Seve To Make St Andrews Return
Seve Ballesteros is set to make may make an emotional return to St Andrews for this years British Open, the 150th anniversary of the world most famous golf tournament.
Seve is among 32 former champions invited to play four holes on the eve of the Championship to celebrate the anniversary.
The occasion is set to be an emotional return to golf for Seve, who has endured four operations to treat a brain tumour that was diagnosed in late 2008.
Spanish Golf Federation president Gonzaga Escauriaza said: “Seve wants to be on the first tee for the four-hole tournament and will probably be there.”
Other former champions invited to take part include Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Gary Player and Nick Faldo.
Escauriaza continued: “He will be very happy to be there and I’ve met his son and he said he wants to caddie for him.”
“It will be very emotional for a lot of people and for Seve too because of course he won at St Andrews in 1984.
“He has started to practice again and is able to play some holes especially as his home is right near to a course.”
Day 4 Of The Honda Classic
Camilo Villegas held on in the final round of The Honda Classic, staged at the PGA National Resort and Spa, to win his third PGA Tour title.
Villegas shot a final round 68 to win by four shots from Anthony Kim. It looked at one point that Villegas may let his lead dwindle after bogeying the 11th, 12th and 15th, but the four birdies he had in the first 10 holes built a sizable cushion that allowed him to enjoy the final few holes.
It has been a great start to the year for the Columbian who has not finished outside of the top ten on the PGA Tour in his first three events of 2010.
It was another great week for the Brits with Justin Rose and Paul Casey finishing 3rd and tied 4th respectively. This is another great sign that European golf is as strong as ever on both sides of the pond.
You can view the final leaderboard here.
Jack Expects Tiger To Be Back At Augusta
Jack Nicklaus expects Tiger Woods to make his long awaited return to golf in time for The Masters in April.
It looks like Woods will make his return at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando on the 25th March, a course that is just minutes away from his house in Florida. This makes sense as Woods can use this tournament to get back into the swing of things (excuse the punn).
Nicklaus said: “I’ve been very non-committal because it’s none of my business. But my guess as a golfer is he’s going to try to play the Masters. It would surprise me if he didn’t. I suspect he will play something before Augusta too.”
As much as I want Woods to return at his very best, I just worry that having a combined 15 months out of professional golf, and just 8 months tournament play in between, will cause Woods to struggle to regain the dominance that he has showed over the past decade.
Only time will tell I guess.
Day 3 Of The Honda Classic
Nothing really changed at the top of the leaderboard after round 3 of The Honda Classic. Camilo Villegas still has the lead after shooting a 3 under 67 to be 3 shots clear at the top of the leaderboard on -11.
Vijay Singh lies tied for second place with Nathan Green on 8 under after shooting 69 and 67 respectively. Anthony Kim continues his frustrating season with a 3 over par 73 which has given him very little chance of taking the title, unless of course he shoots really low and Villegas trips up.
My guess though after the disappointment of the Accenture World Match Play, is that Villegas will run away with this one…
You can view the whole leaderboard here.
Noh Seung-yul Wins In Malaysia
South Korean teenager Noh Seung-yul edged out veteran compatriot K J Choi by one shot to win the Maybank Malaysian Open today following a dramatic finale at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.
The 18 year old holed a four foot birdie putt on the 18th green to card a four under par 68 after playing a superb chip shot from the edge of the practice putting green behind a hospitality marquee.
Choi, 39, had earlier birdied the last to card a three under par 69 and post the clubhouse lead at 13 under.
“I first won on the Asian Tour in 2008 but I struggled last year, but to win early in this year I am very happy,” said Noh, who now holds card in Asia, Europe and Japan.
“Coincidentally, when I was playing a practise round with K J earlier in the week he asked me when my last win was and when I told him it was in 2008 he said ‘isn’t it about time you won?’
“For it to happen this week, I couldn’t think of a better situation.”
Joint overnight leaders Rhys Davies (71) and Kiradech Aphibarnrat (71) and Søren Hansen (70) all missed lengthy birdie putts at the last to finish tied for third at 12 under par.
Danny Willett posted a second consecutive 68 over the weekend to claim sixth, a further shot off the pace, while Swede Johan Edfors (71) and Asian number one Thongchai Jaidee (71) finished tied for seventh at 10 under par.
