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 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Volvo World Match Play Championship

Results after the opening round of the Volvo World Match Play Championship on the European Tour at the Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort in Bulgaria. The biggest upset of the day was Thongchai Jaidee beating Ian Poulter 3&2 in the Pool Gabrielsson.  Poults now has to beat Thomas Aitken tomorrow to progress through to the knock-out rounds. Although it must have come as a bit of a shock to Poults, regarded as the King of match-play, he said it was no drama;

“No dramas. He’s a great player but I gave him holes today and you don’t do that in match play, it’s dead simple. It’s a tough golf course where if you hit a couple of errant shots then you’re going to be struggling to be back in the hole. If you miss a couple of shots then it’s very penal and it’s hard to put your opponent back under pressure. But I’ll be fine. It’s not often you lose in match play and everything is fine.”

Ian Poulter / Getty Images

Another player with work to do is Nicolas Colsaerts, the defending Champion,who lost his opening match to Branden Grace. He has to beat Kiradech Aphibarnrat to progress. Nicolas also remarked that he was lucky the first matches were not knock-out;

” I know that if I have a good game tomorrow then at least I’m in a playoff. I’ve got the possibility to go through, that’s the consolation of the format.”

Other results are as follows, winners in blue:

Gonzalo FDEZ-CASTAÑO 1 up Jamie DONALDSON

Thorbjørn OLESEN 4&3 Carl PETTERSSON

Henrik STENSON 2&1 Francesco MOLINARI

Branden GRACE 4&3 Nicolas COLSAERTS

Bo VAN PELT Match Halved Richard STERNE

Peter HANSON 2&1 George COETZEE

Ian POULTER 3&2 Thongchai JAIDEE

Graeme MCDOWELL 5&3 Chris WOOD

The Players Championship. Sergio Surges, Castro Crashes.

Sergio Garcia surged to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of The PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP at TPC Sawgrass, while Roberto Castro, yesterdays first round hero crashed down the board.

Sergio Garcia / Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Sergio shot a second round -7 under par 65, to surge to the top of the leaderboard with a tournament total of -11 under par.

Sergio, a past winner here, in 2008, is his own man, and fears no one, not even second placed Tiger;

“I don’t have to measure myself against anybody, I know what I want to try to do, and any given day I can shoot a round like this and any other day he can shoot a good round and beat me. Like we always say, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. So there are going to be good days and not so good days, so just got to enjoy the good ones as much as possible. Fortunately for me, I’ve managed to play quite decent on this golf course, so any good thing that you can get in your head, it’s obviously positive and those kind of things always help. But it’s a different year. We’ll see if we can manage to do something similar.”

Tiger is just one shot adrift of the leader, at -11 under par, after his second round of -5 under par 67.

Tiger was pretty happy to be where he is;

“ I’m pretty pleased with where it’s at right now, I’ve just never been able to put it all together for this one particular week. But so far this year, I’m right there. Even though I haven’t played well in the past, I’ve still won here, actually, I’ve won here twice, technically. { Tiger was referring to the U.S. Amateur in 1994 }  I haven’t played my best here, but I’ve always felt that courses, even though it’s been a while I’ve won on them, I’ve still won on them, I know how to get around this golf course. This course, more than most, really tests every facet of your game. You have to drive the ball well. You have to hit your irons in the correct spots, and if you don’t hit your irons in the correct spots, you’re going to have some really funky up-and-downs. It’s trying to manage the ball in the correct spots, and I’ve done that the first two days.”

There are three players tied in third place, at -9 under par for the tournament; they are, Kevin Chappell, second round -6 under. Lee Westwood also with a -6 under,66, and Henrik Stenson, -5 under par second round.

Roberto Castro crashed down the leaderboard, struggling with a second round +6 over par,78, but he did make the cut.

Big name cut casualties include, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell and Ernie Els. Quite a star-studded list.

Tomorrow is moving day, who will move out of the reckoning ?

 

RBC Heritage. G-Mac wins in Play-Off

G-Mac, Graeme McDowell, won the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links on the first hole of a sudden death  play-off against Webb Simpson at Hilton Head Island.

Graeme McDowell / Lecka / Getty Images

Graeme and Webb both finished the RBC Heritage tournament at -9 under par, in very windy and inhospitable conditions.

