Ballantine’s Championship, More Weather Delay’s.

Lightning on the  Blackstone Golf Course in South Korea has caused further delays during the second round at the Ballantine’s Championship. Round 2 is due to be completed on Saturday morning.

Arnond Vongvanij / European Tour

 Wade Ormsby and Arnond Vongvanij are the current leaders in the clubhouse on -7 under par for their completed rounds. Wade had a -5 under par effort and -3 under par for Arnond.

Alexander Noren, James Morrison and Jbe Kruger are tied in third position, they are following very close behind on -6 under par. James Morrison had a marvelous -6 under par 66 round to put him in contention.

In a senior moment yesterday I wrongly stated that there were no Americans in this Tournament, due to the political situation between the USA and North Korea. I am grateful to Rodd D Starkey to point out that there are indeed Americans contesting here, despite the absence of the two big names Zach Johnson and Dustin Johnson, who decided not to travel. You can catch up with Ross and his blog here;  http://letstalkgolf.co.uk/

Of the Americans who are in South Korea, the best placed player is Berry Henson, a -2 under par round today has him tied in eighth place. Jason Knutzon is tied in 31st spot at -2 under par, with Peter Uihlein currently at +1 over par, tied in 66th place. Peter has four holes left tomorrow in his second round to find a birdie and make the cut, which is at par at the moment. Missing the cut will be American Johnathan Moore, who is sadly at +12 over par.

Masters. Sergio Suddenly Surprises.

Sergio Garcia suddenly surprised everyone by sharing the first round lead of  the Masters at Augusta National with Aussie Marc Leishman.

Sergio Garcia / Reddington/ Getty Images

Sergio Garcia grabbed a share of the Masters lead on day one of the Masters with Aussie Marc Leishman, both players at -6 under par after their first round scores of 66. Having Sergio’s name at the top of the leaderboard came as a surprise to all the pundits, who were all of the opinion that he hated Augusta National;

” No, I mean, well,obviously, it’s obviously not my favorite, my most favorite place, but we try to enjoy it as much as we can each time we come here. Sometimes it comes out better than others, but today it was one of those good days. And let’s enjoy it while it lasts. But like I said before, every time I tee it off, I try to play as well as I can, hope that my best that week is really, really good, and if I manage to do that, I will have a chance at winning. If my best is not that good, then, I’ll struggle a little bit. Today my best was pretty good, and I’m looking forward to doing the same thing the next three days. We all go through those moments, the beauty and the bad thing about this game is that it can have such highs and such lows, because it’s a lot more mental than some of the other games. So you know, the most important thing is to make sure that you get through those nicely and learn from them. Sometimes I do feel like there is such a thing as being too hyper about something, you’ve still got to keep calm. I still get very excited about playing the game and every single week and trying to win tournaments. It’s obviously not the same feeling that I had when I was 19, 20 or 21. But that’s kind of normal.”

Keep it going tomorrow Sergio.

In third place alone is Dustin Johnson, who came through the first round at -5 under par. Many think that the big hitting American can do well here this week, and his opening round of 67 goes a long way to substantiating those claims.

There are six players tied for fourth spot, they are; David Lynn, Rickie Fowler, Gonzo, Trevor Immelman, Fred Couples and Matt Kuchar. These all had opening rounds of -4 under par, 68.

This is The Masters, so don’t be surprised if this top section of the leaderboard changes dramatically  tomorrow. Bad weather is forecast so anything could happen.

 

 

 

Northern Trust Open, Two Tied at the Top

 

Fredrick Jacobson & Sang-Moon Bae

The second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club proved to be very interesting as two new players emerged to be tied at the top of the leaderboard, they are South Korean Sang-Moon Bae and Swede Fredrick Jacobson. Both players have a tournament score of -9 under par,  with a second round scores of  -6 under par 65.

Bae apologized for his English, but said he was happy with the way he played;

” I can’t speak English very well, please understand. I feel like I played very well today. I hit a bunch of good shots. I made many good putts, but I missed a couple short putts on hole five and seven, but it was not a big problem. I think I did my best today. You know, these greens are a little tricky and soft and a little bumpy, so playing is not easy. I don’t know pairing for tomorrow, but you know, many good players on the PGA TOUR, so it’s very competitive. Just I will play my game.”

Freddie loved being back in contention;

“Obviously take a lot out of that, just being in contention again. I’ve had some good practice sessions before, but to bring it on the course and play under pressure, that’s what it’s about. And the sooner I can get back and put myself in this position where I can get some pressure, that’s the best practice you can get.”

