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.

 

Anchoring Banned, R&A and USGA Announce.

                            

 

The Royal and Ancient and the USGA made an official announcement on Tuesday morning, May 21, on their respective websites and at a press conference that they will add rule 14-1b to the official rules of golf effective Jan. 1, 2016, which will ban anchoring.

USGA President Glen D. Nager had this to say;

” Having considered all of the input that we received, both before and after the proposed Rule was announced, our best judgment is that Rule 14-1b is necessary to preserve one of the important traditions and challenges of the game, that the player freely swing the entire club. The new Rule upholds the essential nature of the traditional method of stroke and eliminates the possible advantage that anchoring provides, ensuring that players of all skill levels face the same challenge inherent in the game of golf.”

Peter Dawson, who is the Chief Executive of The R&A announced;

” We took a great deal of time to consider this issue and received a variety of contributions from individuals and organisations at all levels of the game. The report published today gives a comprehensive account of the reasons for taking the decision to adopt the new Rule and addresses the concerns that have been raised. We recognise this has been a divisive issue but after thorough consideration we remain convinced that this is the right decision for golf.”

The new rule as it will appear in the rule book;

14-1b Anchoring the Club

In making a stroke, the player must not anchor the club, either “directly” or by use of an “anchor point.” 

Note 1:  The club is anchored “directly” when the player intentionally holds the club or a gripping hand in contact with any part of his body, except that the player may hold the club or a gripping hand against a hand or forearm.

Note 2:  An “anchor point” exists when the player intentionally holds a forearm in contact with any part of his body to establish a gripping hand as a stable point around which the other hand may swing the club.

So it has finally arrived and I gather from all the posts on the Internet that most golfers around the World are in favor of this new rule.  The professional players will have plenty of time to adjust to conventional putting, or win as much money as they can between now and January 1st 2016, and then retire from the game.

Executive Director of Rules and Equipment Standards at The R&A, David Rickman, had this to say;

” This Rule change addresses the future and not the past. Everyone who has used an anchored stroke in the past, or who does so between now and January 1, 2016, will have played entirely within the Rules and their achievements will in no way be diminished.”

USGA Executive Director Mike Davis admitted that not everyone agreed, but he felt it was in the best interests of the game;

” The discussion around the Rule has been very helpful, and we appreciate that so many different perspectives were offered. We know that not everyone will agree with the new Rule, but it is our hope that all golfers will accept that this decision is reasoned and motivated by our best judgment in defining the sport and serving the best interests of the game.”

 

Dehydration While Playing Golf. Is This Your Problem On The Back Nine ?

This is a post from Ian Hardy, well worth reading. If you have not already caught up with Ian and his Blog, this is the link http://golfhabits.com/   Why you need to seriously consider drinking while playing golf Posted: 19 May 2013 02:31 PM PDT “I learned you can’t drink whiskey and play golf.” – John Daly By Ian Hardie Ever had a round of golf that the further you went The harder ‘work’ it seemed? You felt more and more tired as you went along You struggled to concentrate Your body temperature increased so much that you started to feel uncomfortable And no matter how well you were playing in your previous round or practice session Your technique and abilities seemed to have completely disappeared? A lot of golfers apparently do And it comes down to a simple thing Those golfers that experience what I have described above Aren’t drinking on the golf course Well actually to be more correct, it would be more like They are not drinking enough before they play and while on the golf course Turns out that drinking while playing golf Is incredibly important In fact I would go so far as to say it should be compulsory to Drink water while playing golf and lots of it! What did you think I was talking about? Before you go any further though – this is going to get a bit technical And potentially outside my area of expertise So make sure you read my Disclaimer before you go on The states described above are symptoms of something called Dehydration Which occurs when the body eliminates a greater quantity of water Or receives a lesser amount than it requires To adequately cover its needs during an activity Considering that most golfers either don’t take a drink or if they do They take one that would be less than a litre in size Most golfers potentially suffer dehydration to some degree Nearly every round they play Mainly because instead of keeping themselves fully hydrated during the round They generally only react to their feelings of ‘thirst’ Which apparently because they take a bit of time to come to us Only do so once we have water loss of around 1 – 1.5% of body weight And you might think that’s not that important Until you read the following; The elimination during a round of more than 2% of body weight by dehydration reduces our physical capacity by between 5% and 10% That’s a pretty big decline in performance! One that is basically influenced by our water intake during a round And it gets worse; More than 3% loss of weight by dehydration during a round lowers the capacity of muscle contraction by more than 20% and muscle cramps can begin The scariest fact that I found; If during a round you had more than 8% loss of body weight by dehydration there may be a serious risk of death I’m pretty sure that’s not ideal! So it seems there is a fine line between feeling thirsty on the golf course Which most experts will agree is actually too late to start drinking water And becoming badly dehydrated on the way around As for the effect that this dehydration can have on golfers performance I found this brief study summary ‘EFFECT OF ACUTE MILD DEHYDRATION ON COGNITIVE-MOTOR PERFORMANCE IN GOLF Smith M.F., Newell A.J., Baker M.R (2011)’ Which was done on 7 low handicap amateur golfers a couple of years back The numbers are pretty sobering It looks like they started by having the golfers perform three skill tests as a base line Target accuracy, distance control and total distance The study then induced a 2% dehydration in the golfers Which with the average weight of participants being 75kg Means the golfers lost 1.5kg from dehydration during their round They then tested the golfers skills using the same tests as prior to their round The average base line target accuracy was 4.1m before Which nearly halved to 7.9m after only 2% dehydration The golfers distance control of 4.8m Suffered similarly, moving out to a 8.4m variation The total distance of their shots (I’m not sure how this was measured) Went from 128.6m base line Down to 114.4m after 2% dehydration Does that go some way to explaining how sometimes on the golf course It just doesn’t go as you think it should? I’m going to cover how to work out the amount you need to drink while on the golf course And a few other things about hydration In ‘Why you need to seriously consider drinking while playing golf – part two’ soon Until then take some water with you if you don’t already And of course Drink it before you feel thirsty! Play well

