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Mickelson Scrapes In By The Skin Of His Teeth

Posted on August 15, 2012 by | Comments Off on Mickelson Scrapes In By The Skin Of His Teeth

Fans favourite Phil Mickelson managed to cling on to the last qualifying position on the American Ryder Cup team even though a closing 74 dropped him out of the top 30 in the US PGA Championship on Sunday.  But by qualifying he will become the side’s record cap holder with his ninth appearance in the Ryder Cup matches.

Even if he hadn’t made the team by automatic qualifying i’m sure captain Davis Love III would have picked him, he makes a great fourball player as he makes so many birdies, I get the feeling he won’t be playing in many foursome matches after his display of driving on the first two day’s at the US PGA but you never know!

Bo Van Pelt was  Mickelson’s closest challenger needing to finish second to ensure himself a Ryder Cup debut.  But with Bogey’s at the 14th and 15th failed to do so.

Not long to go now, who will Jose pick as his wildcards?

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McIlroy Looked Down And Out

Posted on August 13, 2012 by | Comments Off on McIlroy Looked Down And Out

A young man form Northern Ireland who a couple of weeks ago couldn’t seem to string one round together yet alone four and looked like he was going to have to go back to the drawing board and figure out where it had all gone wrong. This  young man is called Rory McIlroy and he had different ideas coming into the US PGA Championship and he was back to his absolute best.

Playing well from day one he looked in okay form for the first two rounds but nothing that made you think he would go on and win, especially in the way that he did.

He held off an incredible challenge from friend and Ryder Cup team mate Ian Poulter to win the US PGA Championship in record-breaking fashion at Kiawah Island with a bogey free final round of 66 leaving everyone in amazement with another eight shot major victory matching his record breaking win at the US Open last year.

It really is a remarkable achievement for a man of that age. So far he is matching the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, he really is an incredible player and is the best player to watch when he’s on form.

Is the sky’s the limit for McIlroy? Can he do the grand slam?

 

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Harrington Has To Be Part Of Ryder Cup Team

Posted on August 10, 2012 by | Comments Off on Harrington Has To Be Part Of Ryder Cup Team

European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal has said publicly that Republic Of Ireland star and three-time major winner Padraig Harrington will have to produce an amazing performance at Kiawah Island this week if he is to keep his Ryder Cup spot, unless he wins of course which will take him into the automatic qualifying positions.

The Irishman currently lies 19th in the European qualifying list.

“He will have to do extraordinarily well here,” Olazabal said.

Harrington, with two British Open titles to his name has slipped to 63 in the world and needed a wildcard pick to be a part of the  winning team at Celtic Manor back in 2010.

He would certainly be one of my picks, he’s gutsy, he’s been there and done it before under pressure and has won 3 major titles, and he’s in pretty good form. There isn’t anybody else in the waiting list with those credentials. Has to be a dead cert to picked if he doesn’t qualify Jose.

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The US PGA Championship Is Underway – Take A Look At My Betting Tips

Posted on August 9, 2012 by | Comments Off on The US PGA Championship Is Underway – Take A Look At My Betting Tips

Well the 94th US PGA Championship is underway  and it was Italy’s Matteo Manassero who started proceedings as he struck the opening tee shot from the tenth tee at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

The 19 year old who is the youngest man in the 156-strong field this week took his three wood out the bag, managed to calm his nerves, and hit the left hand side of the fairway on a glorious morning in South Carolina.

With already a touch of humidity in the air there were still forecasts of electrical storms for the afternoon, but with no sign of inclement weather first thing. Let’s hope they manage to get in the full days play today.

A lot of the top players are yet to go off, Luke Donald is currently at one under par after two holes but with still a long way to go. Make sure you catch all the action on Sky Sports tonight!

As you know, I like to have a flutter on the major championships so here are my picks for this week. Just to remind you, I picked the winner of the US Open – Webb Simpson back in June!

Ian Poulter

Steve Stricker

Luke Donald

Bo Van Pelt

Stewart Cink

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Rose Has One Eye On Race To Dubai Heading Into US PGA Championship

Posted on August 8, 2012 by | Comments Off on Rose Has One Eye On Race To Dubai Heading Into US PGA Championship

Well as we head into this week and the final Major of the season at Kiawah Island Justin Rose will be looking to extend his lead in The Race to Dubai after targeting The European Tour’s ultimate prize at the start of the season which seems like a long time but we are at the business end of the season now.

The Englishman from Hampshire has led The Race to Dubai since finishing second place at the BMW PGA Championship at the sun soaked Wentworth Club back in May and Rose would love to be crowned The European Tour’s Number One player for the second time in his career.

Rose extended his lead last week over Ernie Els after finishing tied fifth alongside Rory McIlroy at last week’s WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and he is confident the good form he is showing can continue on the Ocean Course this week.

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The Major Winners So Far, But Who’s Next?

