The Memorial Tournament. Its Kooch by Two

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

Happy Matt Kuchar / Getty

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

Matt admitted it was like a survival course;

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tiger reported after his poor round;

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

Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Weekley Wins.

Boo Weekley won the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial by just one shot with a tournament total of  -14 under par.

 

Boo Weekley / Halleran / Getty Images.

Boo had been suffering with a fluttering left eyelid during the round, and called his caddie to read distances and the greens for him. After this performance caddy Barry Williams may get the job on a permanent basis. Just look at the stats, Boo hadn’t won a PGA TOUR event in five years and had rarely been in contention in that span. His best finish this year was a backdoor second place in Tampa Bay when he shot a 63 in the final round. He was thinking at one time of giving up golf, to go fishing. But now he says;

” But I can fish and still play golf. It feels good to actually have butterflies again, knowing that I’m in this, an opportunity to maybe win. I might have shot 80 today. But I didn’t. It was my time to win.”

Talking about nerves, Boo quipped about his caddie Barry Williams;

” I can tell he was a little more nervous than I was, or just as much nervous as I was out there because he ain’t never walked that fast. He looked like a horse running to get a goat.”

He had something to say about his fluttering eye problem too;

” I had a few out there. It was coming and going in that wind, I don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re going to get home and work on it.”

Second place went to Matt Kuchar, one shot adrift at -13 under par, he was a little upset at the outcome;

” It’s a bummer for me. This is a tournament, and this is a golf course, that I love. It’s difficult at the moment coming just one shot short but you can’t control what other guys do.”

Defending Champion, Zach Johnson finished in third place at -12 under par, just two shots off the pace. Zach said that he had played well, and was gracious in defeat;

“I played well, that’s all you can do and whoever wins, tip of the cap.”

 

 

Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Catch Kuchar, If You Can.

It’s catch Kuchar if you can as Matt takes a one shot lead into the final round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club.

Matt Kuchar / Heathcote / Getty Images

Matt Kuchar had a third round of -1 under under par for a total of -11 under, which kept him at the top of the leaderboard in the Crowne Plaza Invitational, by just one shot.

Matt’s third round  finally ended more than 12 hours after he woke up;

” This morning feels like a day ago. It would’ve been nice to extend my lead, tomorrow will be an exciting day.”

Just one shot back at -10 under par are  Boo Weekley, Graham DeLaet, Matt Every and Chris Stroud. Boo said it will be a shoot-out tomorrow;

“It’s going to be a shootout.”

Zach Johnson, the defending Champion is at -8 under par, three shots off the pace, but still in contention.

Jordan Spieth had a share of the lead early on, but some costly mistakes dropped him down the leaderboard. Afterwards he did not want to focus too much on what happened to him today;

“I can’t focus too much on today, I’m really happy with the way I putted. I just made some mental errors, just rookie mistakes that cost me about four shots. Otherwise, I’d be tied for the lead. Just got fooled big-time by the wind on four or five holes. I just guessed incorrectly twice in a row, it was a decision that obviously looks bad afterward. I’m happy to close with a birdie and carry it into tomorrow only four back.”

Tim Clark and Martin Flores shot the low rounds of the day, both with rounds of -5 under par 65.

Tim was happy with the way he played today;

” Yesterday was really bad, luckily I kind of got it figured out and today the swing felt good. I’ve been in this position a lot, so again, it’s about for me staying aggressive on this golf course, when you try to play it safe, it can come back and get you. So I just need to stay aggressive. For a guy who doesn’t hit it very far, this is a very good golf course to come in and do some shot-making.”

 

Crowne Plaza Invitational. 2nd Round Suspended, Kuchar Leads.

Matt Kuchar is at the top of the leaderboard at the suspension of play in the second round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club.

