Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Golf Events from the Weekend 26th July 2015



It was another excellent weekend on the Major Professional Golfer Tours from around the world and this week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup headed north of the boarder to Canada for the RBC Canadian Open and it was played on the Glen Abbey GC, Oakville, Ontario, Canada (which has hosted the tournament many times in the past). It carried a large prize purse of US $5,800,000 for the taking. Tim Clark (RSA) was the defending champion and was keen to defend his title. Tim Wilkinson (NZL) and Steven Alker (NZL) and the Amateur, James Beale (NZL) (Amateur) (he gained a start because he won the 2014 Canadian Amateur) all gained starts as well. And it was the golfer by the name of Jason Day (Australia) who scored rounds of 68-4, 66-6, 69-3 and a final round of 68-4 for a 72 hole total of 271-17 and he won by a single shot for his fourth win of his USPGA Tour Career to date and his second this season having won the Farmers Insurance Open in February. He earned US $1,044,000 for the win and moved to sixth position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $4,140,205 earned from the fourteen events he has played to date this season so far. Jordan Speith (USA) still leads that list with US $9,170,215 earned from the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far. Jason Day (Australia) also earned 500 FedEx Cup Points for the win and moved to fourth position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 1,793 points earned from the fourteen events he has played to date this season so far and he is 1,970 points behind the current leader of the list who is Jordan Spieth (USA) who has earned 3,763 points from the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far. From the fourteen events Jason Day (Australia) has played to date this season so far he has made twelve cuts and achieved seven top ten finishes which includes his win this week and his win at the Farmers Insurance Open in February. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his second round 66-6 and his final round 68-4 which he birdied his last three holes to win!! 

Jason Day (Australia) played a very good final round of 68-4 which included a front nine of 34-1 which included birdies on the par five, second hole, par four, fifth hole and par three, seventh hole but he had poor bogeys on the par four, eight hole and par four ninth hole and he made the turn at minus fourteen and was one shot behind the leader. Bubba Watson (USA) went out in 36+1 and made the turn at minus twelve and was three shots behind the leader. David Hearn (Canada) who was the 54 hole leader went out in 35 even par and made the turn at minus fifteen and was leading by a single shot. Jim Furyk (USA) went out in 33-2 and made the turn at minus thirteen and was two shots behind the leader. 

Jason Day (Australia) played holes ten to fourteen in even par which included five pars in a row and remained at minus fourteen and was still one shot behind the leader. Bubba Watson (USA) played holes ten to fourteen in even par which included a bogey on the par four, tenth hole and a birdie on the par five, thirteenth hole and he remained at minus twelve and was still three shots behind the leader. David Hearn (Canada) played holes ten to fourteen in even par which included a poor bogey on the par three, twelfth hole where he lost his tee shot to the right and failed to get up and down for his par but he got the shot straight back on the par five, thirteenth hole where he made a good birdie four and he remained at minus fifteen and was still leading by a single shot. Jim Furyk (USA) played holes ten to fourteen in one under par which included a birdie on the par five, thirteenth hole where he hit the green in two shots and two putted and he moved to minus fourteen and was now only one shot behind the leader.  

Jason Day (Australia) played holes fifteen to seventeen in two under par which included birding the par five, sixteenth hole where he hit the green in two shots and two putted and also birding the par four, seventeenth hole where he holed a twenty footer!! And he moved to minus sixteen and was now leading by one shot heading to the par five, seventy second hole. Bubba Watson (USA) played holes fifteen to seventeen in three under par which included three straight birdies in a row that included a birdie on the par four, seventeenth hole where he drove it over 370 yards and then chipped and putted for his birdie three!! He moved to minus fifteen and now was only one shot behind the leader heading the par five, seventy second hole. David Hearn (Canadian) played holes fifteen to seventeen in even par and that included making three straight pars and he remained at minus fifteen and was now one shot behind the leader heading to the par five, seventy second hole. Jim Furyk (USA) played holes fifteen to seventeen in even par and that included making three straight pars and he remained at minus fourteen and now was two shots behind the leader heading to the par five, seventy second hole.
 
Jason Day (Australia) acknowledges the gallery surrounding the 72nd Green
Jim Furyk (USA) who was playing a few groups ahead of the final group could only manage a par at the par five, seventy second hole and he finished the 72 holes at minus fourteen and finished three shots behind the winner. Jason Day (Australia) who was playing in the group ahead of the final group tried to drive over the last fairway bunker on the left hand side to make the hole shorter. He didn’t realise the wind was in his face and his drive found the last fairway bunker on the left hand side. He laid up for his second shot which left him just over 100 yards for his third. After discussing the second shot with his caddie, teacher and mentor, Colin Swatton he played his third shot with his short wedge and it landed on the green pin high about twenty feet left of the pin. He then was faced with a birdie putt that would more than likely win the RBC Canadian Open if he could hole it!! He was also faced with a similar putt just six days ago at the 144th Open Championship at St. Andrews to get into a playoff and he left that putt in the jaws of the cup short!! Jim Nantz (USA) who is CBS Sports Anchor man suggested that might be going through his mind at the moment. Before Jason Day (Australia) putted for the birdie he gave the Canadian Armed Service Woman the flag to hold which showed what a classy person he is and the huge gallery surrounding the green gave a large round of applause!! Then Jason Day (Australia) put an awesome stroke on the putt and it took the left to right break to perfection and rolled right into the centre of the cup for his birdie four and he pumped his fist in the air and displayed emotion on his face knowing that he had more than likely won the RBC Canadian Open!! He scored 34-3 on the back nine which included birding the last three holes and finished the 72 holes at minus seventeen to win by a single stroke!! He got a fist pump and hug from his caddie, Colin Swatton then his wife, Ellie gave him a hug and kiss and he picked up his young son, Dash to give him a hug as well. Now he would have to wait and see if his seventeen under par score would hold up to win or would he have to go to a playoff hole?
 
Jason Day (Australia) displays great emotion after birding the 72nd hole to win!!
David Hearn (Canada) who was playing in the final group with Bubba Watson (USA) hit a very good drive down the par five, seventy second hole which landed in the right side of the fairway. After watching Jason Day (Australia) in the group ahead hole his birdie putt he knew he had to make an eagle three to force a playoff. He chose a four iron from just over 200 yards and he would have to fade it into the back right pin placement if he was going to have any chance of getting it close. But he pulled it slightly and it landed over the water hazard and it rolled into the left hand green side bunker. Walking up to the green he got a huge standing ovation from the Canadian Gallery surrounding the green because he knew he had almost pulled off the win.  It has been sixty one years since a Canadian Golfer had won their National Open when Pat Fletcher (Canada) won it in 1954.  David Hearn (Canada) now had one last chance to force a playoff with Jason Day (Australia) and that was to hole his green side bunker shot for an eagle. He played a good shot but it was never going to go in and came up ten feet short of the hole. He then lipped out his birdie putt and tapped in for his par five to finish the 72 holes at minus fifteen and he finished two shots behind the winner. 

Bubba Watson (USA) who was playing in the final group with David Hearn (Canada) hit a brilliant drive off the par five, seventy second tee which faded down the right hand side of the fairway back to the centre over 350 yards out and only left him an eight iron for his second shot to the green. He played a very good second shot with his eight iron from just over 180 yards and it landed next to the pin at the back right of the green but rolled through into the rough at the back of the green into a horrible lie!! After discussing the shot over with his caddie, Ted Scott he chose to chip it on with his fairway wood and almost chipped it in to force a playoff with Jason Day (Australia) but it rolled away to the left at the hole and he tapped in for his birdie four and finished the 72 holes at minus sixteen and finished one shot behind the winner. It was all in front of his Wife, Angie who is a native Canadian and their son, Caleb who were watching in the gallery. 

Jason Day (Australia) had now had it confirmed that he had won the 2015 RBC Canadian Open and he got a huge hug and kiss from his wife, Ellie and hug from his young son, Dash as well!! Then he was interviewed by CBS Sports on course reporter, Peter Kostis and told him “He got his birdie putt to the hole this time because last week at the 144th Open Championship he left his birdie putt six inches short to miss out on the playoff. There is no better feeling then coming down the last few holes in the heat of the battle and to be able to hole the putt for birdie on the final green to win the golf tournament!!” “I mean it was just back and forth all day, I’m just so glad I got that putt in, it just feels so good right now” Peter Kostis then asked him if he was having flashbacks to the putt he left short on the seventy second hole at the Open Championship last week and he replied “The first thing I said to myself is that I have to get it to the hole this time, that is what I said in my head, I gave myself an opportunity out there and I took it which was great” “And you know to be able to do that it gives me a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season, but you know right now I am just going to try and soak it all in as much as possible, you know I played great all week and I am very happy with how I performed” and then Peter Kostis asked him how is his health now after he suffered severe vertigo at the US Open Championship in June and he replied “I feel good, really good and I am going to take next week off,  the last two weeks have been a big grind for me but it is all worth it, um all the hard work I put into it I mean this is the fourth win of my career and hopefully I will have many more, but right now I am, so proud to be the Canadian Open Champion!! Then Peter Kostis said this is a very prestigious title and congratulations on earning it today and he replied “Thanks mate, Cheers”.  
 
Jason Day (Australia) on the left, his wife, Ellie on the right and their son Dash in the middle pose with the RBC Canadian Open Trophy he won!!
Jason Day (Australia) displayed some great intestinal fortitude in the third round after starting the back nine bogey, double bogey and falling to minus seven and seemingly out of contention to contend for the title, he then went on to birdie six of his last seven holes and finished the third round on minus thirteen only two shots off the lead and in the final round after playing the first seven holes in minus three and moving to sixteen under par and into the lead he finished the front nine with two consecutive bogeys to fall back to minus fourteen with the back nine to play. Then he had six consecutive pars to begin the back nine which included holing a gutsy left to right down hill fifteen footer on the par three, twelfth hole!! And as I mentioned above he birdied the last three holes for the win in dramatic fashion!! He later said “that he now has the never say die attitude that even if he is last in the field he will never throw the towel in which he believes helped him to win this week”. 

Jason Day (Australia) (born 12 November 1987) is an Australian professional golfer who is a member on the USPGA Tour. He has had some notable results in the major championships where he has been a runner-up on three occasions, with two of these coming consecutively at the 2011 Masters and the 2011 U.S. Open. In June 2011, Jason Day (Australia) broke into the world's top ten for the first time in his career, rising to world number nine after his runner-up finish at the U.S. Open. In February 2014, Jason Day (Australia) won his first WGC title, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, and rose to world number four, his highest world ranking position to date so far. Jason Day (Australia) was born in Beaudesert, Queensland. His father, Alvin, was an Australian and his mother Dening was born in the Philippines and moved to Australia in the early 1980s. He has two siblings, Yanna and Kim. His father took him to Beaudesert Golf Club and enrolled him as a junior member just past his sixth birthday. He was allowed to play six holes a day as a junior. At the age of eight his family moved to Rockhampton and during this period he began to win events in the surrounding districts. Alvin Day died of stomach cancer when Jason was 12. Jason Day's (Australia) mother sent him to school at Kooralbyn, this is just a 30-minute drive south of Beaudesert. Kooralbyn International School had a golf course attached. Later he went to Hills International College where they have a Golf Academy at the behest of his coach, Col Swatton, who had moved there when Kooralbyn school closed down.

