Archive for October, 2009
October 26, 2009
Troy Matteson blew a chance to win the Frys com Open in regulation by bogeying the 17th and 18th holes.
Playing the same holes in reverse order in a three-way playoff, Matteson recovered from his late collapse. He birdied the second extra hole to beat Jamie Lovemark and Rickie Fowler on Sunday at Grayhawk Golf Club for his second PGA Tour victory.
I just cant believe that its ended up like this, said Matteson, who won $900,000. I know I stumbled going down the stretch, but Im still beside myself.
After all three players parred the first playoff hole, Matteson hit his approach within 3 feet on the 464-yard, par-4 17th hole. With shadows stretching onto the green, he rolled in the putt to win.
That capped an incredible three-day stretch for the 29-year-old Matteson. After shooting a 2-over 72 on Thursday, he thought he might be headed for the airport before the weekend.
But Matteson had back-to-back 61s on Friday and Saturday - a PGA Tour record for lowest score in consecutive rounds - and he took a three-stroke lead into the final round.
Thats as good as I can play, Matteson said. I really dont have to worry about playing better than that, because thats it.
Mattesons first tour victory came as a rookie in 2006, when he won the Frys.com Open in Las Vegas, now called the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
On the first extra hole, Lovemark got a gift when his approach splashed into a man-made lagoon, then bounced onto the slope of the green. Lovemark chipped to 3 feet and made the putt to stay alive.
It was crazy, said Lovemark, who called the fluke shot a skipper.
Lovemark and Fowler, who are seeking PGA Tour cards, each earned $440,000.
Fowler has made $553,700 this season, which gives him special temporary membership because the amount exceeds the 150th spot on the money list last year. That allows him to skip the first stage of Q-school next week and most likely makes him exempt into the final stage. He is the equivalent of 136th on this years money list, and still has time to reach the top 125 and earn his card without Q-school.
I knew I was capable of coming out and competing, said the shaggy-haired Fowler, who tied for seventh in Las Vegas last week. But to finish tied for seventh and then tied for first and then losing a playoff, pretty quick start.
The 20-year-old Fowler turned pro after the Walker Cup last month.
Lovemark has earned $453,872 and said he would go to Q-school next week in North Carolina. He needed to finish second alone to earn enough to be a temporary member. If he were to skip the first stage and take his chances at the Viking Classic next week, he would not be eligible for Q-school the rest of the way.
Fowler and Lovemark had finished their rounds when Matteson faltered on a sun-splashed afternoon in the desert.
After bogeying the 17th, Matteson (68) knocked his approach shot into a bunker on the 18th. He chipped to about 10 feet, then missed the putt to force a playoff with Fowler and Lovemark.
Fowler and Lovemark, who shots 64s, watched the drama unfold from a practice green across the lagoon from the 18th green.
Im more nervous right now than I was when playing, which is kind of weird, Lovemark told a TV interviewer.
Fowler led briefly midway through the round, but his bogey on 18 cost him a chance to win in regulation.
Lovemark had seven birdies in regulation, five on the back nine.
I felt like I was pretty far out of it, he said.
Bill Lunde (66) and Tim Clark (67) tied for fourth at 16 under, and 2007 winner Mike Weir (61) and Bryce Molder (63) followed at 15 under. Weir had a chance for the fourth 59 in PGA Tour history, but parred the final three holes.
For most of the day, the tourney seemed to be a duel between Fowler and Matteson, who traded salvos on Grayhawks Raptor Course.
Fowler entered in a five-way tie at 12 under, four strokes back of Matteson. But Fowler quickly charged into the lead.
Fowler aced the par-3, 203-yard fifth hole to go to 17 under and leapfrog Matteson. It was the fourth hole-in-one in two days.
Matteson, playing two groups behind Fowler, responded with an eagle on the par-5 fourth to jump back in front.
Matteson said he didnt know that Fowler was making a charge because he refused to check out at the leaderboard.
When youve got a little bit of a lead and you start playing good on the front side, the worst thing you can do is look over and see somebody is 5, 6, 7 under on the day, Matteson said.
October 26, 2009
Phil Blackmar won his first Champions Tour title Sunday, birdieing five of his first six holes en route to a 7-under 64 and a one-stroke victory over Jay Haas, Tom Kite and Andy Bean in the ATT Championship.
