Justin Thomas – he and Danny Lee share the lead
New Zealander Danny Lee entered calculations for a potential Presidents Cup berth by taking a share of the third round lead at the C.J. Cup Nine Bridges in Korea today, and, although entering the week perhaps far from the mind of International Captain, Ernie Els, a win tomorrow would surely have him under consideration.
Lee overcame a double bogey at the 10th hole today with a 60-foot putt for eagle at the last to join Justin Thomas the lead in the US9.5 million event.
Given that the time gap between the automatic qualifiers and the captain’s picks for December’s Presidents Cup was designed to have the most in form players in the final line-up then if Lee was to go on with it tomorrow then his case for inclusion can’t be dismissed.
Thomas appeared to be edging well clear of the field until Lee’s late heroics and a bogey by the American at the final hole saw a three shots swing between the pair setting up a fascinating final day tomorrow for the former US Amateur Champion, Lee.
Lee has appeared in one Presidents Cup, that coming in Korea in 2015 so the prospect of playing the event is not as preposterous as it might have seemed at the start of the week.
Lee and Thomas have opened up a three-shot lead over Australia’s Cameron Smith with another shot back to Americans Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark.
Jason Day is the next best of the Australians in 22nd place after his round of 1 under par 71.
For Lee it was a particularly exciting day and finish especially given his Korean heritage
“As for that putt, frankly I wasn’t aiming for the hole,” said Lee referring to the unlikely eagle. “I was just trying to get the ball to roll down the slope as slowly as possible but it kept going. I would say it was about 19 steps (yards) from the hole.
“I’ve never played exceptionally well in Korea, so I also felt I could play better in front of my Korean fans. On top of that my parents and my wife are Korean and my granddad lives here so that would be great. I am glad I had a strong showing this week and hopefully I can say the same tomorrow.”
Smith continued his good record in the event having finished inside the top ten in both visits to Jeju Island. A double bogey late in his opening nine might well have proven disastrous but he regathered with a birdie at the 11th and a lengthy eagle putt of his own at the 12th.
Has Tiger Woods staked a Presidents Cup claim?
Tiger Woods – Getty Images
What a day for golf in Japan today. Not only did Tiger Woods play his first PGA Tour event there for many years but he takes a share of the opening round lead with a brilliant round of 6 under par 64 at the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship which came after beginning the day with three consecutive bogeys.
Woods drove it in the water at the first, the trees at the second and then three putted to third to be well behind the eight-ball. But he recovered with nine birdies in his next 15 holes to take the lead on his own before being joined by Gary Woodland.
“I’m just trying to turn it to even par at the turn, that’s just basically my goal, and I was able to squeeze one more out of it,” said Woods.
“After the start, the ball striking was better. The putting was really good. I was hitting a lot of good putts and the ball’s rolling tight, which was nice.”
Woods shares the lead with current US Open champion, Woodland, but in another boost for huge crowds that flocked to the Accordia Golf Narashino CC in Chiba near Tokyo, Japan’s golfing superstar Hideki Matsuyama is just one shot off the lead.
Woods is of course under scrutiny over the next couple of weeks to see if his game is up to the possibility of him picking himself for the US Presidents Cup side and whether he does or does not make that decision his form today suggested that he would make a worthy inclusion.
Matsuyama is two shots ahead of a trio tied for 4th and tomorrow the fervor that will prevail amongst the Japanese fans, weather permitting, will be worth the admission price alone.
The issue, however, is a pending storm expected to arrive mid morning on Friday and organisers have brought tee times forward to try and offset some of the potential disruption to the schedule.
The three Australians in the field have made horror starts, Jason Day and Adam Scott tied for 58th at 3 over and Marc Leishman 78th at 6 over.
Minjee Lee takes lead in Korea
Minjee Lee – file photo Ladies European Tour
Australian, Minjee Lee, has snatched the opening round lead at the BMW Ladies Championship in Busan in Korea, the 24-year old Perth golfer producing a round of 6 under par 66 to lead the LPGA event by one over three Koreans and an American.
Danielle Kang, Jeongeun Lee 6, Seung Yeon Lee and world number one Jin Young Ko are in the group in second place.
Lee’s fellow Australian, Su Oh, is two shots from the lead in a share of 6th place, New Zealander Lydia Ko is at 3 under and tied for 13th, while Lee’s fellow West Australian, Hannah Green, is at 1 over and sharing 52nd place.
Lee who has played sparingly in recent months finished 50th in last week’s LPGA event in Shanghai but with the benefit of that run behind her she has shown impressive improvement to put herself in position to challenge for her first title since her LA Open victory earlier in April.
Other than an event in Korea two weeks ago, Lee has not played a tournament since the CP Women’s Open two months ago.
Golf Betting thoughts for October 24th
Jin Young Ko – the favourite at home
This week events under the spotlight include the inaugural PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship in Japan, the BMW Ladies Championship in Busan in Korea and the Portugal Masters on the Algarve Peninsula of Portugal.
