Honda Classic. Two Brits Tied at the Top

The third round finally got completed and two Brits sit at the top on the Honda Classic leaderboard, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter as the final round gets suspended due to darkness.

Ian Poulter / Getty Images

Poults has played seven last round holes and Paul nine, both sit on top of the Honda Classic leaderboard at -7 under par for the title as the tournament heads into a Monday finish.

Poults had his problems in the final round today, he shanked his tee shot on the par 3 fifth and watched helplessly as it bounced off a cart path and plunged into the water, it ended in a double bogey. He followed that by pulling his next tee shot into the water before eventually settling for bogey, and would not report his words to the press. He followed that experience with a birdie on seven;

“It’s not for newspaper or Internet worthy, I was pissed. I was seriously pissed.”

“It was a lack of concentration, I tried to take too much off an 8‑iron and hit a beautiful shank.”

“I was internally very angry, shall we say. And when I do that, obviously my heart rate goes up slightly and obviously that sometimes is what it needs to kick in the adrenaline.”

“So the shot on 7 was fueled with adrenaline, because I was so pissed off.”

“It was a good swing, I guess it’s been a long day, a long few days and I was just saying to my son, Luke, right there, look what happens when you forget to concentrate. Silly things happen.”

“Tiring, and made a couple of really bad swings on 5 and 6. But that kind of angered me inside enough to spark a little bit of energy there to hit a good shot on 7.”

Paul wanted to keep going, he hates a break in momentum;

“I thought the wind was favorable, so I thought I would get on with it, the lie is not great. I might be against the collar in the rough.”

“It just breaks up momentum, some guys will carry it through to Monday. Others won’t and that’s very difficult to predict.”

“You just hope you wake up tomorrow and you feel like you’ve got the same kind of golf swing and the putts are going in the hole.”

“I never like to look back, but I feel like when I was playing some great golf in 2009, 2010, it feels like that kind of stuff.”

“Probably even more so than that time in my golf career because off the golf course, I’m so relaxed and happy with where I’m at with (wife) Pollyanna and (son) Lex.”

“It feels great. I think the combination of being extremely happy off the course and confidence on the course, I think I’m maybe playing as good golf, if not better than I’ve played in the past.”

Patrick Reed is in third position at -6 under par, so far in his final round he is at even par through seven holes, but it will be  long day tomorrow, with a lot at stake and the pressure will be on everybody.

There is a posse of five players at -4 under par, including Phil Mickelson, so anything could happen.

 

 

 

Sony Open. Paul Casey & Webb Simpson Shoot 62.

Paul Casey and Webb Simpson shoot 62 in the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii, to lead the tournament at Waialae Country Club on the island of Oahu.

Webb Simpson / Getty Images

Webb said it was a big day for him after shooting a -8  under par 62, using a conventional length putter on Tour for the first time and  he needed only 23 putts for the round and was holing everything in sight, including birdies on eight of his final 10 holes, and his 8-under 62 was the lowest round of his career;

“Today was a big day for me, I was extremely nervous, first round on the PGA Tour with a short putter, but I just had a couple of [Bible] verses in my yardage book today that I kept reading, and I stayed calm.”

“Today was a hurdle I felt like I needed to get over, and I’m just real thankful.”

 

“Basically the idea is God is for me, he’s on my side. Put my focus on Him instead of other people.” 

“Honestly, I know religion gets thrown around a lot, but I could have done it today without God and without Scripture.”

“Golf is a funny game, any time you start playing solid, it just gives you confidence. I’ve got a long three rounds to go, and a lot can happen. But a good start.”

“It was one of the best putting rounds I’ve ever had, to be honest. I’ve been putting well with it, but it’s easy to putt well on your home course playing with your buddies. So today there was a lot of pressure.”

“I didn’t sleep that great last night, but had a good morning, talked to my wife, and a good warm up and it was big to see a few putts go in early.”

“More than anything, I’m just glad to get started. I didn’t want to wait until 2016 because I didn’t want to be in a position where I felt like I was forced into the short putter.”

You have to wonder why Webb used the long putter in the first place.

Paul Casey / Getty Images

Paul started the day on the 10th hole and  had a run of five birdies in a row on 17, 18, 1, 2 and 3 and told reporters why he gave up on the European Tour to concentrate on the PGA TOUR;

“For as long as I’ve been professional I’ve been a member of the European Tour.”

