BMW PGA Championship. Play Suspended, Kingston Claims Lead.

 

Play in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship has been suspended due to darkness on a dramatic opening day on the West Course at Wentworth Club. Currently James Kingston of South Africa has claimed the lead.

 

James Kingston / Getty Images

James Kingston has completed his first round at the BMW PGA Championship with a leading score of -6 under par, 66 at the Wentworth Club in England.

A 90-minute delay at Wentworth, due to the threat of lightning meant the last group, who had only just then teed off, could not complete the course in daylight hours. They will return early on Friday morning to complete their first rounds, and with second round tee times unchanged, all should go smoothly.

In second place is Mikko Ilonen at -5 under par, with Scott Henry and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño a shot further back at -4 under par. All of these players have completed their rounds.

Also at -4 under par is Austrian Martin Wiegele, Martin has only completed 13 holes, so has a chance tomorrow of climbing further up the leaderboard. There were five groups still on the course when play was suspended.

James recieved an invitation to play in this event, he lost his card for the Tour and currently has to survive on these kind of opportunities. He was feeling pretty upset about losing his Tour card;

“I never felt like I played poorly enough to lose my card and that’s what makes it even more frustrating. I felt like I played half decent throughout the whole season, but just never managed to put a score on the board. It does make it a little harder to accept. Getting an invite into this event, what a great feeling to be back here. I think I’ve made the most of it today.”

Mikko was happy to survive in the very cool Wentworth temperatures;

” It was pretty nippy when we started and stayed that way, ”all day I was thinking ‘Can I get these waterproof trousers off?’ and never managed it. We even had hail on the ninth tee. I said to a friend last night it was going to snow today and she laughed at me. It’s British summer and we have proof of that.”

Scott Henry, who graduated from the Challenge Tour last season, only found out he was in the tournament as he boarded a flight from Madeira on Monday morning. He is another player who has grabbed an opportunity, and played well;

“It was nice to see my name on the leaderboard on the back nine, it was a bit surreal. I was pretty nervous this morning, it’s a big tournament and the first time I have been here. It’s a great test of golf and for the first time this year I could put everything together.”

All but one of last year’s victorious Ryder Cup team are in the 150-man field, but several of them fell victim to the closing stretch at Wentworth Club’s famous West Course.

Justin Rose at even, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, last weeks winner started with rounds of 74, Ian Poulter 76 and Luke Donald 78.

 

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 ?

 

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.

Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tiger Triumphs

Tiger Woods triumphed at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, on Monday. The win equalled Sam Snead’s record for winning the same tournament eight times, it also took Tiger to the top of the FedExCup standings, not to mention elevating him back to World number one.

 

Tiger Woods with Arnold Palmer / Cannon / Getty Images

Tiger strolled round the course, with a final round of -2 under par 70, and a tournament total of  -13 under par, giving him a two shot win over Justin Rose. It has been a long time since Tiger was last World number one, actually it was late October 2010. When the collapse came it was pretty devastating, he fell as low as 58th in the world rankings before making his remarkable recovery.

Tiger said it was all down to hard work;

“It’s a byproduct of hard work, patience and getting back to winning golf tournaments.”

Arnold thinks Tiger’s record will stand for a long time;

“I don’t really see anybody touching it for a long time. I had the opportunity to win a tournament five times, and I knew how difficult that was.”

Justin Rose also finished with a last round of -2 under par 70, securing him second place alone. Not what Justin would have had in mind when he was leading the tournament by two shots before his uncharacteristic melt down at the end of the third round.

Rickie Fowler had to settle for a +1 over par 73 and a tie for third place with Mark Wilson (71), Keegan Bradley (71) and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (72).

Congratulations to Tiger, it will be interesting to see if the other players on tour can mount any sort of challenge to Tiger’s dominance.

 

Arnold Palmer Invitational. Tiger Trounces the Course. Justin suffers the Jitters.

Tiger Woods trounced the Bay Hill course in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, shooting a third round -6 under par, 66. Meanwhile Justin Rose, who seemed to be cruising with a two shot lead, suddenly suffered a severe case of the jitters.

Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler / Greenwood / Getty Images

Tiger putted like a champion today, it helped him to his -6 under par round and a tournament total of -11 under par, a lead of two shots over the field. The man looking most likely to mount a serious challenge to Tiger is Rickie Fowler, no slouch himself today, with a third round of -5 under par, which elevated him to -9 under par and in a tie for second place. He will also play with Tiger for the final round, something that he could not handle last year when he faced the same task. He shot a last round 84 that day, compared to the winner Tiger Woods, who came home in 67.

Tiger said he now knows how to fix his game while out on the course;

” I just understand how to fix my game, it’s taken me a while. I was hurt for a long time. The changes to make the swing from where I was to now is a pretty big change.I hit a bad shot here and there, and that’s easy to fix. I know what my fix is going to be and that makes a big difference. I’m much more comfortable, but also I think that I’m feeling pretty good physically, that was huge. I’ve had one more year of working on my game, and here I am. Just because I’ve won here doesn’t ensure that I’m going to win the tournament, the conditions are different. The game might be different. But the objective is still to put myself in position to win the golf tournament and somehow get it done on Sunday. Over the course of my career, I’ve done a pretty decent job of that.”

Rickie remembers that bad day at Memorial;

” After Memorial, I’m looking for a little redemption, I’m feeling good about the pairing, about my game. I’m going in there with the attitude that I have nothing to lose and we’ll see what happens from there. He’s definitely the guy to beat but I’ll be right there to see what’s going on. With him having leads on courses he loves like this and Torrey Pines and Doral, and I’m sure there are others, he’s basically never lost with a lead in the final round. So I’m looking forward to tomorrow and seeing if we can go do that.”

Tied in second place with Rickie are jittery Justin Rose and John Huh, Justin with an even par round and John a -1 under par round.

There are five players another shot back at -8 under par for the tournament, they are; Thorbjorn Olesen, Gonzalo Fedez- Castano, Jimmy Walker, Ken Duke and Bill Haas.

To be honest I can not see anybody challenging Tiger for this title, it is his for the taking. Winning would move him to the top of FedExCup leaderboard, becoming the first player to hold the top spot in five different seasons. Additionally, he’d match Sam Snead as the only other player to win the same tournament eight times and of course he would move back to No. 1 in the World, for the first time since Oct. 30, 2010.

Nobody is going to stop Tiger.

Arnold Palmer Invitational. Justin Joined by Bill Haas

Justin Rose was joined at the top of the leaderboard by Bill Haas, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, presented by MasterCard, at the conclusion of the second round at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.

Justin Rose and Bill Haas / Greenwood / Getty Images

Justin let the lead slip away from him on the last green, with a three putt, to finish his second round with a score of -2 under par 70, and a total of -9 under par.

When asked about the three putt aberration, Justin replied;

” But that was the only thing that hampered the day, really, all in all, an exciting day and I’m in a good position.”

He also gave credit to Tiger for the way he played today;

” He’s normally a fast finisher, and you can expect him to probably finish fast on the weekend. He did a lot of hard work today, he actually played really well. I thought he was probably a couple of shots away from shooting 64 today at times. I’m sure he was very disappointed because he actually played some great golf today.”

Justin also had to battle against a heckler in the crowd;

“I was reading the putt thinking, `Might go a little bit right-to-left of the hole. Fairly straight overall.’ And as I’m lining it up, someone is like, `It goes right. It goes right. It goes right.’ So I’m like, `OK, thanks, buddy. It’s just one of those annoying moments where you’re having to then battle someone who planted a seed. And I hit a great putt that’s in the middle with 4 feet to go and it goes left of the hole.”

Bill Haas said he had in his mind to get back the two shots he should not have dropped yesterday;

“So to leave, basically giving two away, my goal today was try to get those two back and go from there. That was kind of my mindset today, and then I was able to keep it going.”

John Huh is in third place at -8 under par, he had a second round of -3 under par.