Jason Day (Australia) borrowed a book about Tiger Woods (USA) from his roommate and it inspired him to improve his golf by practicing in the early morning, at lunch-time and in the evening. He used the book's reports of Tiger Woods' (USA) scores as his benchmark for improvement and as a reachable standard. His first big win was at the age of 13 in a 2000 Australian Masters junior event on the Gold Coast where he won with scores of 87, 78, 76 and 76. As an amateur, Jason Day (Australia) was twice awarded the Australian Junior Order of Merit. He finished seventh and was the leading amateur at the Queensland Open. Jason Day (Australia) won the Australian Boys' Amateur in 2004. His amateur success extended to the United States where he won the Boys 15–17 division at the 2004 Callaway World Junior Championship and was runner-up in the 2005 Porter Cup. He was a member of the Golf Australia National Squad. Jason Day (Australia) turned professional in July 2006 after winning the Green Jacket at the NEC Master of the Amateurs, signing with TaylorMade and Adidas and immediately began playing USPGA Tour events, principally through sponsors' exemptions. He made the cut in five of his first six USPGA Tour events as a pro with a best finish of eleventh at the Reno-Tahoe Open and with official winnings of over US $160,000. He entered USPGA Tour qualifying, or Q-School. Placed in the second of three rounds, he tied for first in his section of the second round, advancing to the Q-School finals. However, in the six-round finals he played poorly, shooting fifteen shots higher than the score needed to qualify. Accordingly, he failed to earn his 2007 USPGA Tour card but earned conditional status on the Nationwide Tour (Now Web.com Tour) for 2007. Jason Day (Australia) won his first Nationwide Tour (Now Web.com Tour) event in July 2007 at the Legend Financial Group Classic, becoming the youngest man to win on any of the USPGA Tour's three tours. The win jumped him to eighth on the Nationwide Tour's money list. He ended up finishing fifth on the money list to earn his USPGA Tour card for 2008. He had a mediocre season, but had conditional status for 2009. A second-place finish at the Puerto Rico Open helped Jason Day (Australia) retain his card for 2010 and he finished 69th in the money list.

In May 2010, he became the youngest Australian to win a USPGA Tour event, winning the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Jason Day (Australia) gained entry into his first ever major championship at the 2010 Open Championship after Greg Norman (Australia) withdrew. Jason Day (Australia) went on to make the cut and finish in a tie for 60th place. In August 2010, Jason Day (USA) made his first appearance at the PGA Championship where a 66 on Saturday helped him to finish seven-under-par for the tournament and earn his first top-10 in a Major Championship. This run of form continued during the FedEx Cup playoff season where Jason Day (Australia) enjoyed top-five finishes at the first two playoff events to qualify for the season ending Tour Championship. He would go on to finish tied for seventeenth at East Lake Golf Club and ended the 2010 season ranked twenty first on the PGA Tour money list. At the 2011 Masters Tournament, Jason Day (Australia) birdied the last two holes, but came up two strokes short of eventual winner Charl Schwartzel (RSA). Jason Day (Australia) tied for second with Adam Scott (Australia) and at −12 set the Masters record for the lowest score by a first time participant. This was Jason Day's (Australia) best performance in a major championship and throughout the final round Jason Day (Australia) was tied for the lead on a number of occasions before eventually finishing in a tie for second after Charl Schwartzel (RSA) made four consecutive birdies to win the tournament.  

In June 2011, Jason Day (Australia) participated at Congressional for the 2011 U.S. Open Championship, his maiden appearance in a U.S Open Championship. Following his successful run at the Masters, Jason Day (Australia) achieved consecutive second-place finishes in the majors, this time finishing alone in second, some eight strokes behind runaway leader Rory McIlroy (NIR). He shot the equal lowest round of the week on Saturday, a 65, to jump up the leaderboard into a tie for third after round three. On Sunday, although he did not challenge for the lead, he was the best of the rest of the field as the U.S.Open Championship was dominated by wire-to-wire winner Rory McIlroy (NIR). As a result of his major performances, Jason Day (Australia) moved into the Official World Golf Ranking top-10 for the first time in his career at ninth. Despite not winning a tournament during 2011, Jason Day (Australia) ended the season ranked ninth on the USPGA Tour money list. Jason Day (Australia) contended in a major once again at the 2013 Masters Tournament when he shot rounds of 70 and 68 to take a one shot lead over Fred Couples (USA) going to the weekend. In the third round, Jason Day (Australia) was tied for the lead through 16 holes but bogeyed the last two holes to shoot a 73 and finish two shots behind Brandt Snedeker (USA) and Ángel Cabrera (Argentina). During the final round, Jason Day (Australia) got off to a quick start by going birdie-eagle to take a one shot lead. Jason Day (Australia) would later go on to birdie 13, 14, and 15 to take a one shot lead with three holes to play. However, he bogeyed 16 and 17 and just missed a birdie putt at 18 that would have tied the lead. He shot a 70 and finished two shots back in third place behind Adam Scott (Australia), and Angel Cabrera (Argentina). Jason Day (Australia) finished as a runner-up for the third time in a major championship at the 2013 U.S. Open Championship at Merion Golf Club. He finished in a tie for second alongside Phil Mickelson (USA), two strokes behind Justin Rose (England). Jason Day (Australia) tied the lead with a birdie at the tenth but bogeys at 11, 14, and 18 would prevent him from winning his first major championship. It was the second time in his career, Jason Day (Australia) had finished as a runner-up at the U.S. Open, and Jason Day (Australia) was also the only player in 2013 to hold a lead on the back nine Sunday at both majors. He also tied for the lowest cumulative score in all four majors in 2013, with fellow Aussie Adam Scott (Australia) at +2.

In February 2014, Jason Day (Australia) won his first World Golf Championship event, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, after a final in which Victor Dubuisson (France) won the last two holes to tie, then twice scrambled halves after missing greens at the extra holes before Jason Day (Australia) finally secured victory. The win lifted Jason Day (Australia) to fourth in the world rankings. In February 2015, Jason Day (Australia) won his third USPGA Tour event and his seventh title as a pro, winning the Farmers Insurance Open with a score of 279 (−9) after prevailing in a four-way playoff over Harris English (USA), J.B. Holmes (USA) and Scott Stallings (USA). He won at the second playoff hole with a par while J.B Holmes (USA) made bogey, after Harris English (USA) and Scott Stallings (USA) were eliminated at the first hole. The victory lifted Jason Day (Australia) back to fourth in the Official World Golf Ranking. During the second round of the 2015 U.S. Open Championship, Jason Day (Australia) collapsed on his 18th hole, the 9th hole on the course, having started the day on the 10th. He was very slow to get back up and was shaking and wobbly. It was later revealed that this was due to vertigo, a diagnosis Jason Day (Australia) had received from his doctor a month prior. However, the very next day, when he wasn't even sure if he would play, Jason Day (Australia) ended the third round tied for the lead. He would finish the tournament tied for ninth. 
 
Jason Day (Australia) on the left kisses his wife, Ellie on the right while they both hold the RBC Canadian Open Trophy he won!!
At the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews, Jason Day (Australia) entered the final round as one of the 54 hole co-leaders and shot a bogey free 70 to finish at 14 under par and one stroke outside of the playoff. He had a putt on the 72nd hole for birdie to join the playoff but could not convert. However the tie for fourth represented Jason Day's (Australia) best finish at the Open Championship to date so far and was the sixth time he had finished in the top 5 of a major without yet winning one. The following week at the RBC Canadian Open in Oakville, Canada, Jason Day (Australia) outlasted Bubba Watson (USA) and hometown favourite David Hearn (Canada) to win the tournament, his second tour victory of the season (As I mentioned above). Jason Day (USA) married Ellie Harvey, of Lucas, Ohio, in October 2009. The couple live in Westerville, Ohio. The couple have one son, Dash, born in 2012 and are expecting their second one later this year. In November 2013, eight of Jason Day's (Australia) relatives in the Philippines, including his grandmother, died during Typhoon Haiyan. He has also achieved nine top tens in Major Championships in his career so far to date and also achieved four top tens in WGC – Events with winning the Cadillac Match Play in 2014. And he has represented Team International in the 2011 and 2013 Presidents Cup Matches against Team USA. Let’s hope he can achieve his maiden Major Championship win at the final Major Championship of the 2015 season which is the PGA Championship next month. I wish him all the best for the remaining events in the 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season heading into the FedEx Cup Playoffs in a month’s time. 

Coming in solo second position at 272-16 after 72 holes was Bubba Watson (USA); he earned US $626,400 for his efforts and moved to second position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $4,724,518 earned from the thirteen events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 300 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to second position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 2,043 FedEx Cup points earned from the thirteen events he has played to date this season so far. From the thirteen events he has played to date this season so far he has made eleven cuts and achieved six top ten finishes which includes the one this past week and his two wins where his first one came at the WGC – HSBC Championship last November and the second one came at the Travelers Championship last month. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the mid to high 60s especially his 67-5 in the second round that included two eagles!! But he will be disappointed with his front nine 37+2 in the first round and his front nine 36+1 in the final round!! It was another fine performance by the two time Major Champion and I feel his third Major Championship win isn’t too far away and just might happen at the PGA Championship next month at Whistling Straits where he lost in a playoff in 2010 to Martin Kaymer (Germany). Bubba Watson (USA) has won eight USPGA Tour events in his career to date so far and here they are from the first to the most recent: 2010 Travelers Championship; 2011 Farmers Insurance Open; 2011 Zurich Classic of New Orleans; 2012 Masters Tournament (Maiden Major Championship); 2014 Northern Trust Open; 2014 Masters Tournament (Second Major Championship), 2014 WGC – HSBC Champions and the 2015 Travelers Championship. Gerry Lester "Bubba" Watson, Jr. (USA) (born November 5, 1978) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. One of the few left-handed golfers on tour, he is a multiple major champion, having won the Masters Tournament in 2012 and 2014. In February 2015, Bubba Watson (USA) reached a career-high 2nd place in the Official World Golf Ranking. Bubba Watson (USA) is among the longest drivers on the USPGA Tour; in 2007 he had an average drive of 315.2 yards (288.2 m) and can hit a ball over 350 yards (320 m), capable of generating a ball speed up to 194 mph (312 km/h).  Bubba Watson has also achieved four top ten finishes in Major Championships which include his two wins at the 2012 and 2014 Masters Tournament. He has also achieved eight top ten finishes in WGC – Events which includes his win at the 2014 WGC – HSBC Champions. He has also played on the last three U.S. Ryder Cup Teams in 2010, 2012 and 2014 and the 2011 win U.S. Presidents Cup Team. Let’s hope he can continue this form on for the rest of the 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season. 

