Asian Tour, Thailand Golf Championship. Lee Westwood the Asian Specialist

Lee Westwood/ asiantour.com

The top contender this week  the top at the US$1 million Thailand Golf Championship staged at the Amata Spring Country Club, is Asian specialist Lee Westwood. Lee is known around the world as an Asian specialist  because of his record of multiple victories around the region including the 2011 Thailand Golf Championship, where he romped home to a seven-shot win over South African Charl Schwartzel. During that week, Lee also flirted with the magical score of 59, just missing the mark by one stroke, in the opening round. He is in fine form this season, winning the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters on the Asian Tour following a third place result at The Masters. Lee has missed only one cut this season, and enjoys a World Ranking of  6^th.

Bubba Watson will bring his own specialist style of golf to challenge the Championship at Amata Spring. Bubba is the reigning Masters Champion, and well-known for his extra long drives on the PGA Tour, where he averages over 315 yards. Bubba also has four top ten finishes this year in the U.S. and is determined to set his sights on victory here in Asia.

Gaganjeet Bhullar, currently fourth on the Asian Tour of Merit,is a young Indian player who has had a wonderful run of results on the Asian Tour, winning twice, and also finished tied 10th at the CIMB classic in Malaysia. Gaganjeet has a mathematical chance of toppling Thaworn Wiratchant at the top of the Order of Merit but needs a really good finish here and then again next week in Malaysia. Thaworn himself  is on course to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit, standing in 1st place at the moment, this would be the second time since 2005. He has three victories on the Tour this season and is certainly enjoying a purple patch. Thaworn finished second at the King’s Cup on home soil last week and knows a big finish this week will see him creep closer towards the prestigious Merit crown.

Sergio Garcia has enjoyed a resurgence of form earning him back-to-back wins in late 2011. He won again this year on the PGA Tour, at the Wyndham Championship and also has had six other top-ten finishes. And of course Sergio also played a starring role for Europe in the Ryder Cup victory over the United States in September. His current World Ranking is 22nd and he finished in fourth spot last year in the Thailand Golf Championship. Another notable from Europe and Ryder Cup player is Nicolas Colsaerts, the Belgian is the longest driver of a golf ball on the European Tour. Nicolas had a wonderful season winning the Volvo World Matchplay, and has also amassed eleven top ten finishes, and is ranked 35th in the World.

South African Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters Champion is also contesting this event, he is looking for his first win of 2012, to back up his seven top ten finishes this year. To win this year would help erase the memory of last years thrashing in the final at the hands of Lee Westwood.

This is a good field for this tournament and it should be a hotly contested affair, which will be a pleasure to watch.

 

Wyndham Championship, Sergio Garcia Wins

 

    

Sergio Garcia/Martin/Getty Images

I am pleased to report that Sergio Garcia won the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on Monday morning. This victory was Sergio’s  first on the PGA Tour since the 2008 Players Championship. His winning score was – 18 under par after shooting a final-round 66, beating  Tim Clark by two shots and Bud Cauley by three. Sergio now excitedly goes to Bethpage Black for The Barclays with momentum, he ranked 33rd in the FedExCup, a big jump of 69 spots. The Barclays, which begins Thursday, is the first of four events in the FedExCup Playoffs that will decided the season-long champion and winner of the $10 million bonus.

“I am proud of the way I played coming in, hopefully this will secure my spot in the Ryder Cup. We’ll see when the team comes out, but I think my chances are a little better now.”

With this win, Sergio appears to have forced himself  into the automatic qualifiers for the European team with just one week remaining. The matches will be held at Medinah Country Club where a then 19-year-old Garcia finished second to Tiger Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship. Go Sergio !!!

Tim Clark finished in second spot after his last round 67 and a tournament total of -16 under par. Tim also moved up the points list, to 54th, this amazing position after not even being in the Playoff picture a few weeks ago. Tim knew it was going to be hard to reel in Sergio on the day;

“It was going to be tough to catch Garcia, the way he finished.”

Bud Cauley claimed third place with a final round of -2 under par, 68 and a tournament total of -15 under par. Local boy Carl Pettersson finished in a three-way tie for fourth spot, with Jimmy Walker and Chad Campbell.

Lets go to the Play-offs.

Wyndham Championship, Final Round Suspended. Weather Delay

  

Inclement weather caused the suspension of play in the final round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on Sunday. The final round will commence on Monday morning with Sergio Garcia still leading, he is -1 under par after four holes and is currently at -15 under par for the tournament. Jason Dufner, Bud Cauley and Tim Clark are just one shot adrift, with all of them just beginning their rounds when play was halted.

American Ryder Cup Captain, Davis Love 111, is still on -11 under par after seven holes of his final round, and could still close the gap at the resumption of play tomorrow. Local boy Carl Pettersson is +2 over par during his first six holes of the final round and looks less than convincing in his bid for the title.

I am looking forward to tomorrows play, it should be a great tussle to the end.

