Sue Wooster, from the Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne, has again finished runner-up at the US Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, going down by the same margin she lost in last year’s final and to the same opponent, Lara Tennant of Portland, Oregon.
57-year-old, Wooster, was up early in the 18-hole final at the Donald Ross-designed Cedar Rapids Country Club in Cedar Rapids in Iowa, the match still tied through 8 holes but 52-year-old Tennant won three holes in the middle of the round to establish a winning break.
Wooster did birdie the 13th hole to reduce the margin to just two holes but when Tarrant won the 16th, the match was over, 3&2.
“When your swing is a little bit off, you just have to learn to play by your gut,” said Wooster, who finished 40th in last year’s inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open. “My putting kept me in it. I had only one or two three-putts the whole week. And having said that, I didn’t really hole anything, either. Didn’t hole any 10-, 15-footers, so that was disappointing.”
“You try and be as calm and focused and have as much clarity as possible, but you are under a lot of pressure. Sometimes your body just doesn’t do what your mind wants it to, and vice versa”
The winner was full of admiration for her opponent. “You know what? Sue is a tough competitor and a fabulous golfer,” said Tennant, who played at the University of Arizona.
“Last year I honestly apologized to Sue for beating her because at this point in the game, when you’ve played 10 rounds in eight days you’re both exhausted, you both worked hard, you both played well. I really had to not be distracted and just focus on my game. You don’t get many opportunities to be in the finals of a USGA championship.”
The odds of the same two players making the final and for the winning margin to be the same as last year were extremely high and both players have displayed significant skills in working their way through the initial field of 132 players and the many more who entered the event.
In fact, it was the first occasion in the 58 stagings of the championship that the same two players had met in the final on two consecutive occasions.
Picture above Sue Wooster in action today – USGA
Lara Tennant – USGA
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Hopes Fading for Australians at Korn Ferry Tour Championship
The Korn Ferry Tour Championship has completed 36 of its 72 holes at the Victoria Golf Club in Newburgh in Indiana and the Australians who were hoping for this event to assist in earning the right to play the PGA Tour next season have been disappointing to date.
There are still many permutations to play out over the final 36 holes but, by missing the cut, Jamie Arnold has lost any chance of making it into the top 25 in the points table specific to the three-event Korn Ferry Tour finals and will, therefore, miss out on qualifying for the PGA Tour for the first occasion.
Arnold appeared to need a top 25 or better this week but, unfortunately for the US-based Sydney golfer, his dream of playing the PGA Tour is over for the meantime after dropping two shots late in his second round and missing the cut by one.
Curtis Luck also missed the cut this week and is now precariously placed in 23rd place in the points table as the event enters the final 36 holes without him in the field. He will, therefore, need to rely on the performances of others but he is delicately placed as he attempts to return to the PGA Tour where he played as a rookie this season.
Two double bogeys in his round of 75 today could well prove very costly for the talented Luck, a former US and Asia Pacific Amateur Champion and world number one amateur.
Cameron Davis and Brett Coletta have both made the cut this week but Davis, currently in 41st place this week following his second round of 73, now needs a big finish to force his way into the top ten he likely needs to regain his PGA Tour status.
Victorian, Coletta, improved sharply with his second round of 68 but he finds himself in 50th place heading into Sunday and Monday and, needing a top-five result this week to finish inside that all-important top 25 in the Finals points table, he faces a huge although not totally impossible task.
New Zealander Steve Alker’s chances of returning to the PGA Tour disappeared with a missed cut this week.
Australians Rhein Gibson and Cameron Percy have both missed the cut this week but they have their PGA Tour cards locked up courtesy of their performances throughout the season and, in the case of Percy, through his good finishes in the opening two events of the Finals.
Photo – Cameron Davis – his hopes still alive but something special needed over final 36 holes.
Career Best and Hannah Green takes control in Portland
Australia’s Hannah Green followed yesterday’s career-best round of 64 with an even better effort today when she added a second round of 63 at the LPGA Tour’s Cambia Portland Classic in Portland in Oregon to lead the event by five shots at the halfway mark.
Green, who played in the morning field on day two, took control of the tournament with an outward nine of 30 to race well ahead of the field and, adding a homeward nine of 33, she would eventually finish the day five clear of the Korean pairing of Sei Young Kim and Sun Hyung Park.
Given she missed the cut in last week’s event in Canada, it is quite a turnaround of fortune for the 22- year-old from Perth but as a major championship winner now she has greater expectations on her than ever before and is living up to them.
“I feel like I have more expectation on my now from outsiders, as well as from myself,” said Green after her round.