Coming in solo third position at 273-15 after 72 holes was David Hearn (Canada); he earned US $394,400 for his efforts and moved to fortieth position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,735,549 earned from the twenty sixth events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 190 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to thirty eighth position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 890 points earned from the twenty six events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty six events he has played to date this season so far he has made sixteen cuts and achieved four top ten finishes which includes the one this past week. He will be happy with his first, second and third rounds this week that were all in the mid to low 60s especially his second round 64-7 which was blemish free!! But he will be disappointed with his final round 72 even par that was never going to be good enough to win his maiden USPGA Tour event and also he will be disappointed he wasn’t able to convert more birdie chances he had midway through his round because had he converted them he could well of been holding the trophy and he would of been the first Canadian Golfer to win the Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher (Canada) in 1954 which was sixty one years ago!!  But it was good to see him have another top five finish having lost in a playoff in earlier July to Danny Lee (NZL). I feel it is only a matter of time before he wins his maiden USPGA Tour event. David Hearn (Canada) (born June 17, 1979) is a Canadian professional golfer who plays on the USPGA Tour. He has also played on the Nationwide Tour, Canadian Tour and the Asian Tour. David Hearn (Canada) was born in Brampton, Ontario. He attended the University of Wyoming, where he played on the golf team. He was a member of the winning Canadian team at the 2001 Four Nations Cup tournament, and played out of the Brantford Golf and Country Club as an amateur. David Hearn (Canada) turned professional late in 2001. He was named the Canadian Tour Rookie of the Year in 2002. In the 2008 U.S. Open Championship, he missed the cut by two strokes. David Hearn (Canada) made his first cut in a major championship at the 2013 U.S. Open, finishing tied for 21st. In June 2013, David Hearn (Canada) finished in a tie for second at the John Deere Classic, after losing in a three-man playoff, which also included Zach Johnson (USA), to Jordan Spieth (USA). After all three players had pared the first and second extra holes, David Hearn (Canada) had two opportunities at the third and fourth extra holes to seal the win, but could not hole either of the makeable putts. The playoff ended at the fifth extra hole when Jordan Spieth (Canada) made par to David Hearn (Canada) and Zach Johnson's (USA) bogeys. This was David Hearn's (Canada) best finish to date on the USPGA Tour at the John Deere Classic in 2013 and also at the Greenbrier Classic in early July this year, beating his previous tie for fifth at the 2011 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. David Hearn (Canada) lost another sudden death playoff in July 2015, at the Greenbrier Classic. He had a putt at the 72nd hole to win the tournament outright but left the 20 footer short of the cup. In the four man playoff, Danny Lee (NZL) and David Hearn (Canada) holed birdie putts at the first extra hole to eliminate Kevin Kisner (USA) and Robert Streb (USA) who both missed the green at the par three. Then on the second extra hole, David Hearn (Canada) found trouble off his drive and could only bogey the par five, allowing Danny Lee (NZL) to claim victory with a two putt par. This was David Hearn's (Canada) second runner-up finish on the USPGA Tour, losing both times in playoffs. At the RBC Canadian Open in July 2015, David Hearn (Canada) held the 54 hole lead at 15 under par, with a two stroke advantage over Jason Day (Australia) and Bubba Watson (USA). He entered the final round with a chance to become the first home winner of the event in 61 years and win his first USPGA Tour event, but finished the day in solo third behind Jason Day (Australia), the winner, and Bubba Watson (Canada) after a level par round of 72 (As I mentioned above).Let’s hope David Hearn (Canada) can have more top ten finishes in the weeks ahead and perhaps achieve his maiden USPGA Tour win this season? I wish him all the best for the rest of 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season.  

Coming in solo fourth position at 274-14 after 72 holes was Jim Furyk (USA); he earned US $278,400 for his efforts and moved to nineteen position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,697,582 from the fourteen events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 135 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to nineteenth position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,193 points earned from the fourteen events he has played to date this season so far. From the fourteen events he has played to date this season so far he has made twelve cuts and achieved five top ten finishes which includes the one this week and his win at the RBC Heritage in April. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his first and third round 68-4s and his third round was blemish free as well!! But he will be a little disappointed he was only able to make one birdie in his final nine holes when he had a lot of chances to make more. Jim Furyk (USA) has won seventeen times to date so far on the USPGA Tour and here are his seventeen wins from the first to the most recent: 1995 Las Vegas Invitational; 1996 United Airlines Hawaiian Open; 1998 Las Vegas Invitational; 1999 Las Vegas Invitational; 2000 Doral – Ryder Open; 2001 Mercedes Championship; 2002 Memorial Tournament; 2003 U.S. Open Championship (Maiden Major Championship); 2003 Buick Open; 2005 Cialis Western Open; 2006 Wachovia Championship; 2006 Canadian Open; 2007 Canadian Open; 2010 Transitions Championship; 2010 Verizon Heritage; 2010 The Tour Championship and the 2015 RBC Heritage. He has also achieved twenty two top ten finishes in Major Championships (Which includes his maiden US Open Championship win in 2003). And he has also achieved seventeen top ten finishes in WGC Events but it is amazing to think he has not won one yet. Let’s hope he can achieve more top ten finishes in the 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season and perhaps win his eighteenth event which could be the PGA Championship (Final Major of the season and “Glories last shot”)  next month at Whistling Straits? I wish him all the best for the 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season.

Rounding out the top six in tied for fifth position at 275-13 after 72 holes was Stewart Cink (USA); he earned US $220,400 for his efforts and moved to 121st position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $661,655 earned from the twenty events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 105 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 103rd position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 494 points earned from the twenty events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty events he has played to date this season so far he has made fourteen cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came this past week. He will be happy with his first, third and final rounds that were all in the 60s especially his final round 66-6 which was blemish free!! But he will be mad with his second round 73+1 that stopped him from having a chance to win. But it was great to see him have a top ten finish and get back to his form he displayed in 2009 when he won the Open Championship. Stewart Ernest Cink (USA) (born May 21, 1973) is an American professional golfer who won the 2009 Open Championship. He spent over 40 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 2004 to 2009. Stewart Cink (USA) was born in Huntsville, Alabama, and grew up in nearby Florence, where he attended Bradshaw High School. After completing high school in 1991, he graduated from Georgia Tech in Atlanta in 1995 with a degree in Management, where he played golf for the Yellow Jackets; he turned professional in 1995. After winning the Mexican Open and three events on the Nike Tour (now the Web.com Tour) in 1996, Stewart Cink (USA) joined the USPGA Tour in 1997 and won the Canon Greater Hartford Open in his rookie season. Stewart Cink (USA) performed consistently on the Tour over the next few years, picking up another win at the 2000 MCI Classic. Until his victory in the Open Championship in 2009, 2004 was his most successful season, with a fifth-place finish on the money list and wins at the MCI Heritage and at the WGC-NEC Invitational, which is one of the World Golf Championships events. On February 24, 2008, Stewart Cink (USA) was the runner-up in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship played in Marana, Arizona, falling 8 & 7 in the 36-hole final to top-ranked Tiger Woods (USA). In June 2008, he reached his highest ever ranking, sixth, in the Official World Golf Rankings with his victory at the Travelers Championship in suburban Hartford. On July 19, 2009, Stewart Cink (USA) won his first major title at the 138th Open Championship at Turnberry, Scotland, defeating 59 year-old, five-time champion Tom Watson (USA) by six strokes in a four-hole playoff. Stewart Cink (USA) had birdied the 72nd hole while Tom Watson (USA) bogeyed, which forced the playoff. Stewart Cink (USA) has struggled on the USPGA Tour since winning the 2009 Open Championship, but is exempt through 2014 as a result of his Open Championship win. Each fall, Stewart Cink (USA) co-hosts the East Lake Invitational with Billy Andrade (USA) at East Lake Golf Club which benefits the East Lake Foundation. Stewart Cink (USA) and his wife, Lisa, have two sons, Connor and Reagan. Stewart Cink (USA) is a Christian. He has also achieved nine top ten finishes in Major Championships which includes his win at the 138th Open Championship. He has also achieved eleven top ten finishes in WGC Events that includes his win at the 2004 WGC - NEC Invitational. He has also represented Team USA on four Presidents Cup Teams that include in 2000, 2005, 2007 and 2009 and Team USA won all of them. And he has represented Team USA in five Ryder Cups which include 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 (Team USA won) and 2010. Let’s hope he can have more top ten finishes in the weeks ahead and I wish him all the best for the remaining 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season. 

The final player to tie for fifth position was Tom Hoge (USA); he too earned US $220,400 for his efforts and moved to 139th position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $563,469 earned from the twenty three events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 105 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 141st position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 344 points earned from the twenty three events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty three events he has played to date this season so far he has made twelve cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came this very week!! He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all under par especially his final round 66-6!! And he needs another top five finish in the next three events he is likely to gain starts in before the FedEx Cup Playoffs start (He needs to be at the 125th position or better on the FedEx Cup points list after the final regular season at the end of August which is the Wyndham Championship) to qualify for the first playoff event the following week at The Barclays. But he can take a lot of confidence out of this finish moving forward. Tom Hoge (USA) was born on May 25, 1989 (age 26), Statesville, North Carolina, United States. Tom Hoge (USA) gained his 2014/15 USPGA Tour card by finishing thirty first position on the final 2014 Web.com Tour Priority Money List. Let’s hope he can have more top ten finishes in the remaining events of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season. I wish him all the best for the remaining 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season. 

