Tiger Woods – a decision to make photo Presidents Cup
With just one more event in which Presidents Cup captain pick’s hopefuls can make an impression on either Tiger Woods or Ernie Els, this week’s WGC HSBS Champions event in Shanghai takes on even greater importance for many than just its role as one of the World Golf Championship events.
With the four captain’s picks from each side finalised at the completion of the event, several appear to be still in the mix and performances this week might assist in swaying a captain’s mind one way or the other.
For the Americans, much will depend on Tiger Woods’ decision to play or not as to just how many of those four places are up for grabs but given the assistance Fred Couples, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson will offer to Woods throughout the week on Melbourne then there appears no real reason why he should not select himself.
As a winner of a major this year and now, as the latest winner on the PGA Tour, then should he decide to include himself nobody could deny Woods his right to play from a credential viewpoint.
Gary Woodland would appear to have done enough to come under serious scrutiny for the same reasons. He of course is the current US Open Champion and with two top fives in his last two starts he has found form at the right time after a relatively lean time since his US Open win.
That Woodland played in front of Woods for much of last week and appears to have a very friendly relationship with him will not hurt either. Nobody could deny his right to be in the team on current form and given the reason for the delay in finalising teams was for just that – to have the most in form players in the side – then it makes sense.
Other players in the mix for consideration and playing in Shanghai are Patrick Reed, Tony Finau and Kevin Na and if there are just two places remaining then the performances of those three this week might well determine the final make-up of the US side for Royal Melbourne.
Surely, Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson could only now be considered outsiders to make the team. Only Mickelson is playing this week and he would likely need to win to force his way into consideration and Fowler has not competed since the Tour Championship.
Of course, the additional problem for Woods and the US camp is whether Brooks Koepka will be fit enough, given his recent knee injury and withdrawal from the event in Korea. If that was to be the case, then it opens up another spot for the Americans.
For the International side it would appear the battle for the three places given Jason Day is likely a lock, is between Koreans Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun An, Canadians Adam Hadwin and Corey Conners and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann.
Im was rookie of the year on the PGA Tour this season after leading the Web.com Tour the previous season. Given his outstanding recent from which has included a runner-up and 3rd place in PGA Tour events and a win in Korea then he appears a lock.
An has recorded top ten finishes in three of his last four events on the PGA Tour and, given that form, it is hard to see him being left out, especially if he plays well this week.
Niemann won recently on the PGA Tour and has played solidly for much of the season. Given his status as one of the PGA Tour’s rising stars he must be a strong chance and if that is to be the case then the final spot might be a toss up between the Canadians Conners and Hadwin.
Both have played well in recent weeks, Conners also winning the Texas Open earlier in the year.
Hadwin was runner-up at the Safeway Open in California just a few weeks ago and 4th in Las Vegas and brings solid form to this week.
The Canadians might well be playing to knock each other out this week and that battle alone should be intriguing.
The finalisation of the respective sides on Monday 4th of November will further highlight the disparity in the sides in terms of world ranking with all eight of the automatically qualified American side inside the current top 13 in the world.
The leading ranked international player in 15th place is Adam Scott, the Australian the only one of his side in the world top twenty. Hideki Matsuyama is the next highest ranked player in 22nd position.
Golf Betting for October 31st
This week we assess the chances at the WGC HSBC Championship in Shanghai, the Taiwan Swinging Skirts event on the LPGA Tour and the alternate PGA Tour event, the Bermuda Championship.
Decision Time for Presidents Cup Hopefuls
Tiger Woods – a decision to make photo Presidents Cup
With just one more event in which Presidents Cup captain pick’s hopefuls can make an impression on either Tiger Woods or Ernie Els, this week’s WGC HSBS Champions event in Shanghai takes on even greater importance for many than just its role as one of the World Golf Championship events.
With the four captain’s picks from each side finalised at the completion of the event, several appear to be still in the mix and performances this week might assist in swaying a captain’s mind one way or the other.
For the Americans, much will depend on Tiger Woods’ decision to play or not as to just how many of those four places are up for grabs but given the assistance Fred Couples, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson will offer to Woods throughout the week on Melbourne then there appears no real reason why he should not select himself.
As a winner of a major this year and now, as the latest winner on the PGA Tour, then should he decide to include himself nobody could deny Woods his right to play from a credential viewpoint.
Gary Woodland would appear to have done enough to come under serious scrutiny for the same reasons. He of course is the current US Open Champion and with two top fives in his last two starts he has found form at the right time after a relatively lean time since his US Open win.
That Woodland played in front of Woods for much of last week and appears to have a very friendly relationship with him will not hurt either. Nobody could deny his right to be in the team on current form and given the reason for the delay in finalising teams was for just that – to have the most in form players in the side – then it makes sense.