Matt Kuchar / Heathcote / Getty Images

Matt and all the other afternoon players had to endure more than two hours of delay in the second round of the tournament, due to dangerous weather conditions, that included lightning  But that obviously did not upset Matt too much, as he climbed up to the top of the leaderboard. He currently has a one shot lead, being at -10 under par after 15 holes of his second round. The horn blew again just after Matt had hit his tee shop on the par 3, 16th, it was the second interruption of play on the day.

” That’s a bit of a bummer, it’s no fun to wake up at 4:30 to get out here and play three holes. But we get used to it for what we do. I really got off to a great start, and then I kept playing some good golf. This course can give you trouble, but if you are hitting it good, you can make some birdies out here.I was hitting it good and able to fire at some pins today.”

Graham DeLaet, who has completed his second round is currently one shot adrift of the leader, at -9 under par for the tournament, and is also the clubhouse leader. Graham admitted the dreaded Horrible Horse-shoe got to him today, three bogeys at 3,4 and 5.
“It definitely got me today.”

 

Defending champion Zach Johnson is -5 under par through 16 holes and has moved to -6 under for the tournament.

The projected cut line is -1 under par.and if that cut line holds, the players who have already finished their rounds at even par or worse include: Charl Schwartzel, 15th in the world rankings; Corey Pavin, who was making his 30th Colonial start; David Hearn, who opened with a 64 on Thursday but shot a +8-over par 78 on Friday, which included a quadruple bogey at the par-3, 13th where he hit two balls into the water off the tee.

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.

 

 

 

WGC Accenture Match-Play, Matt Kuchar Wins

Matt Kuchar / Stan Bedz / PGA Tour

Matt Kuchar won the WGC Accenture Match-Play tournament at The Golf Course at Dove Mountain, beating the defending Champion Hunter Mahan, 2&1.

Matt spoke the incredible feeling contesting this event;

“It seems like each hole there’s so much momentum riding and so much pressure on every hole. To come out on top after six matches of playing the top 64 guys in the world, it’s an incredible feeling.”

There was never a dull moment playing the back nine, with only two holes being halved, and both those were with birdies. But the  match was effectively ended when Hunter Mahan mis-cued from a tough lie in the bunker to a bush in the desert, and it then took him four shots to reach the 17th green. Kuchar wound up winning, 2 and 1, when Hunter removed the stocking cap he used to fight the cold desert air and conceded Kuchar a short birdie putt.

Hunter Mahan, in the bunker on 17. / Carroll/Getty Images

Hunter admitted the first nine was his undoing;

“Just had a bad stretch against Matt on the front nine there that put me just a little bit too far behind.”

Aussie Jason Day beat Ian Poulter of England for the consolation prize, 1 up. Jason said the pair of them had exchanged some light-hearted banter during the match;

“I won three holes straight, and we were kind of laughing and giggling out there for the first nine, and once we turned the corner on 10, everything got real serious. He obviously made a couple of good clutch pars on 16 and 17.”

 

 

 

WGC Accenture Match-Play, Semi’s Finalised

Jason Day Vs Hunter Mahan  Matt Kuchar Vs Ian Poulter / Getty Images

WGC Accenture Match-Play semi’s have been decided, Jason Day will play Hunter Mahan and Matt Kuchar will face Ian Poulter at The Golf Course on Dove Mountain, for a place in the final.

Jason Day beat off the challenge of Graeme McDowell, while Hunter Mahan had a tough task in ousting Webb Simpson.

Matt Kuchar took care of Robert Garrigus and Ian Poulter had a real old tussle with Steve Stricker.

Ian took control of the momentum of the match when he sunk a 40ft putt on the third hole, Steve Stricker laughed when the putt rolled in, but was not laughing when his own four foot birdie attempt missed and he lost the hole. Ian joked about the putt, which was reminiscent of his Ryder Cup putt against Phil Mickleson;

“It was 40 feet, left-to-right, right-to-left, right-to-left again, hopefully slowing down on the ridge, taking a left-hand turn, down the slope and then chucking a little left to right at the end to drop it, it was really nice.”