The best New Zealand golfer in the field was Tim Wilkinson (NZL) and he scored a good first round of 72 even par with scoring a good front nine of  34-1 with his birdies coming on the par three, fourth hole and par four, sixth hole and his lone bogey came on the par four, fifth hole and then he scored a poor back nine of 38+1 with his lone birdie coming on the par five, eighteenth hole but he made poor bogeys on the par three, twelfth hole and par three, fifteenth hole. Then he scored a good second round of 70-2 which included a very good front nine of 33-2 with a brilliant eagle on the par four, first hole where he holed out his second shot!! And his lone birdie coming on the par five, second hole and his lone bogey on the par four, ninth hole and then he scored an average back nine of 37 even par  with his lone birdie coming on the par five, thirteenth hole and he had his lone bogey on the par four, tenth hole. He scored a very good third round of 69-3 which included a front nine of  34-1 which included birdies on the par four, first hole and par five, second hole but he had poor a bogey on the par four, eighth hole and he scored a good back nine of 35-2 with birdies on the par five, thirteenth hole, par five, sixteenth hole and par five, eighteenth and his lone bogey came on the par four, fourteenth hole and a very good final round of 68-4 which included a average front nine of 35 even par with a lone birdie on the par four, third hole but he had poor bogey on the par three, fourth hole and he scored a brilliant back nine of  33-4 which included birdies on the par five, thirteenth hole, par three, fifteenth hole, par five, sixteenth hole and par five, eighteenth hole for a 72 hole total of 279-9 to finish in tied for  twenty second position for his best finish of the season to date so far. He earned US $46,207 for his efforts and moved to 190th position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $171,654 earned from the twenty five events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned forty four FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to 176th position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 183 points earned from the twenty five events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty five events he has played to date this season so far he has made eight cuts and achieved no top ten finishes. He will be pleased with his four rounds this week that were all at par and under par especially his third and final rounds that were 69-3 and 68-4!! He can take some confidence out of this week moving forward because this finish was his best finish of his season to date so far. In the last twenty events he has played on the USPGA Tour he has only made five cuts. He now only has three more USPGA Tour events left that he is likely to gain starts in for the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season and he looks destined to head back to the Web.com Tour finals to try and regain his exempt status for the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season. Let’s hope he can make some more cuts in the remaining 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season and have some top ten finishes as well. 

The next best New Zealand golfer in the field was Steve Alker (NZL) and he scored rounds of  71-1 in the first round which was good and included a good front nine of 34-1 with his lone birdie coming on the par five, second hole, then he scored a good back nine of 37 even par with birdies on the par five, thirteenth hole and par five, sixteenth hole but he had poor bogeys on the par three, twelfth hole and par four, fourteenth hole and he scored a very good second round of 69-3 which included a average front nine of 34-1 with his lone birdie coming on the par five, second hole and he scored a very good back nine of 35-2 with a brilliant eagle on the par five, eighteenth hole and a lone birdie coming on the par four, seventeenth hole and a lone bogey on the par four, fourteenth hole. He scored a shocking third round of 77+5 which included a shocking front nine of 39+4 which included poor bogeys on the par four, first hole and par four, sixth hole and a terrible double bogey on the par three, fourth hole then he scored a poor back nine of 38+1 with bogeys coming on the par three, fifteenth hole and par four, seventeenth hole and his lone birdie came on the par five, sixteenth hole for a 54 hole total of 217+1 and he finished in the category of MDF (Made the cut but did not finish because over ninety players made the cut and the field had to be cut again for the final round which was the low seventy players and ties). He earned US $9,802 for his efforts for finishing in tied for eighty seventh position and moved to 177th  position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $236,862 earned from the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned one FedEx Cup points for his efforts and remained in 168th position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 216 points earned from the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far. From the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far he has made nine cuts and achieved no top ten finishes. He will be happy with his first round and second rounds that were both in under par especially his 69-3 in the second round!! But he will be angry with his third round 77+5 which stopped him getting to play the final round!! He will gain some confidence out of making this cut though but he now has only three more events he is likely to gain starts in for the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season and unless he performs some miracles and wins one them or has three top five finishes he will be heading to the 2015 Web.com Tour finals to try and regain status for the 2015/16 USPGA Tour season. Let’s hope he can make some cuts in the next few events he plays in, in the 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season and even achieve some top ten finishes.

Next best New Zealand Golfer in the field was James Beale (NZL) (Amateur) who earned his spot in the field by winning the 2014 Canadian Amateur Championship and he scored a poor first round of 75+3 which included a poor front nine of 36+1 with his lone birdie coming on the par four, third hole and he had poor bogeys on the par four, first hole and par four, sixth hole, then he scored a shocking back nine of 39+2 with his lone birdie coming on the par five, thirteenth hole and he had poor bogeys on the par four, eleventh hole, par four, seventeenth hole and par five, eighteenth hole. Then he scored a second round of 75+3 which included a poor front nine of 37+2 with his lone birdie coming on the par four, third hole and his lone bogey coming on the par four, first hole and he had a terrible double bogey on the par four, eighth hole and he scored a poor back nine of 38+1 with his lone birdie coming on the par four, fourteenth hole but he had poor bogeys on the par four, tenth hole and par three, twelfth hole for a 36 hole total of 150+6 and he missed the cut by four shots. He will be disappointed with his first round and second rounds of 75+3s. But he will be better for the experience of rubbing shoulders with the best players in the world.  

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads to the State of Virginia for the Quicken Loans National which is hosted by Tiger Woods (USA) and he is playing as well and the tournament raises money for injured U.S. Armed Forces Veterans  and it is played on the Robert Trent Jones GC, Gainesville, Virginia. It carries a huge prize purse of US $6,700,000 for the taking. Justin Rose (England) is the defending champion and will be keen to defend his title. Danny Lee (NZL), Tim Wilkinson (NZL) and Steven Alker (NZL) are likely to gain starts as well. It starts on Thursday 30th July. I will report back who won the trophy next week. 

So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list this week and coming in at Number One Position for the fiftieth first week of his fifth spell of his career and for the 91st week of his career in total is Rory McILroy (NIR) fresh off his tied for ninth position at the 115th U.S. Open Championship five weeks ago and his missed cut at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation eight weeks ago with 12.42 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Jordan Spieth (USA) who is fresh off his tied for fourth position at the 144th Open Championship one week ago and his win at the John Deere Classic two weeks ago with 11.54 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Bubba Watson (USA) who is fresh off his solo second position at the RBC Canadian Open this past week and his missed cut at the 144th Open Championship one week ago with 7.50 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Jason Day (Australia) who is fresh off his win at the RBC Canadian Open this past week and also his tied for fourth position at the 144th Open Championship one week ago with 7.03 Official World Ranking Points and rounding out the top five on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list standings this week is Dustin Johnson (USA) who is fresh off his tied for forty ninth position at the 144th Open Championship one week ago and his tied for second position at the 115th U.S. Open Championship five weeks ago with 6.66 Official World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) this week is in his nineteenth week of another spell of being the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world after his missed the cut one week ago at the 144th Open Championship. This week he remains in 69th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list standings with 2.01 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember on very fast greens you must stroke your putts to hole them!!
Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings, wikipedia.org, Google search engine, europeantour.com, golfchannel.com 

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Golf Events from the Weekend 19th July 2015



Well it was another amazing week on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world and this week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup and the European Tour and Race to Dubai and all the other Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world headed to Scotland for the 144th Open Championship which was the third Major Championship of the 2015 season. This year it was being stage at the home of golf at the St. Andrews GC (Old Course), Fife, Scotland. It carried a huge prize purse of £6,300,000 for the taking. All the top players in the world were there including Jordan Spieth (USA) who was looking for the third leg of the Calendar Grand Slam having already won the Masters Tournament in April at Augusta National in Georgia and the 115th U.S. Open Championship in June at Chambers Bay in Washington State as well as Bubba Watson (USA), Dustin Johnson (USA), Adam Scott (Australia), Rickie Fowler (USA), Zach Johnson (USA) and Ernie Els (RSA) to name a few. But the defending champion and four time Major Winner, Rory McILroy (NIR) has had to withdraw because of a severe ankle injury he suffered recently while playing a friendly game of soccer with his mates so there was a new Champion Golfer of the year to be crowned!! Ryan Fox (NZL) who qualified through a sectional qualifier in Scotland and Danny Lee (NZL) who qualified by winning the Greenbrier Classic two weeks ago on the USPGA Tour were the only New Zealand golfers in the field.

On the afternoon of Wednesday 15th July all the living past champions of the Open Championship who wanted to play, played in the Champion Golfers’ Challenge and they were put into teams of four with seven teams and played holes one, two, seventeen and eighteen holes with the best score counting from each of the four players on each hole. Some of the famous Open Champions of yester year to play were Tom Weiskopf (USA), Sir Bob Charles (NZL), five time Open Champion, Tom Watson (USA), five time Open Champion, Peter Thomson (Australia), three time Open Champion, Gary Player (RSA), Tony Jacklin (England), three time Open Champion, Sir Nick Faldo (England) and two time Open Champion, Arnold Palmer (USA) to name a few and it was the team Captained by Arnold Palmer (USA) Captain, Darren Clarke (NIR), Paul Lawrie (Scotland), Bill Rogers (USA) who scored (3 under) for the four holes along with three of the other teams but because they had the highest average age they were declared the winners of the Challenge. The other teams on the same score were Tom Weiskopf (USA) Captain, Mark O’Meara (USA), Tiger Woods (USA), Nick Price (Zimbabwe) (3 under). Peter Thomson (Australia) Captain, Ben Curtis (USA), Ernie Els (RSA), Phil Mickelson (USA) (3 under) and Tony Jacklin (England) Captain, John Daly (USA), Sir Nick Faldo (England) Captain, Tom Lehman (USA) (3 under).

The first round was played on Thursday 16th July in moderate winds in the morning that increased to strong in afternoon with conditions overcast and very cool and the odd shower coming through and the first round leader was Dustin Johnson (USA) who scored 65-7. One shot back on 66-6 were Jason Day (Australia), Retief Goosen (RSA), Zach Johnson (USA), Paul Lawrie (Scotland), Robert Streb (USA) and Danny Willett (England). Two shots back on 67-5 were Kevin Na (USA), Jordan Niebrugge (USA) (Amateur), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), Charl Schwartzel (RSA) and Jordan Spieth (USA). Three shots back on 68-4 were Luke Donald (England), David Howell (England), Matt Jones (USA), Greg Owen (England) and Marc Warren (Scotland). Four shots back on 69-3 were Paul Dunne (amateur) (Ireland), Tommy Fleetwood (England), Branden Grace (RSA), Anirban Lahiri (India), Romain Langasque (France) (Amateur) and David Lingmerth (Sweden). Five shots back on 70-2 were Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Steven Bowditch (Australia), Paul Casey (England), Greg Chalmers (Australia), Stewart Cink (USA), Sergio Garcia (Spain), Tryrell Hatton (England), Rikard Karlberg (England), Paul Kinnear (England) (Amateur), Marc Leishman (Australia), Alexander Levy (France), Phil Mickelson (USA), Oliver Schniederjans (USA) (Amateur), Adam Scott (Australia), Marcel Siem (Germany), Webb Simpson (USA) and Anthony Wall (England). Notable players six shots back on 71-1 were John Daly (USA), Ernie Els (RSA), Harris English (USA), Ross Fisher (England), Martin Kaymer (Germany), Matt Kuchar (USA), Sandy Lyle (Scotland), Justin Rose (England), Bubba Watson (USA) and Lee Westwood (England). Notable players seven shots back on 72 even par were David Duval (USA), Rickie Fowler (USA), Ryan Fox (NZL), Padraig Harrington (Ireland), Hunter Mahan (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Mark O’Meara (USA), Carl Pettersson (Sweden), Patrick Reed (USA), Jimmy Walker (USA) and Gary Woodland (USA).  