Other players in the mix for consideration and playing in Shanghai are Patrick Reed, Tony Finau and Kevin Na and if there are just two places remaining then the performances of those three this week might well determine the final make-up of the US side for Royal Melbourne.
Surely, Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson could only now be considered outsiders to make the team. Only Mickelson is playing this week and he would likely need to win to force his way into consideration and Fowler has not competed since the Tour Championship.
Of course, the additional problem for Woods and the US camp is whether Brooks Koepka will be fit enough, given his recent knee injury and withdrawal from the event in Korea. If that was to be the case, then it opens up another spot for the Americans.
For the International side it would appear the battle for the three places given Jason Day is likely a lock, is between Koreans Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun An, Canadians Adam Hadwin and Corey Conners and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann.
Im was rookie of the year on the PGA Tour this season after leading the Web.com Tour the previous season. Given his outstanding recent from which has included a runner-up and 3rd place in PGA Tour events and a win in Korea then he appears a lock.
An has recorded top ten finishes in three of his last four events on the PGA Tour and, given that form, it is hard to see him being left out, especially if he plays well this week.
Niemann won recently on the PGA Tour and has played solidly for much of the season. Given his status as one of the PGA Tour’s rising stars he must be a strong chance and if that is to be the case then the final spot might be a toss up between the Canadians Conners and Hadwin.
Both have played well in recent weeks, Conners also winning the Texas Open earlier in the year.
Hadwin was runner-up at the Safeway Open in California just a few weeks ago and 4th in Las Vegas and brings solid form to this week.
The Canadians might well be playing to knock each other out this week and that battle alone should be intriguing.
The finalisation of the respective sides on Monday 4th of November will further highlight the disparity in the sides in terms of world ranking with all eight of the automatically qualified American side inside the current top 13 in the world.
The leading ranked international player in 15th place is Adam Scott, the Australian the only one of his side in the world top twenty. Hideki Matsuyama is the next highest ranked player in 22nd position.
Tiger Woods joins Sam Snead in historic milestone
Tiger Woods – Getty Images
Tiger Woods has joined Sam Snead as the most prolific winner of PGA Tour titles (82) with a three-shot victory over Hideki Matsuyama in the inaugural ZOZO Championship in Chiba near Tokyo today.
Woods and the bulk of the field were required to return to the Accordia Golf Narashino C.C. after darkness had forced the suspension of play on Sunday, the event being behind schedule after Friday washout.
Woods returned at 8.30am Tokyo time on Monday morning and began his day with a three shot lead and when he bogeyed his first hole of the morning. the 12th, he allowed Hideki Matsuyama to creep within two of the lead.
Woods though would birdie the 14th from 14 feet and although Matsuyama maintained the pressure as much as he could with a lengthy birdie putt of his own at the 16th when Woods stood on the 72nd tee he was still two ahead and closed it out with another birdie to win by three.
Woods was clinical in the manner he protected his overnight advantage after the early hiccup over the closing six holes this morning never appearing in any sort of bother eventually closing out one of the more significant moments in his career with an up and down from the front bunker at the last.
In a telling comment on his chances of being in the US Presidents Cup side, when asked how impactful Tiger Woods the player was to Tiger Woods the captain this week in regard to including himself in the Presidents Cup side Woods responded;
“I think the player definitely got the captain’s attention”
Matsuyama finished runner-up after being unable to force the issue at the last when he drove into the fairway bunker and could only par the reachable par 5.
Rory McIlroy and Sungjae Im both finished the event strongly to tie for 3rd place, Im surely now a lock for one of the four captain’s picks in the Ernie Els led Presidents Cup side.
After his runner-up finish in Korea last week, New Zealander, Danny Lee, recorded another top ten when he tied for 10th to be the best of the Australasians in the field.
Lee has earned more then US$1.25 million in the last two weeks.
Jason Day continued his strong recovery after a slow start to the event to finish 22nd, Adam Scott 33rd and Marc Leishman 69th.
Jake McLeod records best European Tour finish
Jake McLeod – file photo
A final round ‘best of the day’ 63 by Queenslander, Jake McLeod, has provided the 25-year old with his best finish and the only top ten of his debut European Tour season to date after sharing 8th place at the Portugal Masters at Vilamoura on the Algarve Peninsula.
McLeod, who finished 3rd behind Abraham Ancer in last years Australian Open at the Lakes Golf Club, has struggled for much of his rookie year in Europe and has perhaps left his run too late to regain the status he earned by leading the Australasian Tour Order of Merit in 2018 but it will be a confidence building week nevertheless.
McLeod’s round included two back to back eagles on par 4 holes during his closing nine and saw him improve 31 places on day four to finish five shots from the winner.
McLeod moves to 150th in the race to Dubai Rankings with only next week’s lucrative WGC HSBC Championship in China remaining for him to improve his standing to the point where he will retain his status.