Tiger Woods, partnering again with Justin today, hit the ball better but it did not improve his total for the round, in fact he was one shot worse off than yesterday. This was mainly due to  three sloppy bogies to fall four shots behind going into the weekend, when he was actually just one shot out of the lead with three holes to play;

” The good news is we’ve got 36 holes to go, we’ve got a long way to go. And certainly four shots can be made up.”

Tiger is tied in seventh place at -5 under par, after his second round of -2 under par.

Arnold Palmer Invitational. Rosey Rises to The Top.

Englishman Justin Rose fired in a first round -7 under par 65, and rose to the top of the leaderboard, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, leading the field by two shots.

Justin Rose / Cannon / Getty Images

Justin was playing in the group with Tiger Woods at Bay Hill on Thursday, he  put on a clinic with the putter and ran off four straight birdies late in his round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, presented by MasterCard.

Justin did not see this coming, saying;

“If you had said I would shoot a 65 on the range this morning, I would have probably said, `How many holes have I played?’ And that didn’t change much, the first five, six holes out there were a grind.”

The difference today was Justin’s putting;

“ I dedicated myself at making a few changes and getting better at that part of the game. I’ve had some good days, no doubt. And today was probably the first real hot day I’ve had with the blade in a long, long time. We all know it’s about consistency and that’s what I’m still working towards. It’s just fun to know that I obviously can do it, and I enjoy a lot of confidence from that.”

John Huh is in second place, at -5 under par, he  had a chance to catch Justin late in the afternoon, but required a birdie on the final hole to do so. Unfortunately John found a fairway bunker on No. 9 and took a bogey for a -5 under par round of 67.

John Rollins and Brad Fritsch were at -4 under par with rounds of 68, to be tied in third place.

Tiger Woods had two uncharacteristic bogeys from greenside bunkers and definitely did not  hit the ball as well as he did when he won The Honda Classic two weeks ago. It was his putting that kept his round reasonable, tied in fifth place after a round of -3 under par, 69.

“It was one of my good ones, days happen like this. It was cool this morning, and it just didn’t work out. But I scored well, and I kept myself in the tournament. I’m right there. Justin played a beautiful round of golf today. He had every single facet of his game working, so we had a good time out there. I got a lot out of this round, and I threw away a few shots as well.”

The Honda Classic. Young Guns Luke & Michael Hold On.

Michael Thompson & Luke Guthrie / Ehrmann/ Getty Images

The Honda Classic has two tied at the top of the leaderboard going into the Final round on Sunday. Michael Thompson and Luke Guthrie are locked together at -8 under par for the tournament, but their sluggish third rounds of par for Michael and +1 over par for Luke has let the more experienced players close the gap. Perhaps the chilly, windy conditions slowed these two down, Lee Westwood and Geoff Ogilvy are poised nicely just two shots adrift of the young guns, and will be certain to push hard tomorrow to see if the youngsters break under the pressure.

Lee Westwood likes his chances;

” I like my chances regardless of the conditions, I’m playing nicely. Just got a couple of mistakes I made today, but other than that, I’m playing solidly. I have to start making a few putts. I had a lot of chances to make putts that just grazed the hole. I like being out late on a Sunday and having a chance.”

Geoff Ogilvy felt that even par for the day was always going to be good enough to keep in touch with the leaders;

“Even par for the day was never going to go backward, it was only going to go forward, and I did that.”

There are eleven players separated by just four shots who are contesting the final round, a group that includes Rickie Fowler, Charles Howell III, Keegan Bradley and Justin Rose.

Rickie Fowler, is finally in the mix on a Sunday, he is looking forward to still being in contention on the back nine;

“The biggest thing is being within a few shots going into the back nine tomorrow, that’s where the tournament really starts.”

The big name  missing from the mix was Tiger Woods, who started well with a 32 on the front nine, and then faltered on the back nine, finally folding to a double bogey on the par-3 17th, when his tee shot plugged into the bank short of the green and he never found the ball. Tiger finished with a round of 70, pretty much the same as everyone else, when what he needed was a low score.

It will interesting tomorrow to see if the young guns can keep their heads and gain a first Tour victory, or will the experience of the likes of Lee Westwood, Geoff Ogilvy, or even Rickie Fowler step up to the plate.