The second round was played on Friday 17th July and Saturday 18th July in a mixed of conditions which started with a three hour rain delay due to a torrential down poor then it fined up only to see the clouds roll back in late in the day making the temperature drop below ten degrees Celsius with winds that were moderate to strong all day and the delay on early Friday morning meant that forty two players had to come back Saturday morning to complete their rounds at 7am and they had only been playing half an hour when play was suspended again this time for strong winds that were blow balls on greens!! Play finally resumed at 6pm on Saturday Evening and Dustin Johnson (USA) scored a good second round 69-3 to go with his brilliant first round 65-7 for a 36 hole total of 134-10 and he led by one shot. One shot back on 135-9 after 36 holes was Danny Willett (England). Two shots back on 136-8 after 36 holes was Paul Lawrie (Scotland). Three shots back on 137-7 after 36 holes was Jason Day (Australia), Zach Johnson (USA), Adam Scott (Australia), who scored a blemish free second round of 67-5, Robert Streb (USA), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) and Marc Warren (Scotland). Four shots back on 138-6 after 36 holes were Luke Donald (England), Paul Dunne (Ireland) (Amateur), Retief Goosen (RSA), and Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) who also scored the equal low round of the day. Five shots back on 139-5 after 36 holes were Steven Bowditch (Australia), Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Sergio Garcia (Spain), Anirban Lahiri (India), Geoff Ogilvy (Australia), Justin Rose (England) and Jordan Spieth (USA). Six shots back on 140-4 after 36 holes were Russell Henley (USA) who scored the equal low second round of the day which was 66-6, Jordan Niebrugge (USA) (Amateur), Webb Simpson (USA), Jimmy Walker (USA) and Romain Langasque (France) (Amateur). Notable players seven shots back on 141-3 after 36 holes were Ryan Fox (NZL) who scored a brilliant 69-3 in the second round to go with his first round 72 even par, Paul Casey (England), Branden Grace (RSA), Padraig Harrington (Ireland), Matt Jones (Australia), Martin Kaymer (Germany) and David Lingmerth (Sweden). Notable players eight shots back on 142-2 after 36 holes were Phil Mickelson (USA), Kevin Na (USA), Brett Rumford (Australia), Cameron Tringale (USA) and Gary Woodland (USA). Notable players on 143-1 after 36 holes were Jamie Donaldson (Wales), Harris English (USA), Rickie Fowler (USA), Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand), Marc Leishman (Australia), Francesco Molinari (Italy) and Henrik Stenson (Sweden). Notable players to make the cut right on the number at 144 even par were Rafael Cabrera – Bello (Spain), Graham Delaet (Canada), Jason Dufner (USA), Ernie Els (RSA), Ross Fisher (USA), Jim Furyk (USA), Billy Horschel (USA), Matt Kuchar (USA), Bernhard Langer (Germany) who is fifty seven years old, Hunter Mahan (USA), Graeme McDowell (NIR), Mark O’Meara (USA) who is fifty eight years old, and Bernd Wiesberger (Austria). The cut fell at 144 even par with eighty golfers making it. Notable players to miss the 36 hole cut by a single shot on 145+1 were John Daly (USA), Victor Dubuisson (France), Tommy Fleetwood (England), Brian Harman (USA), Pablo Larrazabal (Spain), Shane Lowry (Ireland) and Carl Pettersson (Sweden). Notable players to miss the 36 hole cut by two shots at 146+2 were Byeong – Hun An (South Korea), Jonas Blixt (Sweden), Stephen Gallacher (Scotland), Joost Luiten (Netherlands) and Brandt Snedeker (USA). Notable players to miss the 36 hole cut by three shots at 147+3 were Keegan Bradley (USA), George Coetzee (RSA), Danny Lee (NZL), Sandy Lyle (Scotland) and Ryan Moore (USA). Notable players to miss the 36 hole cut by four shots at 148+4 were James Hahn (USA), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain), Tom Lehman (USA) who is fifty six years old and Romain Wattel (France). Notable players to miss the 36 hole cut by five shots at 149+5 were Daniel Berger (USA), Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Bill Haas (USA), Morgan Hoffmann (USA), Tiger Woods (USA) and Edoardo Molinari (Italy). Notable players to miss the 36 hole cut by six shots at 150+6 were Tom Gillis (USA), Charley Hoffman (USA), Justin Leonard (USA), Wen – Chong Liang (China) and Kevin Streelman (USA). Notable players to miss the 36 hole cut by seven shots at 151+7 were Matt Every (USA), Tiger Woods (USA) and Todd Hamilton (USA). Notable player to miss the 36 hole cut by eight shots at 152+8 was Rod Pampling (Australia). Notable player to miss the 36 hole cut by nine shots at 154+10 was Sir Nick Faldo (England) who turned fifty eight on Saturday 18th July. Notable player to miss the 36 hole cut by eleven shots at 155+11 was Mark Calcavecchia (USA) who is now fifty five years old. And the player to miss the cut by twelve shots at 156+12 and playing in his final Open Championship at age sixty five was five time champion and equal most winner on the Open Championship after the first world war with five wins was Tom Watson (USA) who got a standing ovation from the surrounding gallery as he walked up the par four, eighteenth hole and over the Swilcan Bridge where he was photographed by the surrounding Media!!
 
Tom Watson (USA) says farewell to the Open Championship on Friday Evening standing on the Swilcan Bridge!!
The third round was played on Sunday 19th July (Due to the second round taking two days to complete because of bad weather) in sunny conditions at first but became showery throughout the day with winds very calm at first but increased to moderate and strong later in the day and Jason Day (Australia) scored a very good third round of 67-5 which was blemish free to go with his first round 66-6 which was also blemish free and his second round 71-1 for a 54 hole total of 204-12 and he shared the 54 hole lead with Paul Dunne (Ireland) (Amateur) who scored a brilliant blemish free 66-6 to go along with his first round 69-3 and his second  round 69-3 for 54 hole total of 204-12 also and the final player tied for the 54 hole lead was the 2010 Open Champion, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) who won on this very course at St. Andrews when the Open Championship was last staged here and he scored a very good third round of 67-5 to go along with his first round 67-5 and his second round 70-2 for a 54 hole total of 204-12 also. One shot back on 205-11 after 54 holes was Jordan Spieth (USA) who is attempting to become the first golfer to win the  first three Major Championships in a calendar year since the legendary Ben Hogan (USA) sixty two years ago and he scored a brilliant third round 66-6 to put himself back in contention for the final round. Two shots back on 206-10 after 54 holes was two time Open Champion, Padraig Harrington (Ireland) who scored a brilliant blemish free 65-7 in the third round. Three shots back on 207-9 after 54 holes were Sergio Garcia (Spain), Retief Goosen (RSA), Zach Johnson (USA), Marc Leishman (Australia) who scored the lowest round of day and the tournament so far which was 64-8 and the round was also blemish free!! Jordan Niebrugge (USA) (Amateur), Justin Rose (England), Adam Scott (Australia), Robert Streb (USA) and Danny Willett (England). Four shots back on 208-8 after 54 holes were Steven Bowditch (Australia), Eddie Pepperell (England) and Charl Schwartzel (RSA). Five shots back on 209-7 after 54 holes were Stewart Cink (USA), Rickie Fowler (USA), Dustin Johnson (USA) (who was the 36 hole leader), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Ryan Palmer (USA), Patrick Reed (USA), Anthony Wall (England) and Marc Warren (Scotland). Six shots back on 210-6 after 54 holes were Greg Chalmers (Australia), Ashley Chesters (England) (Amateur), Jim Furyk (USA), Matt Jones (Australia), Brooks Koepka (USA), Anirban Lahiri (India) and Paul Lawrie (Scotland). Notable players seven shots back on 211-5 after 54 holes were Luke Donald (England), Jason Dufner (USA), David Duval (USA), Martin Kaymer (Germany), Hunter Mahan (USA), Geoff Ogilvy (Australia), Webb Simpson (USA), Andy Sullivan (England) and Jimmy Walker (USA). Notable players eight shots back at 212-4 after 54 holes were Graham Delaet (Canada), Harris English (USA), Russell Henley (USA), Phil Mickelson (USA), Kevin Na (USA), Greg Owen (England) and John Senden (Australia). Notable players nine shots back at 213-3 after 54 holes were two time Open Champion, Ernie Els (RSA), Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand), Brett Rumford (Australia), Lee Westwood (England) and Gary Woodland (USA). Notable players ten shots back on 214-2 after 54 holes were Jamie Donaldson (Wales), Branden Grace (RSA), David Howell (England), Matt Kuchar (USA), Graeme McDowell (NIR) and Henrik Stenson (Sweden). Notable player’s eleven shots back on 215-1 after 54 holes were Billy Horschel (USA), Mark O’Meara (USA), Cameron Tringale (USA) and Bernd Wiesberger (Austria). Notable player’s twelve shots back on 216 even par after 54 holes were Paul Casey (England), Ross Fisher (England) and Francesco Molinari (Italy). Notable players thirteen shots back at 217+1 after 54 holes were Ryan Fox (NZL) and Bernhard Langer (Germany) who is fifty seven years old. 

The final round was played on Monday 20th July (Due to the second round taking two days to complete because of bad weather)  in cold conditions with scattered showers throughout the day that got worse late afternoon with winds light to moderate at the start and increased to very strong late afternoon but calmed down during the playoff holes. And it was the golfer by the name of Zach Johnson (USA) who scored rounds of 66-6, 71-1, 70-2 and 66-6 for a 72 hole total of 273-15 after 72 holes but he was tied on the score by Marc Leishman (Australia) who scored rounds of 70-2, 73+1, 64-8 and 66-6 for a 72 hole total of 273-15 also and Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) scored rounds of 67-5, 70-2, 67-5 and a final round of 69-3 for a 72 hole total of 273-15 also. So as per the R & A playoff rules those three players headed back to the par four, first tee for a four hole Aggregate Playoff. The holes that the Aggregate Playoff would be played on were the par four, first hole, par four, second hole, par four, seventeenth hole and par four, eighteenth hole. The player with the lowest score for those holes would be declared the winner of the 144th Open Championship. The R & A official had three numbers in a hat for the three players to chose from and Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) chose first and drew number one and he teed off first and struck his mid iron tee shot down the centre of the fairway leaving him in great shape to attack the pin with his second shot. Marc Leishman (Australia) drew number two from the hat and teed off second and hit his tee shot right down the centre of the fairway but got very unlucky because his ball rolled into a divot hole and it would make his wedge shot to the green very difficult. Zach Johnson (USA) drew number three from the hat and teed off last and hit a good mid iron in the fairway leaving a just a wedge shot to the green just like the other two players. They were all laying up because of the Swilcan Burn that runs around the front of the first green. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) played his second shot first with his short wedge and it came to rest twenty feet past the pin. Marc Leishman (Australia) played his second shot second with his short wedge and because of the divot lie he had he made sure he cleared the Swilcan Burn and landed his ball way past the pin and it came to rest about thirty five feet from the cup. Zach Johnson (USA) played his second shot last with his wedge and it came to rest fifteen feet from the flag stick. Marc Leishman (Australia) putted for his birdie first from thirty five feet and came up eight feet short leaving a difficult putt for his par four. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) putted for his birdie from twenty feet and it went in the cup for his three and he moved to one under par. Zach Johnson (USA) putt for his birdie three from fifteen feet and he put a bold stroke on it and it fell right in the centre of the cup and he moved to one under par.  Marc Leishman (Australia) putt for his par from eight feet and it lipped out so he tapped in for his bogey five. So after the par four, first hole Zach Johnson (USA) and Louis Oosthuizen were leading on minus one and Marc Leishman (Australia) was two shots back at one over. 
 
