Tag Archives: james irons golf

Poulter Crashes Out Of WGC Accenture Match Play

Ian Poulter’s dream of becoming the WGC-Accenture Match Play champion was shattered yesterday when he was defeated 2&1 by Rickie Fowler on the Dove Mountain course in Arizona.

It was the first game out in this years event, and the first three holes were halved, but Fowler took the game by the scruff of the neck by winning three out of the next four of which he only had to birdie one of those holes to Poulter’s disappointment.

Then another par on the 10th was good enough to see Fowler stretch his lead to three up for the second time in the match and then an eagle on the 13th looked like Poulter’s fate had been sealed.

But we know Poulter never gives up and he battled back with a birdie at the 14th, but unfortunately the putter went cold when he had chances to claw back the deficit on the next three holes.

It’s Jimmy Walker up next to face Fowler, Walker is the man in form at the moment already winning three times on the PGA Tour this season, he knocked out South African Branden Grace with a comfortable 5&4 victory.

You can read my blog post HERE about how Jimmy Walker claimed his second PGA Title of the season.

Loads of good matches to come today, as we head towards the weekend.

Sky Sports Delighted With New Golf Deal

It was announced today that Sky Sports will have exclusive live coverage of the PGA Tour until 2022 at least.

This means that only Sky Sports viewers can look forward to watchng the worlds best golfers including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy live throughout the summer months.

The deal includes showing 32 live PGA Tour events, the Fedex Cup play-offs and the Presidents Cup. 

There will also be a ‘PGA Tour Match Centre’ available which will include live coverage of featured holes and groups involving European players via the red button facility.

The coverage will only continue to get better as technology does, which will just enhance the viewing experience for the Sky Sports customers.

In my opinion Sky Sports have always produced the best coverage of the golf from around the world, and the presenters are excellent (with exception of a few) and the analysis side of it is also fantastic.

Long may it continue.

Gallacher Recovers From Poor Start To Win Desert Classic

Stephen Gallacher started the day two shots clear of Rory McIlroy who was Gallacher’s main threat standing on the opening tee.

The Scot who had been solid all week but got his round off to the worst possible start with bogeys on the first two holes and then again on the sixth and the eighth to leave him trailing by two.

But the 39 year old who seems to like the back nine of The Emirates managed to card birdies at the 11th, 13th, 16th and 17th to pip a shot victory from Emiliano Grillo from Argentina.

Unfortunately McIlroy never really got going and was struggling to hole birdie putts and the extremely fast greens which were up to 13 on the stimpmeter and probably the fastest greens the players will on the European Tour this season.

This win for Gallacher gets him a spot in the top 40 in the world and makes him eligible for the Masters if he can keep himself there or there about’s.

He will also have one eye now on the Ryder Cup which would be his first appearance and he won’t have a better chance than he does now.

Next it’s on to the Joburg Open for the European Tour where Richard Sterne is eyeing a hat-trick of wins!

Been watching the golf over the weekend and it’s giving you the buzz back? Why not book a golf lesson and get your swing ready for the summer!

Garcia Wins Thrilling Finale in Qatar

The Qatar Masters ended in dramatic style with a three hole play-off between Sergio Garcia and Mikko Ilonen.

Garcia managed to get in the clubhouse at 16 under par after a late surge for the second year running to post a 65 which included a missed 8 foot putt on the last which had left the door just slightly a-jar.

He looked certain to claim victory until Ilonen managed to hole a 20 foot putt on the 18th to force extra holes. A very similar situation to 12 months ago when Garcia and George Coetzee lost in a play-off to England’s Chris Wood.

So off they went back down the 18th which they both birdied without any fuss, but the second time around Garcia found trouble in the right greenside bunker after Ilonen had found the green in two, but a wonderful bunker from Garcia left him with no more than a tap in to halve the hole in four.

As the light was fading and so was the temperature you felt this was going to be the last hole available to play, Ilonen found the right hand bunker in two shots but his slight over hit shot left him with a tricky 20 foot putt down the hill which he failed to convert leaving Garcia with a simple tap in for victory.

A great finish to what was a great event to watch and which never seems to disappoint.

Next we’re onto the Dubai Desert Classic where we will see a lot of the worlds top 20 competing including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Coetzee One Shot Clear After Strong Finish In Doha

A strong finish from George Coetzee saw him take the lead after day one of the Qatar Masters in Doha.

The South African finished the day with three straight birdies to get himself to an eight-under-par round of 64 to go one shot clear of Dawie van der Walt and Steve Webster.

Steve Webster got he’s round off to the best possible start when he started at the 10th and managed to hole his second shot for an albatross on the shortish par 5.

Webster made history as it was the first time anybody had ever a started a European Tour event with an albatross., it’s not Webster’s first albatross though he managed it back in 2011 at The Italian Open.

There are some very good players just a shot further back which include major winners Ernie Els, Paul Lawrie, and John Daly.

With so many good players in contention the weekend really could be an exciting one!

 

Patrick Reed Claims Second PGA Title With Ease In California

If like me you stayed up to watch the conclusion of the Humana Challenge last night you will know that Patrick Reed held on to claim his second PGA Tour title by two shots in California.