Ian was three up with three holes remaining when he missed the green to the right. Steve came up short and chipped to about three feet. While Ian was studying his chip to the green, a fan standing near Ian said;

“Pick it up.”  so Steve did just that.

Ian, the highest remaining seed left in the tournament, said of the incident;

“I think it was close enough, anyway, but for a split second, it was a little off-putting, and I guess I had to hole a 12-footer to finish the match.”

The semi’s tomorrow look like being enthralling contests, and I look forward to them.

 

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.”

Northern Trust Open, Matt Kuchar 1st Round Leader

Matt Kuchar / AP Photo/Reed Saxon

Matt Kuchar leads the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades in California, with a first round of -7 under par 64. Matt had been working with his swing coach, and was happy with the results;

“I was excited about the things we were working on and excited how I was hitting the ball The hot start was certainly a great way to get the round going.”

Sergio Garcia is in second place on his own, with his opening effort of -6 under par, 65. Sergio is making his first PGA TOUR appearance of the year, and has started this tournament in fine form.

The surprise package of the opening day was Brandt Jobe, he is returning to golf after suffering a serious neck injury. Brandt is playing on a Major Medical Exemption, and he has to earn $303,178 in 10 events to keep full status the rest of the year. He is currently in third place, Good Luck Brandt, we hope you fulfill your dreams.

Humana Challenge, Two Tied at the Top

Roberto Castro and James Hahn / Getty Images

Roberto Castro and James Hahn are tied at the top of the leaderboard on -14 under par, at the Humana Challenge at the conclusion of the second round at La Quinta, California.

Roberto had a second round of -5 under par 67, to go with his opening round of 63. James equalled him with the same score in both rounds.

Roberto had the lead alone at 16 under par , but sadly managed to bogeyed two of his last three holes,amazingly three-putting the par 4 ninth hole. He admitted he let it slip;

“A couple slipped away there at the end, but yesterday I made a 50-footer on the last. Today, I felt like I hit a good putt and three-putted. So, that’s stuff over 72 holes that’s going to even out. I learned a lot last year, one of the best things that happened to me was making a lot of the cuts early in the year. I didn’t have any big finishes, but I got to play four days and I got to learn pretty quickly. I got to play with some good players and watch what they do.”

James spoke about his Eagle at the par 5 fifth hole, after his drive went 310 yards;

” It was a long-drive stat hole, so I kind of came out of my shoes a little bit. I didn’t want to really overpower a 4-iron, I had a lot of adrenaline. Just hit it too good, hit the center of the green, landed it 220, rolled to the back. I could have hit it with a 6-iron and probably hit it within 2 feet. I read the break perfectly, broke about 2 feet straight down the hill”

The chip rolled in for Eagle, then he birdied the par 5 sixth;

“Any time you have back-to-back par 5s that are reachable, it’s definitely something to look forward to, especially if the round’s not going well. I’m just soaking it in, having a good time, any time that I play a good round, it feels good and makes me cherish the momentum a little bit more, because I know they’re few and far between.”

There are three players tied in third spot at -13 under par, Darron Stiles, Scott Stallings and Richard H Lee. Phil Mickelson, the tournament winner in 2002 and 2004, had a second round -5 under par 67, but is nine shots behind the leaders, but really wants to make an impact on the West Coast;

“The last two holes were the first time that I actually hit solid shots and my rhythm felt good and I made good swings. “I’ve been quick from the top, my rhythm has been off and I’ve hit a bunch of squirrelly shots. I made a lot of rusty mistakes. I really want to build some momentum here on the West Coast.”

Matt Kuchar, who was paired with Phil, had a second round -8 under par 64, matching the best round of the day,  to get to 10 under par for the tournament. He’s playing for the third straight week;

“It certainly helps playing the last couple of weeks. My first week out at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions there was definitely some rust and lack of scoring. Even if you have been practicing, which I was, tournament play is just a little bit different.”

There is still a long way to go in this tournament, don’t be surprised is Phil Mickelson does something special and really gets into contention.