BMW PGA Championship. Cañizares Claims Lead.

Alejandro Cañizares has claimed the lead after the third round of the BMW PGA Championship, played on the West Course at the Wentworth Club in England.

Alejandro Cañizares / Getty Images.

Alejandro Cañizares has a one shot lead at the BMW PGA Championship, shooting a third round of -4 under par 68, and claimed top spot of the leaderboard. He had been taken ill on the flight from Korea to China and had to withdraw from the Volvo China Open, being diagnosed with viral meningitis. He came here with little ambition;

” This week I was just happy to be able to swing the club,  after the practice round on Tuesday I felt really tired because it was the first 18 holes I had walked in three weeks. I had no idea how I was going to feel so I am very pleased that it’s working out for me. Every now and then I get a little weird feeling in my head, but the doctors say that is normal.”

Sitting right behind him on the leaderboard is Lee Westwood, his third round score of -5 under par 67 has put the Englishman firmly in contention for this title. This his first tournament in England since his move to Florida in the States, and this is his 20th attempt at winning the BMW PGA Championship. Lee thinks it would be ironic if he won now;

” I’m still far from holding the trophy but it would be ironic,  it would be great and I am after as many wins as I can get, but it’s a crowded leaderboard and I will have to play as well if not better than I did today. I felt much more in tune with my swing and had a lot better distance and direction control with my irons and set up a lot of chances. It was one of the most fun days I have ever had on a golf course. It was good to see a lot more smiling faces and a lot more people prepared to take their hands out of their pockets and applaud. I get great support here but even more so today.”

Matteo Manassero (69) and Mark Warren (70) share third place on seven under par, Mark said it would be huge for him to win:

” It would be huge to win, this is our premiere event, this is the biggest event we play outside the Majors for us, it doesn’t get any bigger. Career-wise it would mean the world to me.”

Sergio Garcia, who has had a rough time with the media this week, has enjoyed the support of the crowd at Wentworth, and thinks he could finish strongly tomorrow, he is in a group of eight players just four shots off the lead:

“I think it’s been a tough week but we’ve been getting better every day, so hopefully we can finish on a high note tomorrow. There’s no doubt that everybody has made it so much easier for me. The crowds here, I don’t have words to explain what I feel towards them. They have been amazing, every single tee, every single green, cheering me on. I can never pay them back.”

Volvo China Open. Broomstick Brett Wins Again.

Broomstick Brett Rumford won the Volvo China Open, the first Australian in 42 years to win back to back Tour titles.

Brett Rumford / Getty Images

Brett Rumford cruised to victory with a final round of  -4 under par 68, on the Binhai Lake Golf Course on Sunday in the Volvo China Open. His winning total was -16 under par, four shots clear of the field.

Brett said that he was more than happy;

” As with last week I’m kind of speechless at the moment. It’s quite surreal, it’s the first time I’ve actually played the week after a win so I’m more than pleased. It’s hard to get my head around it at the moment. I managed to get up and down when I really needed to. There are some very tight lies round the perimeters of the greens, so it was tricky. My putter was also really on song, as it was last week. It puts a lot of pressure on your opponent when you’re saving par all the time.”

In second place was Finn Mikko Ilonen, a final round effort of -1 under par left him with a total of -12 under par, just one shot ahead of third place. Mikko was disappointed he did not take the opportunity to win, but was full of praise for Brett;

” I had a chance to win, disappointed not to do so but I couldn’t do much more, you saw what Brett did there on the back nine for three holes. I’m speechless, I couldn’t force the issue. I had a number in my mind, which is what Brett finished on. It’s my second second place this year, so hopefully there’s a win round the corner. The confidence is building.  I’ve been hitting the ball nicely most of the time this year. Today I drove the ball really well, and I feel a lot more confident all round. Brett did so well not to make more bogeys, his short game, bunker play and wedges were unbelievable today. I don’t see too many better players than him in the world in that area of his game. So he definitely deserved to win today.”

Third place went to Frenchman Victor Dubuisson, a last round of -4 under par helping him to achieve a tournament total of -11 under par, and third position to himself.

I guess this win will encourage more players to change to the long putter, Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington have already made the change. They said if it gives them an edge to win a tournament, it can only be good. Unless the R&A and the USGA actually get around to banning it, it which case they will have to change back again.

 

Volvo China Open. Broomstick Brett Anchor’s Himself Atop the Leaderboard

Broomstick Brett Rumford has anchored himself to the top of the leaderboard at  the Volvo China Open.

Brett Rumford / Getty Images

Brett Rumford completed his third round in the windy conditions at Binhai Lake Golf Course in -3 under par 69, to take a one shot lead at the Volvo China Open, with his total score of -12 under par.

Brett admitted it had been a very tough day, but he remained bogey free;

” That was a tough day, I really started to feel things on the back nine. I did really well to hang in nicely with some tired golf swings, I mentally stayed with it, physically not so much but mentally I hung in there. The wind was really starting to dry things out so you’ve got to be very precise.”

