Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. Jennifer Johnson Wins.

Jennifer Johnson won the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic at RTJ Golf Trail, Magnolia Grove, the Crossings Course, breaking the Tournament record with -21 under par score.

Jennifer Johnson / Getty Images

Jennifer fired in a final round -7 under par 65, for a tournament total of -21 under par,  to become a deserved Rolex first-time winner at the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic in Mobile Alabama. She confessed to being a little shocked at the result;

” I’m a little shocked, I didn’t even realize I shot 65. The whole back nine was kind of like a; I don’t know, I don’t know what was happening.  And yeah, the birdie putt on 17, that’s when I started to think a little bit more about winning the tournament, on 17.  A little bit on the front nine, but you can’t afford to think about that. Before I hit my birdie putt on 17, I saw that Pornanong was tied with me at 20 and I didn’t want a playoff so I was like, I’m going to make this thing. The putter has kind of been the missing link all the tournaments because I’m hitting the ball so well and when they go in, it really helps score. Before this week I had experimented with more of a forward press and it just doesn’t fit my style of putting.  So I worked with my coach on making it kind of more like a pendulum and this new putter that I put in play really emphasizes that, and so I can like stroke it easier and I don’t have to work as hard to get it like rolling on line.”

Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum raced up the leaderboard with a run of five birdies on the back nine,  including three-consecutively, to close out the round as the clubhouse leader at -20 under par.

Tied with Pornanong at -20 under par was Jessica Korda.  Pornanong had three putted the first hole, three days on the trot. She said it was something about that 1st hole;

“  I think like the 1st hole I three‑putt like, yeah. every day, three‑putt. Just the thing about the 1st hole, just keep going with what I have to do. I just concentrate on my game and do what I have to do and try my best, yeah, and putting very good today, so like just didn’t have pressure on myself today.”

There was a whole bunch of ladies at T4 on -19 under par, Jiyai Shin, Ariya Jutanugarn, Karrie Webb, Anna Nordqvist and Chella Choi.

Defending Champion Stacy Lewis finished T6 at -18 under par, and said she had just been concentrating on making birdies all day;

” I was just trying to make birdies.  It wasn’t really until probably the last five or six holes that I really started paying attention to what people were doing.  You just try to make as many birdies as you could.  It was fun there at the end, though, because Jennifer was making putts and I don’t think she realized what she was doing.  I told her when I hugged her, I said, I think you just won yourself a golf tournament, and she’s kind of like, what?  It was really cute.  But she played great today.”

As the final scores show, this was a hotly contested tournament, all credit to the professional Ladies of the LPGA.

HP Byron Nelson Championship. Keegan Crumbles, Korean Bae Wins.

Korean Sang-Moon Bae won the HP Byron Nelson Championship at TPC Four Seasons Resort in Texas, with a last round of -1 under par, 69,  for a total of -13 under par. Keegan Bradley crumbled under the pressure and could only manage a last round of par, finishing two strokes behind the leader at -11 under par.

Sang-Moon Bae with his first PGA Tour Trophy/ Pennington / Getty Images

Sang-Moon said winning a PGA Tournament was something he had always dreamed of;

“It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, winning on the PGA TOUR. It was surreal to have Mrs. Nelson there and with all the history, I was in awe, actually, so almost I didn’t know how to react.”

Sang-Moon’s  previous best finish on the PGA TOUR was a playoff loss to Luke Donald at the 2012 Tampa Bay Championship. He said he was happy that he played the back nine better;

” When my iron play came back in the latter part of the round, I had confidence. On that shot on 17, I knew it was short, and the wind pushed it over to the right, and I was happy and relieved that it turned out OK.”

Despite struggling all day Keegan was uplifted by a birdie putt on 15, and thought he could then go on and be the first player since Tom Watson in 1980 to win this competition wire to wire;

“I’m pretty disappointed but Moon played very well. I just didn’t play great today, but I hung in there. I chipped away. When I made that putt on 15, I was pretty confident that I was going to win.”

South African Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters Champ, shot a last round of -2 under par, 68, to finish in third place on his own third at -10 under par.

 

 

 

European Tour. American Peter Uihlein Wins First Tour Event.

American Peter Uihlein won the European Tour, Madeira Islands Open, his first career win on the Tour.

