffer Broberg is taking advantage of the benign weather on the Old Course and is at -8 through 15 having started on #10 and played the back nine  in 32 strokes. The course record is -10 62 held by 5 players and considering the sport was first played on the Links at St Andrews in the early 1400s it's a tribute to this venerable layout that only 5 guys have shot that score.

FYI, Scotland's Tom Kidd won the first Open Championship in 1873 with a score of 91,88 179 !

Bryan Angus