Mikko Ilonen, the overnight leader, started the day three shots clear, but pulled a three-foot par putt at the first hole and then saw his lead diminish to one when Kiradech Aphibarnrat birdied the long second hole. He finally succumbed to the pressure when his tee shot at the last hole found the water, resulting in a bogey finish.

” It was a good fight out there, his short game today was incredible, and his confidence is obviously very high, especially on the greens, so I’m going to have to play very well to beat him tomorrow. It’s good to be in the final group tomorrow. In Morocco earlier in the season, I had a bad round on the Saturday and dropped out of the last group. So I’m pleased with the way I ground out a score today, even though I didn’t maybe play my best golf.”

Pablo Larrazábal very briefly joined the leaders with an absolutely sensational run of four straight birdies, starting at the tenth hole, but amazingly managed to miss a couple of short par putts, and finished with a 69,  that leaves him two shots back in third place.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat had four birdies on the day, only to match it with four bogeys, to finish the round at level par 72, with a total score of -9 under par, three shots off the lead in  fourth spot.

If the wind continues to blow tomorrow, expect Brett to anchor his way to another victory.

Volvo China Open. Dutchman Derksen Leads.

Dutchman Robert- Jan Derksen leads the Volvo China Open after the first round at Binhai Lake Golf Course in China.

Robert-Jan Derksen / Getty Images

Robert-Jan,  a two-time European Tour winner, has not had a top-ten finish on tour for over two years, but he has suddenly found some good form here in China. In his first round he carded eight birdies, and two bogeys for a -6 under par, 66, and top the leaderboard, he said it had been a funny day, but was hoping for a good week;

” It was a funny day, because I started well with a birdie from about five feet, but then three-putted the third and fourth and ended up in three divots on the fairways later in the round. I made a lot of birdies, and I’ve ended the day in a really good position. The wind was difficult to judge, even on the greens. But I started making a few putts and my confidence lifted. I played well here last year, and decided to skip Korea last week to better prepare for this tournament, because the travelling can take it out of you. So it looks like a good decision. It’s only the first day, I know, but I haven’t led a tournament for quite a while, so if I can keep rolling in the putts, hopefully we could be in for a good week.”

Close behind Robert-Jan, tied in second place at -4 under par  are three of  the European Tour’s last five winners.  Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin and last week’s Ballantine’s Champion Australian Brett Rumford all carding matching rounds of 68.

Brett had a bogey free round, but said he was short on sleep;

“I didn’t get much sleep on Sunday night and then I took Monday and Tuesday to recover, Wednesday I just played the pro-am, so that was my practice for the week to give myself a chance to recover and get the body right. Mentally I feel nice and fresh, and obviously it was a bit of a mental grind out there with the wind. You had to be really patient, so it was a good test for the first round back after my victory last week. It’s just a matter of  keep doing what you’re doing.”

Kiradech, won his maiden European Tour title at the Maybank Malaysian Open in March said he was full of confidence following last weeks effort at the Ballantines;

“I still have a lot of confidence from how I played last week, and obviously from Malaysia. I have played well for three or four weeks in a row now, and will try to finish high up the leaderboard again this week. In this type of wind you don’t know how you will do, but I’ll just try to do my best.”

Raphaël, who won last month’s Open de España was very happy with his start to this tournament;

It’s a great start, any time you have no bogeys and four birdies, it’s always a good day,” said the Frenchman.

“The wind’s picking up now, so we were lucky to play seven or eight holes without much wind. The course gives you a few birdie chances, but there were some holes, like the fourth, ninth and 17th, which were playing really long into the wind. I’m playing really well at the moment. Obviously my win in Spain was amazing, and I guess it was always going to be hard to keep the same high level in Korea last week.”

China’s newest young player, 12-year-old Ye Wo-cheng struggle on his debut on the European Tour, carding a first round of +7 over par 79. Sixteen year-old Dou Ze-cheng , finished his day by signing for an impressive round of -2 under par 70.

Branden Grace Wins Volvo China Open @ Binhai Lake GC, Tianjin China

Branden Grace (Getty Images

Branden Grace won the Volvo China Open at Binhai Lake GC, already a two-time winner on The European Tour this season Branden enjoyed a  three shot victory over defending champion Nicolas Colsaerts. Branden’s had a final round of -3 under par 69, for a tournament total of -21 under par. Nicolas also finished with a -3 under par 69 to secure second place by himself, with a total of -18 under par.

With this win Branden Grace joins an elite group, only Ernie Els and Retief Goosen have won three European Tour victories in one year, Branden now makes the count three.

Ian Poulter has a last round -6 under par for a 66 for a tournament total of -10 under par. A full seven shots off the lead, but at last he found some form out here at Binhai Lake GC.

Volvo China Open, Branden Grace in control after 3rd Round

 

Branden Grace (Getty Images)

Branden Grace of South Africa took control of the Volvo China Open at Binhai Lake G.C. shooting a third round score of  -8 under par 64 for a tournament total of -18 under par. Nearest challenger is defending champion Nicolas Colsearts who kept up the pressure on Branden with a round 0f -6 under par 66 for a total of -15 for the tournament, and three shots behind.

