Archive for November, 2009
November 25, 2009
Japans Ai Miyazato wrapped up the best season of her US LPGA career in style Monday, climbing into a tie for eighth at the Tour Championship and her 13th top-10 finish of the year.
Miyazato had six birdies and three bogeys in the final round for a 6-under 210 total and finished third on the 2009 money list behind Jiyai Shin and Cristie Kerr with $1,517,149.
The 24-year-old from Okinawa was in a tie for 14th at the completion of the second round earlier in the day at Houstonian Golf and Country Club.
I stayed focused and played well today. A bogey-bogey finish was a bit disappointing, though, Miyazato said. I have no regrets about my year. I never missed the cut. That makes me think I got better.
Anna Nordqvist of Sweden shot a 65 to reach 13-under 203 and win the season-ending event by two strokes.
Lorena Ochoa (67) finished second to earn the Player of the Year title for the fourth consecutive year.
Shin (73), the Rookie of the Year and money list leader, shared eighth place in the season-ending event and finished just short of a title sweep, losing to Ochoa by one point in the Player of the Year race.
Miyazato is scheduled to play at the Japan LPGA Tour Championship beginning Thursday in Miyazaki city.
November 25, 2009
ONE shot was all that stopped Steve Bowditch from advancing to thefinal stage of the US PGA Tours qualifying school.
And that one shot means Bowditchs golfing life in 2010 may not becentred around the United States.
The Sunshine Coast professional was forced to play in the second stage of Tour qualifying, which finished yesterday, after enduring another disappointing year on the Nationwide Tour in the US.
By finishing outside the top 70 on the tour moneylist, in 106th place, the 24-year-old lost his playing status on the secondary tour.
The Q-school gives players like Bowditch a chance to right the wrongs of the previous 11 months and the recent Queensland PGA Championship winner took renewed confidence in his game back to America.
The top 21 finishers at the TPC Craig Ranch course in Texas, one of six courses used in the second stage, would advance to the 108-holefinal stage, earning some degree of status on the Nationwide Tour and opening up the possibilities of a place on the richest tour of all,the US PGA Tour.
Bowditch started well, with a round of two-under-par 70, but his week turned sour with a four-over-par 76 on day two, toppling him welladrift of where he needed to be.
The situation was somewhat rescued with a 68 in the third round but even his best round of the week, a 67 yesterday which included seven birdies, wasnt enough for Bowditch, who birdied his last hole of the event, to move on.
With a 72-hole total of three-under-par, he was in a tie for 24th and his plans for next year will need some work, although it was unclear last night if he would still earn some starts on the Nationwide Tour.
One option he definitely has is playing all 10 events on the fledgling OneAsia Tour.
Former US Amateur winner Nick Flanagan, who finished equal 33rd, was among the others to miss out in Texas.
Three-time Australian PGA champion Peter Lonard withdrew after three rounds at the Hombre Golf Club in Panama in Florida, meaning he will only have limited starts on the PGA Tour in 2010 after finishing outside the top 125 on the end-of-year moneylist.
Lonard had shot 72-71-74 to be well behind the cut-off mark, as was his good mate from Sydney, Paul Gow (71-80-76).
For Coast Golf followers, however, it will mean Lonard and Bowditch will not be battling tiredness and jetlag when they come to Coolum for the PGA Championship from December 10 to 13.
The final stage of Q-school finishes on the Monday of PGA week.
November 23, 2009
Lee Westwood of England became Europes No 1 golfer on Sunday after winning the Dubai World Championship by six strokes.
Westwood shot a course-record 8-under 64 in the final round at the Earth Course to finish at 23-under 265.
He earned $1.25 million with the 31st victory of his career to overtake Rory McIlroy on the season-long money list and win the European Tours first Race to Dubai since it changed from the European Order of Merit.
Ross McGowan of England was second after a 68, and McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, shot a 67 to finish third on 273.
The 36-year-old Westwoods $1.5 million bonus for finishing atop the money list took his total European Tour earnings to $6,376,984. McIlroy was next with $5,432,358.
Westwood, who won the European Order of Merit in 2000, couldnt hold back tears after finishing his round.
This is definitely the biggest moment of my career today, he said. Rory is only 20 - I cant even remember what it was like to be 20 - and he will have many more chances ahead of him to win the money list.
But this is my moment.
Westwood led by two shots entering the final round and opened it with five birdies in his first seven holes. He later revealed caddy Billy Foster had given him some advice at the beginning of the week in Dubai.
Billy told me to go out and bully other people. To make them take notice of me, rather than the other way round, Westwood said.
McGowan lost touch with Westwood when he bogeyed his first hole. However, a run of five birdies from the 12th ensured he would finish second. McGowan is in his second season on the tour and only recorded his first win at the Madrid Masters in October.
McIlroy, who had a lead of $120,000 in the Race to Dubai at the beginning of the week, made eight straight pars to kill any chance he had of making a run at Westwood.
McIlroys frustration boiled over at the seventh, when he smashed a club through a wooden advertising billboard after mishitting an approach out of wood chippings lining the fairway.
However, he then produced a run of six birdies in nine holes.
Geoff Ogilvy of Australia (67) and Padraig Harrington of Ireland (68) finished tied for fourth at 274.
November 23, 2009
Gaurav Pratap Singh registered his first professional win after a nail-biting finish in the ONGC Masters 2009 at the Noida Golf Course here Saturday.
Singh came through on his home turf despite firing a three over 75 in the final round. He ended the tournament with a total of three under 285. Vijay Kumar of Lucknow finished a close second at two under 286 while Delhis Gaurav Ghei was a further stroke back in third place.
Singh (70, 70, 70, 75) enjoyed a comfortable lead for most of the day though he had two experienced campaigners such as Vijay Kumar and Gaurav Ghei on his tail.
Singh made a solid start, making pars on the first six holes. He then pulled his drive to the left on the seventh and subsequently three-putted to drop a double bogey. A birdie followed on the very next hole.
Singhs poor hitting form on the final day resulted in his first bogey of the day on the 11th. The 25-year-old then earned a valuable birdie on the par five 14th, where he made a nice recovery thanks to a great chip shot.
Singh led by three strokes from Ghei after the 16th. The leader then three-putted from nine feet to make bogey on the 17th, while Ghei and Vijay Kumar picked up birdies on the same hole. So the leader group approached the 18th tee with Singh at four under, Ghei at three under and Vijay Kumar at two under.
Singh then found the water hazard with his tee shot on the 18th but held on to his nerve as he came up with an excellent nine iron third shot that landed 15 feet from the pin and helped him make a good bogey for victory.
Ghei, on the other hand, missed the fairway and an up and down to make double bogey on the final hole and thus finished third. Meanwhile, Vijay Kumar missed his 30-feet birdie putt on the 18th by a whisker and had to settle for second place. Vijay would have headed for a playoff with Singh had he made a birdie on the closing hole.
I did not expect it to get so close at the end. I was targeting a score of 70 today but my poor driving let me down. I have no complaints. I finally registered my first win and cannot describe how good it feels to be holding that trophy, said Singh. Published by HT Syndication with permission from Indo-Asian News Service.
November 21, 2009
Yudai Maeda shot a 6-under 65 on Friday to move into a three-way tie for the lead after the second round of the $2,2 million Dunlop Phoenix.
Maeda offset a lone bogey with seven birdies at the par-71 Phoenix Country Club to share the midway lead at 7-under 135 with veteran Tetsuji Hiratsuka (66) and first-round leader Kenichi Kuboya, who shot a 70.
Italys Edoardo Molinari (66) and Japans Ryuichi Oda (68) were one stroke back.
Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa shot a 70 and was tied for 20th at 1-under 141, one stroke ahead of defending champion Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand, who shot a 70 and was tied with Fijis Vijay Singh and New Zealands David Smail, who both shot 71.
November 21, 2009
Lee Westwood shot a 3-under 69 Friday to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Dubai World Championship, strengthening his chance of winning the European money title.
The English golfer could pick up two big prizes on Sunday. If he wins the last tournament of the European Tour season, he will receive $1.25 million in prize money - plus a $1.5 million bonus for winning the Race to Dubai money prize.
Northern Irelands Rory McIlroy, the leader of the money race going into the tournament, also shot a 69. He was one of six players tied for second place at 7 under, two shots behind Westwood.
The others are Irelands Padraig Harrington, Englands Ross McGowan, Australias Robert Allenby, South Africas Louis Oosthuizen and Colombias Camilo Villegas.
Westwood is confident of winning both prizes.
I am as much in control of my game as I have been for a long time, he said after a round that began with two birdies on the Earth Course. I feel very calm and happy with myself. All parts of my game feel solid and I enjoy times like this. I know that if I play as good as I can play I can win this tournament.
Westwood said he took the advice of his caddy, Bill Foster, and stopped looking at the leaderboard during his round.
I have always been a leaderboard watcher, he said. But this week we decided to try something different. So we are not looking.
McIlroy had gone to the top of the leaderboard, reaching 9 under with an eagle at the par-5 seventh hole. He covered the front nine in 31 shots. But he slipped backed by missing two putts from inside 3 feet to save par on the 14th and 15th greens.
I feel I am playing well enough to give myself a shot at the title, the 20-year-old McIlroy said. I am still in a good position going into the weekend not to dwell on missed opportunities.
Harrington, a winner of two British Open Championships and the 2008 PGA title, held the lead when he reached the par-5 18th. But he found the water his second shot and again when going for the green, putting his ball in the stream to the left of the flag.
Harrington finished with a 69 and dropped back to join the group of players in second place. Westwood sank a 20-foot birdie putt at the same hole to reach 9 under for two rounds.
Allenby, the Australian first-round leader, slipped back after making bogey at his first hole and shot 72.
November 21, 2009
Sophie Gustafson moved within two shots of leader Lorena Ochoa at the LPGA Tour Championship on Friday before second-round play was suspended because of bad weather.
Rain swamped the Houstonian Golf and Country Club before dawn and the start of the second round was pushed back six hours. The tournament resumed at 1 p.m., but light rain started falling about two hours later and play was halted for the day at 5:05 p.m. with darkness approaching.
Ochoa didnt play after shooting a 6-under 66 early Thursday. She will start her second round at daybreak on Saturday.
Gustafson shot a 70 in the first round, then played 11 holes and moved to 4 under on Friday. Helen Alfredsson, Juli Inkster and Wendy Ward were 3 under.
The players were allowed to lift, clean and place because of the soggy conditions.
The greens were really wet out there, said Inkster, 1 under through 10 holes in her second round. I thought they left us out there too long, but thats just my opinion. I played good, but I usually do in wet conditions.
The weekend forecast is mostly clear and tournament officials are racing to finish the season-ending event by Sunday night.
U.S. LPGA Tour vice president of rules and competition Doug Brecht felt fortunate that the second round began at all, considering how the day began. The course managed to dodge powerful storms that moved up the Texas coast throughout the day.
Were pretty lucky right now in that a big storm was heading our way and we didnt think we were going to get to play as long as were playing, Brecht said. Like most storms that have headed here, it broke up before it got to us and was not nearly as strong or severe.
But Brecht said tournament officials will still need a little bit of luck to finish 72 holes by late Sunday afternoon.
More rain is expected overnight and into Saturday morning, and if a high number of players make the cut - the top 70 and those tied will move on - that will push back the tee times for the last groups.
Weve got a couple of other issues, well see how they pan out, Brecht said.
The U.S. LPGA wants to avoid reducing the tournament to 54 holes at all costs, mainly because of the events importance.
Ochoa is trying to win her fourth straight player of the year honor. She leads Jiyai Shin by four shots on the leaderboard and needs a victory to pass the 21-year-old South Korean in the points standings. Shin and Ochoa are also in a virtual dead-heat for the Vare Trophy, awarded to the player with the lowest scoring average.
Several players also need good performances to crack the top 80 on the money list and avoid going to qualifying school in two weeks.
There are a ton of things riding on this tournament, Brecht said. We are committed to playing 72 holes.
Brecht mapped out a tight schedule for the rest of the weekend that would get the tournament finished by 5 p.m. on Sunday. He was happy to see the players set a brisk pace on Friday to move things along.
We are playing a lot faster than we did (Thursday), because there are less rulings and no wind, Brecht said. So were actually playing a little faster than the time schedule that Ive laid out for us going forward from here.
Shin was one of the idle players who took advantage of breaks in the weather to practice.
There isnt much you can do, but practice and get ready, Shin said. I havent really had much practice with waiting out rain delays.
November 15, 2009
George McNeills closing double-bogey dropped him into a share of the lead with three others entering the final round of the Childrens Miracle Network Classic on Saturday.
McNeill overcame a five-shot deficit and made two eagles on a cool day at Disney World that made greens fast but easy to reach. He shot a 3-under 69 that left him tied at 13-under 203 with Justin Leonard (71), Justin Rose (69) and Mathias Gronberg (66) after three rounds.
I felt back in the tournament like it was going to be us three guys fighting it out, Rose said. Then all of a sudden now were in a tournament where its a complete logjam.
McNeill kept his poise after two early bogeys. He gave back three strokes on the final two holes, including a double-bogey on the 18th.
McNeill found trouble from the outset. His first shot of the day hooked past the brush and into the trees, forcing him to take a drop before guiding the ball 20 feet from the hole. McNeill two-putted for bogey but gained six strokes back on six holes later in the round.
McNeill sank a 34-foot putt for eagle on the 10th and made a 30-footer for another eagle on the 14th.
I cant remember the last time I made two eagles in a round, said McNeill, who won the 2007 Frys.com Open for his lone tour title. So I was pretty excited about those.
Then things went sour - again.
After bogeying on the 17th, McNeills final drive landed out of play. He took a drop before missing a 10-foot bogey putt to take the lead into the final round.
Leonard, the leader after two rounds, had his troubles as well. He had a five-shot lead after five holes and seemed as if he was going to run away with the tournament. But one hole did him in. His drive on the 11th sliced way right, bounced off the cart path and splashed into the water. He was able to fade the next shot 30 feet from the pin and two-putted for bogey.
