LPGA. LOTTE Championship. Suzann Petterson Pulls Ahead

Suzann Petterson pulled ahead of the pack at the LPGA, Suzann Petterson at Ko Olina Golf Club, Ohau Hawaii, with a third round of -4 under par, 68 and a -14 under par total.

Suzann Petterson /  Eugene Tanner/The Associated Press

Suzann had a lovely third round of  -4 under par, one shot clear of  Hee Kyung Seo, who fired in an even better round of -6 under par 66, to trail Suzann by just one shot at -13 under par.

 Suzann said she made a couple of adjustments and played the back nine pretty good;

” I found a few little keys yesterday on the range, just to tighten up the swing a fraction after two days in the wind, and I came up the back pretty good. Birdied the first three and just really tried to keep feeding the ball to the hole and trying to stay aggressive.  I had one three‑putt, and other than that I played pretty solid.  It’s definitely on the challenging side out here. There’s too many good players to start stepping on the brake, but I really hope that they will set up the course in a fun way tomorrow, make the par fives reachable.  I love seeing us being able to reach the par fives and tuck the pins.  It makes it exciting, it could be for the good and for the bad.  But let us have some risk‑reward. I hope they’ll make it a little bit more playful tomorrow, just mix it up, and yeah, just let us go low.”

Hee Kyung Seo said she was trying out a new shorter address routine, something she had watch Adam Scott and Angel Cabrera do at the Masters;

” My caddie Dean Herden always said to me that the shorter routine helps a lot to make more good shots or good putts, but I always struggled when I got to the ball, it was hard to make a shot. But from last week Masters I could see Angel and Adam just didn’t think about anything on the ball, just hit and waited for the result.  So I just tried to do that, not think about the bad things or the results and other things but just swing it and feel it, and it helped a lot, I think.”

In third place on her own is Ai Miyazato, three shots back at -11 under par, she won this event last year at -12 under par, so the scoring this year is lower.

Ai reported that the greens are softer this year;

” I think the greens are definitely softer than last year, I think that makes a big difference.  I remember it was really tough to make an adjustment with the iron shots last year.  Definitely the greens are softer, so you can be a little bit more aggressive than last year, so I think that makes them a little bit more lower this year.”

Stacy Lewis  has put herself within reach of taking back the top Rolex Rankings spot and even perhaps winning the tournament as well, Stacy currently sits in a tie for fifth at 9-under-par for the tournament.

Good luck to everyone for tomorrow, I am sure it is going to be an exciting last round of golf.

 

LPGA. LOTTE Championship. Suzann Petterson Lead after Round 2.

Suzann Petterson leads after the second round of the LPGA, LOTTE Championship, with her total score of -10 under par.

Suzann Petterson / LPGA

Suzann battled hard against the elements at Ko Olina Golf Club in Hawaii, wind and rain being the main opponents against great golf. Suzann shot a second round of -3 under par 69, to lead by one shot from defending Champion, Ai Miyazato.

” You’re just really trying to play the course, and what it gives us.” There are certain holes you can take advantage of, and then others that are more; where par is a good score. But I think today even on the holes where I felt like I should have made a birdie and I made a par, I said, Par is not going to hurt me today.  So a decent day.  It was tough to play solid golf. Once you pick your shot, pick your club, it’s go time, I mean, playing away from the pin not so much, but playing smart. So when I had a short enough club in my hand I felt like I was aggressive enough.  Just accepting that a game of perfect, it is not the day for that. So got up and down quite a few times, feeling good with my putter.  Yeah, just hanging in there today and just really trying not to get too comfortable. Just really tried to keep pushing and pressing.  I’m pretty happy with a 69 today. It’s one of my strengths, I usually don’t shy away when I get to the back nine.  Feeling good, feeling sharp.  I mean, par fives, I think it’s tough throughout.  Doesn’t really matter what kind of shot you have.  If you have a ninety yard shot straight into the wind, into the grain, you’re trying not spin it; you’re trying to kind of flight it. You’re going through the repertoire.  It’s like my caddie said before we teed up.  It’s going to be a war out there.  And it was.  We had sunshine, rainbow, rain.  It was a great day.”