“But I think it’s also really a motivating thing to have ticked off a major championship so now I guess the monkey is off the back, I can and play more aggressive and some more experience for other events and other times that I’m in contention.
“I’m just happy to be in this type of position and hopefully I can look back on KPMG to have the same kind of result this week.
Although five shots ahead of two very well-credentialed players she is very much aware that the job is not yet done.
“Yeah, I just don’t want to get too ahead of myself. Obviously this is quite new to me, shooting such low scores back-to-back. I want to make sure I continue to do the same things and don’t get too disappointed if I don’t back it up with another solid round.
“Going to keep the same game plan. Doing everything much like I have. Obviously I’ve had some success with that, so just want to make sure that, yeah, I just post another low number tomorrow.”
Su Oh is the next best of the Australians in a share of 27th place, a position she shares with an improving New Zealander Lydia Ko.
Robyn Choi and Sarah Kemp also made the cut on the number.
Top photo – file photo
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Wade Ormsby One Behind At European Masters
Wade Ormsby has picked up where he left off following last week’s 5th place finish at the Scandinavian Invitation, the South Australian just one shot behind the lead at the halfway stage of the Omega European Masters.
Ormsby added a second-round 64 to his opening 66 in Crans-Sur-Sierre Golf Club in the mountains of Switzerland and finds himself in a five-way share of second place behind only Malaysia’s Gavin Green.
Ormsby is playing the event for the 10th occasion and given his previous record over the Seve Ballesteros re-designed layout, on which he has missed five of his last six cuts, this significant improvement reflects a resurgence in his all-round game.
Ormsby improved to 77th in the Race to Dubai rankings last week and another good week here will continue his push towards the top 50 who earn the right to the riches of the DP World Tour event in Dubai later in the season.
Sharing second with Ormsby are last week’s PGA Tour Champion Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Andres Romero and Matthias Schwab.
Of the other Australians to make the cut, Lucas Herbert is best, the Victorian finding himself in 36th place after a second round of 67, while Deyen Lawson and Nick Cullen just scrapped into the weekend field and are tied for 58th.
The leader Green has yet to win on the European Tour but, in his second season in Europe, he is putting together a series of good finishes in recent months.
Green won the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit in 2017 and the long-hitting former University of New Mexico attendee is taking full advantage of the massive distances the thin mountain air offers at this venue.
Like everyone else, he is loving the beauty of Crans Montana and the Swiss mountains.
“The atmosphere and views are amazing. In Malaysia we don’t have anything like this,” said the 25 year old. “I’ve been here a couple of times now and the views never get old.
“The altitude is similar to where I went to university in New Mexico, Albuquerque, it’s a few thousand feet too. I’m pretty used to how altitude works. It’s just when it’s cold it gets a little tricky. But adjustments made and it’s been really fun.”
Rory McIlroy on his way to a round of 63 today – Getty Images
Hannah Green Shares Lead in Portland
Hannah Green has produced her best single round on the LPGA Tour and her equal best as a professional when taking a share of the lead after an opening round of 64 at the Cambia Portland Classic in Portland in Oregon.
Green was out in the afternoon field on day one and complied a bogey-free round which included eight birdies to share the lead with Korean Mi Jung Hur, that pair one ahead of Jane Park.
She will have the benefit of an 8.00am tee time tomorrow to build on her great start.
Of the pre-tournament favourites, Sung Hy Park and Brooke Henderson opened with rounds of 67 while the women’s game’s number one player, Jin Young Ko, is another shot back.
Since her breakthrough LPGA Tour victory at the KPMG Women’s Championship it has not been all plain sailing for Green although there was a break of a month immediately after her win to take in all that comes with being a major champion.
She returned at the Evian Championship but other than a 16th place at the Women’s British Open there has not been a lot to get excited about for the year old in the events since.
Today was a different matter, however, and after missing the cut at last week’s event in Canada she quickly bounced back with her fine start today.
Green also missed the cut on debut in this same event last year but today was a different story.
“Yeah, as soon as I got here, I didn’t play the weekend in Canada, so I worked pretty hard on my putting, and as soon as I got to the first hole, actually I hit it like 10 foot past from a 15-foot putt, so I knew that they were rolling really well and going to be quick.
“I knew putting was really key this week. I’d say it’s one of the shorter courses that we play, and it definitely looked more narrow, so I knew if I kept doing what I was doing and hitting good shots and just holing a couple of putts here and there that you could post a really good score.”
Green’s fellow Australians, Katherine Kirk, Sarah Kemp and Su Oh are at 2 under and 6 from the lead while Robyn Choi is at 1 under.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko showed improvement with her round of 67.