As they say in golf, it’s Branden’s title to loose, I am looking forward to the last round tomorrow, the pressure is on.

Volvo China Open, 2nd Round

It was a windy and cold second round of the Volvo China Open at Binhai Lake Golf Course at Tianjin, China. Gary Boyd of England leads the way with a second round -5 under par 67, for a total -11 under par. Joining him at the top of the leaderboard is Frenchman Jean Baptiste Gonnet, who also had a -5 under par 67. Alone at -10 under par for the tournament is Branden Grace who also had a -5 under par second round.

Mathew Baldwin, the first round leader had a very disappointing +1 over round of 73 and slipped to -6 under par for the tournament. Hanging in there at -4 under par for the tournament is Colin Montgomerie, who could not even raise a smile after a good  birdie at the 18th hole, maybe he was just too cold.

Getty Images

Squeezing in on the cut line 0f -2 under par was Ian Poulter, who made a great putt on the last to make it. Ian will have to have a very good round tomorrow if he is to contend the for the title on Sunday.

Getty Images

Notables missing the cut in China are;

Liang Wen-Chang, Ross Fisher, David Howell, Paul Casey and Stephen Gallacher. With them was 13 year old Guan Tian-lang, who had a tough two days on the golf course shooting rounds of 77 and 79.

 13 year old Guan Tian-lang

Volvo China Open, first round

Matthew Baldwin of England  shot a 7-under par 65 Thursday to lead the China Open at Binhai Lake GC, by one stroke after the first round. Mathew said about his day;

“The conditions were a lot calmer when I played then when we played a practice round early in the week. Then, I thought shooting four 72s around this course would be very good. But they did move some of the tee’s forward and some of the pins were very generous, which helped the score.”

Joost Luiten, Gary Boyd, Scott Strange, Jean Baptiste Gonnet, Fredrik Andersson and Jbe Kruger were all to return scores of 66 for the first round to be just one shot behind the leader.

Colin Montgomerie shot a 68 for his best round this year, and it would have been lower had he not three-putted on his last hole of the day. Colin said;

“I have been working very hard on my game because you have to say that I had lost my game completely. It feels better and it seems to be coming back.”

Guan Tian-lang of China, who at 13 years, 173 days made history by becoming the youngest player at a European Tour event had a poor start to the tournament, he was +5 over Par after six holes,  but recovered sufficiently to finished the last 12 holes in level par to shoot a 77. Lets hope he can relax and shoot a good score tomorrow to make the cut.

Paul Casey @ Volvo China Open

Paul Casey, a former winner of this title at Shenzen in 2006, hopes a return to China can kick-start his frustrating start to the season. Since he suffered a dislocated shoulder while snowboarding, which kept Paul out of golf  until March, and then in his first four tournaments back he’s missed three cuts. He said of injury forced lay-off;

“Sitting around on the couch has brought the passion back and now I just have to put in a lot of hard work to get back to the required standard. The ball-striking is good, but I just don’t have the consistency yet. The razor sharpness in the putting isn’t there yet, but I have made great strides and the confidence is growing every single day and I really believe I will be in that winner’s circle soon.”

“”Winning is a special thing and I have to say that I like to win tournaments that carry a jacket. Obviously everyone wants the green one, but it is a cool prize to win here and I like playing in China. Shenzen was a great course and great people and I just like coming to this country. I always get a lot of support here and hopefully that can continue this week.”

Guan Tian-lang, 13, youngest ever on European Tour, at China Open

Guan Tian-lang will play his first ever event on the European Tour, competing at  the Volvo China Open at Tianjin Binhai Lake Golf Club, China Open, aged just 13. He is the youngest player there has been on Tour, beating the previous record by countryman Lo Shik-kai, who was 107 days older at the 2003 Hong Kong Open. Guan got into the China Open after finishing fourth in a mid-China qualifying event. He will join the likes of England’s Ian Poulter and Paul Casey who are also in the field.

Guan won the World Junior crown in San Diego last year by a 11 shots after a nine-under-par 63 on the opening day.

The youngest player to ever make a European Tour cut is Jason Hak, who played all 72 holes at the Hong Kong Open as a 14-year-old amateur in 2009. Guan’s ambition is to make the cut this year;

‘My goal now is to be the youngest player ever to make the cut in a European Tour event, and I think if I can shoot level par or better I’ll have a good chance to do that.”

Alistair Polson, operations director of the Volvo China Open thinks Guan has a good chance to make the cut;

“Anyone who has seen Guan play would not rule him out from making the cut, he really is a talented young player. He displays a maturity well beyond his 13 years and doesn’t seem fazed by spectators or the intrusive nature of the media. Being a local player I expect he will receive a lot of media attention next week so I hope he does well and gives the fans something to cheer about.”

Guan Tian-lang (EuropeanTour