The gallery around the eighteenth hole in the Grand Stands watch the four hole Aggregate Playoff
So to the par four, second hole which was the second hole in the four hole Aggregate Playoff. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) teed off first and struck a very good drive right down the centre of the fairway. Zach Johnson (USA) teed off second and he too struck his drive right down the centre of the fairway. Marc Leishman (Australia) teed off third and he too struck his drive down the centre of the fairway. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) hit his short wedge into within fifteen feet of the pin and would have a good chance at making another birdie. Zach Johnson (USA) hit his second as well into within fifteen feet of the flag stick and he too would have another chance of making birdie. Marc Leishman (RSA) his wedge shot into thirty feet from the flag stick. Marc Leishman (Australia) putted for his birdie first from thirty feet and hit a very good putt that just missed on the right hand side and he tapped in for his par four and remained at one over after two holes of the four hole Aggregate Playoff. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) putted for his birdie from fifteen feet and it all but went in the cup just breaking to the left at the hole and he tapped in for his par four and remained one under after two holes of the four hole Aggregate Playoff. Zach Johnson (USA) putted for his birdie from fifteen feet and rolled it right in the centre of the cup for his birdie three and moved to minus two after two holes of the four hole Aggregate Playoff. So Zach Johnson (USA) was now leading by one shot after two holes of the four hole Aggregate Playoff on two under par. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) was on one under par one shot behind the leader and Marc Leishman (Australia) was one over and three shots behind the leader. 

So to the third playoff hole of the four hole Aggregate Playoff which was the par four, seventeenth hole. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) teed off first and struck his tee shot well and he took the line right over the Old Course Hotel and it landed right in the centre of the fairway. Zach Johnson (USA) teed off next and stuck his drive very well taking the line right over the Old Course Hotel and drew it back to the centre of the fairway. Marc Leishman (Australia) teed off next and he too took the line right over the Old Course Hotel and it landed right in the centre of the fairway. Marc Leishman (Australia) brought his mid iron second shot in from right to left to avoid the road hole bunker and his ball landed on the front right of the green and almost got it onto the right tier but it rolled back down leaving a tricky putt for his birdie three from about forty feet. Zach Johnson (USA) played a very poor second shot with his mid iron that he pulled along way left and would mean he would have to hit over the road hole bunker to get to the green. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) played his second shot with his mid iron and he too brought it in from right to left and it too almost got it onto the right tier but it rolled back down leaving a tricky putt for his birdie three from about forty five feet.  Zach Johnson (USA) played his difficult chip shot over the Road Hole Bunker and it had too much over spin on it and rolled through the green into the rough at the back of the green leaving a difficult chip shot to get up and down. Marc Leishman (Australia) putted for his birdie from forty five feet and left it nine feet short of the cup. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) putted for his birdie from forty five feet and he left it seven feet short of the cup. Zach Johnson (USA) played a good chip from the rough at the back of the green that nearly went in the hole for his par four and his ball came to rest five feet from the cup. Marc Leishman (Australia) putted his nine foot par putt and missed and tapped in for his bogey five and fell to two over after three holes of the four hole Aggregate Playoff. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) now had a great chance to draw back level with Zach Johnson (USA) if he could hole his seven foot putt for his par but it just wasn’t hit hard enough to hold its line on the right to left breaking putt and he tapped in for his bogey five and fell to even par after three holes of the four hole Aggregate Playoff. Zach Johnson (USA) easily tapped in his five foot par putt for his bogey and fell back to minus one after three holes of the four hole Aggregate Playoff. So Zach Johnson (USA) was still leading by one shot after three holes of the four hole Aggregate Playoff on one under par. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) was on even par one shot behind the leader and Marc Leishman (Australia) was two over and three shots behind the leader.  
 
Zach Johnson (USA) tees off in the playoff on the Par four, Seventeenth tee (Road Hole)
So to the fourth and final hole of the four hole Aggregate Playoff which was the par four, eighteenth hole. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) teed off first and struck his tee shot right down the centre of the fairway and in great position to attack the pin. Zach Johnson (USA) teed off next and struck a good tee shot that landed in the middle of the fairway. Marc Leishman (Australia) teed off last and struck a good tee shot that landed in the centre of the fairway. Zach Johnson (USA) played his second shot first knowing that if he could get it in there close he could really put the pressure back on Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) because he would need to make a birdie to force a playoff. He struck a very good wedge that flew right over the pin and landed twenty five feet past and spun back to fifteen feet. Marc Leishman (Australia) played next and he knew there was no chance of winning the Open Championship now because he was three shots behind Zach Johnson (USA) and even if he holed out for eagle two it would still not be enough. His short wedge just caught the top of the false front and rolled back down to the valley of sin. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) played his second shot third and he hit a very good wedge that landed twenty feet past the pin and rolled back to twelve feet from the cup and a putt he would have to hole to force a sudden death playoff. Marc Leishman (Australia) putted from the valley of sin for his birdie and rolled it up to within a foot of the cup and tapped in for his par four and finished the four hole Aggregate Playoff at two over par and was three shots behind the winner, Zach Johnson (USA). Zach Johnson (USA) now stood over a fifteen foot birdie putt to win the 144th Open Championship. He calmed his nerve and put a good stroke on it but it just broke to the right and he tapped in for his par four and finished the four hole Aggregate Playoff at minus one. Now Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) knew what he had to do and that was to hole his twelve foot birdie putt to force the Sudden Death Playoff back down the par four, eighteenth hole. He put a very good stroke on it but it just didn’t take the left to right break like he thought it would and missed on the left hand side and he tapped in for his par four and finished the four hole Aggregate Playoff at even par to lose to Zach Johnson (USA) by a single stroke!! 
 
Zach Johnson (USA) walks over the Famous Swilcan Bridge in the Playoff
So Zach Johnson (USA) had now been crowned the 144th Open Championship winner and the Champion Golfer of the Year for 2015!! He got a hand shake and hug from Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) and Marc Leishman (Australia) and both of their caddies as well. Then he got a hug and high five from his long time caddie, Damon Green and his wife, Kim gave him a huge hug and kiss as he walked off the eighteenth green!! And his good friend, Jordan Spieth (USA) who had just missed out on the playoff and a chance at the third leg of the Calendar Gram Slam gave him a hug to celebrate the win with him!! Zach Johnson (USA) was then interviewed by the BBC reporter and told him "I feel blessed to be the champion," "I feel honoured to be part of the history of this game and to don my name on that trophy (Claret Jug), especially with the names before me. Humbling and surreal are two words that come to mind. I am fairly speechless right now. I can't play any better than what I did. I had a lull on Friday and Saturday but nothing significant, but stayed in it and waited for the opportunities and made a few." "I can't describe the magnitude as to what he (Jordan Spieth (USA)) was going through because I've never been in that position certainly," and Zach Johnson (USA), who moves from 25th to 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking also said "We haven't really seen that with the exception of Tiger Woods (USA), truthfully he could be sitting here. But to have a champion like Jordan Spieth (USA) take the time on eighteenth to give me best wishes speaks volumes as to what he is. He's a phenomenal talent, and I'm telling you right now, he's a better person than he is a golfer."
 
Zach Johnson (USA) pumps his fist in celebration after holing the winning putt to win the Open Championship!!
Zach Johnson (USA) then received the Claret Jug in the official trophy presentation for becoming the champion Golfer of the year for 2015 and winning the 144th Open Championship from all the R & A Officials!! He gave an awesome acceptance speech and praised his Christian faith for keep him so calm during the final round. Then he walked around the huge gallery standing sharing the Claret Jug and his Open Championship win with everyone and the Media took photos of him with it!!
Zach Johnson (USA) earned US $1,794,690 for the win and moved to sixth position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $3,883,687 earned from the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far. Jordan Spieth (USA) still leads that list with US $9,170,215 earned from the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far. Zach Johnson (USA) also earned 600 FedEx Cup points for his efforts and moved to sixth position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 1,522 points earned from the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far and he is 2,241 points behind the current leader of that list who is Jordan Spieth (USA) who has earned 3,763 points from the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far. From nineteen events he has played to date this season so far he has made fifteen cuts and achieved eight top ten finishes which includes the win this past week. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all under par especially his 66-6 in the first round and his 66-6 in the final round which was blemish free and also the equal low round of the day!! And he will be very pleased how he played the four hole Aggregate Playoff one under par to win the 144th Open Championship!!
 
Zach Johnson (USA) facing us and Jordan Spieth (USA) who is his good friend embrace to celebrate his Open Championship win!!
It was his second European Tour International Schedule victory in his 75th European Tour event. He could move to just outside the top ten in the Official World Golf Ranking from 25th. It was first European Tour International Schedule victory since the 2007 Masters Tournament. This is a gap of eight years and 103 days between European Tour victories. This victory beats his previous best 2015 European Tour performance of tied ninth at the Masters Tournament. It was his second Major Championship victory and comes in his 45th Major Championship appearance. This victory comes in his 12th appearance in The Open Championship. This victory beats his previous best Open Championship performance of tied sixth in 2013. This victory is his eighth top ten performance of his Major Championship career. It is the third successive American victory in the 2015 Major Championships. They are: Jordan Spieth (USA) (Masters Tournament and U.S. Open Championship) and Zach Johnson (USA) (The 144th Open Championship). It is the 80th different player to record multiple Major Championship victories. 
 
Zach Johnson (USA) kisses the Claret Jug he won in front of the Famous Old Course, St. Andrews, Club House!!