Blackmar, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour who joined the Champions Tour late in 2007, had a 10-under 203 total on the Oak Hills course. The 6-foot-7 former University of Texas player earned $255,000 in the final full-field event of the year.
He jumped 27 spots in the Charles Schwab Cup standings to 30th to take the last spot in the season-ending Schwab Cup in Sonoma, Calif. He admitted hes been thinking about getting out of golf if he had to go through qualifying school and was unsuccessful getting his card.
I got very nervous, but I was able to hang in there, said Blackmar, who lives about 150 miles away in Corpus Christi. This year hasnt been very much fun, so I was comfortable with getting back into broadcasting, or something else.
Haas (69) had a chance to win or force a playoff, but bogeyed the 202-yard, par-3 18th. He left his tee shot short, dumped a chip into the front bunker, then watched his third shot roll over the lip and stay out of the cup by less than an inch.
You see this ball sitting there and theres no way its not in, Haas said. You see very few balls like that that dont fall in.
Kite (68) missed an 8-foot birdie putt on 18, and Bean (70) failed to chip in from past the green. Kite, who grew up and lives in Austin, has never won a professional tournament in his home state.
John Cook, the two-time defending champion and winner last week near Houston, closed with a 66 finish two shots behind Blackmar. Hale Irwin (68) was fifth at 7 under, and Keith Fergus (67), Bernhard Langer (69) and Scott Simpson (70) tied for sixth at 6 under.
Blackmar, who listened to Ted Nugent and Deep Purple in his headphones on the practice tee before the round, knocked the ball within 10 feet on each of the five birdie holes to start his round.
Listening to that music, I could feel my demeanor change, he said. I was ready to fight someone.
But at the turn, Blackmar admitted to a bad case of nerves. Still, he tied for the lead when he had a tap-in birdie after blasting out of a greenside bunker on the 527-yard 15th.
He was in the lead when he birdied from 15 feet at No. 16 before Haas birdied the 15th. He had a four-foot par putt on 18 after he blasted out of a greenside bunker.
I was so nervous I couldnt feel my hands, Blackmar said.
October 25, 2009
Scores Saturday from the Frys com Open, a $5 million US PGA Tour event at 7,125-yard, par-70 Grayhawk Golf Club.
Third Round
Troy Matteson 72-61-61-194
Webb Simpson 68-65-64-197
Tim Clark 68-64-65-197
Chris Stroud 67-65-65-197
Bill Lunde 66-67-65-198
Jamie Lovemark 69-64-65-198
Nick OHern 63-68-67-198
Ryan Moore 66-65-67-198
Rickie Fowler 65-64-69-198
Nicholas Thompson 66-68-65-199
Justin Leonard 66-64-69-199
Robert Garrigus 70-65-65-200
Stephen Ames 66-66-68-200
Ben Crane 66-67-67-200
Heath Slocum 64-68-68-200
Nathan Green 69-66-66-201
Pat Perez 66-67-68-201
Martin Laird 67-72-62-201
Jonathan Byrd 70-66-66-202
Mark Wilson 68-67-67-202
Tim Herron 68-68-66-202
Carl Pettersson 70-67-65-202
Bo Van Pelt 67-68-67-202
Bryce Molder 67-65-70-202
Greg Owen 65-64-73-202
D.A. Points 65-71-67-203
Chad Campbell 68-67-68-203
Ryan Palmer 69-66-68-203
Tim Petrovic 66-71-66-203
Alex Cejka 67-67-69-203
Brian Vranesh 68-66-69-203
John Merrick 72-65-66-203
Arron Oberholser 68-69-66-203
Spencer Levin 66-71-66-203
Peter Tomasulo 68-65-70-203
Rocco Mediate 67-66-70-203
Ted Purdy 72-67-64-203
Billy Mayfair 66-70-68-204
Tom Pernice, Jr. 67-69-68-204
Fred Couples 67-69-68-204
Steve Flesch 69-68-67-204
Chris Riley 70-67-67-204
Scott McCarron 67-67-70-204
D.J. Trahan 69-64-71-204
John Mallinger 70-68-66-204
Mike Weir 66-67-71-204
Matt Bettencourt 69-70-65-204
Stuart Appleby 70-65-70-205
Rory Sabbatini 65-72-68-205
Chez Reavie 70-67-68-205
Tom Lehman 68-65-72-205
Kent Jones 71-67-67-205
Andres Romero 68-68-70-206
J.J. Henry 69-67-70-206
Jeff Klauk 66-70-70-206
Vaughn Taylor 69-66-71-206
Matt Jones 67-68-71-206
Paul Goydos 66-70-70-206
Bob Heintz 64-73-69-206