Ai was not sure if the conditions suited her;

” I’m not sure if it suits me.  I feel really tough out there, I’m pretty tired now. But, you know, like I said, I grew up in the wind and I like to play in this wind. This morning when I get to the golf course I’m like, now I’m in Hawaii.  Hawaii is always windy place, and always fun to play this weather conditions. It was definitely windier than yesterday so it was pretty tough out there, but the first couple holes it was kind of up and down because I made birdie and bogey and birdie and bogey.  It was kind of roller coaster.  After that I felt like more used with this wind. Then the back nine I just made great putts out there.  It was great feeling.”

At five feet five inches, Stacy Lewis was the tallest player in her group, playing alongside Ai Myazato and the rookie Moriya Jutanugarn, both of them at five foot two inches. Stacy joked about talking to her caddie, Travis Wilson, who stands at six feet tall;

” I told my caddie, Travis Wilson yesterday, you must feel really tall.I think it’s he’s almost six feet tall. It’s definitely different.  I’m used to being the short one. I think what Michelle Wie was saying about her putting stance and trying to get lower to the ground, so maybe it is.  I don’t know. To play well on this golf course you got to hit it straight.  I think that’s the biggest thing this week.”

Of the terrific teenagers, Hyo Joo Kim is tied in third place at -7 under par, Lydia Ko is at -2 under par and Ayria Jutanugarn fell back following her magnificent opening round to finish the second day at -5 under par.

 

Humana Challenge, Brian Gay Wins, Scott Did Stall.

 

Brian Gay / Getty Images

The Humana Challenge was won by 41-year-old Brian Gay, at  the PGA West Palmer Course, La Quinta, California on Sunday. Brian won in a play-off against Chucky Three Sticks and David Lingmerth, with a birdie on the second play-off hole, the tenth. With this win Brian also moves to number one in the Fed Ex Cup standings.

A shocked Brian said;

“I’m still in a little bit of shock, it kind of happened so fast there at the end the way things went down. Last year was a struggle, it was a long year, a lot of work. I just wanted to come out this year kind of refocused, recharged, and believing in myself. My whole game’s been about accuracy and short game. I’ve always been a short hitter on the TOUR and I felt like as I was getting older I’m only going to get shorter and shorter. The thoughts were, just be aggressive, shoot as low as you can. It was tough last year trying to play making those changes.”

Charles Howell 111 tied for second a week after opening the season with a third-place tie in Hawaii in the Sony Open, his last TOUR title was in 2007. Chucky Three Stick admits it is a mentally tough task competing on the TOUR;

“Anybody that says that golf is fun or whatever, has really not done it for a living, I would never characterize this as fun. It’s different than that. It’s awfully challenging mentally. Quite honestly, going into the day, I didn’t really think that anybody had a chance apart from Scott, he’s won before, he hits it long enough to take advantage of the par fives. At 22 under, I figured if he shoots 6, or 7 under, he’s really not catchable. So, then to have a chance there in regulation, that’s where I really would like that one back, that three-putt there.”

David Lingmerth tied for second with Chucky, he was ,making only his second career appearance on the PGA TOUR, he also got into the play-off  but duffed his approach into the water, a bad lie costing him dearly;

“I didn’t feel that comfortable over it, obviously, I just hit a bad shot.”

Scott obviously Stalled, he needed a birdie at the last to win, and a par to get into the play-off, he unfortunately he wobbled at the wrong moment;

“You’re going to have your good days and your bad days, but if you live and die with every shot out there, your career is not going to last very long out there.”

Phil Mickelson finished way down the list at -17 under par for the tournament, he put it down to being rusty;

“I was rusty starting the year, I had a great four days here where I can work on my game with perfect weather and wonderful golf courses, where I could build some momentum. Heading into San Diego, I feel a lot more confident.”

 

 

Humana Challenge, Three Tied at the Top

There are three players tied at the top of the leaderboard at the Humana Challenge event at PGA West ,  La Quinta California, the event that was formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic.