Peter Uihlein with his first Trophy/ Getty Images

Peter’s nerveless last round of -4 under par, 68 and tournament total of -15 under par earned him a two-shot victory at Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra, in Portugal. He said he was thrilled and delighted with the victory;

” I’m just thrilled, to do it playing well on the back nine, coming down the stretch, is sweet. I know Morten played a heck of a round and Mark played really well so it was nice to come out on top. I just knuckled down I guess. It was all putting that did it today, I was just trying to free up and they started to roll in so it was nice. I hit some good putts coming down the stretch. When I was at the 17th I saw Morten was on 15 under and I thought it might have been a little more difficult but when I got to the 18th green I obviously saw he had dropped back. I’m just delighted to have won.”

This win confirmed to Peter that he had made the right choice in starting his professional career on the Challenge Tour and European Tour, on the advice of his father.

“ A year ago I wasn’t even thinking about playing, I was just really struggling, it’s a funny game. But I’ve learned a lot over the last year. When you’re struggling, it’s one of those things, you hate it when it happens but it’s almost the best thing that could happen to you. It definitely was for me and I’m pretty happy with how things turned out. You grow up quick out here and that was the main reason I came over. It’s been a good process so far and hopefully I can keep going.”

Tied in second place were  Morten Ørum Madsen and Mark Tullo, at -13 under par for the tournament.

Mark reported that it had been a positive week.

” It was a very positive week, I could have won this tournament. I had three bogeys from 100 yards today which hurt a lot, but hats off to Peter. He played really well on the back nine and that’s what you need to do to win tournaments. I didn’t do that but it was very close and that’s a positive. Maybe there’s something further along the road for me in a big tournament.”

Morten Ørum carded an impressive -5 under par, 67 to finish tied second alongside Mark, both on 13 under par. Unfortunately for Morten his score included a six, on the last hole.

As Peter Uihlein said, it is the putting that makes the difference, that’s what I keep telling everyone, so if you are struggling with your putter you should consider using a White Dragon Putter.

 

Volvo World Match Play Championship. G-Mac Wins

G-Mac, Graeme McDowell, won the Volvo World Match Play Championship. beating Thongchai Jaidee 2&1 in the final round at Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort in Bulgaria.

G-Mac with the coveted Trophy / Getty Images

Graeme had to come from behind to beat Thongchai Jaidee in the final round of the Volvo World Match Play, he was last years runner-up, and was determined to go one better this year. One down at the turn G-Mac had a winning streak of three wins in four holes, which was enough for him to lift the Trophy.

G-Mac was elated to finally add his name to the illustrious trophy;

 ” Obviously a nice day and a great trophy. I talked about it all week about the prestige of this event and how many great champions, and nice to add my name to that list of legends. We talked a lot about what Volvo have done with this event, what they have done with golf around the world and coming to Bulgaria this week obviously was a brave move, but I think it’s paid off. Sitting here with the trophy I’m going to say great things about the place but I think if you talk to all the players, I think everyone enjoyed themselves, everyone enjoyed the golf course. It was a little bit more tentative this afternoon. It was tough to keep that level of golf up all weekend, and the key putts really this afternoon were with the par saves on nine and ten , they were massive.  I sensed from Thongchai after that that he was starting to fatigue a little bit; I really sensed a bit of an opening. I just had to hit the shots and I did that well coming down the stretch. The mistake he made on 14 and then the birdie I made on 15 was really the telling stuff. “

“Like I say, it’s great to put my name on the trophy. I’m looking across to see Montgomerie and Westwood just popping off the trophy at me, great European Tour legends, Palmer, Nicklaus, Player, the history of this event, it’s fantastic. This feels really, really like a special win. I’m sure Volvo are going to work hard to take this tournament from strength to strength and get it back as one of the premiere events, one of the special events on The European Tour season, which it needs to be. Els, Montgomerie, Westwood, Ballesteros, Norman, Lyle, Faldo, Player, Palmer, it’s just crazy stuff really. To thrust yourself into that – to have your name on a trophy this cool is pretty special.I’ll drink a couple of cold ones tonight and enjoy this. This is a special moment in my career, no doubt about it. Wins are super special, two in five weeks, that’s great. I’m feeling pretty good right now.”

Final Results, winners in Blue.