Tied in third place, just one shot off the lrad at -8 under par are John Merrick and John Rollings.

 

Luke Donald is another shot back at -7 under par, and it must be a worry for those guys at the top to see him climbing the leaderboard. Luke said his game was very sharp, and he was excited to be in the mix again, after his long lay-off;

“You never know with how you’re going to deal with being back in competition again but certainly a big improvement today, ball-striking wise and my short game has been very sharp. I’ve been excited about that, it’s been a big key to my score so far, and yeah, excited to be in the mix again.”

Lee Westwood is making steady progress and is lurking at -6 under par, three shots behind the leading pair, Lee said the scoring was bunched, because it is difficult to putt in the afternoon;

” The scoring is very bunched, that’s probably due to the greens.  It’s difficult to hole putts in the afternoon. You’ll find most guys make a good score in the morning and the guys in the afternoon are happy, well I’m delighted with 3 under.”

Notables missing the cut this week are;

Graeme McDowell, Dustin Johnson, Nicolas Colsaerts, Tim Clark, Zach Johnson, Geoff Ogilvy, Padraig Harrington and Bubba Watson.

Sony Open, Rookie Russell Rips Up the Record Books.

Winning Rookie Russell Henley / Petersen/Getty Images

The Sony Open was won by rookie Russell Henley on his Tour debut, and doing so he ripped up the standing records for just about everything.

Russell  finished at -24 under par and a total score of 256, breaking by four shots the Sony Open in Hawaii scoring record, last set by Brad Faxon in 2001. Russell relegated Tim Clark into second place by three shots, Tim was himself on fire, he birdied seven of his last eleven holes and actually only made up one shot on Russell, the rookie from the University of Georgia.

Russell is now tied at the top the FedEx Cup standings in the company of Dustin Johnson on 500 points. The win was the second-lowest score for a 72-hole tournament in PGA TOUR history, two shots behind Tommy Armour III in 2003 at the Valero Texas Open. He also  set tournament records for the low 36-hole score after his 63-63 start, he shared the 54-hole record with Scott Langley and also set another tournament record with the lowest final round by a Champion.

Add to that he became the first PGA TOUR rookie to win his debut since Garrett Willis did at Tucson in 2001, and he will be going to the Masters in April, a local tournament for the boy from Macon, Georgia.

He said of his record breaking day that he had never been so nervous, you would not have imagined that watching him coming down the stretch on Sunday. He played the last nine holes superbly.

“I don’t really know what happened, honestly, this is the most nervous I’ve ever been. That’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s been my goal to make it to the Masters my whole life. I’m kind of speechless right now.”

With the results  of his Web.com Tour season last year and this win Russell Henley has already made it into the world rankings inside the top fifty.  That ranking will get him into the Accenture-Match Play Championship for the top 64 in the world, the qualifying date is only a month away, and he should also be in line for the other WGC at the Cadillac Championship, and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, not forgetting the PGA Championship. All in all quite a PGA TOUR debut, I look forward to watching Russell this season, it will be interesting to see how far he can go, he obviously has the talent.

 

Sony Open, Russell Henley Hijacks the Lead

Russell Henley / Hugh Gentry/Reuters

Russell Henley hijacked the second round lead in the Sony Open in Hawaii, from his friend and first round leader Scott Langley, with another round of -7 under par 63. The two rookies continue to defy all the odds and dominate the leaderboard between them. Russell, who is just  two days into his PGA Tour career is already in the record books, breaking the 36-hole tournament scoring record by two shots, at -14 under par and a total of 126, the previous 36-hole record at the Sony Open was 128, shared by five players, most recently John Cook in 2002.

Russell said it all seems a bit unreal;

” It’s pretty surreal.”

The two Scotts, Langley and Piercy are now tied two shots behind on -12 under par, Scott Langley followed his opening round 62, with a second round of 66, and Scott Piercy had another round of 64, both players total 128.

Scott Langley admitted it was hard to match his amazing first round 62;

“It’s never easy to back up a really good round, I kind of got off to a little slower start, but it was certainly nice to finish the way I did and kind of get back in it with Russ. He played so well, and I was just trying to keep pace as much as I can. To finish that way was really good.”

Scott Piercy had to admit he knew very little about the two new rookies;

” It’s Russell something and Langley?  I think Russell won when he was in college, right? Hey, they’re playing well. I think I played in five final groups as a rookie and didn’t come through. There’s a learning curve, but maybe their curve is quicker than mine.”

