Mixed Fortunes for Adam Scott at Tour Championship

Adam Scott makes solid start despite two double bogeys – file

While there was a concern by many that one of the PGA Tour’s flagship events, the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, might have appeared a little gimmicky in its new format, by the completion of day one of the season-ending event it is already shaping as one of the tighter contests of the year.

With players’ standing entering the event handicapped to reflect their position on the FedEx Cup points list, there was a feeling that the event might have been seen as a backward step in trying to retain the credibility of a contest which is essentially designed to establish the champion of the season.

With a leader-board now stacked with the game’s best, three players in the lead and ten players within four shots in the 30 man field, however, the remaining 54 holes should see one of the great shootouts of the season with not only this title at stake but the huge FedEx Cup bonuses available to all those who have made it into the elite field.

Justin Thomas, who started the day with a two-shot advantage courtesy of his lead in the FedEx Cup series, Xander Schauffele and Brook Koepka shared the lead at 10 under, Rory McIlroy one shot back and Matt Kuchar and Patrick Cantlay at 8 under and tied for 5th.

There is, though, a host of high-quality players stacked up behind them and if today is any reflection on just where this even might go in the next few days then the elite field if sure to provide plenty of excitement.

Adam Scott is the best of the two Australians in the field, an opening round of 68 having him at 5 under although two double bogeys today proved very costly.

Scott made a nice start with two early birdies before the first of the doubles came at the 8th when pulling his tee shot into the water. He appeared to be recovering nicely with an excellent birdie at the 10th but then made a mess of the 11th when taking four to get down from alongside the green at the par 3.

He would bounce back with three birdies in his last six holes and is well enough placed despite the hiccups.
Marc Leishman is at 1 over and in 23rd place in the 30 player field although an eagle at the last was at least a good way to finish.

 

 

/by

Day Out for Ormsby and Bland in Gothenberg

Ormsby in action today – Getty Images

Australia’s, Wade Ormsby, has the opening-round lead at the Scandinavian Invitation in Gothenburg in Sweden, but was joined in what was an enjoyable day for South Australians by Adam Bland, who holed a seven iron from 154 metres on the tenth hole to win a Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI 4 Motion.

Ormsby, who other than a runner-up finish at the Vic Open in February has struggled for much of the 2019 season, played his opening nine in 6 under 28 suggesting a score even lower than his eventual 62 was possible.

He continued to play well over the closing nine but just two further birdies resulted in a round of 8 under and a one-shot lead over Joakim Largergren and Alexander Levy.

Pre-tournament favourite, Matthew Fitzpatrick, is another shot back at 6 under.

Ormsby made an early birdie at his 3rd hole (the 12th of the layout) but it would be a stunning eagle at the 14th that gave his round a huge boost and the momentum to finish his opening nine powerfully with birdies at his 7th, 8th and 9th holes.

“I made a pretty straight birdie on 12,” said Ormsby. “Then on 14, I was in between a five and a four iron, picked the right one and boxed it, so then I just got a bit of momentum through the final holes. I felt quite comfortable out there, I was holing my return putts and that kept the round going, which added up to 62.

“I felt like I had been hitting the ball quite well, I just wasn’t quite free enough in my putting, so I was working hard on that to get back to a point where I feel more comfortable and less into my technique. Putted well today, didn’t putt amazing, but holed what I needed too.”

Fitzpatrick has won this event previously although not at this venue but, as the highest world ranked player in the field, he started the week as a likely contender and thus far it has worked out that way despite a break of three weeks since his last event.

“Very pleased,” said Fitzpatrick. “I was a little apprehensive coming into the week as I just had three weeks off, and you don’t know what you are going to be dealing with when you have had a bit of time off, but it was a great start to the week.

“It is one round out of four for this week, so still a long way to go, but another three of them would be very nice. I’ll just keep doing what I am doing and keep putting myself into good positions, and that is all you can do really.

“Really scrambled well today. I missed a handful of greens and really got up-and-down when I needed too and that kept the momentum going in the round.”