Graeme reported how hard it is to win;

” This game kicks you more often than it gives you a pat on the back, it’s hard to win. I guess the weather was what the doctor ordered. I needed that to get close to the leaders. It’s funny the way things happen, I wouldn’t swap this for a top ten last week.”

The reigning U.S. Open Champion, Webb Simpson, had a chance to win in regulation play, but his twenty two foot putt for birdie went three feet past the hole and set up the sudden death play-off.

Webb stated that he had no confidence coming in to this tournament, but was convinced that the last putt was going in;

” I came in with not too much confidence, but I just stayed true to the process of what we’ve been working on. I never thought I made a putt more than that birdie putt, it was in. With a foot to go, it was in the left side. Coming back, that was a hard putt, because by the grain and the wind it’s supposed to break, but the regulation putt didn’t break. So I was kind of stuck with, ‘What do I do?’ I tried to play it left center. It broke. My caddie and I called 18 holes today 18 acts, as if we were in a play, just because you really cannot think ahead out there. It’s as hard as we’ll ever play.”

A dejected Webb Simpson / Lecka / Getty Images

Luke Donald tied for third place with Kevin Streelman at -7 under par, Luke admitting that the weather forecast from the National Weather Service advising of gust up to 45 mph were accurate, the worst playing conditions all year;

” Extremely difficult, strongest wind I’ve played in all year.”

The 54 hole leader Charlie Hoffman nose dived in the final round, shooting a lackluster 77, which left him tied in sixth place.

Charlie said he played OK, just did not make the putts he needed to;

” I actually hit the ball all right today, I just didn’t make the putts like I needed to make yesterday. It was tough conditions and I didn’t capitalize on the situations that I had. The shots I hit good didn’t turn out like I thought they were going to turn out.”

 

RBC Heritage. Three Tied at the Top, in Storm Hit Harbour Town.

Play has been suspended for the day with three players tied at the top of the leaderboard at the RBC Heritage on the Harbour Town Golf Links, at the rain affected end of the day. Kevin Streelman, Charley Hoffman and Steve LeBrun are at -6 under par for the competition.

Steve LeBrun, Kevin Streelman and Charley Hoffman / Lecka / Getty Images

In the wet, windy and difficult conditions Kevin and Charley both had second rounds of -1 under par, 70 for their totals, with Steve LeBrun shooting a second round -3 under par 68.

Luke Donald also had second round of -3 under par, and shares T4 with Bill Haas, who came home in -2 under par for the day, both of them at -5 under par.

The next group of players, seven in all, are at -4 under par, they are all handily placed to go forward in this competition tomorrow. They are; Johnson Wagner, Rory Sabbatini, Graeme McDowell, D.H. Lee, Pat Perez, and two Aussies, Stuart Appleby and Marc Leishman. All these players are in the clubhouse, but the cut line has still to be determined  with 17 players still to complete their second rounds. The current cut line is at +1 over par, but could easily move to +2.

Pat Perez said his trying to stay calm;

” I’m trying to stay level, which is always, for me, trying to stay on a high, I’ve really worked hard on it this year. I don’t have the ups and downs. It’s hard, especially for me, because I’ve done it my whole life. But to say, that’s not going to bring me down, let’s try to make 5 instead of 6. And the next hole it’s basically done. I didn’t think I’d make a lot of birdies, but I seem to be hitting it closer than I ever have out here.”

One of those players teetering on the current cut line at +1 over par is Jesper Parnevik, and he is on the 18th hole with an agonising five foot putt left for his par. If he misses that tomorrow, he would drop to +2 over and that would move the cut to that number as well.

Obviously there are other players on the course who could make a birdie and change things back again, it will be a very interesting early start tomorrow.

Of those who have definitely missed the cut are; Vijay Singh +4, Ernie Els +4, John Daly +10, those are just a couple of the higher profile guys who have struggled in this competition.

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.

WGC- Championships. Cadillac Championship, It’s Tigers Trophy.

Tiger Woods won the WGC-Championships, Cadillac Championship at The Blue Monster, Trump Doral.

Tiger Woods / Chris Condon / Getty Images

Tiger Woods had a last round at The Blue Monster of -1 under par, 71, it was good enough to win the tournament by two shots from Steve Stricker. Steve must now be regretting the putting advice he gave to Tiger before the tournament started.