Jason Kokrak, Roberto Castro and James Hahn share the top of the leaderboard at -9 under par with rounds of 63.

Jason said he was concentrating on getting the ball in the fairway;

“I just tried to put it in the right spots, put it in the fairways, out there, that’s key. They’re tighter fairways and if you can be in the fairway, you’ll have a good opportunity for birdie.”

Roberto Castro had nine birdies at PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus Private Course, and James Hahn had nine birdies on PGA West’s Arnold Palmer Private Course. 

James said he was happy with his day, especially the two chip-ins;

” It was a great day, chipped two in. Hadn’t done that since I was 9.”

Russell Henley, who won the Sony Open in Hawaii last Sunday, shot a round of -8 under par, 64 on the Nicklaus Course, he said it was a perfect day;

” It was a perfect day, the weather is perfect, the greens were true. So, it’s just trying to stay patient and let the birdies come to me.”

Phil Mickelson made his first tournament start since tying for second in early November in the HSBC Champions in China, the only event he played in after the Ryder Cup, he finished at even par, after a miracle shot at the par three twelfth. His tee shot flew to the left, leaving him behind a  tall tree blocking his path to the green.  A full blooded swing flop shot climbed miraculously nearly straight up and over the 25-foot tree and stopped 2 feet from the hole. It helped him salvage his par on the hole and eventually his round. Phil spoke later about that shot;

“That was one of my better wedges, but, as I was telling my partner, `You hit it there as much as I do, eventually you’re going to learn how to hit those shots.’”

Referring to the tee shot that lead up to it, Phil just said;

” It was just very bad timing, quick from the top, lower body fast, just a bad swing. I did the same thing on the next par 3 with the same club. Only it went the other way. I made par both times, though.”

I just wish I could get away with a bad shot and make par, my bad shots are usually terminal.

Mike Weir,  opened with a -5 under par round of 67, the 2003 Champion has unfortunately missed 16 consecutive cuts,he was pleased to get of to a good start here;

“I drove it well and putted well and everything was pretty good. It was a nice solid round to get off to a good start.”

 

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, Hawaii, Rookie Scott Langley Leads

on the left is Scott Langley/ Getty Images

The Sony Open in Hawaii at the Waialae Country Club.had a surprising first round leader in Scott Langley, in his first start as a rookie on Tour. Scott fired in a first round 62, -8 under par, with some wonderful stroke play and nerveless putting. Scott said he was excited about the coming days of this tournament;

“I’m a young guy, but I’m old enough to know that we have a lot of golf left. We’ve barely started, and I’m excited about the next few days.”

Just one shot behind the leader in second place is another rookie, Russell Henley, with his opening effort of -7 under par 63. Russell was pleased he got friends Scott and Luke Guthrie as his playing partners in the first round;

“I think there was a lot of nerves for me the first few holes and I think playing with Scotty and Luke was huge for me, and watching them play well kind of gave me a goal to try to keep up with them, so it was definitely fun feeding off them.”

Unfortunately Luke Guthrie did not fare so well, finishing at +1 over par, tied in 88th place.

A year ago Scott and Russell two were playing in a Hooters Tour event in Florida, Russell missing the cut and Scott just making it to proceed, walking up sixteen today the pair reminisced, Scott said;

“We were on the range trying to help each other find it. We were just walking up 16, you could see the ocean behind, PGA TOUR signs everywhere. We looked at each other and realized this is pretty cool. To look back one year ago and to know that we weren’t here, we were in a far different place.”

Tied in third spot at -6 under par are Scott Piercy and Tim Clark, Scott Piercy had a 64 in the morning, with Tim Clark matching that score in the afternoon session. Tim spent most of last year suffering from a mystery elbow injury, and came into this tournament with fairly low expectations;

“It’s going to be an exciting year for me because I do feel like I’m healthy again and can play a full schedule. I’m obviously doing a lot better than I was last year.”

