The Memorial Tournament. Its Kooch by Two

Matt Kuchar, Kooch to his friends and fans leads the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Course, in Ohio.

Happy Matt Kuchar / Getty

Matt managed to survive a  nasty combination of swirling wind and fast greens at Muirfield Village for a -2 under par 70, giving him a two-shot lead at -8 under par for the tournament over Kevin Chappell and Kyle Stanley, heading into the final round on Sunday.

Matt admitted it was like a survival course;

“It was a bit of survival, I was fortunate to make a handful of birdies. I think anytime you make a birdie in these conditions, you feel like you’re really up on the field here. Most of these holes, you’re looking at just getting out with a par.”

Kevin and Kyle are two shots back at -6 under par, Kevin with a great round of -4 under par 68, while Kyle struggled to +1 over par 73.

There are three players at -5 under par, including Bill Hass, the first round leader who could only manage a +4 over par round today. Joining him on that -5 under par score are Justin Rose and Matt Jones.

The next group of players are all at -4 under par, J.J. Henry also had a -4 under par round 68, Adam Scott was -3 under, Scott Piercy had a -1 under round while Charl Schwartzel collapsed with a +4 over par round.

Missing the cut are; Sang-Moon Bae, Geoff Ogilvy, Branden Grace, Brandt Snedeker, Guan Tianlang (a), Dustin Johnson, and Vijay Singh. Quite a high-profile list.

Tiger Woods +8 over and Rory McIlroy +6 over par, the world’s number one and two were lucky to make the cut.

Tiger reported after his poor round;

“The conditions were tough and when I missed it cost me. I caught the wrong gusts at the wrong time, made a couple bad swings and all in all, it just went the wrong way.”

Tiger is The PLAYERS Champion. Sergio Shoots Himself in the Foot.

Tiger Woods won The PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP at TPC Sawgrass on the Stadium Course, in the end by a canter.

Tiger Woods acknowledging his win / Getty Images

Tiger finished The PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP with a final round of -2 under 70, for a  tournament total of -13 under par. He said he was trying to get better each year;

“Each year I’m tying to get better, so far this year, I’m off to a pretty good start.”

Talking about his errant tee shot on 14, which found water;

“Just hit absolutely the worst shot I could possibly hit, but it was the only bad swing I made all day. I told myself I could still win the tournament.”

Sergio Garcia stood on the tee box at the 17th par 3 Island hole tied with Tiger at the top of the leaderboard. Two lazy tee shots later and a couple of putts and it was all over, a quad bogey deflating Sergio. His slump was so bad he double bogied the 18th as well, dropping six shots on the final two holes, crashing down to tie for eight place at -7 under par. Sergio’s tender temperament under pressure was in question again. Why did he take a pitching wedge to the 17th green, when just about everybody else used a nine iron. He came up short, and in a strange move decided to replay the shot from the tee, ignoring the easier option of walking over to the drop zone, he failed again, his tournament was all over.

Three players tied in second place, Kevin Streelman, Jeff Maggert and David Lingmerth, all at -11 under par. Kevin put together a very good last round of -5 under par, 67. Jeff was in the hunt for most of the day, he finished with -2 under par of 70. David Lingmerth was unable to improve on his third round total and finished the day with an even par round of 72.

Martin Laird, Henrik Stenson and Ryan Palmer were the next bunch of players, they completed the tournament at -10 under par.

Joining Sergio on -7 under par were; Ben Crane, Rory McIlroy, Brandt Snedeker, Marc Leishman, Lee Westwood and Casey Wittenberg.

Not sure if this tournament will be better remembered for Tiger’s second win at The Players, or Sergio’s monstrous  meltdown on the intimidating island green par three 17th hole.

The Masters, Play Off Win For Broomstick Scott

Adam Scott won the Masters in a play-off against Grand-dad Angel Cabrera, using the soon to be banned Broomstick putter.

Adam Scott / Ehrmann / Getty Images

Adam Scott won the second play-off hole at the Masters with a birdie, using the broomstick putter. He is the first Australian to win the title, so cements his place in history. Lucky for him the R&A and the USGA seem to be waiting a long time before banning the use of  the long anchored putter. Adam had a last round of -3 under par 69, for a total of -9 under par.  Four of the last six Major champions used a putter pressed against their belly or chest, a stroke that might be banned in 2016.

Adam said about his win;

” We like to think we’re the best at everything. Golf is a big sport at home, and this is the one thing in golf we hadn’t been able to achieve. It’s amazing that it’s my destiny to be the first Australian to win. It’s incredible.”

Some of us with long memories know the lengths Australians will go to avoid defeat in sport, but to be fair to the man the authorities have not yet banned the use of this putter, will be interesting to see him defend the title next year with a conventional putter. Steve Williams was responsible for reading Adam’s winning putt, Adam asked Steve;

 ” Do you think it’s just more than a cup?”

Steve replied;

‘It’s at least two cups. It’s going to break more than you think.”

Afterwards Steve remarked;

“The winning putt might be the highlight putt of my career, because he asked me to read it.”

Steve Williams, probably the best Caddie in the world, must be laughing up his sleeve at this win. Everyone knows that if he had been Tiger Woods caddie, he would not have let Tiger play an illegal shot, Steve is too professional for that kind of mistake.

Angel Cabrera knocked his approach shot on eighteen for an easy birdie, and a -2 under par round of 70, to tie the scores and head off into the play-off. He was such a gracious loser;

“Such is golf, Adam is a good winner.”

Jason Day, the Aussie everybody thought was going to win today, finished in third place, at -7 under par. Jason had a two-shot lead when he stepped to the 16th tee. Jason said;

“I think the pressure got to me a little bit.”

 

Brandt Snedeker, who was tied with Angel Cabrera for the lead going into the final round, sadly closed with a last round 75, and finished five shots behind. He was naturally upset at not being able to convert a winning position into a win;

“Any time you have a chance to win the Masters and you don’t come through, my lifelong dream,  you’re going to be upset, you’re going to cry, but I’ll get through it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Masters. Aussie Assault at Augusta

Three Aussies have made a third day assault on the Masters at Augusta National, Adam Scott in third place, followed by Marc Leishman and Jason Day tied in fourth place. They are vying to be the first Aussie to win the Masters Title. For them to accomplish that feat they will have to overcome the two leaders at the top of the board.

Angel Cabrera and Brandt Snedeker / Getty Images

Angel and Brandt both completed the third round in -3 under par,  for a tournament total of -7 under par. Brandt has made a bold statement about being here to win;

” I’ve spent 32 years of my life getting ready for tomorrow, I’m going to be disappointed if I don’t win. Period. I’m not here to get a good finish, I’m here to win.”

Angel, who won here in 2009, is a two-time Major winner, and you would think that he has the extra experience to overcome the mental factors of coming down the stretch in a Major contest, Angel had this to say, via an interpreter;

” I’ve been working very hard for this moment, and I’ve got to take the opportunity.”

Adam Scott said it would be fantastic to win the Masters, I think that is an under statement;

” Obviously, to win the Masters would be incredible, it would be great for Australia. We’ve never looked better odds-wise going into a Sunday, except that one year in 1996. It’s going to be a hell of a round tomorrow.”

Jason Day lead the tournament for most of the day, but made bogey on the last two holes;

“My favorite tournament of the year, I love this place. Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure on my shoulders, being from Australia and no Australian has ever won the event. They have been very, very close, but I’ve just got to try to get that out of my mind and just plug away.”

The day started with some high drama as Tiger Woods was penalized two shots, following his violation of the rules in dropping his ball yesterday, after his shot had hit the pin and found it’s way into the water. Tiger dropped his ball to replay the shot, but instead of dropping according to rule 26-1; ” Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot the original ball was last played.” Tiger went two yards further back, to give himself the correct distance for the shot. In a game of political maneuvering the tournament committee handed Tiger a two shot penalty. There are a lot of people who felt that he should have been disqualified. Ultimately what saved Tiger, was a new rule, just two years old, that states disqualification will not be handed down when the complaint has come from someone watching TV. Seems like a fair assessment to me, a TV pundit gets umpteen replays, officials on the course get one look. You could argue that Tiger and his caddie should know the rules, I bet Steve Williams would not have let his man violate a rule.

Tiger admitted the mistake;

“I went back to where I played it from, but went two yards further back and I tried to take two yards off the shot of what I felt I hit, and that should land me short of the flag and not have it either hit the flag or skip over the back. I felt that was going to be the right decision to take off four yards right there. And I did. It worked out perfectly.”

The Masters. Sergio Sinks, Jason Jumps Up.

It was all change at the Masters on day two with, Sergio sinking while Jason Day jumped up into the outright lead.

Jason Day / Redington / Getty Images

Jason Day shot a -4 under par second round to lead the tournament at -6 under par, and by just one shot from high-flying fifty-three year old Freddie Couples, and Aussie first round leader Marc Leishman.

Jason spoke of the pressure on his shoulders, on trying to become the first Australian to win the Masters;

” Obviously there’s a lot of pressure on my shoulders, being from Australia and no Australian has ever won the event.  They have been very, very close, but I’ve just got to try to get that out of my mind and just plug away. It’s all how you look at it. If you look at it as pressure, you’re going to worry about it more. If you look at it as a challenge and an opportunity to be the first and stay positive with it, you know, it only motivates you to play well. So I’ve just got to really not think about it at all I really need to stay committed to the game plan, stay aggressive to my target and just not worry about anything else but hitting the shot in front of me.”

Freddie had a -1 under par 71 second round while Marc Leishman stumbled to a +1 over par 73, the same score as David Lynn, David is now tied in the group of players sitting tied in seventh place. There are seven competitors in that position, including Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Jason Dufner, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose and K.J. Choi.

Angel Cabrera, Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker are all tied in fourth place, at -4 under par.

This Championship is still wide open, anyone shooting a real low round tomorrow will definitely put themselves in the box seat for the final round on Sunday.

It was a day of bad luck for some, Chinese amateur Tianlang Guan was penalized one shot for slow play, the first player ever to be punished for this offence for 77 years at Augusta National. A very harsh penalty when you witness some of the slow play out there today, the second round took thirty-six more minutes to complete than the first round, hard to believe that only one player is penalized for slow play. Makes you wonder why none of the Professional players were not penalized. Tianlang still made the cut, right on the number of +4 over par, along with defending Champion Bubba Watson.

Before he started play today Tianlang said ;

” If I can make it, I would be really happy for it, but if I didn’t make it, it’s still a great week.”

A great week indeed for the Chinese youngster.

Gary Player remarked about the Tianlang incident;

” One of the saddest things I’ve seen in golf. When I heard, I prayed that he would make the cut.” 

Tiger Woods had an approach shot hit the pin and ricochet into a water hazard on the par 5 fifteenth hole. Tiger assessed the shot as being a good one;

“ The sun was in my eyes, so I knew I started the ball on the flag. I didn’t know if I cut it enough, but evidently it was a really good one.”

Finally on this incident impacted day, the big names who managed to miss the cut;

Last weeks winner Martin Laird, Matteo Manassero, who played alongside Tianlang, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen, Webb Simpson, Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington.

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Sneds Siezes Title

Brandt Snedeker / Getty Images

The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am title was gleefully seized by Sneds, there were no Hall of Famer’s snatching victory from him here at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Brandt Snedeker won by two shots, shooting a last round -7 under par, 65 to make sure this time he claimed the trophy, and also moved up to number four in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Brandt stood on the 18th tee at Pebble Beach with a three-shot lead on Sunday, taking in the view before him,  the sun and the Pacific Ocean, realizing just how far he has come in the past few months. Sneds said is was a dream, and hard to put into words;

“Just hard to put into words, to have a stretch of golf like I had the last couple of months, something you dream about. Something you think that you can do, but you don’t really know until you actually put it together, and I have. I’m really enjoying this, and hopefully can parlay this into the best year of my career. The last two weeks, playing great but running into two Hall of Famer’s, really motivated me to go out and prove that I can handle the lead. I definitely didn’t want to do anything but win today, I was out there for one purpose and one purpose only, and I was extremely focused all day. I did a great job of staying patient and I did a great job of playing the golf course the way you’re supposed to play it. I would love to be known as the best American golfer, I’ve got a long way to go to do that, but this is a great start to the year. Couldn’t have scripted much of a better one, except for maybe winning the last two weeks if the guys (Tiger and Phil) hadn’t played.”

Ian Poulter tweeted from his home in Orlando Florida;

“Sneds is officially the best golfer on the planet right now, some serious golf he is playing.”

Chris Kirk was in second place, his great round of -6 under par 66, just not good enough on the day to bring him success. Chris said he felt he had played good golf, but somebody always seems to blitz the course;

” We’ve had a lot of tournaments like that on TOUR this year where somebody has really just kind of blitzed the field. I felt like I played well enough to win a golf tournament and came up a little bit short.”

Rookie James Hahn finished in tie for third place, along with broomstick user Kevin Stadler and Jimmy Walker, all at -14 under par for the tournament.