McLeod earns his start in Shanghai courtesy of winning the Australasian Tour Order of Merit last December.
McLeod will earn the equivalent of A$48,000 for his efforts this week, by far his biggest cheque of the year.
New Zealander, Ryan Fox, finished 31st, while McLeod’s fellow Australians Nick Cullen 40th and Min Woo Lee 63rd rounded out the Australasians who made it to the weekend.
The winner, Englishman Steve Brown, overturned a three-stroke deficit to win his first European Tour title and secured his playing rights for the 2020 season in the process.
Brown arrived in Portugal needing a top-three finish to secure his card for 2020 and started the final day in the Algarve in fourth place but a final round of 66 was good enough to see him win by one over South Africans Brandon Stone and Justin Walters.
Campbell Rawson surprise winner of Vic PGA
New Zealander, Campbell Rawson, who had missed three of the four cuts in events he had played on the PGA Tour of Australasia in 2019 and is currently ranked outside the top 2000 in the world, has turned that form upside down with a shock win at the Victorian PGA Championship at RACV Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula.
Rawson produced a weekend total of 129, his rounds of 65 and 64 over the Robert Trent Jones layout sweeping him from the cut-line on Friday evening to victory.
31 year old Auckland born, Rawson, had never before produced a top ten on any recognised tour but in a battle with Marcus Fraser for much of the final day, he edged clear and held on as multiple European Tour winner, Fraser, threw everything at him in an attempt for he, too, to win his first Australasian Tour event.
Rawson now has the opportunity to play events on the Australasian Tour previously unavailable to him and after abandoning a potential career in AFL and the Finance industry, the golfing path is a lot clearer and open to him now.
“To be frank, I got sick of sitting behind the desk and felt I need to have a crack at golf. At the time I wasn’t world class, but knew I had a lot of ability,” he said.
“I had the competitive advantage with the length I was able to hit it. Thankfully the guys at work supported me and gave me the opportunity to break out and shift my attention on golf.
“I’m pretty excited. I can’t wait to celebrate a little bit. Now I’m really focused on some of the bigger events I’ll get exemption to and hopefully can put up some good performances there.
Fraser finished one behind while last week’s winner of the WA Open, Michael Sim, was third.
Scores
Ha Na Jang wins third LPGA Tour title as Oh slips to 13th
Ha Na Jang – file photo- photo Bruce Young
Su Oh and Minjee Lee both finished inside the top twenty at the BMW Ladies Championship in Busan in Korea but, given the hot nature of the scoring on day four, neither was able to get anywhere near the playoff for the title won by Ha Na Jang.
Jang, who won the 2017 Australian Women’s Open Championship in Adelaide, defeated last week’s winner, Danielle Kang, in a playoff, the title decided when Jang holed a five-foot birdie putt at the 3rd extra playoff hole to win her 3rd LPGA Tour title.
Oh was nicely placed heading into the final round just two shots from the lead but she was on the back foot early with early bogeys and when she dropped three shots early in her back nine her challenge was gone.
Oh, who had been chasing her first LPGA Tour title, eventually finished 13th, while fellow Australians Minjee Lee was 16th and Hannah Green 38th.
New Zealander Lydia Ko was 21st.
Jang played her last 14 holes in 7 under including an eagle at the 12th to grab a share of the lead with Kang who had birdied eight of her first 14 holes to set up the chance of back to back wins after winning in Shanghai last week.
Jang has struggled with an injured ankle of late but she was able to win despite all, although her ankle continues to bother her.
Amy Yang finished on her own in 3rd place, three shots from the playoff.
Ten of the first 12 players in the final line-up were Korean golfers.
“First of all, my ankle is not so good at the moment, and perhaps because I have been playing with my ankle not being so well, I was able to manage today,” said Jang. “Next week, I’m not going to be playing.”
Jang has lost her status on the LPGA Tour but she has done well on the KLPGA Tour in 2019 winning recently and being twice runner-up. The win this week should take her to the top of the KLPGA Tour’s money list.
“As for going back to the LPGA, there’s a lot to discuss. My mother is not quite well yet. I think I would have an answer for you regarding returning to the LPGA later on. I can’t say right now.
“As far Danielle, she’s a really good friend but out on the course, we’re really good rivals. She’s really good competition, and we’ve had this relationship for 15 years. I don’t really feel sorry for her. I’m just really happy that we managed to make a really good memory on this course.
The LPGA Tour now moves to Taiwan for the Swinging Skirts LPGA event in Taipei.
Tiger Woods edges clear in Japan
Tiger Woods today – Getty Images
Tiger Woods produced a second consecutive round of 64 at the ZOZO Championship to take a two shot lead over Gary Woodland into tomorrow’s third round at the Accordia Golf Narashino CC in Chiba, Japan.