 

 

The Honda Classic, Luke Guthrie Leads by One.

Luke Guthrie / Getty Images

The Honda Classic second round was dominated by Luke Guthrie, shooting -7 under par, 63 to lead by one shot on the              PGA National Champion Course at Palm Beach. His tournament total of -9 under par is just one shot ahead of Michael Thompson, alone in second spot, who had a -5 under par second round of 65.

Luke said he had no idea about Rory’s situation;

” I had no clue, I was just kind of going about my business out there.”

Tied in third place at -7 under par are Boo Weekley and Graham DeLaet, Boo with a second round of -3 under par 67, and Graham with a  -2 under par round of 70.

There are six players tied in fifth place at -6 under par, they are; Lee Westwood, Geoff Ogilvy, Doug LaBelle 111, Justin Rose, Sean O’Hair and Chucky Three-Sticks.

Rory McIlroy was forced to withdraw due to pain in his wisdom tooth, there are some conflicting stories around about why he actually quit, he was -7 over par through eight holes of his second round at the time. The pain in the tooth statement came form Rory’s management company, make what you want with that. With Tiger Woods just making the cut on the number it represents another poor start to a tournament for the stars of Nike. It was Rory’s third missed cut in a row. Tiger felt he just did not hit the ball very well today;

” Well, I didn’t hit it anywhere near as good as I did Thursday, I didn’t have it today. I had it going early and then I would lose it.”

 

Overnight leader Camilo Villegas  shot a second round -7 over par, 77 a mighty difference of 13 strokes from his opening round of 64,  to miss the cut by a shot.

Other notables missing the cut were, Major winners Louis Oosthuizen and David Duval, followed by Mike Weir, Henrik Stenson and Paul Casey.

Accenture Match Play Championship, Luke Donald and Justin Rose the Big Losers today.

Both Luke Donald and Justin Rose tumbled out of  the Accenture Match-Play Championship at Dove Mountain today. Luke crashed out & and 6 to Scott Piercy and Justin Rose fell to Nicolas Colsaerts 4 and 2.

Ian Poulter beat Bo Van Pelt 3 and 1 while Matt Kuchar dispatched Sergio Garcia 2 and 1. Louis Oosthuizen, an inform favorite for this competition fell to Robert Garrigus 3 and 2.

Shane Lowery continues his good form, beating Carl Pettersson 6 and 5, while another Irishman Graeme McDowell beat off the challenge of Alex Noren 1 up through twenty holes.

Bubba Watson continues his good form, beating Jim Furyk 1 up through twenty-two holes, a tense and tough struggle. Chucky Three Sticks could not continue where he left off when beating Tiger Woods,he fell to Gonzalo Fedez- Castano 6 and 5.

Martin Kaymer is still  in good shape as he defeated Raphael Cabrera-Bello.

This turning into a very interesting tournament, with so many top players falling over in the early rounds, there are no bookies favorites now, it is anybody’s tournament.

This how the match-ups are for tomorrow;

Match 49 (1st tee) Match 49: 9:10 a.m. ET (7:10 a.m. local) ROBERT GARRIGUS (2-0) vs. FREDRIK JACOBSON (4-3)

No player has made more birdies this week than Garrigus, who has 14 in his first two rounds at Dove Mountain. Garrigus has won 12 holes and lost just five. Although the 35-year-old Garrigus hasn’t played in a match play format in 18 years, he likes the challenge. “It’s a fun, fun format for me, especially if I’m rolling it well, and I am.” Jacobson’s opponents have made just two birdies against him.

Match 50 (1st tee) 9:22 a.m. ET (7:22 a.m. local) NICOLAS COLSAERTS (2-1) vs. MATT KUCHAR (11-3)

Colsaerts will have the distance advantage off the tee; he and Bubba Watson are the only two players averaging more than 300 yards in driving distance this week. “If I’m on, I’m going to give myself a lot of birdie tries,” Colsaerts said. But he and Kuchar each have made an equal number of birdies this week (eight) and Kuchar doesn’t get phased by being outdriven.