Min Woo Lee opened with a round of 67 to be the next best of the Australians, Dimi Papadatos and Jason Scrivener 69 and Adam Bland and Brett Rumford 70.

/by

Day, Leishman, Smith to Play Australian Open

The announcement today that Jason Day will be in Sydney later this year for the Australian Open is welcome news for both the event itself and Australian golf.

Day will join Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith as three of Australia’s leading four golfers in the field, the notable absentee being Adam Scott who has not played Australia’s flagship event since 2016 but will play the Australian PGA Championship the following week.

While not yet confirmed in the International side for the Presidents Cup, Day is expected to join Scott, Leishman and Smith in that team once final captain’s picks are announced and Australian golf fans are likely, therefore, to get to see Day play in Australia for the first time since 2017 when he finished 5th behind the surprise winner Cameron Davis.

Day first played the Australian Open as a 17-year old amateur in 2004 when he finished a very credible 22nd at the Australian Golf Club.

His best finish in the years since, when he has played, was when 4th in another Presidents Cup year in 2011.

Day missed out on making it to the final of the FedEx Cup Playoffs having been eliminated at last week’s BMW Championship and while only recording five top tens with a best of 5th in 18 starts on the PGA Tour season his presence in Sydney will be much anticipated.

“It’s the tournament we all grew up watching and I’ve said before that I want to win a few of them, so there’s no better time to start than December,” Day said.

“I nearly got one at The Australian a couple of years ago and it’s a course that really sets up well for me.”

Leishman has seldom played his national open in recent years but the incentive of being able to combine this trip with his role as one of the leading players in the International Presidents Cup side has no doubt been a great attraction.

Smith, on the other hand, has been a regular at the Australian Open and has often performed well including when runner-up to Jordan Spieth At Royal Sydney in 2016.

Given the success of all three golfers in international golf in recent years their involvement is expected to bring a significant dynamic to the event to be played from December 5th -8th at the Australian Golf Club.

 

/by

Golf Betting Analysis for August 22nd

There are many events on which golf betting is being played out this week but we focus on the Tour Championship in Atlanta, the LPGA Tour’s CP Women’s Championship in Ontario in Canada, the Scandinavian Invitation in Sweden and the Korn Ferry Tour’s Boise Open in Idaho.

Click below to listen

 

/by

Japan Tour Returns Following Summer Break

Brendan Jones again leading the Australians in Japan – file photo – click to expand

Following its traditional midsummer break, the Japan Golf Tour returns to action this week when the Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup is played at the North Country Golf Club near Sapporo in Hokkaido.

The Japan Tour has not played a domestic event since the Japan PGA Championship completed on July 7th and won by Ryo Ishikawa and now the remaining 16 events on the 2019 Japan Golf Tour are to be played in consecutive weeks between now and early December.

Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond begins the second half of the season as the leader of the 2019 money list having a victory and three other top five finishes to his name in just seven Japan Tour events to date.

The highly talented 23 year old has, however, played several other events around the world including a victory at the Korean Open, a top five finish at the New Zealand Open and an impressive 14th place finish at the US PGA Championship.

Australasians in this week’s field include the current leading Australian on this year’s money list, Brendan Jones, who won early in the season, new father, Matthew Griffin, Won Joon Lee, Brad Kennedy, Anthony Quayle, David Bransdon, Dylan Perry and New Zealander, Michael Hendry.

 

/by

Consensus to Decide Tiger Woods’ Presidents Cup Final Role

Woods in earlier Presidents Cup Media Conference – file

MELBOURNE, Victoria, Australia – Tiger Woods says he will consult his assistants and players before any decision on whether he picks himself as a player for December’s Presidents Cup in Melbourne.

Despite his fairy tale comeback win in The Masters in April, Woods fell out of the top eight spots that would have earnt him automatic selection onto the U.S. Team for the event at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club this December.