With yesterday’s second day’s play, lost to torrential rain, the event resumed today but unfortunately for the massive crowds who turned up on Thursday to witness many of the world and Japan’s greatest players in action they were unable to attend today because of the potential damage their presence could have done to the weather batter course.
With no rain today allowing the course to recover, the crowds will be allowed back on to the course on Sunday to witness not only the battle between Woods and Woodland but with still 36 holes to play many others are still in the mix.
One of those is Japanese golf ‘s current favourite son, Hideki Matsuyama, who is tied for 3rd at 8 under and four off the lead held by Woods. He shares that position with Keegan Bradley.
If this inaugural event turns out to be a battle between Woods, who is trying to win his 82nd PGA Tour title, and Matsuyama it will be a dream come true for tournament organisers.
Play will continue tomorrow until darkness but it is likely play will carry over until Monday in the US$9.75 million event.
Jason Day 29th, Adam Scott 37th and Marc Leishman 70th highlight a rather ordinary week thus far for the Australians in the field although we are at the halfway point.
Scores
Is Su Oh on the verge of an LPGA Tour breakthrough?
Su Oh – photo Henry Peters
Victorian, Su Oh, has taken over as the leading Australian at the BMW Ladies Championship and in doing so has opened the door for a possible breakthrough LPGA Tour victory with a third round of 67 at the event in Busan in Korea.
Oh finds herself in a share of 4th place but only two shots from the joint leaders Seung Yeon Lee and Somi Lee.
Oh has been twice runner-up in LPGA Tour events in 2019 but the crucial breakthrough has eluded her thus far in her four years on the LPGA Tour.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been only like a couple shots back,” said Oh. “I think same game plan. I think go out there; it’s not going to be easy. I think it was nice to play the last few holes with a little bit of nerve to sort of see how it feels, because at the start, I was like nowhere near it.
“Tomorrow I think it’s just going to be the same. Hopefully keep the nerves under control and see how it goes.”
Fellow Australian, Minjee Lee, who was within two shots of the lead herself leading into today’s third round could only manage a round of 73 and is now back in 19th place at 7 under par and seven shots from the lead.
Hannah Green is the other Australian in the field but is well back in 55th place.
New Zealander Lydia Ko is tied for 12th at 8 under par and five shots off the pace.
Minjee Lee stays in touch in Korea
Australia’s Minjee Lee is just two shots from the lead at the halfway stage of the BMW Ladies Championship in Busan in Korea and, although unable to maintain the early pace she set on day one, she is within striking distance of the leader, Danielle Kang.
23 year old Lee recovered from a slow start to her second round to record a 2 under par 70 at the LPGA International layout in southern Korea and is in a share of 4th place.
The leader, Kang, won last week in Shanghai and continued her impressive run of form with a second consecutive 67 to lead by one over Hee Won Na and Seung Yeon Lee.
Lee’s fellow Australian Su Oh is just two shots further back and tied for 10th after she too was round in 70 with Hannah Green in 64th place in the event which has no cut.
New Zealander Lydia Ko is tied for 24th.
Jake McLeod finds timely form in Portugal
Jake McLeod – file photo
European Tour rookie, Jake McLeod, has a big task at this week’s Portugal Masters if he is to avoid a trip to the European Tour school in November but he has made a very good start to the second to last event in which he is eligible to play on the 2019 European Tour season.
The 25-year old Queenslander has, however, made a fine start to the event and after the opening round he finds himself in a share of 2nd place and two shots from the lead of South African Louis De Jager.
McLeod began the week in 159th place in the Race to Dubai Rankings, needing to be inside the top 110 by season’s end if he is to retain the European Tour status he earned through his performance on the Australasian Tour in 2018.
McLeod has improved to 116th on the projected rankings but clearly has more work to do and has only this week and next week’s WGC HSBC Champions to do in which to do so.
“It’s quite wide off the tee, so you can get up there and really give it a rip,” said McLeod of the layout at Vilamoura on the Algarve Peninsula which he is playing for the first time this week.
“But it can be quite penalising around the greens if you miss in the wrong spots – they’re running quite fast this week. I found myself on a lot of the good sides today – hopefully I can keep doing that.
“This season has been pretty average, so I’ve come out here and I’ll have a bit of fun and probably go to Q School unless I get the win.”
McLeod’s 6 under par round of 65 was bogey free and, although he will have the more demanding afternoon conditions to contend with on day two, it was an impressive start after a run of indifferent form in his debut season at this level.
Nick Cullen was the next best of the Australians after his round of 70 has him in 57th place, Dimi Papadatos was round in 71, New Zealander Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee 72, Deyen Lawson 73 with Sam Brazel and New Zealand’s Michael Campbell 76.