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This Years Four Majors

It’s been a great year in the golfing world, here is a look at who won the majors and if you click on the link you can see the full leaderboard.

The Masters

Winner: Charl Schwartzel (S.A)

Second: Jason Day (Aus)

Third: Adam Scott (Aus)            Full leaderboard

The US Open

Winner: Rory Mcilroy (N.I)

Second: Jason Day (Aus)

Third: Lee Westwood, Kevin Chappell, Y.E. Yang, and Robert Garrigus

Full leaderboard 

The British Open

Winner: Darren Clarke (N.I)

Second: Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson (USA)

Fourth: Thomas Bjorn (Den)      Full leaderboard

The PGA Championship

Winner: Keegan Bradley (USA)

Second: Jason Dufner (USA)

Third: Anders Hansen (Den)        Full leaderboard

Vandalism Delays Start Of KLM Open

Overnight Vandalism delayed the start of the KLM Open near Amsterdam , several of the greens had been vandalised at the Hilversumsche Golf Club, of which Simon Khan and Simon Dyson are currently leading.

The putting surfaces on the fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth holes were dug up, leading to a 45 minute delay on the opening day as greenkeeping staff went about repairing the damage done by the vandals.

Play will still be possible on the affected putting surfaces with the repaired areas of the greens being treated as areas of Ground Under Repair under the normal rules of golf.

The Director of the KLM Championship Daan Slooter said: “Early this morning we ascertained damage to four of the greens here at Hilversumsche.

“At this moment we do not know who caused the damage. All has been restored and the tournament will resume.

“For this evening and the rest of the tournament we have increased security substantially.

“I’m very disappointed for all the people here at the club who worked so hard over the past few days, through challenging weather conditions, to ensure the course was in playable condition.

“However, having said that, the same professionalism of the greenkeepers has ensured that the damage has been repaired so the tournament can go ahead.

 

Mickelson Switches To Belly Putter

Spectators at the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship this afternoon will get a chance to see a unique sight: Phil Mickelson using a belly putter.

Mickelson will be using the Odyssey belly putter for the first time in competition. It was made to the exact specification of the putter used by Keegan Bradley in his recent victory at the US PGA Championship.

Mickelson has been getting tips from the considerably less experienced Bradley on how to handle the putter, including ball position, eye position and grip. The two have played many pretournament practice rounds, cementing a friendship initially forged at the US PGA.

 

Rory Pulls Out Of Seve Trophy

US Open champion Rory McIlroy has pulled out of Great Britain and Ireland’s team for the Seve Trophy.

 22-year-old Rory was part of the winning side two years ago and cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal had said he wanted to see as mny big names as possible play especially the US Open Champion.

But McIlroy said he wanted some time off, as he had 12 weeks on the road ahead to look forward to.”I want to spend some time at home and do a few things before I head off on that big run,” said McIlroy.

Britain’s Lee Westwood has yet to confirm his attendance while world number one Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Martin Laird and Justin Rose are likely to be absent because of the FedEx Cup play-offs in America.

McIlroy is due to tee of in the first round of the European Masters in Crans-Montana, Switzerland on Thursday in his first event since injuring his right arm at the US PGA Championship earlier this month.

“Now it’s not painful,” he said. “It’s more like a numb sensation, like if someone gives you a dead arm.

“It’s nearly 100% and I’m happy with it.”

The world number six has been in the United States with new girlfriend Caroline  Wozniacki, the current No.1 tennis player in the world as she is currently playing at the US open.

2012 Ryder Cup Race Set To Begin

Ryder Cup Qualifying Starts On Thursday

The battle for 2012 Ryder Cup places is set to unfold as the first event in the race for qualification draws closer.

The European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre starts tomorrow with six players from the victorious 2010 team in the field.

“I’m excited the qualification period is starting. It will be interesting to see how the players perform,” said Europe’s 2012 Captain, Jose Maria Olazabel.

Ten players will qualify automatically, with Olazabal choosing two wildcards.

Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer, Miguel Angel Jimenez and brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari begin their campaigns in the Swiss Alps.

Five players automatically qualify through the European Tour‘s points list, with another five decided by the world rankings.

Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington will all be looking for solid performances in the latest round of the FedEx Cup play-offs, which take place in Boston on Friday.

“It is going to be very difficult to make the team – to be one of the top five on the European points list or the world points list is going to be tough,” added Olazabal.

“The players will have to play really well to make it and I am sure they are preparing themselves to peak at the right times so that we can have the best chance to win.”

The 2012 Ryder Cup takes place at the Medinah Country Club in Illinois in September 2012.

Woods Confirms New Tournament Schedule

Tiger Woods has confirmed that he intends to play in the Frys.com Open at CordeValle Golf Club, California in early October.

Woods, who has dropped from number 1 to 38th in the world following his recent personal and injury problems, is keen to regain form after being selected as a wildcard for the USA Presidents Cup team in November.

“I always enjoy competing in my home state, and this tournament fits my schedule perfectly,” said Woods, who missed the cut at the recent US PGA.

US Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples recently warned Woods to sharpen his game by playing in more tournaments but last week assured the 14-time major champion that he would be one of his two picks for the event, well in advance of the official team announcement on 26 September.

Fisher Wins Czech Open

Englishman Oliver Fisher has won the Czech Open, his first European Tour title having been a runner-up on two previous occasions.

The 22-year-old shot a final round 69 which meant he finished on 13 under, two shots ahead of Mikael Lundberg.

“It feels fantastic,” he said. “I can’t really explain what it means.”

Starting the round level with Scotland’s Steven O’Hara, Fisher birdied six holes, but also carded three bogeys coming home.

Read a full report here at bbc.co.uk

Crazy Finishes In The US PGA

As reported here yesterday, Sunday’s finale in Atlanta at the US PGA was a topsy-turvy affair, with Keegan Bradley eventually taking the crown where just a few holes earlier his fellow countryman Jason Dufner looked set to take the glory.

This great article looks back at some other crazy finishes across the last 25 years of the tournament.

Rookie Bradley Wins US PGA

Keegan Bradley, ranked 108th in the world, beat Jason Dufner in a three-hole play-off to win his first ever major at the US PGA.

The 25-year-old American triumphed by one shot over his fellow countryman over the extra holes after they had both finished level at eight under in Atlanta.

Incredibly, Bradley had triple-bogeyed the 15th, giving Dufner a five-shot lead with just three holes to play,  but fought back as his rival seemingly suffered an attack of nerves.

Top two in the world, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood both halved their six-shot deficits on Sunday but fell away towards the end to both finish on three under.

Bradley went into the final day one shot behind  Dufner and after a shaky start, an eagle on the 12th hole saw him join his compatriot at the top of the leaderboard on nine under.

However he then chipped through the green into the water on the 15th, before back-to-back birdies on the next two holes.

34-year-old Dufner also found water on the 15th, this time from the tee, and this  sparked a spectacular downfall, as his bogey on the same hole, plus two more on the 16th and 17th saw him drop back alongside Bradley.

In the play-off, Bradley birdied the first hole, the 16th, to Dufner’s par and then made par on the short 17th as Dufner once again bogied. Dufner birdied the 18th but Bradley’s par was enough to hand him the Wanamaker Trophy and become the first American to clinch a major title since Phil Mickelson won the Masters in 2010.

McIlroy Confident Ahead Of USPGA

Rory McIlroy has said he feels that his current form could help him land a second major at the USPGA Championship, which starts today in Atlanta.

The US Open winner tees off at 1845 BST on Thursday in an illustrious group which includes Masters winner Charl Schwartzel and Open champion Darren Clarke.

“I’m playing very well,” said McIlroy. “I drove the ball great last week. I’m hitting it nicely.

“As long as I can hole a few putts this week, I feel as if I’m in with a good chance.”

Should McIlroy take the crown, he would be youngest player to win two majors since Gene Sarazen nearly 90 years ago.