Chris DiMarco 68-69-69-206
Colt Knost 71-66-69-206
Brett Quigley 68-70-68-206
Charlie Wi 69-69-68-206
Jason Gore 70-68-68-206
Greg Chalmers 70-69-67-206
Mark Calcavecchia 71-68-67-206
Ricky Barnes 66-70-71-207
Brian Davis 70-67-70-207
Peter Lonard 69-68-70-207
Steve Elkington 68-71-68-207
Steve Lowery 67-67-76-210
Johnson Wagner 68-70-72-210
Parker McLachlin 70-68-72-210
Glen Day 70-68-74-212
Brad Faxon 69-69-74-212
Michael Bradley 70-69-73-212
Aron Price 70-69-75-214
October 25, 2009
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz -Troy Matteson had never shot a 61 until this week. Now hes done it twice in a row to set a PGA Tour record.
His second straight 9-under round at the Frys.com Open on Saturday gave him a three-shot lead at 16-under 194 heading into the final round.
Mattesons 122 score in consecutive rounds broke the tour record of 123 set this year by Steve Stricker in the third and fourth rounds of the Bob Hope Classic.
Webb Simpson (64), Tim Clark (65) and Chris Stroud (65) were tied at 13 under.
In an amazing stretch, Nicholas Thompson had a double eagle on the par-5 11th, followed by a hole-in-one on the par-3 13th, a drop of five shots in three holes. He finished with a 65 to reach 11 under.
ATT Championship
SAN ANTONIO - Andy Bean shot a 5-under 67 for a share of the second-round lead with Russ Cochran in the Champions Tours ATT Championship.
Cochran had a 68 to match Bean at 8-under 134 on the Oak Hills Country Club course.
Jay Haas (67) was a stroke back, and Jeff Sluman (67) and Tom Kite (69) were 6 under. Two-time defending champion John Cook, coming off a victory last week at The Woodlands, was 3 under after a 71.
Nationwide Tour Championship
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Matt Every made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke lead over money leader Michael Sim after the third round of the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship.
Every, 49th on the money list, is trying to move into the final top 25 - the cutoff for 2010 PGA Tour cards. The former Florida star had a 16-under 200 total on the Daniel Island Clubs Ralston Creek Course to put himself in position to take the $180,000 first-place check. Sim, a three-time winner this year, shot a 67.
Castello Masters Costa Azahar
CASTELLON, Spain - Swedens Michael Jonzon shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead in the Castello Masters Costa Azahar.
Jonzon had a 16-under 197 total on the Club de Campo del Mediterraneo course. Sergio Garcia, the defending champion on his home course, had a 67 to join Germanys Martin Kaymer (68) at 15 under.
October 25, 2009
Matt Every made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke lead over money leader Michael Sim after the third round of the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship on Saturday.
Every, 49th on the money list, is trying to move into the final top 25 - the cutoff for 2010 U.S. PGA Tour cards. He had a 16-under 200 total on the Daniel Island Clubs Ralston Creek Course to put himself in position to take the $180,000 first-place check.
Sim, a three-time winner from Australia who has earned a tour-record $536,142, shot a 67.
I played much better than yesterday after working hard on the driving range last night, Sim said. I played great for the first 12 holes, I gave myself a lot of chances. The only long putt I made was on No. 17, so I feel great about todays round.
Countryman Cameron Percy shot 70 and was fourth at 12 under.
October 22, 2009
Scores Wednesday from the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, a $1,35 million exhibition event between the years major winners at 6,824-yard, par-71 Port Royal Golf Course.
Final Round
Lucas Glover 65-66-131
Angel Cabrera 70-66-136
Stewart Cink 67-70-137
Y.E. Yang 71-70-141
October 22, 2009
The Nationwide Tour is coming to PGA Tour headquarters next year with a new tournament that will be played on the secondary course at the TPC Sawgrass.
The Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open will be played in October 2010 with a purse of $600,000. It will be held at The Dyes Valley Course, part of a complex that includes the more famous Stadium Course where The Players Championship is played.
Tour officials said Wednesday the date - either the second or third week of October - will be announced once the entire Nationwide Tour schedule is released.
All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to nonprofit organizations in town.
October 20, 2009
The European PGA Tour added a pair of tournaments to its 2010 schedule on Monday and left three others off the list.
The Africa Open in South Africa and the Hassan 11 Golf Trophy in Morocco were put on the schedule, while the Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia, the Malaysian Open and the Indonesian Open were missing.
The three missing events had a combined prize fund of more than $4 million in 2009.
The Africa Open, which will be co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Golf Tour, will be held at the East London Golf Club in the first week of January. In March, the Hassan 11 Golf Trophy, which dates back to 1971 and is being upgraded to Tour status, will be played at the Royal Dar-Es-salam Club in Rabat. The tournament features a new celebrity pro-am format over the first two rounds.
The Tour also said that the Race to Dubai, the European tours money list bonus scheme, will be in place again next season. The Race to Dubais future was put in doubt when Leisurecorp, the initial backers of the scheme, was hit by the recession and taken over by Nakheel Leisure, which negotiated a $5 million reduction in the prize fund.
We are committed and proud to take our partnership with The European Tour forward into the new season, Nakheel Leisure managing director Hamza Mustafa said. The inaugural Race to Dubai has been a phenomenal success and I believe we are currently seeing the benefits of the new format with some impressive fields in the latter part of the season as players race to qualify for the Dubai World Championship.
The 2010 season starts in December 2009 with two tournaments in South Africa. It then moves on to the three-event desert swing in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai in late January.
October 20, 2009
Some reward for winning a major.
Y.E. Yang slept on a pullout couch in the locker room. Lucas Glover read a book. Stewart Cink twittered. Angel Cabrera scowled.
The four major champions spent Monday dodging thunder and lightning that interrupted the pro-am for the PGA Grand Slam of Golf at Port Royal Golf Course.
Yang, who took down Tiger Woods to win the PGA Championship, spent several hours asleep on a hastily supplied bed after a journey that began in South Korea at 7 a.m. Sunday and didnt end until 5:30 a.m. Monday. His slumber was captured by Cink on camera and immediately posted on Twitter. Cink has more than 1 million followers after his British Open victory.
I thought this was just an opportunity I just couldnt pass up, Cink said. When you only have four in the field, and one of them takes a nap, and there is a fold-out bed in the locker room, thats pretty impressive. And he slept with all the commotion going on, as well. When the rain would come, we would all rush back into the locker room, and there would be lots of noise. And he never moved.
It was pretty impressive, but he had a long night. I was intentionally vague about it being a long night. Most people will think that he was partying.
The incident added some comic relief to a pro-am where the players were each able to finish just six holes due to weather Glover described as the worst I have ever played in.
Glover is opting to trust the yardage book to guide him around the rest of the course during the first round Tuesday, while Cabrera, the Masters champion, may look at the rest of the course in the morning.
It was tough out there obviously, said Glover, whose won his U.S. Open in five days of rain and muck at Bethpage Black. I think thats the worst conditions Ive ever played golf in. Im not going back out. There is probably a good chance that Ill get even wetter. I think Ill just go with the yardage book.
The only one to brave the rain was Cink, who took a cart around the parts of the course he didnt see. Yang sent his caddie.
I got to play six entire holes, Cink said. And I dont think you could say I played those holes, because the weather was absolutely atrocious. But it seems like a nice course, a good course for wind because its not that long. There are holes that will play very difficult in the wind. It looks to be a course that is in great shape.
The quartet of major champions start the opening round Tuesday round at 9:30 a.m. EDT. All expect the wind to play a big part.
The wind is going to play the biggest part, rain or not, said Glover, who hammered one drive at No. 14 all of 215 yards into the wind. The greens are still very firm, but the wind will be the big issue. Itll be tough and itll be a good test, regardless. If it was dead calm, it would be a good test, because the course is so good. But the wind is going to be the main defense.