The 23 year old American was in the form of his life heading into the final round after shooting three consecutive rounds of 63 giving him a seven shot lead.

The lead should’ve been unassailable but a couple of bogeys on the front nine brought him closer to the chasing back. He then made another two bogeys on the back nine with a birdie in-between to leave him with a three shot lead with three holes to play with Ryan Palmer and Justin Leonard on his tail.

He had a chance on the short par 3 17th to seal the tournament when he hit his sand wedge to six feet but failed to convert the putt giving him a two shot lead going into the last after Ryan Palmer had just made eagle on the final hole to at least make it slightly interesting.

Reed hit the 18th fairway with his 3-wood and wasn’t tempted to take on the green that is surrounded by water and bunkers as he didn’t need to take the risk, so he laid up down the right hand side of the fairway and left himself 100 yard pitch shot which he hit to 12 feet and went on to make par giving him a two shot victory.

Reed had a new caddie on the bag for his second PGA Tour win as his wife who normally caddies for him is 5 months pregnant with their first child, so Reed’s brother-in-law took the job on and I’m sure he will be happy with his 10% of $1,000,000! 

Next week we’re off to Torrey Pines for The Farmers Insurance Open where we will see Tiger Woods in action for the first time this year to defend his title.

Click HERE to read my last blog and to see the PGA Tour schedule for 2014

Jimmy Walker Claims Sony Open in Hawaii

Jimmy Walker shot a bogey free seven under par round to claim his second PGA Tour title in four months. His first win came at the Frys.com Open in October last year.

Seven birdies and eleven pars  made up Walkers superb 63  at the Waialae Country Club course in Hawaii to finish the Sony Open at 17 under par.

The lead changed hands many times throughout the day with Harris English, Jerry Kelly, and Kirk all scoring well and were all leading at one point during the final round, but Walker remained calm and in control and kept his nerve when it mattered.

Next it’s on to the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation for the PGA Tour. Brian Gay was the winner of this event last year and will be looking to get his season off and running by trying to defend his title.

For the full schedule of the PGA Tour click HERE

 

 

McIlroy Sets Sights On Two Majors This Year

Well last year was a mostly disappointing year for Rory McIlroy until he pipped Adam Scott on the final hole of the Australian Masters to end his 12 month barren spell. McIlroy has got the new year off to a bang as well after announcing he was getting engaged to Danish tennis star girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki.

Last year was a turbulent one for the former World Number One, it all went wrong at the start of 2013 when he signed the $250 million deal with Nike and had to get used to a brand new set of clubs which pretty much took the best part of 12 months. McIlroy feels like he is very close to being back to his absolute best and says he is looking to win two majors this year now he has the confidence with the clubs and with himself.

He definitely has the ability to achieve whatever he wants to in golf, but the only question would be in his temperament as we saw last year when he walked off the course claiming to have ‘pain in his wisdom teeth’. I for one hope that he does contend this year, it will really spice things up with Tiger virtually back to his best again and also Adam Scott will be up there you would think.

All is set for what I think could be one of the best years in golf for a long time!

Will Tiger Finally Get Out Of The Woods This Year?

If  like me you’ve still got the Christmas blues and are still thinking about that last turkey sandwich you had and wish you still had some left then don’t worry…..you’ve got a great year of golf ahead!

One of the questions that will be asked again this year will be ‘Can Tiger Woods win his 15th major?‘ It’s a question that has been hanging over Tiger for quite a while now and I’m sure one that he will want to answer very quickly with a big resounding YES!

Tiger is without doubt the best player of his generation and some would argue the best player of all time and there will be no better place for him to take the next step into beating Jack Nicklaus‘ record than at Augusta in the first major of the year in April.

Woods has the best short game around maybe apart from maybe Mickelson and that is exactly what you need to win at Augusta with it’s heavily contoured and fast greens. 

Last year Woods was in contention until that silly mistake at the 15th which not only cost him 2 shots but more than anything seemed to cost him mentally when he dropped his ball in the wrong spot on the fairway.

His game seems to be in the best shape it has been in years and he more than anyone will want to get this monkey off of his back and will feel that The Masters is his opportunity of claiming the first of maybe two or three majors this year!

The ‘Golfing’ Twelve Days Of Christmas

If the Twelve Days of Christmas were about golf this is how it would go…….

On the first day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me……….a birdie on a par 3.

On the second day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me……..Two Titleist golf balls.

On the third day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me………Three gap wedges.

On the fourth day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me…….Four shouts of ‘FORE’

On the fifth day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me……Five golf range cards.

On the sixth day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me…….Six ‘Gimme’ long putts. 

On the seventh day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me…...Seven free drops.

On the eighth day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me…..Eight magic pencils. 

On the ninth day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me……..Nine holes at Dukes Meadows. 

On the tenth day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me……Ten lady golf friends. 

On the eleventh day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me…..Eleven rounds at Augusta.

On the twelfth day of Christmas the golf gods gave to me…….Twelve lessons with James Irons for only £240! Bargain! 🙂