Tiger said any time he can win before Augusta, it is good;

” Thank you to Steve for the putting lesson. It was one of those weeks where I felt pretty good about how I was playing, made a few putts and got it rolling. That’s how I know I can play, that’s the thing. To be able to bring it out a couple times so far this year, and then be able to close and get the Ws on top of that, that’s nice. Any time I can win prior to Augusta, it always feels good.”

Tiger was asked if he still would have won with-out the putting lesson;

” I would like to say I probably would have, but I’ve been putting at home and it just still hadn’t felt right. I still was a little bit off.  He basically got me in the same position that I was at Torrey. So once he put me in there where I felt comfortable, I said, Well, this is not too foreign. This is what I was a month or so ago, and I started rolling it and it felt really, really good. Majors and World Golf Championships are the best because you know you are playing against the best players, that’s what makes wins like this special, that’s why I love to compete.”

Steve had to settle for second place, at -17 under par, his last round of -4 under par 68, not quite good enough to upset Tiger and his legions of adoring fans. He could only laugh about the putting lesson;

“At times you kick yourself, he’s a good friend. We talk a lot about putting. It’s good to see him playing well.”

There was a four-way tie for third place between Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickleson and Graeme McDowell, the man who had kept Tiger in his sights for most of this tournament.

Making a welcome return to form was Rory McIlroy, with a last round of -7 under par 65, to finish the tournament in a four-way tie for eighth spot.

Rory said his game is not so far off the mark as everybody keeps saying;

“Just goes to show, it’s not as far away as you think, that’s been one of my problems. I always think when I’m playing bad that it’s further away than it is. That’s just where I have to stay patient, and know that if I put in the hard work, that the results will bear fruit. Whether that’s sooner or later, it doesn’t really matter.”

Adam Scott had the low round of the tournament with eight birdies in his last round of 64.

WGC-Championships. Tiger Tames The Blue Monster.

Tiger has tamed The Blue Monster, he gained  has 24 birdies, 74 putts and a four-shot lead at Trump Doral, in the Cadillac Championship.

Tiger Woods / Halleran / Getty Images

Tiger Woods completed his third round at The Blue Monster with a score of -5 under par 67, to lead the tournament by four shots with a total of -18 under par. There is now nothing that can stop him winning this tournament, not even the weather. I don’t believe that there is anyone who can now catch Tiger when he is playing with such supreme confidence, the others are all playing for the minor placings.

Graeme McDowell is the man nearest to Tiger, he had a very respectable third round of -3 under par, 69 and was six shots adrift of Tiger with three holes to play. He chipped in for Eagle on 16, gained another shot when Tiger made bogey on 17  with his tee shot embedded into the trunk of a palm tree, and taking a penalty drop.

Tiger said he was looking pretty good until that incident;

“After I made birdie on 15, I was looking pretty good with a six-shot lead, and with a driveable par 4. Two holes later, it’s now cut down to three. I piped a tee shot down there, hit a little 9-iron there and was able to pour that putt in there.”

Graeme was upset with a three put par on the par five, tenth hole after reaching the green in two, but was also very impressed with the way Tiger played today;

” The three-putt on 10 kind of rattled me a little bit, because Tiger didn’t look like he was going to do anything wrong. I really felt like I needed to be making putts like that. All respect to the way he handled himself today and the way he played, he’s going to be a tough guy to catch. But according to the forecast tomorrow, we are going to have strong winds. I think that’s an advantage to the rest of the field. With tough conditions tomorrow, hopefully we’ll have a chance.”

I hate to disagree with you Graeme but I think Tiger will be up for any weather conditions, right now he has found the game to master everything.

Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker both had rounds of -3 under par 69′s, and tied in third place at -13 under par,  are now five shots adrift of Tiger at the top of the leaderboard.

Phil admitted his short game had let him down today;

“I threw away five or six shots on the greens and around the greens, and I feel like I don’t have to play too much different. I just can’t afford to give away those shots. I’m going to have to play a round like I played at Pebble last year, something in the low 60s.”

Steve thinks Tiger will simply close out this tournament;

” You know what kind of closer he is, when he gets the lead in a golf tournament, it’s tough. He doesn’t let too many guys in usually when he gets the lead. We’ve all got our work cut out for us. We’re going to have to go out and try to make birdies on a difficult golf course, which is hard to do.”

Trust me, it’s Tiger’s Tournament.