“For a long, long time now, I’ve been trying to play both the PGA TOUR and the European Tour, and some years I’ve done it brilliantly, and other years I’ve failed miserably, and I just didn’t want to keep putting myself in kind of a position where I’m struggling to fly around the world.”

“I have not been here for a long time, the last time I was here was 2010 when I played in Maui, and it’s great to be back.”

“I’ve been in the Middle East for so long and I chose to come over here. I had no idea what to expect today, so I’m over the moon with that.”

“I knew what I was missing, and it was tough, it was a very tough decision not to go to Abu Dhabi.”

“A lot of pin‑high iron shots today, I’ve been working hard on stuff on the swing, and I think I played golf swing a little bit of the time, but the key really was the irons predominantly were pin high, gave myself sort of a lot of 9‑ to 12‑foot putts out there, and I holed a lot of putts.”

Camilo Villegas and Robert Streb both had first rounds of -7 under par 63, to be tied in second place, Rory Sabbatini carded an opening -6 under par 64 to claim 5th position on his own.

Jason Day and Matt Kuchar are among a group of six players who posted 65.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memorial Tournament, Casey Leads, Rory; 63 to 78 ?

Paul Casey leads the Memorial Tournament as Rory McIlroy goes from 63 to 78.

Paul Casey / Getty Images

Paul opened up a gap at the top of the Memorial Tournament leaderboard as he recorded another -6 under par round of 66, giving him a three stroke lead over the field at -12 under par. He was definitely over the moon with his excellent round;

“I was ecstatic with the way I played, there was a couple of mistakes in there but that’s Muirfield Village. It’s a tricky golf course and you don’t need to do a lot wrong to make a mistake.”

“All I focused on was just trying to hit fairways and give myself great birdie opportunities, and just take my chances where I could and pay respect to the golf course where I had to and see what happened.”

Bubba Watson is three shots back, occupying second place on his own at -9 under par, following an erratic round of -3 under par 69. He managed to compile 5 bogey’s, 6 birdies and 1 Eagle in a topsy-turvy round, even playing one shot off the tarmac path. He said it is all a learning curve;

“It’s a learning process of how to be a Masters champion, how to deal with the pressures of that and also the pressures of being a dad for the first time. Right now I’m handling it, and I understand what it takes to be a dad and husband.”

Third place belongs to Chris Kirk, at -8 under par, after his -2 under par round of 70. Martin Flores and Hideki Matsuyama are tied for fourth at -7 under par.

Rory McIlroy totally collapsed, signing for a second round of 78, he thinks it is not too disastrous;

Rory / Getty Images

” I missed fairways; that was the big thing, I didn’t realize how thick the rough was until I got in it today, it’s thick. I hit a decent drive on 10, was just in the rough, couldn’t get to the green, made bogey there. And then I just kept missing fairways and making it tough for myself. And obviously that little three-hole stretch — 13, 14, 15 — didn’t help. Take those three holes out of it, then it wouldn’t actually have been that bad a day.”

“These little runs I’m getting on where it gets away from me, I was able to avoid that last week. Not so much this week. It’s not disastrous, even though I had such a bad day, I’m still in with a chance, depending on what the guys do this afternoon. So going into the weekend, not exactly where I want to be. But could be worse.”

Phil Mickelson carded a -2 under par 70 today, to at least make the cut, but his poor form really continues;

“I’ve had a little rough go, although my game feels good, I still have some challenges mentally and finishing the round yesterday, that’s a great example there. If I finish that round off, I’m up there top two or three. So it’s little things like that, that are making the big difference between where I’m at, 30th, and top 5.”

My game is feeling good, it actually is feeling good. I just have some challenges, and I’m glad I’m playing this weekend. It will give me two more rounds on a good golf course to see if I can have something to build on.”

Arnold Palmer Invitational. Adam Scott Soars.

 Adam Scott soars at the Arnold Palmer invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando.

Adam Scott / Getty Images

Adam scorched round the Bay Hill course in an opening round of -10 under par 62, to easily top the leaderboard. He put his record equaling score down to a good day with the putter;

” I made a lot of putts today, and a lot of putts from considerable length. I hit a lot of nice shots, too, but it wasn’t like I was hitting it four feet. I had a round like this in Australia at the end of last year, in the first six holes, I didn’t hit it outside five feet. There’s a lot of different ways to get the ball in the hole. But it’s good for the confidence. It’s what I wanted. I sat in here yesterday and said I’d like to make some birdies and build the confidence. And today is a good start to that.”