Match 53 (1st tee) 9:34 a.m.ET (7:34 a.m. local) SHANE LOWRY (2-0) vs. GRAEME McDOWELL (5-6)

For the second time this week, G-Mac faces a foe from Ireland, having already beaten Padraig Harrington. And for the second time this week, Lowry faces a foe from Northern Ireland, having upset Rory McIlroy. The two were expected to have dinner together Friday night. “A good craic and be a bit of banter,” Lowry said. McDowell has the experience edge, but he doesn’t think it’ll be a factor against Lowry. “If Rory didn’t intimidate him, I suppose what chance do I have?” McDowell said. The two practiced together earlier this week, with McDowell winning the stakes. “Hopefully I can continue that role tomorrow,” he said.

Match 54 (1st tee) 9:46 a.m. ET (7:46 a.m. local) BUBBA WATSON (7-3) vs. JASON DAY (5-2)

Watson is the only player ranked in the top 10 in the world who remains in the field. He’s also played more holes than anybody else this week (39). Of those 39 holes, he’s only trailed after one hole. Both players are long off the tee, so Day doesn’t expect to give up much ground in distance. “I’m driving the ball really, really nicely,” he said.

Match 51 (10th tee) 9:10 a.m. ET (7:10 a.m. local) SCOTT PIERCY (2-0) vs. STEVE STRICKER (14-9)

Piercy is coming off a surprisingly easy 7-and-6 win over top-seeded and world No. 2 Luke Donald. The Accenture Match Play Championship rookie now faces another former champion in Steve Sticker, who was taken to 21 holes by Nick Watney in the second round. Stricker acknowledged that while he wasn’t surprised to see Piercy win, the lop-sided nature of that victory “does catch your attention.” Piercy played his 12 holes on Friday in 7 under, too. “Maybe he used them all up today.”

Match 52 (10th tee) 9:22 a.m. ET (7:22 a.m. local) TIM CLARK (7-7) vs. IAN POULTER (20-9)

These two players couldn’t be more different — the flashy Poulter and the steady-Eddy Clark. Poulter, who made seven birdies and no bogeys in beating Bo Van Pelt 3 and 1 in the second round, has prospered at Dove Mountain, too, winning in 2010 and reaching the consolation finals five years earlier. Clark, on the other hand, has never advanced past the third round and admits the 7,791-yard course is a challenge for a man who ranks 176th in driving distance. “On a day like today, I just accepted that and went about hitting good wedge shots,” said Clark, who beat Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen 3 and 2, “Sometimes if I can do that maybe I can get under the skin of my opponent.”

Match 55 (10th tee) 9:34 a.m. ET (7:34 a.m. local) GONZALO FERNANDEZ-CASTANO (2-1) vs. WEBB SIMPSON (2-1)

Both players lost in the first round a year ago as they made their Accenture Match Play Championship debuts. In fact, until Fernandez-Castano, a former Spanish Amateur champ, beat Francesco Molinari 2 up on Friday morning he had never won a match as a pro on the 18th hole. “I’m starting to love (match play) again,” said Fernandez-Castano, who has made fewer bogeys than anyone in the field. Simpson, who has been sick most of the week, has only hit 50 percent of his greens in regulation, including just 10 in 18 holes on Friday, to rank last among the players remaining. He’s an opportunistic putter, though, which has carried him through the week.

March 56 (10th tee) 9:46 a.m. ET (7:46 a.m. local) MARTIN KAYMER (11-5) vs. HUNTER MAHAN (12-4)

These two know what it takes to win at Dove Mountain. Mahan is the defending champion while Kaymer reached the title tilt in 2011 before losing to Luke Donald. The two have history, too — Kaymer beat Mahan 2 and 1 on the way to his runner-up finish in 2011. “It was a tough, really tight match, and he became a lot better player the last two years,” Kaymer recalled. “I have a lot of respect for him.” Mahan has wielded a hot putter this week taking just 44 rolls over 29 holes. “Confidence is high,” he said. “I know I can play this place well and I know I can beat anybody on any given day.”