Matt Kuchar is in fourth place alone on -11 under par, with his second round score of -7 under par, 63. Matt was real happy with the conditions here at the Waialae Country Club in  Honolulu, coming from last weeks windy weather in Maui;

” Coming from last week, it feels really easy out there, this course, is not as simple as it seems, it’s one of the tougher courses on tour. If you’re not playing well, you’re going to make some bogeys. I understand the wind is supposed to really die down over the weekend, so I certainly expect low scoring. The course is in great shape, greens are beautiful, so there’s going to be a lot more birdies and your foot has definitely got to be down on the pedal.”

One sad note today, Dustin Johnson who won last week at Kapalua, withdrew after nine holes today, suffering from the flu. Dustin will now not  get a chance to match Ernie Els as the only players to sweep the two Hawaii events.

He said of his malaise;

” I feel like I’m coming down with whatever my caddie’s got, just not feeling well. Stomach hurts, headache, tired.”

I think that as long as Scott and Russell are paired together one of them will win this tournament  they are helping each other and are not too bothered about the rest of the field. But if they are split up for the last round, competing against a seasoned Tour professional, then the going will get a little tougher coming down the stretch on Sunday.

Hyundai Tournament of Champions, it was a long haul, but Dustin Johnson wins

Dustin Johnson / Christian Peterson / Getty Images

Dustin Johnson fired a five-under 68 on another blustery day and a long haul at the Kapalua Resort, fighting the wild and windy Plantation Course, Hawaii, to finish four shots clear of defending champion Steve Stricker.

Dustin posted a 16-under par total at the weather wrecked event that was trimmed to three rounds and which forced the officials into to a rare Tuesday finish because of relentless howling winds that did not allow the first round to be played until Monday.

Dustin was full of confidence for the coming year with this win;

“It gives me a lot of confidence going into this year. It was nowhere near ho-hum, I had to really fight hard. The chip on 14 was definitely the biggest shot, maybe the drive; the drive set it up all. I hit a great drive right at the flag, which came up just short, and I had a really easy pitch. Fortunate to hit a great pitch and it went right in the middle.”

Dustin  has now won PGA TOUR events in six straight years, since coming out of college, Tiger Woods is the only other golfer who can make that claim, and only Phil Mickelson, who has won events the last nine years, has a longer annual streak. That is illustrious company to be mixing with.

When asked what he expected for the future, Dustin said;

” I don’t really look ahead that far, I kind of go week-to-week. I’m looking at next week where I want to go in and play three good rounds and then contend on Sunday for another victory, that’s my goal. If I keep playing golf like I’m playing right now, then, you know, obviously there is no limit.”

Steve Stricker finished alone in second place at -12 under par, not bad for a man limping along on one leg, he had accepted defeat on the 14th hole;

” He’s very athletic and he’s just going to continue to get better. That’s going to be the fun part watching what he’s going to do from here on out, because he looks unflappable out there. He hit a couple wayward drives and opened the door for me a little bit, and then he stepped up there with a driver again, and I’m like, OK. But then he piped it and chips it in. It looks like very little fear in him, because he’ll hit one a little crooked, but he’ll pull out that driver again and try it again, and he pulled it off, especially at 14. That was the deciding shot and chip for the tournament. Expect a lot of good things as he continues his career.”

Brandt Snedeker was in third place at -10 under par for the tournament, six shots behind the leader Dustin Johnson, but he moved to No. 8 in the World Golf Rankings, second only to Tiger Woods among the Americans.

Chaos at Kapalua, Dustin Johnson Leads, going into Tough Tuesday.

Dustin Johnson / Stan Badz/ PGA Tour

Dustin Johnson leads the weather wrecked Hyundai Tournament of Champions, at the Kapalua Plantation Course, in Hawaii. It is now Monday, with 18 holes still to be played. Dustin leads Steve Stricker by three shots with his tournament total of -11 under par, with rounds of 69 and 66.

Dustin only missed three greens in regulation, but had a couple of three putts, he said;

“I hit the ball really well this afternoon. I’m pretty pleased with my equipment, I’m pretty pleased with my game right now.”

Steve Stricker, now at -8 under par for the tournament, has recently been suffering from a constant pain problem, but thinks it is going to be tough for Dustin  to win from the front;

“Nobody knows if it’s a muscle with pressure on the sciatic nerve or if there’s a problem with a disk, my back feels great. I don’t feel tight, I don’t feel stiff. Just every time I get over to my left side, I’m getting a shooting pain down my leg. I’m not hitting it full strength and I’m just trying to keep it in front of me and play the smart shots. It felt as crappy on the first hole as the last hole. You’ve just got to go out and play and play your hardest and see what happens, I’ve been in that position where he’s at now. It’s a tough spot. It’s tough to win in front. We’ve got really nothing to lose tomorrow and it makes it a little bit easier for us, but tougher on him.”