Scott Piercy, the RBC Canadian Open champion, was among 20 players in the field who started their season last week on Maui, at the weather wrecked Hyundai Tournament of Champions on the Plantation Course, he recalled the terrible putting performance he endured;

” Seven three-putts and a four-putt last week. The wind wasn’t even blowing today compared to last week. I just played solid today, hit it in a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, made two fairly key putts and took care of the par fives.”

Seventy players in the 144-man field broke par, they included a pair from the Champions Tour. Russ Cochran, who won the Senior British Open in 2011, he had a first round of 68 and Fred Funk who shot an even par round of 70.

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.

 

 

Wind the Winner at Kapalua

 

The Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course on Maui. Hawaii was forced to cancel the first round on Saturday, due to high winds.  PGA TOUR officials hope to get in 36 holes Sunday, and play 18 on Monday’s final day, declaring a champion after 54 holes.

Slugger White, the PGA Tour’s vice president of rules and operations explained;

“We got balls rolling all over the green, so we have canceled play for the day.”

It was the same story on Friday, the opening round was wiped out with the first group through eight holes. Three groups did not tee off after an official saw Carl Pettersson’s 40-foot putt on the second green get blown 30 feet past the hole and off the green.

Slugger added;

” Forecast for tomorrow is a little better, 15- to 25-mph with gusts, maybe, to 30. A little less moisture, more like pineapple showers than these downpours that we have had.”

Brandt Snedeker has not played an official shot for 2013, he is playing in the final group alongside defending champion Steve Stricker ,and they did not tee off Friday. Brandt said he was happy with the officials’ decision;

“Yeah, they did do the right thing, it’s just a little too windy out there for us to play.  If the course wasn’t so exposed, it wouldn’t be a problem, but you have a lot of greens exposed to 40-mile-an-hour wind gusts. It’s tough to make that call, they did the right thing. We had to try to play today if we wanted to try to get 72 holes in. Unfortunately a short day, but hopefully get out tomorrow and get some golf.”

Hunter Mahan reported that the 30 players were trying to take the delays in stride;

“It’s difficult, we are in such a cool place and we can’t really do much. It’s strange when you go down the road 10 minutes or 15, 20 minutes and it’s great, it looks beautiful over there but for some reason right here, it’s tough. It’s difficult to figure out if you want to go hit balls right now or wait till later or what you want to do. I think we all are trying to figure out what to do and what’s the best plan for us to get ready for the next two days or three days.”

I can sympathize with those guys, I understand what it is like with those winds. Here at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Course, in New Zealand, the winds have been blowing pretty constantly for a couple of months, playing to your handicap recently has been a rarity.

Kapalua / Getty Images

PGA Tour Parts Company with Mickey and Minnie, and The Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.

 

It was a sad day Monday when the PGA Tour released a portion of its 2013-14 schedule, with one glaring omission. The Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic is not part of the new lineup. Tournament spokesperson Tony Morreale announced;

 “It was a mutual decision between us and the Tour.”

The Disney event has  been a permanent fixture on the Tour since 1971, when Jack Nicklaus won the inaugural Walt Disney World Open Invitational, and in recent years it has enjoyed being the final event on the circuit’s schedule. For sometime now speculation had been building  that with the Tour’s transition to a split-calendar schedule beginning next season, and the loss of its title sponsor, November’s event, which was last won by Charlie Beljan, would be the end of the Miracles for the Children.

Ryan Palmer the 2004 Disney champion, said;

” I honestly think it would have gotten a better field as part of the FedEx Cup. It will be sad to see an event like this go away. Disappointed to see it leave.”

The Frys.com Open will start the 2013-14 schedule beginning Oct. 20-13 followed by the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (Oct. 17-20) in Las Vegas. Then following two events in Asia, CIMB Classic (Oct. 24-27) and World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions (Oct. 31-3) – the circuit returns to North America for The McGladrey Classic in Georgia and the OHL Classic at Mayakoba (Mexico) in November. After November there will be a break of one and a half months before the Tour resumes it’s season with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions Friday Jan 4 – Monday Jan 7, 2013, at the Plantation Course at Kapalua · Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii.