Posted on 05 August 2008 by admin
Already with fond memories of Oakland Hills, Lee Westwood is looking to make it a place he will never forget this week.Westwood comes to the US PGA Championship primed for a major breakthrough at the site of one of his best golf achievements.
A member of Europe’s 2004 Ryder Cup team that trounced the United States 18.5-9.5, Westwood is hoping to take the next step and win his first major championship.
Popularity: 28%
Posted on 03 August 2008 by admin
Friday’s second round of the U.S. Senior Open, things got even more hairy than usual. An adult black bear wandered onto the course during the noon hour, crossing several fairways on the back nine before heading for the West Course through a drainage pipe. The animal later found another drainage pipe and left The Broadmoor property.
“I never heard of such a thing,” said Fred Funk, who, at 6-under-par 134, takes a two-stroke lead over Eduardo Romero into Saturday’s third round after both shot a 1-under 69 on Friday. Funk was on another area of the course and did not see the bear. But word spread quickly.
Popularity: 33%
Posted on 02 August 2008 by admin
Juli Inkster’s bid to become the oldest major winner in women’s golf history was alive and kicking at Sunningdale on Saturday.Having handed over the lead in the Ricoh British Open to Japan’s Yuri Fudoh and Korean Jai-Yai Shin on Friday, the 48-year-old American started her third round eagle-birdie.
On the first of the par fives, Inkster, who won the first of her seven majors in 1984 before Shin was even born, hit her approach to eight feet and on the 489-yard next she almost chipped in from deep rough short right of the green.
Popularity: 33%
Posted on 02 August 2008 by admin
Vijay Singh took a one-shot overnight lead into Saturday’s third round at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational intent on playing “my heart out”.
Singh, whose second-round 66 last night sent him to the top of the leaderboard at seven under par, is set to tee off at 1910 BST in the final pairing of the day alongside world number two Phil Mickelson, lying one stroke back at six under.
“He’s going to be focused on his game. I just hope we both have a good day.”
Popularity: 33%
Posted on 01 August 2008 by admin
Phil Mickelson and England’s Ross Fisher began to make inroads into Retief Goosen’s overnight lead at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational as second-round play got under way at the Firestone Country Club.
World number two Mickelson had shot an opening-round two-under-par 68 in Akron, Ohio, to trail Goosen by two strokes, with Ernie Els a further shot back.
Playing alongside Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and Els, in the first group to start their rounds on the back nine, both Mickelson and Els birdied the 410-yard par-four 10th hole.
Popularity: 34%
Posted on 01 August 2008 by admin
Annika Sorenstam had a long tense wait before she was able to discover that she had made the cut at the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Sunningdale last night.
Her back-to back-72s in the first two rounds were enough to get her over the cutline by two shots and keep alive her wish to play all four rounds in her last major before she retires at the end of the season.
Unfortuantely her four-birdie, four-bogey display did mean that her hopes of walking away from competive golf with an 11th major were hanging by a thread.
Popularity: 33%
Posted on 31 July 2008 by admin
Bruce Vaughan holed a 20-foot putt to beat John Cook in a playoff and win the Senior British Open, his first tournament victory either as a senior or a regular PGA Tour player.
In a dramatic turnaround at Royal Troon on Sunday, Cook squandered a three-stroke lead after 10 holes and went to the 72nd still leading Vaughan by one. But he fired his tee shot right into the rough and then played his third well short of the green. He still decided to putt, but left it 15 feet short for a bogey 5 to finish with an even par round of 71.
Popularity: 37%
Posted on 31 July 2008 by admin
One of America’s emerging stars may have dealt his hopes of a Ryder Cup debut in September a huge blow by claiming players are “just a slave that week” and raising the possibility of a boycott of the event in future.
Hunter Mahan lies 12th on the United States points table with just two weeks left in their qualifying race.
The top eight earn automatic spots on Paul Azinger’s team, although with Tiger Woods ruled out by injury the player in ninth will be assured of a place.
Popularity: 42%
Posted on 29 July 2008 by admin
There are no changes to the top 10 of the European Ryder Cup rankings this week.
Big names currently lying outside the automatic qualification places include Paul Casey, Darren Clarke, Colin Montgomerie and Ian Poulter.
European Ryder Cup team:
(as at 28/07/08. Last week’s ranking in brackets)
1. (1) Padraig Harrington - Ireland - 4 caps
2. (2) Lee Westwood - England - 5 caps
Popularity: 43%
Posted on 29 July 2008 by admin
Chez Reavie has won his first US PGA Tour title, holding off countryman Billy Mayfair over the final holes to win the Canadian Open.
Reavie sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a one-under par 70 to finish on 17-under 197 and win by three shots from Mayfair.
Reavie, who had won just over $A429,000 in career earnings, pocketed the $A940,000 top prize and an invitation to next year’s Masters as well as a two-year tour exemption.
Popularity: 38%