The top eight qualifiers on both the U.S. and International teams are now locked in with the world’s best golfers headed to Melbourne for the 2019 Presidents Cup.

Woods, the U.S. Team captain will lead a stellar group headed by world No.1 Brooks Koepka with a team all inside the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking and a combined 11 PGA TOUR victories this season.

Meanwhile, Ernie Els will lead the International Team seeking to win the Presidents Cup for just the second time, led by Australians Marc Leishman and Adam Scott along with Cameron Smith, who will make his Presidents Cup debut and experienced South African Louis Oosthuizen.

However, each team has four captains picks still in their pocket, so the door is open for woods to return to Royal Melbourne for the third time as a player in the Presidents Cup and his first as playing captain. The only previous playing captain in Presidents Cup history was Hale Irwin in the inaugural event in 1994.

“My job as the captain is to put together the best team possible and try and put together the best 12 guys,” Woods said via teleconference from the U.S.

“That’s what I’m trying to do. We’ll be going through the whole process of having open communication with our top eight guys and my vice captains.”

“That is something that we will certainly talk about, whether I should play or not play. Ultimately, it’s going to be my call whether I do play or not as the captain. But I want to have all of their opinions before that decision is made.”

The 43-year-old’s season ended this week at the BMW Championship after fell outside the top 30 players who qualified for the TOUR Championship, the tournament he famously won a year ago at East Lake Golf Club.

After winning the Masters in spectacular fashion in April, his 81st TOUR win and 15th major championship, Woods only played six more events this season.

Despite the lack of play, he has told his team that he expects himself, and everyone else, to stay sharp in the lead up.

“We talked about how important it is to be committed to the team and to the event and to each other, and that means playing and being prepared,” Woods said.

“The only time that we have ever lost a Cup was in Australia (1998), and quite frankly, some of the guys didn’t play or practice that much. It was our off-season, and we got beat pretty badly.

“It’s something that I try to reinforce to the guys, that it is important to be solid, be fresh, and to be sharp because we’re going overseas and we’re playing against an amazing team, and it’s on their soil. These guys are going to be tough to beat. So we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

With Woods schedule to play only a handful of times between now and December, he will rely on practice at home in Florida and pick-up matches with teammates.  He will play the ZOZO Championships in Japan from Oct. 24-27 before his picks are due the following week.

“It’s practicing, it’s playing, it’s staying sharp. Obviously, I’m playing in Japan, and so that’s going to help,” Woods said of his own preparation.

“It has to do with a lot of my competitions I’m going to have down here. I’ll be playing with a lot of the guys here. They’re going to be getting ready for some of the fall events, we’ll have some matches, and that’s always fun because we’re able to talk trash and have a great time and try and get in one another’s pockets.

“That will be something that I will definitely rely on, and obviously the event in Japan will be a big deal.”

Others in line for the call-up include, but are not limited to Tony Finau, U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play winner Kevin Kisner, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth and young guns Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff.

The four selections will join Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar and Bryson DeChambeau in what is one of the most powerful U.S. teams in the events history.

Led by Ernie Els, and featuring Australians Marc Leishman, Adam Scott and Cameron Smith, the Internationals have vowed to use new tactics, based on analytics, to try to topple the U.S. juggernaut.

The U.S. Team has a 10-1-1 record in the Presidents Cup, not losing since 1998 at Royal Melbourne.

But Woods won’t allow complacency. He hopes most of his team will play in the Hero World Challenge he hosts in the Bahamas the week prior before heading to Melbourne to further secure comradery and form.

“We could be (beaten), yes, in theory. But you have to look at the fact that it’s played out there on the golf course, not on paper,” Woods said.

“I’ve been a part of some pretty amazing teams over the years. We had a pretty solid team going down to Australia in ’98. We’ve had some pretty solid teams in Ryder Cups, as well, and I’ve been on the losing end of those. It’s played out on the course. So that’s something that I’ve told my players.”

The Presidents Cup will return to Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Golf Club for just the third time, from December 9-15, 2019.