Semi Finals

 Thomas AIKEN 3&2 Thongchai JAIDEE 

 Branden GRACE 3&2 Graeme MCDOWELL 

 

Final

 Thongchai JAIDEE 2&1 Graeme MCDOWELL 

 

 

Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. Chella Choi Trumps Anna Nordqvist.

Chella Choi has the third round lead at the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic, at the RTJ Golf Trail, Magnolia Grove Crossings Course in Alabama.

Chella Choi / AP

Chella shot a second consecutive round of -6 under par 66, to take the lead in the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic by just one shot at -17 under par for the tournament.

Anna Nordqvist had an amazing third round of -11 under par 61, which catapulted her up the leaderboard, sharing second place with Jessica Korda at -16 under par.

Jessica had a more modest third round of -3 under par, 69.

Karrie Webb is in fourth spot, she also had a -3 under par 69 in the third round, for her total of -15 under par.

Stacy Lewis, the defending Champion had a wonderful third round of -9 under par 63, which has put her well and truly into contention for this tournament, and retain her title as Mobile Bay Champion. Stacy is now in fifth place at -13 under par, four shots back of the leader.

HP Byron Nelson Championship. Keegan Continues, Just

Keegan Bradley continues to lead the HP Byron Nelson Championship, just, even though he made bogey again on the last hole, that’s three out of three times so far. He now has a slender one shot lead at -13 under par for the tournament.

Keegan Bradley / Pennington / Getty Images

Keegan shot a third round of -2 under par, 68 on the par 70 lay-out TPC Four Seasons Resort course in Irving Texas. Given the way he has played the eighteenth this week he will probably need more than a one shot lead tomorrow as he stands once again on the last tee box. He sarcastically said;

” One of the most solid rounds of the year.”

Alone in second place is Sang-Moon Bae, after he put together a third round score of -4 under par, 66, to close the gap at the top of the leaderboard to just one shot. He has a total of -12 under par.

Tom Gillis is alone in third place, at -11 under par, mainly thanks to holing out from the bunker on the last for an unlikely birdie. From just 130 yards out Tom had somehow managed to find the front bunker, but his excellent bunker shot made amends in the best possible fashion. He remarked afterwards;

” That’ll make dinner taste a little bit better, that’s for sure.”

In fourth place is Scott Piercy, he also had a -4 under par, 66, and occupies the position alone at -10 under par for the tournament.

The winner will surely come from one these four players, it is hard to imagine someone from further back can get up to win. But golf is a funny game, and anything could happen. Keegan will be hoping to win, wire to wire and join the short list of golfers who have achieved this distinction.  Tom Watson did it in 1980, and back in 1976, Mark Hayes also went wire to wire.

Volvo World Match Play Championship. Day 3. McDowell & Aiken in Semis

Graeme McDowell beat Nicolas Colsaerts, a revenge for being knocked out of the competition by him in the quarter finals in 2011. Thomas Aiken knocked out Francesco Molinari , he will face Thongchai Jaidee in the other last four match.

Graeme McDowell / Getty Images.

Graeme was cruising at three up after nine, and was set to go four up when Nicolas hit his drive on ten into a public toilet. Nicolas was heard to say;

“ I ain’t hitting from in the loo!”

The rule book says take a one shot penalty drop, ” At the nearest point of relief” which explain the position perfectly. Nicolas took the penalty drop, pitched the ball on the green, and then sunk the 15 foot putt for par, and a halve.

Nicolas was laughing;

“I was laughing because I was going to look like a clown. ”I’m going to make ‘A Question of Sport’ and I’m sure it’s going to make the news, some Belgian dude dropping the ball in a toilet. It’s fun to be recognised for stupid stuff like that.”

Graeme explained it like this;

“I was looking like going four up on the tenth and Nicolas then literally makes par from the toilet. It’s when the Rules of Golf get a bit funny and wacky and people watching will be wondering what’s going on, but what a four he made. I keep giving guys a look in and you don’t want to give them too many chances. I’m happy to get through and excited to be in the semi-finals. It’s a very historic event and a trophy with a lot of legendary names on it. The golden years at Wentworth I remember watching a lot of my heroes win it and I would dearly love to add my name to the list. Branden will be a very tough competitor. My game plan has been to hit fairways and greens and not give my opponent too much of an opportunity and it has worked pretty well so far.”

Thomas Aiken wishes he was a little fitter, playing thirty six holes a day is tiring;

“I wish I was a little bit fitter, but I think if you can get through the match tomorrow morning you’ll be extremely focused for the afternoon.”