HP Byron Nelson Championship. Keegan Crumbles, Korean Bae Wins.

Korean Sang-Moon Bae won the HP Byron Nelson Championship at TPC Four Seasons Resort in Texas, with a last round of -1 under par, 69,  for a total of -13 under par. Keegan Bradley crumbled under the pressure and could only manage a last round of par, finishing two strokes behind the leader at -11 under par.

Sang-Moon Bae with his first PGA Tour Trophy/ Pennington / Getty Images

Sang-Moon said winning a PGA Tournament was something he had always dreamed of;

“It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, winning on the PGA TOUR. It was surreal to have Mrs. Nelson there and with all the history, I was in awe, actually, so almost I didn’t know how to react.”

Sang-Moon’s  previous best finish on the PGA TOUR was a playoff loss to Luke Donald at the 2012 Tampa Bay Championship. He said he was happy that he played the back nine better;

” When my iron play came back in the latter part of the round, I had confidence. On that shot on 17, I knew it was short, and the wind pushed it over to the right, and I was happy and relieved that it turned out OK.”

Despite struggling all day Keegan was uplifted by a birdie putt on 15, and thought he could then go on and be the first player since Tom Watson in 1980 to win this competition wire to wire;

“I’m pretty disappointed but Moon played very well. I just didn’t play great today, but I hung in there. I chipped away. When I made that putt on 15, I was pretty confident that I was going to win.”

South African Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters Champ, shot a last round of -2 under par, 68, to finish in third place on his own third at -10 under par.

 

 

 

European Tour. American Peter Uihlein Wins First Tour Event.

American Peter Uihlein won the European Tour, Madeira Islands Open, his first career win on the Tour.

Peter Uihlein with his first Trophy/ Getty Images

Peter’s nerveless last round of -4 under par, 68 and tournament total of -15 under par earned him a two-shot victory at Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra, in Portugal. He said he was thrilled and delighted with the victory;

” I’m just thrilled, to do it playing well on the back nine, coming down the stretch, is sweet. I know Morten played a heck of a round and Mark played really well so it was nice to come out on top. I just knuckled down I guess. It was all putting that did it today, I was just trying to free up and they started to roll in so it was nice. I hit some good putts coming down the stretch. When I was at the 17th I saw Morten was on 15 under and I thought it might have been a little more difficult but when I got to the 18th green I obviously saw he had dropped back. I’m just delighted to have won.”

This win confirmed to Peter that he had made the right choice in starting his professional career on the Challenge Tour and European Tour, on the advice of his father.

“ A year ago I wasn’t even thinking about playing, I was just really struggling, it’s a funny game. But I’ve learned a lot over the last year. When you’re struggling, it’s one of those things, you hate it when it happens but it’s almost the best thing that could happen to you. It definitely was for me and I’m pretty happy with how things turned out. You grow up quick out here and that was the main reason I came over. It’s been a good process so far and hopefully I can keep going.”

Tied in second place were  Morten Ørum Madsen and Mark Tullo, at -13 under par for the tournament.

