Australian PGA Championship, Daniel Popovic has 2 point lead for Final Round

Daniel Popovic / pga.au

Young gun Daniel Popovic has a two point lead going into Sunday’s final round of the Australian PGA Championship at the Palmer Coolum Resort golf course. Daniel carded a -3 under par 69,  for tournament total of -13 under par, in calm conditions on Saturday to lead fellow Victorian Anthony Brown by two shots, and is confident he’s got the game to hold off an experienced chasing pack and claim his first Australian PGA Championship.

” I knew that I had it in me and I still know that I have one more good round tomorrow in me. I’ve just got to keep my routine going , what I have been doing has been working this week and tonight is going to be exactly the same and so is tomorrow morning in my warm up. I’ve been in pressure situations before, like say Q-School which is for me almost the most pressure that you have for the year because it determines where and how many tournaments you are going to play. It does surprise me in a way that I did handle it so well today without sort of having my A-game, but I am going to walk away from here thinking this can be done tomorrow and I’m going to give it a fair crack. It’s going to be an incredible ride for the whole family I think, tomorrow for myself, my mum and my dad is going to be huge.”

Daniel said he was excited to playing alongside another Australian legend on Sunday,Peter Senior,after playing with Geoff Ogilvey on moving day.  In the final group will be Anthony Brown who is two shots back at -11 under par and Peter is three shots behind at -10 under par;

“It’s fantastic, I mean Pete Senior is another one with so much experience and watching Geoff the way that he went about things today, I learnt so much again today playing with him. Geoff is such a great guy and I really hope that I get to play with Geoff again but Pete Senior, I have never met him in my life and I am sure that he is about the same sort of bloke as what Geoff is,  I can’t wait.”

Daniel may be excited but Peter Senior has issued a warning to the leader as he chases a fourth  Australian PGA Championship, declaring he’s in better form than when he won last week’s Australian Open.

” Pretty happy with the way things are going, I played a lot better today than I had even last week. I hit a lot better quality shots, driving it really well and I was just hitting it and picking up my tee which is always a great feeling, it sort of sets the holes up a little bit. I hit some better iron shots today that felt better than what I have been doing and made some birdies on some good holes, like 14 and 18 today, those were the real bonus holes. I just haven’t been making birdies on the par-fives, there are 15 par-fives and I think I’m about three under, the longer hitters are sort of knocking them to pieces so the par-fives are really letting me down.”

DP World Tour Championship, Luke Leads.

Luke Donald/ Getty Images

Luke Donald, who won in Japan last Sunday, is once again the man to catch after a sparkling -7 under par first round to the $8,000,000 DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. Rory McIlroy, uncatchable at the top of The Race to Dubai, is just one shot behind at -6 under par.

Luke said that he always feels different a week after winning, he felt like he could not miss;

” I felt like I couldn’t miss. I hit some really good irons shots too and it’s fun when it seems that easy, You always feel different the week after winning, you just feel like you have that little extra pep in your step and there’s a bit more confidence flowing through you for sure. Especially winning by five as I did last week gave me a huge boost.”

Luke  moved back up to second in the rankings ahead of Tiger Woods by taking the Dunlop Phoenix title at the weekend and is seeking to match Rory with four wins this year.

Rory said he got off to a slow start but is driving the ball beautifully;

“I got off to a bit of a slow start but felt I was hitting the ball well enough to give myself opportunities for birdies. I just had to stay patient. I got it together on the back nine. It’s a great way to start, obviously, I’m confident heading into tomorrow. I think I drove the ball beautifully with the exception of 18.”

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and Marc Warren joined Rory on the -6 under par score, Gonzo said the front and back nines were completely different, I know that feeling;

“The back nine had nothing to do with the front nine, I played very well on front nine, believe it or not. I didn’t hole any putts, but I stayed patient, and all of the putts seemed to drop on the back nine. It was worth the wait, that’s for sure.”