/by

Presidents Cup Teams’ Leading Qualifiers Confirmed

Marc Leishman tops Internationals’ list

Eight players have secured their place in the International Presidents Cup team, three of them Australian with the final four captain’s picks to be made in early November, providing the opportunity to select the most in form players to complete the team.

Marc Leishman , Adam Scott and Cameron Smith have finished inside the lead eight qualifiers determined by the top eight (8) international players from the Presidents Cup International Team Points List which shall be Official World Golf Ranking points accumulated in the time period from August 27, 2018 (Dell Technologies Championship) through August 18, 2019 (BMW Championship).

Leishman, Scott and Smith, will be joined by Hideki Matsuyama, Louis Oosthuizen, Abraham Ancer, Li Haotong and C.T Pan are the confirmed eight to take on an American side that look considerably more credentialed on paper at least.

Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar and Bryson DeChambeau make up the confirmed eight for the American side and the comparison between the relative strengths of the sides makes for interesting reading.

Seven of the eight Americans are in the top twenty of the current world ranking compared to just one, Adam Scott, in the International side.

The Presidents Cup takes place from December 12th – 15th December at Royal Melbourne.

/by

Andy Ogletree overcomes John Augenstein to win US Amateur

Ogletree alongside the famous statue of Payne Stewart – click to expand – USGA Chris Keane  

21 year old Mississippi golfer, Andy Ogletree, has won the US Amateur Championship in Pinehurst, North Carolina, overcoming an early deficit before finally hitting the front at the 32nd hole and going on to win the 36 hole encounter 2&1 over Kentucky’s John Augenstein.

Played over both the Pinehurst No 4 and No 2 layouts, the first time two different venues have been used for the final of this time honoured and prestigious event, Augenstein began as the favourite and higher world ranked golfer but Ogletree wore him down with relentless play over the more demanding Pinehurst No 2.

3 down at lunch and after completing the Pinehurst No 4 contest of the morning, Ogletree won the opening two holes of the afternoon round and when he finally squared the match at the 31st hole the momentum had definitely swung in his favour.

He took the lead for the first time in the final with a solid par to Augenstein’s bogey at the 33th hole and then, when Augenstein made a mess of the 35th hole, it was all over.

“I showed a lot of resilience out there and never gave up,” said Ogletree, who was playing in his fifth USGA championship. “I kept telling myself I’m going to win this championship, and just always believed that.”

When asked about what this week had taught him about himself Ogletree would say; “That I can play at the highest level and perform. Basically just that.

“I felt like the more nervous I got, the better I hit it. For some people that takes a lot to learn, and it just kind of came with it today. I don’t really know. I didn’t go through training for that. I mean, no one can‑‑ you can’t be put in that situation unless you’ve been there before.

“You just kind of have to learn on the fly, and it just went my way today, and I learned that I can handle the pressure, I can handle the heat, and I can still perform.”

For winning the U.S. Amateur, Ogletree receives a gold medal and custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for one year. His name will be on a plaque in the Hall of Champions at the USGA Golf Museum in Liberty Corner, N.J. He receives an exemption into the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.

He also earns a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Amateur, a likely invitation to the 2020 Masters Tournament and an exemption into the 149th Open Championship conducted by The R&A, provided he remains an amateur.

Ogletree was asked the value of the support and upbringing his parents had provided to him on his journey into and through golf to this point.

“Just being humble and being thankful for everything you’re given definitely helps me on and off the course. Yeah, I can’t say enough to my parents and friends back home, just the way they raised me and the way they made me to be, and just, yeah, I’ll never be able to thank them enough.

“But I think it definitely helps to have a good upbringing and be, I guess, held in line by your parents. I mean, I can remember breaking a golf club when I was younger, and my dad was‑‑ that’s the maddest I’ve ever seen him, I think, and he made me work to buy a new shaft and I had to play a tournament without a 56‑degree and all that kind of stuff.