Branden Grace is also feeling worn down;

 ”I have little aches and pains, a little stiff. It’s been a long day and I can’t remember the last time I played 36 holes in a day.”

Thongchai Jaidee is showing no signs of distress;

” Im playing very well all week, I’m very confident with this format. I’m confident in my golf game this week, we’ve won all the matches, and we look forward to tomorrow.”

 

16 Qualifiers		Branden GRACE		4&3		Brett RUMFORD
	16 Qualifiers		Richard STERNE		5&3		Chris WOOD
	16 Qualifiers		Francesco MOLINARI		6&4		Carl PETTERSSON
	16 Qualifiers		Shane LOWRY		19th		Thomas AIKEN
	16 Qualifiers		Scott JAMIESON		1 Hole		Felipe AGUILAR
	16 Qualifiers		Thongchai JAIDEE		21st		Peter HANSON
	16 Qualifiers		Gonzalo FDEZ-CASTAÑO		2 Holes		Nicolas COLSAERTS
	16 Qualifiers		Graeme MCDOWELL		1 Hole		Bo VAN PELT
Quarter Finals
	Quarterfinal		Branden GRACE		2&1		Chris WOOD
	Quarterfinal		Francesco MOLINARI		3&2		Thomas AIKEN
	Quarterfinal		Nicolas COLSAERTS		2&1		Graeme MCDOWELL
	Quarterfinal		Scott JAMIESON		4&3		Thongchai JAIDEE

 

 

Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. Korda Climbs to the Top

Jessica Korda climbed to the top of the leaderboard at the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic with second round of -7 under par 65, for a total of -13 under par.

Jessica Korda / LPGA

Jessica said she felt comfortable;

” I feel really comfortable out here, this is definitely one of the stops I wanted to come back to and I hope we can keep this event as long as possible out here because I really like it. I feel good. Today actually I didn’t have one shot where I was kind of;  kind of windswept or anything so it was good, it’s definitely moving in the right direction. I saw Sydnee, I saw she was like -8 under through 12. Like dang, that’s getting it done today. But no, not really, I kind of just went out here with really no mindset. Just come out here, try and hit good shots and convert when you can and kind of take your punishments when you have to.”

Karrie Webb is alone in second place after her magnificent round of -9 under par 63, gave her a tournament score of -12 under par.

Karrie,  played alongside of Jessica, and remarked she would need to keep up with her bogey free rounds, to keep up with her opponent, she is just one shot back at -12 under.

” I think I’ll need to do that for the weekend playing with Jess, she played really solidly for two days. I’m not sure the last time I had a bogey‑free round, so I’m really happy about that. That’s sort of been my problem is I have bogeys at the wrong time and it really kills momentum. That’s what happened yesterday, I turned at 2‑under and then doubled 1 and bogeyed 2 and all of a sudden I’m at 1‑over. I just was really happy with that fight back yesterday to finish at 3‑under and I think that really carried over into today and it was nice to play today without any bogeys.”

Chella Choi occupies third spot, a second round of -6 under par 66 lifted her clear of the bunch on -10 under par. She is dreaming of her first win;

” Maybe my first win, I’m just kidding. My shot is really good, my shot is really good and my distance is better than before than last year. My putting it’s not bad, but bad then last year, so I tried really hard on my putting, focus my putting like 80 percent putting, just 20 percent shot. So shot is same, my condition is same, shot, everything same, but putting is much better than before, last tournament.”

Stacy Lewis could only manage another -2 under par round, and is now at -4 under par, nine shots off the lead, she admitted she made too many mistakes;

”  I just made a bunch of birdies and just didn’t ; made too many mistakes and you can’t do it when people are shooting lights out.”

Notables missing the cut, which was at even par;

Moriya Jutanugarn, Brittany Lincicombe, Felicity Johnson and ex wonder kid Michelle Wie.

 

 

HP Byron Nelson Championship. Keegan Still In Front

Keegan Bradley is still in front of the chasing pack at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, despite only managing a second round of -1 under par 69.