Since 1964 he joins Tony Lema (USA) (1964), Jack Nicklaus (USA) (1970 and 1978), John Daly (USA) (1995) and Tiger Woods (USA) (2000 and 2005) as American players to win the Open Championship at St Andrews. He becomes the second consecutive American victory on The European Tour, following Rickie Fowler (Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open). He becomes the 13th player to win the Masters Tournament and Open Championship. He becomes the 203rd American victory in European Tour history. He becomes the fifth American victory on the 2015 European Tour. They are: Dustin Johnson (USA) (WGC – Cadillac Championship), Jordan Spieth (USA) (Masters Tournament and U.S. Open Championship), Rickie Fowler (USA) (Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open) and Zach Johnson (USA) (The 144th Open Championship). He played in 34 Major Championships between his two victories, including The 2015 Open Championship. He gains an exemption into The Open Championship until the age of 60. He gains a five year exemption into the U.S. Open Championship and US PGA Championship. He gains a place in the 2015 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and 2015 PGA Grand Slam of Golf. He wins in the first St Andrews play-off since John Daly (USA) beat Costantino Rocca (Italy) in 1995. And finally wins the first three man play-off since Paul Lawrie (Scotland) beat Justin Leonard (USA) and Jean Van de Velde (France) in 1999.

Zachary Harris Johnson (USA) (born February 24, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has twelve victories on the USPGA Tour, including two major championships, the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open Championship. The son of a chiropractor, Zach Johnson (USA) was born in Iowa City, Iowa and raised in Cedar Rapids, the eldest of Dave and Julie Johnson's three children. Playing many sports as a youth (baseball, basketball, football, and soccer), Zach Johnson (USA) took up golf at age 10 and developed his skills at Elmcrest Country Club. He played number-two on the Regis High School golf team and led them to an Iowa 3A state championship in 1992, his sophomore year. Following graduation from high school in 1994, Zach Johnson (USA) enrolled at Drake University in Des Moines. As the number-two player on the Drake golf team, he led the Bulldogs to three NCAA regional meets and two Missouri Valley championships. Zach Johnson's (USA) uncle, Tom Harris, qualified for the 1975 NAIA national tournament.

Zach Johnson (USA)  turned professional in 1998 and played on the developmental tour circuit, including the now-defunct Prairie Golf Tour, the Buy.com Tour (later the Nationwide Tour and Web.com Tour), and the Hooters Tour, where he won the final three regular-season events in 2001. In 2003, he topped the money list on the Nationwide Tour with then record earnings of US $494,882, earning an automatic promotion to the USPGA Tour. Zach Johnson (USA) won his first USPGA Tour event at the 2004 BellSouth Classic outside of Atlanta when he finished one stroke ahead of Mark Hensby (USA). In 2006, Zach Johnson (USA) recorded a number of impressive results including two runner-up places and finishing third at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. As a result of this, he qualified for the U.S. Ryder Cup team for the first time in 2006, finishing ninth on the U.S. points list. On April 8, 2007, Zach Johnson (USA) won his first major title at the Masters Tournament in Augusta by a margin of two strokes over Tiger Woods (USA), Retief Goosen (RSA), and Rory Sabbatini (RSA). Zach Johnson's (USA) score of 289 (+1) tied Sam Snead (USA) (1954) and Jack Burke Jr. (USA) (1956) for the highest winning score at the Masters Tournament. His victory took him from #56 to #15 in the world rankings; he was the first outside the top 50 in the world rankings to win the Masters Tournament in the history of the rankings. After winning, he mentioned his Christian faith and thanked God, saying: "This being Easter, I cannot help but believe my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ was walking with me. I owe this to Him."

Six weeks after winning the Masters Tournament, Zach Johnson (USA) won for the third time on tour at the 2007 AT&T Classic in a playoff over Ryuji Imada (Japan). Following the win, Zach Johnson (USA) moved to thirteenth in the world rankings. His next USPGA Tour victory, and first outside the state of Georgia, came at the 2008 Valero Texas Open, where he finished with rounds of 62 and 64 over the weekend to finish two strokes ahead of a chasing pack of players. Zach Johnson (USA) won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January 2009 for his fifth victory on the USPGA Tour, and successfully defended his title at the Valero Texas Open in May with a playoff victory over James Driscoll (USA).  With a third-round 60, Zach Johnson (USA) became the first player to shoot 60 twice on the USPGA Tour, having done so previously at the 2007 Tour Championship. The win was Zach Johnson's (USA) sixth on tour. Other highlights in 2009 include a tie for second place at the John Deere Classic and a solo third place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He finished the season ranked a career best fourth on the money list.

Another photo of Zach Johnson (USA) posing with the Claret Jug he won!!
In 2010, Zach Johnson (USA) started the season solidly on the USPGA Tour, making ten of his first eleven cuts without any significant results. Then in June 2010, Zach Johnson (USA) won the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, his seventh USPGA Tour victory. Zach Johnson (USA) only missed two cuts all year en route to qualifying for the season ending Tour Championship and the 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup team, his second appearance in the event. In 2012, Zach Johnson (USA) won the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial for the second time in his career. He made a five foot putt on the last hole for what appeared to be a three shot victory, but a ruling on the final hole resulted in a two-stroke penalty. Fortunately, it did not affect the outcome of the tournament, with the only difference being Zach Johnson (USA) signing for a 6 instead of a 4 on the final hole, with Zach Johnson (USA) winning by a single stroke over Jason Dufner (USA). He jumped to third in the FedEx Cup standings and returned to the world top twenty with this victory. Zach Johnson (USA) moved to second in the FedEx Cup standings with a playoff win on July 15, 2012, at the John Deere Classic. Zach Johnson (USA) defeated Troy Matteson (USA), who started the day up four shots on Zach Johnson (USA) and had led the tournament since the first round, with a birdie on the second hole of their playoff. Zach Johnson (USA) also started the day behind three-time defending champion Steve Stricker (USA), who was three shots behind Troy Matteson (USA). It was Zach Johnson's (USA) second win on the year after winning at Colonial Country Club. Mike Bender, Zach Johnson's (USA) swing coach, also caddied for the week while usual caddie Damon Green played in the U.S. Senior Open. At the 2012 Open Championship, played at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England, Zach Johnson (USA) finished at even par for the tournament (280), tied for ninth, seven shots behind winner Ernie Els (RSA).

In 2013, Zach Johnson (USA), in defence of his John Deere Classic title, lost in a three-man sudden-death playoff to Jordan Spieth (USA) at the fifth extra hole, after he bogeyed the final hole of regulation play with a one shot lead. In the playoff, all three players, Zach Johnson (USA), Jordan Spieth (USA) and David Hearn (Canada), had chances to win with Zach Johnson's (USA) coming at the second extra hole, but he failed to convert the putt. Jordan Spieth (USA) won with par at the fifth extra hole after Zach Johnson (USA) hit his second shot into the water and could only make bogey. The following week, Zach Johnson (USA) opened up the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield, with a five-under-par round of 66 to hold the lead by one stroke over Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spain) and Mark O'Meara (USA). He finished the tournament in a tie for sixth place. He continued solid play for the rest of the summer, finishing in the top-10 in six of the next seven tournaments he would enter, including an eighth place finish at the PGA Championship, making it back to back top-10 finishes at major events. In September, Zach Johnson (USA) captured the BMW Championship for his tenth career victory and first FedEx Cup victory of his career. In December 2013, Zach Johnson (USA) attained a playoff victory over Tiger Woods (USA) at the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge. This win moved him into the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career. Zach Johnson (USA) captured his eleventh career victory in January 2014 with a win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. With the win, Zach Johnson (USA) moved up to a career high seventh in the Official World Golf Ranking. At the 2014 U.S. Open, Zach Johnson (USA) had a hole in one on the 172 yard par-3 9th hole. It was the 44th hole in one in U.S. Open Championship history, and just the second at Pinehurst No. 2. On July 20, 2015 (As I mentioned above), Zach Johnson (USA) beat Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) and Marc Leishman (Australia) in a 4-hole playoff to win the Open Championship at St Andrews for his Twelfth USPGA Tour win and second major. He became only the sixth golfer to win majors at Augusta and St. Andrews, the others being Sam Snead (USA), Jack Nicklaus (USA), Nick Faldo (England), Seve Ballesteros (Spain), and Tiger Woods (USA).  Zach Johnson (USA) is one of only two players (the other being Phil Mickelson (USA)) to have twice shot a round of 60 on the USPGA Tour. Zach Johnson (USA) and his wife, the former Kim Barclay, were members of First Baptist Church in Orland. Zach Johnson (USA) was raised a Catholic, but joined his wife's church prior to their marriage in 2003. They have two sons, Will and Wyatt, and one daughter, Abby Jane. They lived in Lake Mary, Florida and now reside in St. Simons, Georgia. The Zach Johnson Foundation is dedicated to helping children and their families in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. One program created by Zach Johnson (USA) and his wife Kim helped to raise US $700,000 for community agencies serving children in need. He has stated: "This Foundation will fulfill a dream of mine and Kim's to give back to Cedar Rapids in a long-lasting, meaningful way."
Zach Johnson (USA) has twelve victories on the USPGA Tour, including Two Major Championships, with the first one coming at the 2007 Masters Tournament and the second come at the 2015 Open Championship. Here are his twelve wins from the first to the most recent: 2004 BellSouth Classic; 2007 Masters Tournament (Maiden Major Championship); 2007 AT&T Classic; 2008 Valero Texas Open; 2009 Sony Open in Hawaii; 2009 Valero Texas Open; 2010 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial; 2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial; 2012 John Deere Classic; 2013 BMW Championship, 2014 Hyundai Tournament of Champions and 2015 Open Championship (Second Major Championship). He has also achieved eight top ten finishes to date so far in Major Championships which includes his maiden Major Championship win at the 2007 Masters Tournament and his second Major Championship win at the 2015 Open Championship. He has also achieved seven top ten finishes in WGC – Events with his best to date so far being solo third at the 2006 Cadillac Match Play. He has also represented Team USA at four Ryder Cup Matches against Team Europe that included the 2006, 2010, 2012 and 2014. And also played on the USA Presidents Cup Team in 2007, 2009 and 2013 against Team International which he was on the winning team every time!! This win at the 144th Open Championship this past week lift Zach Johnson (USA) career up a notch and will give him renewed confidence. It also puts him in the Double Major Championship winners club!! I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season and hope he can achieve his thirteenth win. 