Posted on July 31, 2012 by | Comments Off on The Major Winners So Far, But Who’s Next?

We’re coming to the end of the major season already and I for one can’t believe where the time has gone. The PGA Championship starts on the 9th August at the Ocean Course in Kiawah Island.

Still can’t believe it was nearly four months ago we saw Bubba Watson hit that amazing miracle shot from out of the trees in a play-off with Louis Oosthuizen at Augusta National to claim the Green Jacket and The Masters title.

We then saw Webb Simpson claim the US Open and his first major title at the Olympic Club in San Francisco pipping Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell by one shot around a very tough golf course.

Of course fresh in our memory still is the Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes which brought us great drama in the final stages and saw Adam Scott crumble under pressure to let Big Ernie win. All eyes were on Tiger Woods that week, and he did show signs of form and was in contention before a triple bogey in the final round left him with too much to do.

With so many of the top ranked players in the world not performing in the majors this year, will they see this as a chance to end the major season on high? The likes of Luke Donald and Lee Westwood will be hoping so, maybe just maybe they will get that monkey off their back!

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He Tamed The Tiger, But Can He Tame The Lyoness?

Posted on July 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on He Tamed The Tiger, But Can He Tame The Lyoness?

The smiling Dane Thorbjørn Olesen was in  fantastic form today and showed no sign of taking his foot off the gas as he established a three shot lead after his second round in windy conditions at the Lyoness Open.

There are still players out on the course but none look like they will get anywhere near him at the moment. He has carried the confidence on from The Open where he finished ninth and was paired with Tiger Woods in the third round.

Olesen started the day a shot behind Spaniard Pablo Larrazábal, and having to complete four holes of the first round after lengthy rain delays on the opening day which he did in one under par courtesy of a birdie at the 17th.

Olesen looks like a young man in great form and in complete control of his game. He managed to tame Tiger last weekend but the question is can he tame the Lyoness?

 

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Do Players Care About Winning Major Championships?

Posted on July 17, 2012 by | Comments Off on Do Players Care About Winning Major Championships?

One player who believes he is ready to win more Major Championships is Martin Kaymer and feels that The Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes could be the perfect stage for him to claim his second major.

Kaymer admits that early success in his career probably came sooner than expected for him when he was victorious at the 2010 US PGA Championship, before going on to claim the World Number One spot last year.

But Kaymer is only 28 and has a decent record at the British Open finishing tied seventh and tied 12th in the last two and feels his experience over the past two seasons means he would be fully prepared should further Major glory come his way over the next week.

I find it surprising that he said this…..

“It’s difficult to get more motivation if you achieve something so huge, so quickly in your career,” said the Ryder Cup player.

You don’t see the likes of Tiger Woods lacking motivation even after winning 14 majors, 74 PGA Tour titles and staying number one in the world for years.

Is life to easy in tour? Do the players have the hunger that they used to? Does it mean as much to win a major?

 

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Francesco Molinari Sets Castle Stuart On Fire

Posted on July 12, 2012 by | Comments Off on Francesco Molinari Sets Castle Stuart On Fire

The Sottish  Open began this morning in fairly calm but fresh conditions in Inverness. There were a lot of scores under par but one player was making it look easy. That player was Francesco Molinari, the Italian continued his magnificent form to set the clubhouse target at ten under par during the first round at Castle Stuart.

Molinari made ten birdies in a bogey-free round and flawless round of golf. He had an amazing run making nine birdies in eleven holes and never looked like missing a putt at one stage.

Luke Donald who is defending the title this week began with a five under par 67, the World Number One did get to seven under himself with five to play – that after six birdies in seven holes – but he bogeyed two of the last four.

Molinari is on course to retain his Ryder Cup spot after last weekend, and leads by three from Soren Kjeldsen and by four from Robert Coles.

Will the wind get up tomorrow and bring the field closer together? Will Molinari’s form continue? Make sure you tune in to find out!

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Rookie Claims First PGA Tour Title After Great Battle

Posted on July 9, 2012 by | Comments Off on Rookie Claims First PGA Tour Title After Great Battle

Last night at the Greenbrier Classic rookie Ted Potter Jr. held his nerve to beat fellow-American Troy Kelly in a tense play-off.

The 218th ranked player in the world, took victory with a four-foot birdie putt at the par 3 18th which was the third extra hole after a superb tee shot.

Kelly’s  previous best finish on the PGA Tour was tied-37th, and he looked to be heading for victory in regulation play at the $1m tournament at White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia. 

But somehow Potter, who was trailing by four shots with five holes to play, managed to finish eagle-birdie for a 64 and a four-round total of 264, which Kelly (66) could only match.

Both players parred at the first extra hole, the 18th, before Potter looked all set to wrap it up at the second, the 17th. But Kelly holed an amazing putt under pressure from 25 feet and Potter missed from five to send them back to 18 again.

It really was a true battle of two players trying to establish themselves on the PGA Tour and both should be proud of their performances.

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