Mark reported that it had been a positive week.

” It was a very positive week, I could have won this tournament. I had three bogeys from 100 yards today which hurt a lot, but hats off to Peter. He played really well on the back nine and that’s what you need to do to win tournaments. I didn’t do that but it was very close and that’s a positive. Maybe there’s something further along the road for me in a big tournament.”

Morten Ørum carded an impressive -5 under par, 67 to finish tied second alongside Mark, both on 13 under par. Unfortunately for Morten his score included a six, on the last hole.

As Peter Uihlein said, it is the putting that makes the difference, that’s what I keep telling everyone, so if you are struggling with your putter you should consider using a White Dragon Putter.

 

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 

 

 

HP Byron Nelson Championship. Keegan Continues, Just

Keegan Bradley continues to lead the HP Byron Nelson Championship, just, even though he made bogey again on the last hole, that’s three out of three times so far. He now has a slender one shot lead at -13 under par for the tournament.

Keegan Bradley / Pennington / Getty Images

Keegan shot a third round of -2 under par, 68 on the par 70 lay-out TPC Four Seasons Resort course in Irving Texas. Given the way he has played the eighteenth this week he will probably need more than a one shot lead tomorrow as he stands once again on the last tee box. He sarcastically said;

” One of the most solid rounds of the year.”

Alone in second place is Sang-Moon Bae, after he put together a third round score of -4 under par, 66, to close the gap at the top of the leaderboard to just one shot. He has a total of -12 under par.

Tom Gillis is alone in third place, at -11 under par, mainly thanks to holing out from the bunker on the last for an unlikely birdie. From just 130 yards out Tom had somehow managed to find the front bunker, but his excellent bunker shot made amends in the best possible fashion. He remarked afterwards;

” That’ll make dinner taste a little bit better, that’s for sure.”

In fourth place is Scott Piercy, he also had a -4 under par, 66, and occupies the position alone at -10 under par for the tournament.

The winner will surely come from one these four players, it is hard to imagine someone from further back can get up to win. But golf is a funny game, and anything could happen. Keegan will be hoping to win, wire to wire and join the short list of golfers who have achieved this distinction.  Tom Watson did it in 1980, and back in 1976, Mark Hayes also went wire to wire.

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

 

 

HP Byron Nelson Championship. Keegan Still In Front

Keegan Bradley is still in front of the chasing pack at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, despite only managing a second round of -1 under par 69.

Keegan Bradley / Pennington / Getty Images

Keegan was happy to have a three shot lead after the second round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship, after he stalled on the day, but still finished in front by three shots at -11 under par, despite making bogey on 1 and 18, again;

” I’m almost more proud of this round than yesterday because I didn’t feel comfortable all day. I don’t know what it was, I can’t put my finger on it but, you know, I bogeyed the first hole. I was a little uncomfortable and then I settled in and hit some really good shots. The first hole is probably the easiest hole out here, I don’t know why I keep making bogey on that hole.”

Keegan came to the 18th tee with his four shot advantage intact, a wayward tee shot took care of that;

” I’ve got a four-shot lead, so the last thing I wanted to do was plop it in the water. I bailed out. I didn’t hit that bad of a shot it just got in the wind. I thought it was going to be way left of where it was, but I’m going to hit good ones Saturday and Sunday.”

Tied in second place are Tom Gillis, who had a second round of -7 under par 63, and Sang-Moon Bae, with his -4 under par 66. Both players are on -8 under par.

Tom thought the course definitely played easier in the morning, and also was happy to be reunited with his coach;

” It was easier, I think the wind was down and I was hoping that we would get a fair shot like they had Thursday morning, just to see what it would be like. Definitely, I thought it played better than in the afternoon. I stepped  away for a couple of months and tried to do some things on my own and kind of got lost. We had disagreements on some things. You talk things out, work things out. People change. I think he was right all along, to be honest with you.”

Sang-Moon was also happy with his round;

” That was a little weird, I thought this course was very windy, but Thursday morning was really good weather. So yeah, different, but I shoot same score as Thursday, so I’m happy.“

 Charl Schwartzel also struggled today, in the afternoon round he shot an even par 70;

” It was a bit up and down out there, bit of a frustrating day, but I suppose it’s the mix.”

 

Chinese wonder teenager Guan Tianlang shot a second round of 77, to miss the cut. He was in good company with Boo Weekley, Robert Garrigus, John Senden, Robert Karlsson, Ryuji Imada and Y.E. Yang among those who failed to make the cut, which was set at even par.

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