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Powerful Cameron Champ joins Australian PGA field
Photo – Cameron Champ
The field for the Australian PGA Championship received a significant boost today with the news that one of the rising stars of the PGA Tour, Cameron Champ, will tee it up at RACV Royal Pines on December 19th.
24 year old Champ, already with two PGA Tour titles to his name in just 13 months as a PGA Tour member, won the second of those events just three weeks ago when successful at the Safeway Open in his home state of California.
While Champ has already proven himself as a winner on the PGA Tour it is his notoriety as one of the game’s longest hitters that will be of huge appeal to those attending Royal Pines.
Champ, a former Walker Cup team member comfortably led the driving distance stats on the PGA Tour in his rookie season in 2019 with an average distance of 317 yards and in the early stages of the new PGA Tour season he sits just behind Tony Finau.
Champ will join a field that includes 2013 winner and Australia’s leading ranked player, Adam Scott, and 2017 and 2018 champion Cameron Smith, both of who have been in fine form of late with Smith finishing 3rd behind Justin Thomas in Korea last and Scott 5th at the Japan Open last weekend.
Lucas Herbert’s strong weekend at Open de France.
Lucas Herbert – file photo
After finishing just one shot inside the cut line at the Open de France, Australia’s Lucas Herbert produced a powerful weekend to improve 41 places over the final 36 holes to finish in a share of 14th at Le Golf National near Paris.
It was one of Herbert’s better finishes in 26 events of the 2019 season in Europe and improves him to 98th position in the Race to Dubai Ranking and will ensure he safely retains his status for Europe next season.
Herbert finished seven shots behind the winner, Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium, who finished one shot ahead of Denmark’s Joachim B. Hansen.
South African George Coetzee finished another shot back in 3rd place although he will rue a triple bogey at the 15th hole of round four, especially given he would eventually finished just two from the lead.
New Zealander, Ryan Fox, who led the event after an opening round of 65, eventually finished 22nd, Jason Scrivener was 26th, Deyen Lawson 40th and Jake McLeod 71st.
Scott Hend in 52nd place and Ryan Fox 57th remain as the leading Australasians on the race to Dubai rankings although both will need to be inside the top 50 if they are to play the season ending event in Dubai.
Jones, Kennedy and Scott 5th in Japan
The winner Chan Kim – courtesy of Asian Tour – file photo
American Chan Kim has today won his fourth Japan Golf Tour title but his most significant with a one-shot victory at the Japan Open at the Koga Golf Club in Fukuoka.
Kim came from eight shots off the 54-hole pace to record a final round of 67 and despite preparing for a potential playoff after finishing his round he would win by one.
The story of the day, however, was the almost incomprehensible demise of the seemingly unassailable leader, Koki Shiomi, who found a away to drop nine shots at his last five holes to finish four shots from the lead and in a share of 10th place.
29-year old Kim finished one shot ahead of Japan’s Horikawa and South African Shaun Norris.
Kim’s last round 67 over the demanding layout saw him move from 17th heading into the final round to sweep to the narrow win but he was helped in his cause by Japan’s Mikumu Horikawa who dropped shots at his final two holes to finish one behind.
The Australians challenge was headed by Brad Kennedy, Adam Scott and Brendan Jones who tied for 5th place just three shots from the winner.
Scott recovered from a horror opening round of 76 to work his way back into the event, his final round of 69 completing an impressive comeback.
Jones had his chances to win his first Japan Open title but bogeys at two of his last three holes cost him badly.
For Kennedy it was his best finish in the Japan Open, bettering his tie for 6th in 2014.
The Japan Tour now plays the Zozo Championship in Chiba although only a few in this field will get the play the tournament which is essentially a PGA Tour event.
Cameron Smith shares 3rd place in Korea
Cameron Smith – file photo – Bruce Young
Justin Thomas held off a spirited challenge from New Zealander, Danny Lee, to win his second C.J. Cup @ Nine Bridges on Jeju Island in South Korea and in doing so took his number of PGA Tour titles to 11.
Thomas and Lee were locked in battle for much of the final round, matching strides until a birdie by Thomas at the 14th followed by consecutive dropped shots by Lee at the 15th and 16th saw the margin three in Thomas’s favour and although Lee clawed one back the 17th he was unable produce a miracle he needed at the last to draw level.
Thomas birdied the final hole to win by two although Lee’s eagle attempt lipped out allowing Thomas the luxury of three putts to win from 50 feet but he needed only two.
It was impressive from both the leading two players especially given the manner in which they separated themselves from the rest of the field for much of the round.
Lee finished two shots clear of Hideki Matsuyama, Gary Woodland and Cameron Smith who closed with rounds of 65, 66 and 69 respectively on day four to narrow the gap late in the day.
Lee earns just over US$1 million for his impressive week while Smith earns close to US$500,000.
Cameron Smith appeared to be losing touch with a top five spot but he played his last three holes in four under par to move into a share of 3rd.
Smith has finished 3rd, 7th and 3rd in three appearances in the event.