Before the round he was feeling unwell, it has all changed now;

“It’s hard to say that I’m sick, I feel actually better now than when I woke up. Just a bit under the weather. I can’t complain. Hopefully, with a solid round tomorrow I keep myself right in this golf tournament. Like at any event, you want to start and put yourself right in it from the get-go and I’ve done that here.”

Ryo Ishikawa and John Merrick opened their accounts with first rounds of -7 under par 65’s to be tied in second place.  Both of them were a massive 10 shots behind Adam before they even hit their first shot tee of the tournament.

John reckoned that round took the pressure off, and was also celebrating his birthday;

“That took the pressure off, you’re already ten shots behind, so it’s not like you’re protecting anything. But this isn’t the Bay Hill I remember. I don’t usually play golf in Florida without 20 mph wind.”

“I think being my birthday today I kind of just walked out here with a smile on my face, knew it was going to be a good day regardless, and maybe didn’t worry much about how I was going to play. It worked out, I made some putts. I haven’t been doing that lately in my rounds. It was nice to make some putts; that was kind of the difference in my round.”

Ryo was pretty happy with his opening round;

“It was a pretty comfortable round for me.”

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano had his best round of the year with a -6 under par 66 round, for fourth pace alone. Brandt Snedeker and Paul Casey were among a group of six players at 67 after completing rounds of -5 under par.

There is a long way to go, but if Adam records another low round tomorrow, the pressure will be on the others.

Bubba Watson has been forced to retire from the competition, his allergies have taken over his body, he tweeted via @BubbaWatson.;

“Just wanted to tell my fans I’m sorry I had to withdraw from @APinv this week. My allergies have taken over! “It’s hard to focus when you’re heads all discombobulated from medicine and pollen.”

Honda Classic. Rory Mac Still on Track.

Rory McIlroy is still on track to win The Honda Classic, leading the competition on  the PGA National course at Palm Beach Gardens.

Rory McIlroy / Getty Images

Rory shot a -4 under par 66 to maintain his momentum at the top of the leaderboard at The Honda Classic, with a -11 under par total. He spoke about his implosion last year and thinks maturity has helped him overcome those difficulties;

“It’s a different end of the spectrum I guess, I wasn’t quite comfortable with my golf swing. I was still tinkering with equipment. I just wasn’t feeling in control of, you know, what I needed to be in control of. This year is obviously a lot different. I think it’s just a sign of a little more maturity, not really trying to force the issue or press. I knew that with the way I’m playing and the confidence in my ability, I would be able to get those shots back. I didn’t panic.”

“When you’re not quite in control of your swing, your confidence can sort of go in peaks and troughs. When you hit a few good shots, your confidence can go up quite quickly but then you hit one bad one, it can sort of go down again and that’s where I was sort of most of last year. Now I feel I’m happy with where my swing is, and even if I do hit a loose shot, I can get over it much quicker and much easier because I have the confidence in what I’m doing. I’m playing well and I’m comfortable.”

Brendon de Jong is in second place after his super second round -6 under par 64, which elevated him to -10 under par overall. Brendon, who has never won on the PGA TOUR,  will be in the last group Saturday, alongside Rory. He mentioned the wind picking up in the afternoon;

“I think I might have got a little bit of switch in the wind. I feel very comfortable, I’ve been out here long enough now. I’ve played quite a bit with Rory. I know obviously what a great player he is. I feel very comfortable. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

In third place at -8 under par is Russell Henley, who carded a second round -2 under par 70, to stay in touch with the leaders.

Among those making the cut on the number, at even par were some dignitaries; Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, V.J. Singh and Paul Casey.

Tiger reported;

“I hit it good enough to shoot probably at least three or four lower than I did. I had so many looks where I just missed, and I just need to read them a little bit better than I did today.”

Sergio is struggling;

“It’s just been a little bit of a struggle, it’s just one of those weeks where you just don’t feel it. I wish I could put my hand on what it is. I just didn’t feel comfortable starting out, but I have to be happy with the finish and hope for a decent weekend.”