Sue Wooster denied again at US Senior Women’s Amateur
Sue Wooster, from the Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne, has again finished runner-up at the US Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, going down by the same margin she lost in last year’s final and to the same opponent, Lara Tennant of Portland, Oregon.
57-year-old, Wooster, was up early in the 18-hole final at the Donald Ross-designed Cedar Rapids Country Club in Cedar Rapids in Iowa, the match still tied through 8 holes but 52-year-old Tennant won three holes in the middle of the round to establish a winning break.
Wooster did birdie the 13th hole to reduce the margin to just two holes but when Tarrant won the 16th, the match was over, 3&2.
“When your swing is a little bit off, you just have to learn to play by your gut,” said Wooster, who finished 40th in last year’s inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open. “My putting kept me in it. I had only one or two three-putts the whole week. And having said that, I didn’t really hole anything, either. Didn’t hole any 10-, 15-footers, so that was disappointing.”
“You try and be as calm and focused and have as much clarity as possible, but you are under a lot of pressure. Sometimes your body just doesn’t do what your mind wants it to, and vice versa”
The winner was full of admiration for her opponent. “You know what? Sue is a tough competitor and a fabulous golfer,” said Tennant, who played at the University of Arizona.
“Last year I honestly apologized to Sue for beating her because at this point in the game, when you’ve played 10 rounds in eight days you’re both exhausted, you both worked hard, you both played well. I really had to not be distracted and just focus on my game. You don’t get many opportunities to be in the finals of a USGA championship.”
The odds of the same two players making the final and for the winning margin to be the same as last year were extremely high and both players have displayed significant skills in working their way through the initial field of 132 players and the many more who entered the event.
In fact, it was the first occasion in the 58 stagings of the championship that the same two players had met in the final on two consecutive occasions.
Picture above Sue Wooster in action today – USGA
Lara Tennant – USGA
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No PGA Tour event but still plenty of golf betting options
45 years ago I caddied for the winner of the equivalent of this week’s European Masters (the Swiss Open) Bob Charles
Three events come under our scrutiny this week, the Korn Ferry Tour’s Tour Championship, the Omega European Masters and the Cambria Portland Classic on the LPGA Tour.
With no PGA Tour event for two weeks it provides the opportunity to focus on other events and hopefully we can go close to having some success on the punt.
We have not had a winner for a few weeks in terms of picking an actual winner but we have gone close on several occasions and maybe our luck is about to turn.
Big Week for Australian PGA Tour Hopefuls
Cameron Davis perhaps needs a top ten to regain his PGA Tour rights
While there was a lot of hype and interest in the outcome of the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship last week, the equivalent event this week on the Korn Ferry Tour in Newburgh in Indiana could well provide even greater intrigue as many of those involved are playing for their mere survival in professional golf and not, as was the case in Atlanta, just boosting their massive riches.
Amongst that group are several Australians and while Rhein Gibson and Cameron Percy are already assured of a return to the PGA Tour in 2020 courtesy of their efforts on the Korn Ferry Tour thus far in 2019, Curtis Luck, Jamie Arnold, Cameron Davis have more work to do if they are to join their fellow countrymen.
The three-event Korn Ferry Tour Final Series provides one last opportunity to qualify for the potential cash cow that is the PGA Tour but in order for those players mentioned there are many permutations before the dust settles on Sunday and PGA Tour cards are handed out.
West Australian, Curtis Luck, currently stands in 15th place in the rankings and with the leading 25 earning cards on Sunday then it would seem a top 35 or better will be enough to get the job done for the West Australian.
US based Sydney golfer, Jamie Arnold, who so agonisingly missed out on securing his card via the first event of the Finals in Ohio two weeks ago, is currently in 18th place in the standings and gets another chance to join the PGA Tour for the first time but he likely needs a top 25 or better this week.
Sydney’s Cameron Davis improved his standing to 34th with a good finish last week and appears to need a top 10 this week to be assured while for Victorian Brett Coletta, who narrowly missed out on graduating via the regular season, he has missed the cut in the opening two events of this Finals and now will need a 5th place or better in the final event of the season.
Percy and Gibson have the luxury of playing the US1 Million event safe in the knowledge that they are on the way to next season’s PGA Tour which starts at the Greenbrier Classic in two weeks’ time but that will not stop them wanting to take full advantage of one last chance to sign off their 2019 Korn Ferry Tour season in style.