Marc was rushing around looking for his waterproofs, he stepped out of his hotel into pouring rain, 20 millimeters of the stuff had fallen in two hours, but it soon cleared up and the conditions were perfect, Marc enjoyed the fact that there was no wind;

“There was no wind to speak of and the greens were pure. I felt as if I hit a lot of good golf, Winning is the most fun you can have at a golf tournament and it’s something I want to do again soon.”

Tied in fourth spot with rounds of 67′s were 2009 winner Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer, Richie Ramsay, Louis Oosthuizen and Fredrik Andersson Hed.

Returning from eye surgery, Sergio Garcia shot 73, he needed the corrective surgery for an astigmatism following the Ryder Cup, Ian Poulter shared the same score, he must still feel deflated after his peculiar aberration at the Australian Open last week, missing a very short putt.

Footnote:

Astigmatism is a type of refractive error of the eye. Refractive errors cause blurred vision and are the most common reason why a person goes to see an eye professional. Just incase you were wondering what Sergio’s condition was.

Could Miguel still win an Open ? Big John Has To Open His Cheque Book

Miguel Angel Jiménez/ Getty Images

Three time winner of the UBS Hong Kong Open Miguel Angel  Jiménez, could still win a Major, especially The Open, that is according  to Des Smyth. Miguel took away the title of oldest player to win on the European Tour from Des at Fanling, Hong Kong on Sunday. Des himself was neither upset or surprised to watch  the 48 year-old  Miguel beat his record, he believes that the Olive Oil and Rioja wine are keeping Miguel fit and flexible.

Not quite sure where the cigar smoking fits into those categories;  Cigar Man Miguel/getty images

Des was full of praise for the Spanish veteran;

” He’s a top quality player, naturally, the clock is ticking but Miguel clearly still can compete, especially on courses that suit him. I think he could even win an Open at this stage. Miguel has that type of game, he’s very controlling and straight-hitting. It’s a great boost to your confidence to know you can still go out there and beat the talented young guns on tour.”

 

Another vet in the news is Big John Daly;   John/getty image

Big John was playing in last week’s UBS Hong Kong Open, and was reported for throwing his putter into the trees during the second round, after being annoyed by fans using cellphones and cameras. Clearly upset, John went on to miss the cut after rounds of 72 and 75.  The  European Tour confirmed that it would fine John Daly, 46, an undisclosed amount. The Tournament director Mickael Ericsson gave a statement to reporters, he agreed crowd behavior was a problem, but that is no excuse for bad manners;

“Yes, the circumstances regarding crowd manners and behavior will be considered, but when it all boils down there is still no excuse for throwing his putter.”

Last year at the Australian Open John, a two-time Major Champion, threw his most  infamous meltdown of all time, when he proceeded to hit six balls in the water on one hole, and then stormed off the course. That prompted the then tournament director to remark;

” I would say this is the last time we will see John Daly.”

When questioned later about the incident John simply said he had run out of balls, and could not continue. In 2010, a PGA Tour personnel file revealed that John Daly had been cited 11 times for “conduct unbecoming of a professional” and another 21 times for “failure to give best effort.” Over the years, his fines have totaled more than $100,000, a piffling amount compared to Big  John’s earning potential.

 

 

 

Australian Open, Tom Watson will be there

Tom Watson/Getty Images

 Tom Watson, the  eight-time Major champion will contest the Australian Open this year, along with Adam Scott, defending champ Greg Chalmers and 2006 US Open winner Geoff Ogilvy .

It will be contested at  The Lakes, Golf Australia, and  chief executive Stephen Pitt has vowed to make more announcements ahead of the December 6-9 tournament, Stephan said;

” It’s fantastic to welcome back these four past winners of the Stonehaven Cup to the Emirates Australian Open. Tom is one of the household names in world golf and we can’t wait to have he, Adam, Geoff and defending champion Greg back in action at  The Lakes. It’s the pinnacle week in Australian golf and things are continuing to shape up really well for the Championship.”

Tom,  whose career victories include five British Opens, two US Masters and a US Open, will contest the event for the first time in close to 30 years, having won it back in 1984.

Good to see you Tom, have a great event.