There were also a couple of big names on the missed cut column, Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson. Phil was +1 over par and Henrik was +9 over par for the first two rounds.

Turkish Open. Three Tied At The Top, 1st Round Play Suspended

There are three players tied at the top of the leaderboard on the opening day of the Turkish Airlines Open at The Montgomerie Maxx Royal course in Antalya.

Paul Casey / Getty Images

Paul Casey, Darren Fichardt and Steve Webster were all at  -7 under par for their unfinished first rounds of The Turkish Open when play was suspended for the day due to darkness. There had been a three-hour delay before play could commence, overnight thunder storms refusing to disperse in time.

Paul reported that he liked Monty designed courses, and that all bodes well for him in this tournament;

“I seem to play very well around Monty’s golf courses, I won in Bahrain a couple of years ago and then Carton House this year. I do enjoy his golf courses. I have no idea why, but maybe the fact that you can be incredibly aggressive does bode well for me. I made a very aggressive start with eagle at the first hole and this is a golf course that seems to offer a lot of opportunities starting out. I probably aim for the stick probably too frequently, but you could get away with it today. If you have an opportunity to go at flag and a good yardage, you have to take it. It was foot flat to the floor today and just fire at the pins, take advantage of the soft conditions we’ve got and see what happens. The field is exceptionally strong and with the layout of the golf course, and the way it is set up, I fully expect somebody is going to get to maybe 20 plus under par this week.”

Ricardo Gonzalez and Thorbjørn Olesen were two players who managed to finish their first rounds,  each signing for a pair of -6 under par 66’s, and currently tied in fourth spot.

Tiger Woods made a more reserved start with two birdies and a bogey in his first 11 holes taking him to -1 under par,before the darkness descended on the Montgomerie Maxx and play was suspended for bad light.

Play will resume at 8am local time on Friday morning, with the players finishing the first round before beginning round two, and with the tee-times the same as round one.

Euro Tour. KLM Open. Pablo and Miguel Spanish Duo Share Lead.

The Spanish duo of Miguel Angel Jiménez and Pablo Larrazábal share the lead at the KLM Open at the half way stage in Holland.

Miguel Angel Jimenez /Getty Images

Miguel fired a bogey free -3 under par 67 for his total score of -9 under par for the tournament. He is hoping that it will be his turn to win this week, after missing out last week in Switzerland;

“This course suits me, it’s not a very long course but you have to have the ball in position. I like this kind of links course and I feel very comfortable with my game. I didn’t manage to get the win in Switzerland last week, but maybe this week it will be my turn, I hope so.”

Pablo had two bogey’s in his second round -4 under par 66, to also reach -9 under par for the tournament at the Kennemer Golf Club, He said he had lost count of the putts he had missed on the back nine in a wet afternoon. Playing with Miguel tomorrow would be good, and a lot of fun;

“I’m happy, I’m hitting the ball as good as ever. I don’t know how many putts I missed today on that back nine. But I am on top of the leaderboard at the moment, the conditions were not good this afternoon, it was raining all the way so I am very happy with my game. It’s always good, we spend many practice rounds together, maybe 95 per cent we play together. We know each other well and have a lot of fun. We have a lot of dinners together.”

Simon Dyson, who won at Kennemer in 2006 and 2009 shot a bogey free -7 under par 63 second round, to finish tied in second place at -8 under par. Simon reported that he had a really solid round, and knows he can play well here;

“I’ve done well in previous years and played well around it today. I played really solid apart from the last two holes and never looked like making bogey. I hit a poor tee shot on the eighth, which was my 17th, and the lie determined the shot I had to play. I had quite a lot of room to pitch it on the green but had a terrible lie so had to play a little bump and run, a proper links shot, and managed to play it well. 
On the last I didn’t quite strike the chip as I wanted to but it was nice to roll the putt in and have a bogey-free round.”

Joining Simon in second place are Oliver Fisher and Julien Quesne, both players had a second round score of -5 under par 65, Julien bogey free and Oliver carding one bogey.

Top placed Dutchman is now Joost Luiten, a second round -5 under par 65 got him into a tie for seventh place at -6 under par. Missing the cut were Paul Casey and Padraig Harrington. Paul had shown signs of recovery lately but has slipped back, Padraig continues his disappointing season.