Matt Jones was the next best of the Australians when he finished tied for 20th.
Scores
Can Danny Lee stake a late Presidents Cup claim?
Justin Thomas – he and Danny Lee share the lead
New Zealander Danny Lee entered calculations for a potential Presidents Cup berth by taking a share of the third round lead at the C.J. Cup Nine Bridges in Korea today, and, although entering the week perhaps far from the mind of International Captain, Ernie Els, a win tomorrow would surely have him under consideration.
Lee overcame a double bogey at the 10th hole today with a 60-foot putt for eagle at the last to join Justin Thomas the lead in the US9.5 million event.
Given that the time gap between the automatic qualifiers and the captain’s picks for December’s Presidents Cup was designed to have the most in form players in the final line-up then if Lee was to go on with it tomorrow then his case for inclusion can’t be dismissed.
Thomas appeared to be edging well clear of the field until Lee’s late heroics and a bogey by the American at the final hole saw a three shots swing between the pair setting up a fascinating final day tomorrow for the former US Amateur Champion, Lee.
Lee has appeared in one Presidents Cup, that coming in Korea in 2015 so the prospect of playing the event is not as preposterous as it might have seemed at the start of the week.
Lee and Thomas have opened up a three-shot lead over Australia’s Cameron Smith with another shot back to Americans Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark.
Jason Day is the next best of the Australians in 22nd place after his round of 1 under par 71.
For Lee it was a particularly exciting day and finish especially given his Korean heritage
“As for that putt, frankly I wasn’t aiming for the hole,” said Lee referring to the unlikely eagle. “I was just trying to get the ball to roll down the slope as slowly as possible but it kept going. I would say it was about 19 steps (yards) from the hole.
“I’ve never played exceptionally well in Korea, so I also felt I could play better in front of my Korean fans. On top of that my parents and my wife are Korean and my granddad lives here so that would be great. I am glad I had a strong showing this week and hopefully I can say the same tomorrow.”
Smith continued his good record in the event having finished inside the top ten in both visits to Jeju Island. A double bogey late in his opening nine might well have proven disastrous but he regathered with a birdie at the 11th and a lengthy eagle putt of his own at the 12th.
Ryan Fox slips off pace in France.
Nicolas Colsaerts – one of the joint leaders – Getty Images
Ryan Fox remains as the leading Australasian at the Amundi Open de France but he has slipped from a share of the tournament lead into 13th position following his second round of 74 at Le Golf National in Paris.
Fox was on the back foot early in round two, dropping three shots on the way to the turn and although he improved slightly on his closing nine, he now finds himself six shots behind the joint leaders, George Coetzee of South Africa and Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts.
Victorian Deyen Lawson is the nest best of the Australasians, just one shot behind Fox in 20th place, Jake McLeod improved with a second round of 69 to be tied for 31st along with Jason Scrivener while Lucas Herbert is 55th.
Coetzee was delighted with his day especially given that it will allow him to watch the quarter finals of the World Cup of Rugby on Saturday morning before he tees off later in the day.
“Very happy,” said Coetzee who had led with Fox after day one. “The plan was to get a nice, late tee time so I can watch the rugby tomorrow morning. It was a tricky day. I think I got the good side of the draw there because the wind died down on the back nine, and you can see it started getting a little easier and made a couple more birdies.
“I wasn’t too upset with the front nine. I made one bad decision and played the other holes pretty well. It’s always nice to kind of build momentum going into the weekend.”
Coetzee and Colsaerts lead by one over American Kurt Kitayama who finished 3rd at the last week’s Italian Open.
below: Ryan Fox in action this week courtesy of Getty Images
Su Oh Leads Australians Into Weekend in Shanghai
Su Oh – improved showing thus far
Victorian golfer, Su Oh, leads the Australians at the halfway stage of the Buick LPGA Shanghai event in China, rounds of 71 and 70 having her in a share of 15th place at 3 under and eight shots from the lead of Canadian Brooke Henderson.
Minjee Lee is two shots further back in a share of 24th place a position also shared by New Zealander Lydia Ko, while Katherine Kirk is 35th at 1 over and a massive 12 shots from the lead.
Lee was building towards a good second round score before three dropped shots in two holes in her closing nine saw her slip back.
Oh has shown some good form in recent weeks despite a missed cut in Texas two weeks ago and although she bogeyed her final hole today she is well enough placed for a strong weekend.
Henderson leads by two over Jessica Korda with defending champion Danielle Kang another shot back.
Henderson’s brilliant round of 64 included a hole in one at her second hole today, providing the catalyst for her impressive run to the top of the leaderboard.
“I got a lot of breaks out there today,” including the hole-in-one,” said the Canadian. “It was a 9-iron for me. I didn’t see it at all, and then Olly, one of the caddies in our group, turned and said, “That went in.
“We were like “What, really!” That was pretty cool. It definitely got my day started in the right direction. I got a lot of breaks and was able to make some putts. Eight under, I’m really happy with that, especially with how windy it was today.”