Despite missing out on the title, Choi was not too despondent, instead, choosing to praise his young compatriot.
“I’m not disappointed at all,” he said. “I played well and tried my best. Hats off to Seung-yul – he played well and had a fantastic round. I’m happy with how my game has improved and I have a lot to look forward to.
“Noh played brilliantly and I have no complaints. He is one of the most powerful young talents coming up. The way that he controls and hits the ball is like no other and I think he has a very bright future.”
Source: EuropeanTour.com
Day 2 Of The Honda Classic
A star studied field heads the leaderboard after round 2 of The Honda Classic.
Camilo Villegas continues his great run of form shooting a 66 for the second consecutive day, this took him to the top of the leaderboard at 8 under.
Joining Villegas at the top of the leaderboard is Anthony Kim who has showed glimpses of form lately. Kim shot a joint best round of the day 64.
Vijay Singh shot 66 to be a shot back at 7 under, and Jerry Kelly shot 65 to be alone in fourth at 6 under. It is also great to see Graeme McDowell up there at 5 under – come on my son!!!
You can see the full leaderboard here.
Things Are Hotting Up In Malaysia
KJ Choi has moved within 1 shot of Rhys Davies at the Maybank Malaysian Open at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.
It is nice to see the Korean player back to form after poor performances so far this year, for Choi’s standards anyway. Choi had four birdies over a flawless opening ten holes where is putter was as red hot.
Davies earlier shot a 3 under round on day 2 to take a two shot lead, this was impressive considering the rain delays that caused major disruption to the players.
You can view the live leaderboard here.
Day 1 Of The Honda Classic
The round 1 success story has come from Alexandre Rocha who is the world’s 711th-ranked player.
Rocha needed to survive a pre-qualifier, then a Monday qualifier and a playoff, just to get into the field at PGA National this week. He shot a fantastic 4 under 66, just 1 shot of the -5 lead held by Nathan Green and Michael Connell.
Brits playing well include Graeme McDowell and Oliver Wilson on -4, Paul Casey on -3 and Lee Westwood on -1.
I had to add this picture of Sergio Garcia as well, it did make me laugh!
You can see the full leaderboard here.
Ian Poulter Wins February Golfer Of The Month
Unsurprisingly after his great performance at the Accenture World Match Play, Ian Poulter has been named The European Tour’s Golfer of the Month for February.
Not only did Poulter win the WGC title, his first on the PGA Tour, but it also spring boarded him to a career high fifth in the world. It is also the first time Poulter has taken the ‘Golfer of the Month’ award.
“It felt amazing to win a World Golf Championship and I certainly felt very comfortable and in control on the golf course in Arizona,” he said. “It was also great to move up to five in the world and to be recognised with the Golfer of the Month award at the end of it all capped a truly great week for me.
“I worked a lot on my game in the off season, particularly on the shots from 100 yards and in, and I think that paid off – I certainly felt like I came out strongly at the start of the year. I feel my game has been in pretty good shape for some time but it was just about ironing out some of the small creases – that has been the thing that has made the big difference.”
You can read the full article here.
McIlroy’s Golf Swing
I first saw Rory McIlroy play in his first professional event, the British Masters at the Belfry in 2007.
At this stage there was a lot of hype in the golfing world, particularly after his fantastic performance at The Open. I caught up with his group at the 10th tee. Now for those of you that have been to the Belfry will know that the 10th is a lot tighter than it looks on TV, probably 10-15 yards wide with a tree to the right and the lake on the left. As with any great risk and reward hole, anything less than perfection will land you in all sorts of trouble.
The tee was forward and the hole was playing 250 yards. McIlroy got out his 3 wood and hit a 30 yard cut to within 10 feet, it was the most incredible shot I have ever seen. He did miss the eagle putt but a despondent birdie is something I would like to experience more often.
I followed him around for the next 8 holes and his confidence on hitting any type of shot was pretty cool to watch. When McIlroy asked the ever charismatic Bob Torrance for a golf lesson Torrance simply replied “‘Don’t touch it. Leave it alone.”
Anyway enough of me rambling, below is a video of his golf swing so you can see it in slow-mo.