Sneds and Toby Wilt shared the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am title with Michael Letzig and John Erickson. Jordan Spieth  and Tony Romo; Patrick Cantlay and Kelly Slater; Brad Fritsch and Huey Lewis were among six teams tied for third, two strokes back.

 

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Hahn & Sneds Tied at the Top

James Hahn & Brandt Snedeker / How / Getty Images

James Hahn and Brandt Snedeker are tied at the top of the leaderboard at -12 under par after the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Brandt had a third round of -4 under par on the Pebble Beach course, while James fired in a round of -6 under par at Spyglass Hill.

Brandt Snedeker, the hottest player in golf on the US PGA TOUR this year without a win to show for it, put matters into his own hands Saturday by running off four straight birdies along the prettiest part of Pebble Beach for a -4 under par 68. After last weeks comment about being beaten by Hall of Famers, first Tiger Woods, and last week it was Phil Mickelson. Brandt will be surprised to find his closest opponent this time around is a rookie.

At this stage in this tournament Brandt is the player with the most experience, and feels confident that this week the trophy will be his;

” You never know what tomorrow holds, but I feel like I’m in great position, and I’m going to be surely more prepared, no matter who is around me in the last group. I’m probably going to have the most experience of anybody in those last couple groups of winning a golf tournament. You want to win any time you have a chance because you don’t know how many times you’re going to get that in a year. I’ve had a couple of chances the last couple of weeks, haven’t been the best chances. And this week, I have a great chance going into tomorrow, and you need to capitalize on those chances.”

Rookie James Kahn is just happy to be where he is at the moment, looking at a two-year TOUR exemption and a trip to the Masters;

“I’m not even in next week’s tournament, so to me, a top-10 finish would be great. So if you want to compare the Northern Trust Open to Augusta, we can. I would love to play another week out on tour, but just to learn from Brandt Snedeker, he’s one of the hottest golfers on the planet right now. I feel like I’m playing well just because I feel comfortable, you know, comfortable and having fun, that’s when I’m playing my best golf. I feel like my attitude on the golf course is better than it has been in recent years, and not getting so frustrated out there, just kind of enjoying the moment. I keep saying that, but it’s a blast to be inside the ropes and a member of the PGA Tour.”

Chris Kirk is in third place, one shot behind the leaders at -11 under par, following his third round of  -6 under par, 64 at the Monterey Peninsular par 70 course. Defending Champion Phil Mickelson is out of the running, after his ball took a dip into the Pacific Ocean, costing him a triple bogey 11. Phil also had the ignominy of slipping down a slope while trying to retrieve another errant shot, he landed on his rear end. Phil said of his fall;

” I got lucky, I didn’t get hurt.”

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Brandt Snedeker and Ted Potter Jnr tied at the top.

Brandt Snedeker / Gross / Getty Images.

Brandt Snedeker and Ted Potter Jnr are tied at the top of the leaderboard at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Both players are at -8 under par for the tournament. Brandt shot a -4 under par 68 at Spyglass Hill, while Ted Potter Jnr had a -3 under par at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club course.

Brandt  has played so well this year that he is leading the FedEx Cup standings without having won, Brandt said of his situation;

” Keep running into guys who are or who are going to be in the Hall of Fame. That’s how you win out here, you keep putting yourself in position, and the more times you do, the more success you’re going to have. I’m doing a better job this week of making my way around the golf courses and not putting myself in bad spots and getting out of tough situations very quickly.”

Ted seems to think it is all about the bounce of the ball, sometimes good, sometimes bad;

“It’s just a funny game like that, some weeks you play really well and you get the right kicks and everything goes well. And then there are weeks you can still hit the ball well and get the bad kicks.”

Hunter Mahan, the first round leader lost a stroke on the spongy greens, he went to knock in a short bogey putt on the par-3 seventh hole when the ball moved on him.

“It just rolled over in like a heel print or something, I didn’t feel like I moved it. I didn’t feel like I had anything much to do with it moving. It’s just a rub of the green, so had to go back and take a penalty. That was frustrating, because I was hitting it so good.”

Phil Mickelson didn’t feel out of contention although he was back tied for 39th place, he is six shots behind, the same as last year when he went on to win;

“I love Pebble Beach. I’ve played well there and I’m only one good round away. If I can shoot something in the mid-60s, I’ll be right there for Sunday’s round, which is what I care about.”