Only those who finish in the top 125 on the money list are guaranteed full status. The next 25 will at least get conditional status and be able to enter more than a dozen tournaments.
Rich Beem was among those in danger. The 2002 U.S. PGA Championship winner shot a 68, but he is projected to finish No. 128 on the money list unless he improves in the final round.
Jeff Maggert and Ricky Barnes stayed inside the cut line with solid rounds. Barnes, who tied for a runner-up finish at the U.S. Open, shot a 71.
November 15, 2009
Michelle Wie moved into position for her first US LPGA Tour victory, shooting a 2-under 70 in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational for a share of the third-round lead with Cristie Kerr on Saturday.
Kerr had a 67 to match Wie at 10 under at Guadalajara Country Club.
Three others were a shot back: Second-round leader Jiyai Shin (74), Paula Creamer (71) and first-round leader Song-Hee Kim (70). Yani Tseng of Taiwan was three back after a 69.
Tournament host Lorena Ochoa shot 72, leaving her six strokes off the lead. Ai Miyazato, the No. 2 money winner this season, had a 70 and trailed by seven.
The 20-year-old Wie, who turned professional four years ago, has been here before.
She was tied for the lead going into the final round in February at the SBS Open in Hawaii - her first U.S. LPGA event as a member - but lost by three shots to Angela Stanford.
I dont want to talk about what happened then, Wie said. Its unfortunate. All I want to think about is tomorrow and how Im going to play tomorrow.
Wie opened with two straight birdies - a 10-footer on the first and a 30-footer on the second. A 3-foot birdie putt on 13 gave put her a three-way tie with Shin and Creamer at 11 under. After that it was about holding on. Wie dropped one more shot before the round was over, but Shin and Creamer each dropped two.
Wie and Creamer are clearly the peoples choice behind hometown favorite Ochoa.
We could hear them (fans) chanting - like singing off and on, Wie said. It was kind of cool. They were just really riled up and they are really excited to be here. Which makes us really happy to play in front of them.
Kerr, who won her 12th tour title this year, saw her round turn on the 16th when a 9-iron from 137 yards went in for an eagle to put her at 10 under. She then saved par on the final two holes.
I said to my caddie, today is moving day and thats what I did, Kerr said. I moved into position and Im excited to be here. This is what Tiger Woods does every week. This is where he wants to be and this is what I want to be.
Second-round leader Shin slipped with three bogeys on the back nine - and two on the final three holes. She entered the round with a three-stroke lead, and if she wins on Sunday she could claim the player of the year award. Ochoa has won the last three.
Shin has already been named rookie of the year ahead of Wie, and is also the seasons top money winner. Shes looking for her fourth victory this season.
Nancy Lopez in 1978 was the last player to win both the rookie and player of the year awards.
Every player in four rounds - one will be really hard and today was my bad day, Shin said. Tomorrow I think I should make a comeback.
Kim, another South Korean and the first-round leader, is also looking for her first tour win.
I have had a lot of chances to win this year, she said. I mean, Im really excited to play tomorrow.
Creamer is an eight-time winner, but shes winless this season while battling yearlong stomach problems combined with back and thumb injuries. The stomach problems began a year ago after this tournament, but have popped up everywhere including in the U.S.
She was upbeat despite three bogeys over the last four holes.
I played well all day, it was just unfortunate the last four holes, she said. Im ready to go. I want to go out there and play. I havent been in this situation for quite some time.
November 15, 2009
Paul Casey pulled out of next weeks season-ending Dubai World Championship with a rib injury on Saturday and will miss out on finishing at the top of the European Tour money list.
The 32-year-old Englishman had only just returned to action after being sidelined for three months with an injury he picked up practicing for the British Open in July and was fifth in the Race to Dubai.
He returned for World Match Play Championship in Spain two weeks ago but then withdrew early in the final round of last weeks HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.
Paul will not play, sadly, said Caseys manager, Guy Kinnings. His intercostal muscle is not torn again, but it is inflamed and he cannot risk it in Dubai.
His withdrawal completes a sad end to a season which promised so much for the Englishman, who appeared destined for his best ever year at the halfway stage.
He won a tournament in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, reached the final of the Accenture Match Play in Arizona and won his first PGA Tour event at the Houston Open. His victory at the BMW PGA at Wentworth took him to third in the world rankings just before the British Open but then came the injury. He has since slipped to fifth.
Citing weariness after a heavy schedule playing tournaments all over the world, Anthony Kim, the American who finished runner-up to Ross Fisher at the Match Play, decided not to play in Dubai, which involves the leading 60 money winners on the European Tour. Because neither will be replaced, Caseys absence means the field is down to 58.