Wyndham Championship, Round 3, Sergio Garcia Leads

                                                                                                                       

Sergio Garcia/Gerry Broome / Associated Press

After three rounds of the Wyndham Championship Sergio Garcia is in control of his Ryder Cup destiny. Sergio had a third round of       -4 under par 66 on the par 70 Sedgefield Country Club lay-out, to lead by one shot from Tim Clark and Bud Cauley, who are on -13 under par. The FedEx Playoffs are just one week away, and Sergio Garcia is rounding into form at the right time. The going will  not be easy, apart from Bud Cauley and Tim Clark by one,  Jason Dufner, Harris English and Carl Pettersson are lurking with serious intent. Sergio is acutely aware of the competition looming behind him for the final round;

” Obviously I would love to be two, three shots better but, you know, we’re in a good situation, it’s going to be a tough day. There’s no doubt about it. A lot of very good players behind me trying to achieve the same thing I’m trying to achieve. So, you know, hopefully I’ll go out there tomorrow, play well again and give ourselves a good shot at winning and see if we can finish in the same position that I was today. Eighteen pars are not going to win it, you have to make some birdies out there. I don’t have a number, I’m not going to say I need to shoot 4 under, 5 under, or whatever. Someone might go out and shoot 9 under, and 5 under’s not good enough.”

Jason Dufner had the best round of the day, a -7 under par 63, and playing like that he could easily be in contention coming down the stretch on Sunday afternoon. Jason trails Sergio by two shots and is trying to win for the third time during this breakout season. Amazingly he would replace Tiger Woods as No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings if he did, now that would be a talking point.

There are sixteen players within four shots of the lead, so in reality tomorrow is going to be a shoot-out, and may the best man win.

The American Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love 111 is still in contention in this tournament, and a win for him here would be a momentous occasion. And don’t forget Carl Pettersson, the Sedgefield Country Club member, he knows this course well, and that factor could give him the edge. Of course Carl will not be playing for Ryder Cup selection, as he does not qualify to play for either the U.S. or the European Team. I think some rule changes need to be made here, but you know how long it takes the authorities to come to any conclusions on rule changes, long putters have been around for twenty years.

Here is how the top of the leaderboard currently looks.

1. Sergio Garcia -14                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                T2. Bud Cauley -13                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           T2. Tim Clark -13                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            T4. Jason Dufner -12                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    T4. Harris English -12                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  T4. Carl Pettersson -12                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       T7. Davis Love III -11                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       T7. Matt Every -11                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              T7. Jimmy Walker 11

Wyndham Championship, round 2, Jimmy Walker in Front.

  

Jimmy Walker/getty images

Jimmy Walker is in front after the second round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina. Jimmy had a super smooth -8 under par, 62, for a tournament total of -12 under par. He now  leads the Championship by just one shot from Webb Simpson.

Jimmy  is playing well despite having suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee while making what he called a “funny step” at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in late May. He elected to have a cortisone injection the week of the U.S. Open, which took away the swelling and pain. Jimmy spoke about the discomfort he was feeling;

” For a while there I was out of my routine because I couldn’t bend down, I couldn’t read putts the way I wanted to. I couldn’t line my ball up the way I wanted to.”

He has  said he’ll probably undergo surgery in the offseason to fix the same problem he had on his right knee a couple of years ago.

Webb Simpson had a nice round of -7 under par 63, and a total of -11 under par and is alone in second spot, he is thinking about the FedEx Playoffs and also his first Ryder Cup;

“Obviously right now I’m thinking about the FedExCup Playoffs but I talked to Davis a little bit more today about the team and just kind of what to expect and how I can prepare for my first Ryder Cup and, so, I’m definitely thinking about it but, you know, I’m just trying to play good tomorrow and work for The Playoffs.”

There are four players tied in third place at -10 under par, they are, Carl Pettersson, Sergio Garcia, Harris English and Tim Clark.

Carl struggled today and admitted so;

“I’m going to drive back tonight home and get some rest and see if I can find my swing on the way back. I struggled early on didn’t have much today but I thought it was a good comeback shooting 4 under from nine onwards and 2-under par was okay today with the game that I had and hopefully I can hit the ball better on the weekend and have a chance. Overall, it was pretty good, there was some uncertainty for sure but, overall, I hit the driver pretty good, I’ll keep it in the bag for the weekend. I got to keep playing aggressive, put the ball in play and then try to make some birdies and have a low weekend, it’s nice to be up there with a chance to win.”

 

Wyndham Championship 1st round, Pettersson in Lead.

 

Carl Pettersson/ getty images

In the opening round of the Wyndham Championship from Sedgefield Country Club, Carl Pettersson leads by one shot at -8 under par with his opening effort of 62, his best round ever in his PGA career. If you were wondering if Carl had the benefit of any members bounces during the day you would be right, he a fully paid up member of the Sedgefield club. When reminded of this fact Carl said;

“ That’s right, I am a member, I forgot. This game is very streaky, we get on a good run, you’ve got to keep going and it seems like when you’re playing well, you never think you’re going to play bad. When you’re playing bad, you never think you’re going to play well.”

Carl was the 2008 Wyndham Championship winner, and he picked up right from where he left off at last week’s PGA Championship, in superb style.  Not only is he a past champion of the event, but as a youth, he grew up and attended high school at Grimsley in Greensboro. Carl also active on the Board of Directors at Sedgefield Country Club.

David Mathis and Tim Clark are one stroke behind at -7 under par, with both players being bogey free on their opening rounds.          Tim said he was trying to keep pace with Carl;

“I’ve got to keep pace with Carl, when he goes low, he really goes low. If I’m able to hang in there, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

David  has had just one top-10 finish this year, and arrived at this tournament down at 136 on the FedEx Cup points list, and in the top 125 qualify for The Barclays.

David had three straight birdies on Nos. 13-15 to move to -7 under par before closing his round with three pars. he said he was not trying to think about his lowly position;

“I tried not to think about it, but it’s really difficult not to think about because it’s such a big part of the year. Your life can change really quick in the FedEx Cup if you play well.”

It will be interesting tomorrow to see if these three guys can remain at the top of the leaderboard, there is still a long way to go in this tournament.