Waste Management Phoenix Open, Wire to Wire Win For Phil

Phil Mickleson / Martin / Getty Images

Phil Mickleson won the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale by four shots, going wire to wire for a dominating victory. Phil’s final score was -28 under par, after he rounded out his tournament with a -4 under par 67 last round. With this win Phil moved to No. 3 in the race for the FedEx Cup after earning 500 points for his victory at TPC Scottsdale. Phil said how important the win was for him;

” It’s an important one for me, because it’s been a while since I won, been a while since I’ve been in contention, I was certainly nervous heading into today. I think the thing I’m most excited about was the way I was able to regain control of my thoughts after a few shots early on that I didn’t care for. I think that sets up the tone for the rest of the year, because I really started to play well, but for me, the rest of the year took a turn on Tuesday when I got my new driver. It just changed my whole deal.”

Brandt Snedeker finished in second place with a total score of -24 under par, his last round effort of -6 under par was not quite enough to bother Phil.

Brandt said that Phil had played unbelievable golf;

Brandt Snedeker / Helen Ross PGATOUR.COM

“It was a ton of fun, to be in the last group with Phil and kind of trade birdie for birdie and make up some ground was a lot of fun. It’s what we play for. I wish I could have put some more pressure on him and got a little closer than I did today, but I think I shot 12 under par on the weekend and made one bogey. Sometimes you have to tip your hat and say Phil played unbelievable and deserved to win, and that’s kind of what this week was all about. I feel like I’m running into the Hall of Famers every week, it would be nice if they weren’t in the field and I could go ahead and go after it. It’s just tough, you know. It was fun to watch, fun to be part of, you want to win those, and hopefully I will soon.”

 

Scott Piercy finished in third place after he fired the best round of the last day, a -10 under par 61, that elevated him up the leaderboard to finish with a total of -23 under par for the tournament. Scott really liked the TPC Scottsdale greens;

“These greens were amazing, if you got it online, rolling, you made it.”

Waste Management Phoenix open, Phil the People Person.

Phil Mickelson / Martin / Getty Images

Phil Mickelson drew the loudest cheers from the biggest crowd in golf history on Saturday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, on the TPC Scottsdale course. Phil nearly aced the par-3 16th, hitting a 9-iron to within a foot of the hole, to set up a birdie on the rowdy stadium hole packed with nearly 20,000 screaming fans, on his way to a -7 under par third round of 64, and to lead the tournament at -24 under par. Of his nine iron into the 16th Phil calmly stated;

“What’s funny about that is 172 yards is a very tough 9-iron for me to get there, but I immediately take 5 yards off and in my head I had 167. The reason is you always have a little bit of adrenaline here, and the ball goes a little bit longer on 16. I played for a 167-yard shot and tried to hit just a comfortable or stock 9-iron, and the ball ended up flying that far and released to the hole. Having played this course and that hole over the years and knowing what your body does and how to adjust to it has helped me, and certainly it did today.”

Brandt Snedeker is in second place, Brandt had a third round of -6 under par 65, to be six shots behind Phil at -18 under par for the tournament. Phil is aware of Brandt’s capabilities and is looking to just keep pace with him tomorrow to cruise home to a wire to wire victory;

“I know how good Snedeker is and how hot he can get with a putter, he can make birdie from just about anywhere. He’s going to make a run tomorrow. I, hopefully, will be able to keep pace. To me, the wire-to-wire isn’t that important except for now I’m three rounds and the fourth one is kind of the more important one. It would be an important thing because it’s meant so much to me over my career having won this tournament, coming back as a past champion, and winning here in the town that has meant so much to me, to Amy and I, where we met, had our first two kids, went to college. It’s a special place.”

Brandt thinks Phil is playing unbelievable golf;

” Phil is playing pretty unbelievable, I will have to go at some pins and make some putts early and be more aggressive than I probably normally would be.”

Padraig Harrington and Ryan Moore are tied in third place at -16 under par, eight strokes off the pace, Padraig is still happy with his game though;

“I feel like I’m in a good place with the game.”

Padraig had some fun out there on the sixteenth, kicking footballs into the crowd;

“I did not want to screw up the first one along the ground, for sure, I did want to get it airborne a little bit of distance. I found when I punted it, the first three or four, I hooked them quite a bit, and then the last one, I actually made sweet contact and kicked it over the stand, actually cleared the whole thing.”

Looks like it will be the crowd favorite Phil Mickelson lifting the trophy tomorrow, good luck Phil.