PGA Tour Door Opens for Australians on Korn Ferry Tour
Curtis Luck – one of the Australians still with hope
The door remains open for several Australians to claim a PGA Tour card for next season following the completion of the second event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, the Boise Open, this morning and one has walked through to reclaim his card.
With just next week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Newburgh in Indiana remaining, the leading 25 on the Finals money list and not having gained a card via the regular season will earn the right to play on the big stage beginning September and, amongst those at present, are three Australians.
Cameron Percy finished 11th at this week’s event in Boise in Idaho and slipped from 10th to 12th but it would seem he is now all but assured of a return to the PGA Tour.
Given Percy spent some time off the tour earlier this season, having broken a wrist, it is a welcome boost to the 45 year old’s career.
By missing the cut this week, Curtis Luck dropped from 6th to 15th and would appear to need a made cut in Newburgh next week if he is to return to the PGA Tour which he played for the first time in 2019.
Jamie Arnold, who agonisingly missed locking up his card last week when faltering over the closing stages in the opening event of the Finals, missed the cut this week and dropped to 18th in the standings and he too appears to need to make the cut this week and perhaps finish midfield or better.
By finishing 25th this week Cameron Davis improved to 34th in the standings and if he can finish perhaps inside the top fifteen next week or better then he has a chance of regaining his PGA Tour card following a rookie season there this year.
Brett Coletta missed the cut this week for the second week in a row and now faces the task of finishing perhaps 5th or better this week.
There are many variables and permutations to play out this coming week but there is still the opportunity for two or three more Australians to be playing the PGA Tour next season.
Big payday for Adam Scott but McIlroy the FedEx star
Scott continues a great run of form
Adam Scott has recorded his most lucrative week ever in tournament golf with a 6th place finish at the Tour Championship, earning US$1.9 million for his final standing (6th) in the FedEx Cup.
Scott’s final round of 66 at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta included two bogeys but it was enough for him to improve four places from his overnight 10th and continue what has been a very consistent season for the 39-year old.
Scott will complete the 2018/2019 PGA Tour season with almost US$6 million in on-course earnings.
Scott might not have won an event anywhere in nearly three years, but his consistency has become a real feature of his play of late and his next victory is surely not too far away.
Scott will likely move to 14th in the World Ranking, improving from 42nd at the start of 2019 and further reflecting his impressive consistency. Also on display in Atlanta was a continuation in an improvement on the greens for Scott, producing one of the better putting performances of the field this week.
Scott finished ten shots behind the winner, Rory McIlroy, who was, in turn, four shots ahead of the second-placed, Xander Schauffele, McIlroy pocketing US$15 million for his victory in the event and in the FedEx Cup.
McIlroy has won the two flagship events of the PGA Tour in 2019, the Players Championship and the Tour Championship and sealed the FedEx Cup in the process, completing a magnificent season.
McIlroy jets to Switzerland overnight to play the Omega European Masters in the mountain resort of Crans Montana where the tournament organisers will be licking the lips at the prospect of having such an in form and charismatic figure and the new world number two teeing it up.
Marc Leishman was the other Australian in the field aside from Scott and he saved his best to last with a final round of 67 but he finished 24th in the 30 man field.
The next PGA Tour event, the Military Tribute at Greenbrier, gets the 2019 / 2020 season underway on September 12th.
Good week for Wade Ormsby in Sweden
Ormsby quietly going about his business in Europe – file photo
South Australian, Wade Ormsby, has finished in a share of 5th place at the Scandinavian Invitation in Gothenberg, Sweden, his first top ten on the European Tour since a runner-up finish at the Vic Open earlier this year.
Ormsby began the day tied for second place and just one shot off the lead but an early double bogey threatened to derail any chance of a good finish.
The 39-year old recovered well, however, and birdies at two of his last three holes saw him finish in a five-way share of 5th although six shots from the winner, Erik van Rooyen.
Ormsby moves to 77th in the Race to Dubai rankings and has opened the door at least to qualify for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in which the leading 50 players in the Race to Dubai rankings play for the riches of that event and the bonuses available from the season-long race.
South African, Van Rooyen, won his first European Tour title after a run of outstanding form and near misses in 2019 but was forced to hold off a strong challenge from England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick who had won the equivalent of this event in 2016.
Jason Scrivener finished as the next best Australian when he tied for 20th, Deyen Lawson saved his best for last when he recorded a final round of 66 to finish 53rd and Brett Rumford was 73rd.
Scrivener is now 56th in the Race to Dubai rankings in which the leading Australian is Scott Hend in 39th place. Hend missed the cut this week.
The European Tour now moves to Crans-Sur-Sierre in Switzerland for the Omega European Masters.