“But yeah, I think all of those things definitely help, and it kind of puts into perspective that golf is sometimes not that big a deal. I mean, you could be doing a lot worse stuff than playing Pinehurst No.2 and hitting a bad shot, so it’s pretty cool.”

/by

Finalists Decided at US Amateur Championship

 

The rather impressive action of Andy Ogletree – courtesy of USGA Chris Keane

Amateur golf’s most significant event, the US Amateur Championship, has reached the Finals in Pinehurst in North Carolina with Mississippi’s Andy Ogletree and Kentucky’s John Augustein to face off in tomorrow’s 36 hole final.

The championship match will be played over Pinehurst Resort’s No 2 and No 4 courses, both used in the stroke-play qualifying earlier in the week before the knockout matches leading into today’s semi-finals focused on Pinehurst No 2.

Ogletree defeated 17-year old Cohen Trilio 3&1 in today’s semi while Augustein accounted for William Holcomb 3&2.

Both finalists are 21 years of age and are in their final years at their respective colleges, Ogletree at Georgia State and Augustein at Vanderbilt. It is not since Matt Kuchar in 1997 that Georgia State has had a finalist in the US Amateur Championship and since Luke List in 2004 for Vanderbilt.

Augustein is ranked more than 80 places higher than Ogletree in the World Amateur rankings but match-play works in strange ways as was evident on Wednesday when the Medallist, Brandon Wu, was eliminated by the 64th ranked qualifier Austin Squires in the opening round of match-play.

Augustein was buoyed today by a text from the leader of the BMW Championship, Justin Thomas, amongst others, prior to the semi final.

“Last night I slept awesome and felt great. I got lots of encouragement, and talked to Theo [Humphrey, a 2017 U.S. Amateur semifinalist from Vanderbilt], who was in my position a couple years back about what he kind of felt going into that round, and then also was fortunate enough to get a text from Justin Thomas about what he was feeling when he was going through it. Talking to both of those guys really helped me.”

Ogletree might be ranked lower than his opponent but is motivated by some comments about the credentials held by both finalists.

“I’ve actually never played with John, which is crazy, because we’ve grown up playing the same tournaments forever, and we play Vanderbilt in a lot of tournaments.

“I know he’s a competitor. A lot of people say he’s a bulldog. But I actually just saw a Tweet that said John is the only one with credentials here. That’s kind of got me motivated and ready to go tomorrow.”

Both players have earned berths in the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot G.C., as well as likely invitations to the 2020 Masters Tournament. The winner will also earn a spot on the 2019 USA Walker Cup Team and in the 2020 Open Championship, conducted by The R&A.

Augustein in action today – photo USGA / Chris Keane

 

/by

Percy and Luck Well Placed in Columbus

Curtis Luck – improved sharply today

Australians Cameron Percy in 8th place and Curtis Luck (17th) are well enough positioned as the opening event of the Korn Ferry Tour finals, the Nationwide Children’s Hospitals Championship heads into the weekend in Columbus in Ohio.

Both players are chasing PGA Tour cards via the three event series which brings together the leading 75 from this season’s Korn Ferry Tour standings and the players finishing between 126th and 200th in the FedEx Cup standings as they chase one of the 25 PGA Tour cards still on offer for the 2019/2019 season.

Percy was ten shots worse than his opening round of 64 today but he is just four shots from the lead in the US1 million event.

Luck recovered from his slow start yesterday with a round of 67 today to move into a share of 17th and five from the lead.

Luck earned his first PGA Tour card via this series last year, a 5th place finish in this event playing a key role in that achievement.

Sydney’s Jamie Arnold is 24th and six shots  from the lead, Cameron Davis 44th and Rhein Gibson 58th.

Gibson is already assured of his PGA Tour status next season after finishing inside the top 25 of the Korn Ferry Tour standings in 2019.

New Zealanders Tim Wilkinson and Steve Alker, along with Australian Brett Coletta, missed the cut although Wilkinson regained PGA Tour status recently.

 

/by