Bubba Watson is alone in third place at -7 under par for the tournament, and  will be trying to win in his sixth straight season since leaving college, the longest streak of any player since Tiger Woods, and remember he won the last two 54-hole events on the PGA TOUR, at the hurricane-shortened Barclays in 2011 and rain-delayed AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in 2009. Bubba is pretty happy with his position in this weather wrecked tournament;

“Just happened to win those two events, I’ve still got 18 more holes of golf. It wouldn’t matter if it was 72 holes or 54. Tomorrow is still the last round and there’s 18 holes to play, so got to get the job done.” 

So its last round, Tough Tuesday at crazy Kapalua, in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

 

 

Ryder Cup 2012; Europe beat USA after record comeback

 

European Ryder Cup Winning Captain Jose Maria Olazabal

The Ryder Cup 2012 turned into a magical explosion of great golf as the European Ryder Cup Team produced a stunning final-day comeback to win the Ryder Cup at a shell-shocked Medinah Country Club on the final day of this wonderful competition, to beat Team U.S.A. I personally have to eat humble pie, after yesterday saying a betting man would not give Europe a chance, you can see why I am not a gambling man.

Team U.S.A.  only required four points from the 12 on offer on the last day, Team Europe somehow secured eight and a half to clinch a historic 14½-13½ win. German Martin Kaymer sank a five-foot putt on the 18th green to get his team to the 14 points needed to retain the Ryder Cup Trophy, before a Tiger Woods bogey in the final match gifted them overall victory.

Etched in the sky during the last day was a message about remembering  Seve,  so I guess it worked. Team Europe wore the trademark Seve Ballesteros colors for the final day, it was a fitting tribute. European Team Captain said,

“Seve will always be present with this team. He was a big factor for this event, for the European side, and last night when we were having that meeting, I think the boys understood that believing was the most important thing, and I think they did.”

This was the first time in three days that Team Europe had come charging out of the traps, Luke Donald going into an early two-hole lead over Bubba Watson and muting both his opponent and the crowd in the process. Then with Justin Rose also two up on Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy held off the previously unbeatable Keegan Bradley and the unsung hero Paul Lawrie taking early control against Brandt Snedeker. There was an entirely different atmosphere around the course than there had been on the first two one-sided days. Team Europe won the first five matches of the day, and that set the tone, and paved the way to Victory.

In the end  it came down to the last two matches on the final two holes, both matches were all-square and is was all square on the leaderboard.  None of the four, Martin Kaymer, Steve Stricker, Francesco Molinari or Tiger Woods, had won a single point between them all week. Then suddenly Steve Stricker three-putted on the 17th green and Martin Kaymer had a one-hole lead. Tiger Woods went one up on Molinari on the 17th which left Martin Kaymer two putts for the Cup, and he somehow held his nerve as the shadows lengthened to seal an extraordinary triumph. The usually noisy home galleries were silent with disbelief, as a dazed Tiger Woods blew two putts from within eight feet to hand Molinari a half point, and with it victory.

U.S.A. Team Captain Davis Love 111 said in disbelief;

“We know what it feels like now from the ’99 Ryder Cup, it’s a little bit shocking. We were playing so well.”

USA 13½-14½ Europe

Singles matches:

Watson lost to Donald 2&1

Simpson lost to Poulter 2 up

Bradley lost to McIlroy 2&1

Mickelson lost to Rose 1 up

Snedeker lost to Lawrie 5&3

D Johnson beat Colsaerts 3&2

Z Johnson beat McDowell 2&1

Furyk lost to Garcia 1 up

Dufner beat Hanson 2 up

Kuchar lost to Westwood 3&2

Stricker lost to Kaymer 1 up

Woods halved with Molinari

BMW Championship 3rd round, Vijay and Phil at the top.

Vijay Singh & Phil Mickelson/Getty Images

Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson sit atop the leaderboard after the third round of the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Course in Carmel Indiana on Saturday. Vijay had a modest -3 under par 69, against Phil and his magnificent third round of -8 under par 63. Both players sharing the top spot at -16 under par. The rest of the field is very close behind them, World number one, and last weeks winner Rory McIlroy is tied in third place with Lee Westwood at -15 under par. The best golfers in the world tore it up, aided and abetted by the organizers, lift, clean and place just made it too easy for the likes of these guys.

Vijay answered a question about whether he could last the four rounds;

” I’ve one more to do, I’ve got to play a little better than what I did today. I’ve got to make less mistakes than I did today. I think I can do that.”