Keegan Bradley / Pennington / Getty Images

Keegan was happy to have a three shot lead after the second round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship, after he stalled on the day, but still finished in front by three shots at -11 under par, despite making bogey on 1 and 18, again;

” I’m almost more proud of this round than yesterday because I didn’t feel comfortable all day. I don’t know what it was, I can’t put my finger on it but, you know, I bogeyed the first hole. I was a little uncomfortable and then I settled in and hit some really good shots. The first hole is probably the easiest hole out here, I don’t know why I keep making bogey on that hole.”

Keegan came to the 18th tee with his four shot advantage intact, a wayward tee shot took care of that;

” I’ve got a four-shot lead, so the last thing I wanted to do was plop it in the water. I bailed out. I didn’t hit that bad of a shot it just got in the wind. I thought it was going to be way left of where it was, but I’m going to hit good ones Saturday and Sunday.”

Tied in second place are Tom Gillis, who had a second round of -7 under par 63, and Sang-Moon Bae, with his -4 under par 66. Both players are on -8 under par.

Tom thought the course definitely played easier in the morning, and also was happy to be reunited with his coach;

” It was easier, I think the wind was down and I was hoping that we would get a fair shot like they had Thursday morning, just to see what it would be like. Definitely, I thought it played better than in the afternoon. I stepped  away for a couple of months and tried to do some things on my own and kind of got lost. We had disagreements on some things. You talk things out, work things out. People change. I think he was right all along, to be honest with you.”

Sang-Moon was also happy with his round;

” That was a little weird, I thought this course was very windy, but Thursday morning was really good weather. So yeah, different, but I shoot same score as Thursday, so I’m happy.“

 Charl Schwartzel also struggled today, in the afternoon round he shot an even par 70;

” It was a bit up and down out there, bit of a frustrating day, but I suppose it’s the mix.”

 

Chinese wonder teenager Guan Tianlang shot a second round of 77, to miss the cut. He was in good company with Boo Weekley, Robert Garrigus, John Senden, Robert Karlsson, Ryuji Imada and Y.E. Yang among those who failed to make the cut, which was set at even par.

Volvo World Match Play Championship. Poulter Exits

South African Thomas Aiken beat Ian Poulter on the final green, and in doing so secured his spot in the last 16 of the Volvo World Match Play Championship and send the 2011 winner home after the group stage at the Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort, Bulgaria.

Thomas Aiken / Getty Images

Thomas was overjoyed to beat Ian;

“It’s fantastic to be here for the rest of the week, it all starts again tomorrow, another 36 holes.  I had two tough matches today, Thongchai this morning, we played some really good golf, the back nine, every hole was won with birdie pretty much. Then this afternoon against Ian, I got off to a good start and got it to two up, but as you expect from him, he came back. All square with two to play, and fortunately I just didn’t make any mistakes on the last couple of holes and he made an error on the last.”

Ian said his play had been unacceptable;

“I have no excuses, there is no excuse for that display of golf over the last two days. I should have been able to finish the match off. My concentration was simply not there and therefore you make mental errors when you have not used your brain. It’s completely unacceptable.”

The defending Champion Nicolas Colsaerts beat Kiradech Aphibarnrat and made it through to the last 16. He said he was able to keep the ball in play a little better than yesterday;

“I played a little better of course, I kept the ball in play a bit more than yesterday. That’s what the plan was, so mission accomplished.”

Morning results, winnners in Blue;

		Jamie DONALDSON		5&3		Brett RUMFORD
			Carl PETTERSSON		1 Hole		Scott JAMIESON
			Francesco MOLINARI		4&3		Felipe AGUILAR
			Nicolas COLSAERTS		3&2		Kiradech APHIBARNRAT
			Richard STERNE		5&4		Geoff OGILVY
			George COETZEE		3&2		Shane LOWRY
			Thongchai JAIDEE		1 Hole		Thomas AIKEN
			Chris WOOD		2&1		Stephen GALLACHER

Afternoon results, winners in Blue;

		Gonzalo FDEZ-CASTAÑO		3&2		Brett RUMFORD
			Thorbjørn OLESEN		5&3		Scott JAMIESON
			Henrik STENSON		3&1		Felipe AGUILAR
			Branden GRACE		Match Halved		Kiradech APHIBARNRAT
			Bo VAN PELT		Match Halved		Geoff OGILVY
			Peter HANSON		5&4		Shane LOWRY
			Ian POULTER		1 Hole		Thomas AIKEN
			Graeme MCDOWELL		4&2		Stephen GALLACHER