October 19, 2009
Scores Sunday from the Administaff Small Business Classic, a $1,7 million Champions Tour event at 7,003-yard, par-72 The Woodlands Country Club (Charles Schwab Cup points in parentheses).
Final Round
John Cook (510), $255,000 65-72-68-205
Bob Tway (272), $136,000 67-70-70-207
Jay Haas (272), $136,000 70-66-71-207
Tom Lehman (168), $83,867 69-71-68-208
Bernhard Langer (168), $83,867 68-71-69-208
Dan Forsman (168), $83,867 64-71-73-208
Russ Cochran (108), $54,400 68-71-70-209
Olin Browne (108), $54,400 69-70-70-209
Tom Watson (108), $54,400 69-68-72-209
David Frost (82), $40,800 74-70-66-210
Mark Wiebe (82), $40,800 67-69-74-210
Gene Jones (82), $40,800 69-67-74-210
Fuzzy Zoeller, $34,000 70-74-67-211
Don Pooley, $28,900 72-73-67-212
Nick Price, $28,900 67-74-71-212
Bob Gilder, $28,900 74-68-70-212
Mark James, $28,900 71-70-71-212
Keith Fergus, $28,900 68-73-71-212
Fred Funk, $21,803 72-72-69-213
Andy Bean, $21,803 71-72-70-213
Craig Stadler, $21,803 73-68-72-213
Bruce Lietzke, $21,803 68-71-74-213
Mark OMeara, $17,850 72-70-72-214
Jim Thorpe, $17,850 69-72-73-214
David Eger, $17,850 69-71-74-214
Tom Kite, $15,130 71-75-69-215
Loren Roberts, $15,130 70-73-72-215
Joey Sindelar, $15,130 69-74-72-215
Fulton Allem, $15,130 74-68-73-215
Jeff Sluman, $11,754 73-73-70-216
Hal Sutton, $11,754 73-72-71-216
Mike Reid, $11,754 69-75-72-216
John Morse, $11,754 73-71-72-216
Jack Ferenz, $11,754 71-72-73-216
Allen Doyle, $11,754 71-72-73-216
Jay Don Blake, $11,754 67-72-77-216
Kirk Hanefeld, $9,010 75-72-70-217
R.W. Eaks, $9,010 73-73-71-217
Tom McKnight, $9,010 76-70-71-217
Bruce Fleisher, $9,010 71-74-72-217
John Harris, $9,010 68-76-73-217
Tim Simpson, $7,480 73-74-71-218
Ronnie Black, $7,480 76-71-71-218
Robin Freeman, $7,480 70-73-75-218
Larry Nelson, $7,480 74-69-75-218
D.A. Weibring, $6,120 74-73-72-219
Ben Crenshaw, $6,120 71-75-73-219
Lanny Wadkins, $6,120 70-75-74-219
Bruce Vaughan, $6,120 74-71-74-219
Mark McNulty, $4,760 74-75-71-220
Peter Jacobsen, $4,760 73-74-73-220
Sandy Lyle, $4,760 73-73-74-220
James Mason, $4,760 70-73-77-220
Bobby Wadkins, $4,080 71-76-74-221
Chip Beck, $3,400 72-77-73-222
Gary Hallberg, $3,400 76-74-72-222
Tom Wargo, $3,400 74-75-73-222
Wayne Levi, $3,400 74-74-74-222
Lonnie Nielsen, $3,400 74-74-74-222
Curtis Strange, $3,400 73-73-76-222
Denis Watson, $3,400 69-73-80-222
Scott Simpson, $2,635 71-79-73-223
Tom Jenkins, $2,635 74-75-74-223
Bruce Summerhays, $2,295 75-78-71-224
Phil Blackmar, $2,295 73-77-74-224
Tom Purtzer, $2,040 73-77-75-225
Robert L. Thompson, $1,870 77-74-75-226
Keith Clearwater, $1,598 81-76-70-227
Gil Morgan, $1,598 75-72-80-227
Mike Hulbert, $1,598 74-70-83-227
Mike Goodes, $1,343 76-76-76-228
Steve Thomas, $1,343 77-75-76-228
Mike McCullough, $1,190 74-76-79-229
Blaine McCallister, $1,088 72-80-78-230
Hale Irwin, $1,088 75-74-81-230
Lee Trevino, $986 75-80-76-231
Jim Dent, $918 81-71-81-233