Phil Mickelson is glad that his game is back, he affirmed that with his 10 birdies on the round today;

” It’s taken me a little while to piece it back together, but I could tell last week that my game was back and I was ready to play at the highest level again, I came out Thursday and forced it a little too much the front nine. But after that, I’ve been able to settle down and play some good golf. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s shootout. It should fun.”

Rory McIlroy was delighted to be only one shot back of the leaders after a not very good third round;

” I’m delighted just to be one back going into tomorrow because the display of golf I put on out there from tee to green was not very good. I hung in there and made some putts on the back nine and was able to get myself back in the tournament.”

Lee Westwood spoke about the star-studded top of the leaderboard;

” The cream has risen to the top, hasn’t it.”

There are 16 players that are separated by only five shots, that between them have won 29 majors and 21 World Golf Championships, and four of them have been at No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking over the last decade, that’s some leaderboard.

There are three players hovering at -14 under par, Adam Scott and Robert Garrigus shot rounds of  -6, 66 today, while Dustin Johnson had a -5, 67 for the same total for the tournament. Tiger Woods is alone in eighth place at -13 under par after his meager third round of -1 under par 71.

Tiger said he thinks he still has a chance, if he plays well;

” I’m within reach, I have to probably shoot 63 or 64 tomorrow to have a chance.”

Adam Scott commented on the gallery, and said he was pleased to be in the mix;

“The crowd is pretty rowdy, and it’s an incredible leaderboard, it’s going to be fun. I’m glad I put myself in that position.”

 It seems that just about everyone has something at stake tomorrow, and everyone has a chance, Dustin Johnson summed it all up;

” It’s the Playoffs, guys come to play golf in the big tournaments. It seems like all year the top guys are up there every time.”

Lets go play golf.

U.S. Ryder Cup Captain DL111 & his Team

Davis Love 111/U.S. Ryder Cup Captain/Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Davis Love 111, the U.S. Ryder Cup Captain had made his wildcard picks and now has his Team to challenge the Europeans at Medinah, starting on September 28th 2012. D.L 111 has included these players in his team as his four wildcard entries, they are; Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker.

Here is the line up of both Teams;

USA                                                                         Europe 

Davis Love III (C)                                                Jose Maria Olazabal (C)
Tiger Woods                                                          Rory McIlroy
Phil Mickelson                                                     Luke Donald
Matt Kuchar                                                         Martin Kaymer
Zach Johnson                                                      Lee Westwood
Webb Simpson                                                    Ian Poulter
Bubba Watson                                                     Nicolas Colsaerts
Keegan Bradley                                                  Paul Lawrie
Jason Dufner                                                       Graeme McDowell
Dustin Johnson                                                  Sergio Garcia
Jim Furyk                                                             Justin Rose
Brandt Snedeker                                                Peter Hanson
Steve Stricker                                                     Francesco Molinari

 

Europe have World number one Rory McIlroy at the top of their lineup, and he is backed up by other consistent players like Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose, the Europeans have a formidable squad.

The U.S. commentators think the American Team offer more consistency from top to bottom than the Europeans, and with the likes of Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner and Webb Simpson, it’s a US squad that’s not to be dismissed easily.

Hunter Mahan said he felt empty when D.L. 111 told him the news of his omission from the U.S. Team;

 

” To not be a part of it, it feels empty right now, it feels more empty being at the course. It didn’t feel that bad when Davis told me because,  it ended up being a two-week trial, kind of a sprint to the finish, who was going to play the best, because I think he stated he wanted Stricker and Furyk, so there was really only two spots left, and Brandt and Dustin just outplayed me at the end of the day. I just didn’t play good enough. And that’s OK. It’s OK to get beat by somebody. That’s part of golf, and that’s part of the game. But like I say, it just feels empty right now.”

Tiger Woods commented on Hunter’s plight;

” It’s tough for Davis and it’s tough for Hunter. Unfortunately it just didn’t go Hunter’s way. I know that he’s pretty down about it, but he’s got two big events to play in. He’ll turn around and he’ll just start playing well.”

European Captain Jose Maria Olazabal said his was surprised that Hunter was left off the U.S. Team;

” They are very solid picks,  all the American players, from nine to 14 on the list, were very solid and Davis could have picked any four. The only question mark as I see it was Snedeker picked ahead of Mahan, but then Davis has gone for form. Snedeker has pretty much been playing well from the start of the summer and all the way to the FedEx series. However, Mahan has not been playing all that well, so Love went for form and in that regard, he has my respect.”

This is going to be a great Ryder Cup, let’s go play golf.