Rounding out the top three in tied for second position at 273-15 after 72 holes and losing by three shots in the four hole Aggregate Playoff was Marc Leishman (Australia); he earned US $837,261.90 for his efforts and moved to fortieth position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $1,694,767 earned from the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 270 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to forty sixth position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 817 points earned from the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far. From the nineteen events he has played to date this season so far he has made thirteen cuts and achieved four top ten finishes which includes the one this week. He will be happy with his third and final rounds that were in the mid to low 60s and his third round 64-8 was blemish free and the low round of the day and also his final round 66-6 was also the equal low round of the day!! But he will be just content with his first round 70-2 and his second round 73+1 and will be angry that he missed his par putt on the par four, sixteenth hole in the final round and also that he wasn’t able to birdie the par four, eighteenth hole!! He will also be angry with how he played in the four hole Aggregate Playoff with being two over par for the four holes!! But he can take a lot of confidence out of this week moving forward and I look for him to contend in future Major Championships to come. Marc Leishman (Australia) (born 24 October 1983) is an Australian professional golfer who currently plays on the USPGA Tour. In 2009 he won the Rookie of the Year award on the USPGA Tour. He was the first Australian to win the award. Marc Leishman (Australia) was born in Warrnambool, Victoria. He had a very successful amateur career in Australia, winning many junior tournaments. He won the Warrnambool Club Championship as a 13-year-old while playing in the same group as his father. In 2001 he won the Victorian Junior Masters, the South Australian Junior Masters and was the Victorian Boys champion. He turned professional in 2005. He played on the Von Nida Tour in 2006, winning two tournaments and topping the order of merit. In 2007, he played his rookie season on the Nationwide Tour (Now Web.com Tour) finishing 92nd on the money list. He won his maiden title on the Nationwide Tour (Now Web.com Tour) in 2008 at the WNB Golf Classic by a record-equalling (with Chris Smith (USA)) eleven shots. He finished the year nineteenth on the money list to earn his USPGA Tour card for the 2009 season.

Marc Leishman (USA) was voted the Rookie of the Year in 2009 after recording three top-10 finishes, which included a runner-up finish behind Tiger Woods (USA) at the BMW Championship, the third of the four FedEx Cup playoff events. Marc Leishman (Australia) subsequently qualified for the season ending Tour Championship. He ended the year 53rd on the money list. He recorded his second runner-up finish of his USPGA Tour career at the Farmers Insurance Open in 2010. He finished inside the top 100 on the money list in both 2010 and 2011. He reached the BMW Championship in both seasons. Marc Leishman (Australia) won his first tournament after 96 starts on the USPGA Tour in June 2012 at the Travelers Championship, coming from six strokes back of the 54 hole leaders to win by a stroke. He shot a final round of 62, which included eight birdies and no bogeys to match his career best round and second best comeback in the tournament's history. He became the second Australian to win the event after Greg Norman (Australia) in 1995. At the 2013 Masters Tournament, Marc Leishman (Australia) was the co-leader after the opening round, alongside Sergio García (Spain), as he shot a six under total of 66. He maintained his challenge over the second and third rounds to go into the final day two strokes behind the leaders. He finished tied for fourth with Tiger Woods (USA), four shots off the lead. After coming close to missing the cut in the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews, Marc Leishman's (Australia) third round of 64 and final round of 66 left him in a tie for first place with Zach Johnson (USA) and Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) after 72 holes. In the resulting four-hole playoff, bogies at the first and third holes put Marc Leishman (Australia) out of contention but his tie for second place gave him his best performance in a major to date. Marc Leishman (Australia) is married to Audrey and they have two children. They live in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA. On 31 March 2015, Audrey admitted herself to hospital suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome. Marc Leishman (Australia) returned from preparations for the 2015 Masters Tournament to be with her. She was put in an induced coma, and toxic shock began to affect her organs. She was given a 5% chance of recovery. In mid-April, she had recovered enough to return home, and Marc Leishman (Australia) resumed the Tour in New Orleans.  He has also achieved two other top ten finishes in a Major Championships at the 2014 Open Championship where he tied for fifth position and his tied for second position at the 2015 Open Championship. He has also achieved three top ten finishes in WGC – Events with his best being solo third at the 2014 Bridgestone Invitational. And he also represented Team International at the 2013 Presidents Cup against Team USA. Let’s hope he can have more top ten finishes in the coming weeks and winning his second USPGA Tour very soon. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season. 

The final player to tie for second position was Louis Oosthuizen (RSA); he too earned US $837,261.90 for his efforts and moved to sixteenth position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,893,979 earned from the fifteen events he has played to date this season so far. He also earned 270 FedEx Cup Points for his efforts and moved to twenty eighth position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points list standings with 1,022 points earned from the fifteen events he has played to date this season so far. From the fifteen events he has played to date this season so far he has made ten cuts and achieved six top ten finishes which includes the one this week. He will be happy with his first, third and final rounds that were all in the 60s especially his first and third rounds that were both 67-5s!! But he will be just content with his second round 70-2 and his even par score in the four hole Aggregate Playoff to lose to Zach Johnson (USA) by a single stroke, especially his missed putts for par and birdie on the par four, seventeenth hole and par four, eighteenth hole and if he had holed them both he could of been holding the Claret Jug for the second time in his career. But his performance in the last two Major Championships have just been awesome with tying for second at Chambers Bay in the 115th U.S. Open Championship and the tie for second this past week at the 144th Open Championship. I feel he has to be one of the favourites heading into the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits next month. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) born 19 October 1982) is a South African professional golfer who won the 2010 Open Championship and was runner-up in the 2012 Masters Tournament the 2015 U.S. Open Championship, and the 2015 Open Championship. His highest placing on the Official World Golf Ranking is fourth which he achieved in January 2013.  Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) was born in Mossel Bay, South Africa. His early career was supported financially for three years by the foundation of fellow South African golfer Ernie Els (RSA). He won numerous amateur titles before turning professional in 2002 at the age of nineteen. He has won five professional tournaments on the Sunshine Tour: the 2004 Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour event at Arabella, the 2007 Dimension Data Pro-Am and Platinum Classic, and the Telkom PGA Championship twice, in 2007 and 2008. He played on the European Challenge Tour in 2003 and has been a member of the European Tour since 2004. In 2009, he finished 31st on the Race to Dubai. On 10 September 2012 he reached the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career. In March 2010, he won his first European Tour event at the Open de Andalucia de Golf.  He also won the 2010 Masters Tournament Par 3 Contest.

Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) entered the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews ranked 54th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and only having made one cut in eight major championship appearances. He shot a 65 on the first day, placing him in second place, behind a 63 shot by Rory McIlroy (NIR). Louis Oosthuizen's (RSA) 67 on Friday was the low round of the day and gave him a lead that he would not relinquish throughout the final two rounds. His two-day total of 132 tied the record for the lowest 36-hole score in an Open Championship at St Andrews. A 69 on Saturday placed Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) at 15-under-par, and four shots clear of second-place Paul Casey (England) with one round to play. On Sunday, Paul Casey (England) closed the gap to three shots on the 8th hole, before Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) drove the 9th green and made a long putt for eagle. On the 12th hole, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) made birdie, while Paul Casey (England) hit his drive into a gorse bush, and wound up making triple bogey to give Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) an eight-shot lead. In the end, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) shot 71 on Sunday, and 16-under-par 272 for the championship, to win by seven strokes. His 272 was the second lowest in St Andrews history. Paul Casey (England) eventually finished third with Lee Westwood (England) taking second. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) became the fourth man from South Africa to win the Claret Jug – following Bobby Locke (RSA), Gary Player (RSA), and Ernie Els (RSA) – and moved to 15th in the Official World Golf Ranking, leapfrogging fellow South African Retief Goosen (RSA) in 16th position. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) claims his exemplary focus during the tournament, which enabled him to win by a wide margin, was due to a red spot marked on his glove. He would look at that spot as the beginning of his pre-shot routine and use it to help him remain focused before and during his swing. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) had consulted Karl Morris, a Manchester-based sports psychologist, prior to the event for ways in which he could improve his concentration.

Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) finished the 2010 season in tenth place on the Race to Dubai, posting three further top-10s after his major win. In January 2011, he claimed his third European Tour title and his sixth in his home country, winning the Africa Open in a playoff.  In 2012, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) successfully defended his title at the Africa Open with a two stroke victory over Tjaart van der Walt (RSA). His success was helped by a second round 62, which took Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage and from there he held on for victory. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) was runner-up at the 2012 Masters Tournament. In the final round, he scored an albatross on the second hole of Augusta National Golf Club. This was only the fourth ever albatross in Masters Tournament history, and the first to be televised, as well as the first ever on that hole. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) took the outright lead of the tournament with this exceptional shot, and maintained the lead until caught on the sixteenth hole, by Bubba Watson (USA). He was eventually defeated by Bubba Watson (RSA) on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. The following week he won his fifth European Tour title at the Maybank Malaysian Open. In the second event of the 2012 PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs, the Deutsche Bank Championship, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) held the 54-hole lead by three strokes and came close to his first victory on US soil, finishing second to Rory McIlroy (NIR) by one shot. On 10 September 2012, he reached the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career. He finished the season ranked third on the Race to Dubai. On 13 January 2013, he won the Volvo Golf Champions, shooting a six-under-par 66 final round to win the title by one stroke. In January 2014, he retained the Volvo Golf Champions title by one shot over Branden Grace (RSA).  

He has won one USPGA Tour event to date so far in his career and it came at the 2010 Open Championship (Which was his maiden Major Championship win) at St Andrews, Scotland. He has also achieved four other top ten finishes in Major Championships with a second place in the 2012 Masters Tournament when he lost in a playoff to Bubba Watson (USA) on the second playoff hole, tied for ninth at the 2011 U.S. Open Championship and the tied for second at the 2015 U.S. Open Championship and tied for second at the 2015 Open Championship as I mentioned before. He also has achieved seven wins on the European Tour to date so far in his career which he is also a member of and his last win came at the 2014 Volvo Golf Champions. He has also achieved six top ten finishes in WGC Events with his best finish being solo fourth at the 2012 Bridgestone Invitational. Let’s hope he can have more top ten finishes in the weeks ahead on the USPGA Tour and achieve his second win of his USPGA Tour career. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season. 

The best New Zealand golfer in the field was Danny Lee (NZL) who was coming off his tied for third position at the John Deere Classic last week scored rounds of 73+1 in the first round which was average in strong winds and it included a average front nine of 36 even par where he birdied the par five, fifth hole and par four, sixth hole but had poor bogeys on the par four, second hole and par four, fourth hole. He scored an average back nine of 37+1 which included a lone birdie on the par three, eleventh hole but had poor bogeys on the par four, fifteenth hole and par four, seventeenth hole. Then he scored a poor second round of 74+2 and it included a good front nine of 35-1 which included a lone birdie on the par four, seventh hole and then he scored a shocking back nine of 39+3 with his lone birdie coming on the par four, eighteenth hole but he made a poor bogey on the par four, seventeenth hole which is known as the road hole and a shocking triple bogey seven on the par four, sixteenth hole!! for a 36 hole total of 147+3 and he missed the cut by three shots which was  poor after the brilliant effort coming off his maiden win at the Greenbrier Classic two weeks ago and tying for third at the John Deere Classic last week. Danny Lee (NZL) moved to eighteenth position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $2,741,522 earned from the twenty nine events he has played to date this season so far (And it is the first time in his USPGA Tour career he has surpassed the US $2,000,000 mark in single season earnings!!). Danny Lee (NZL) moved to thirteenth position on the current FedEx Cup Points standings list with 1,342 points earned from the twenty nine events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty nine events Danny Lee (NZL) has played to date this season so far he has made seventeen cuts and withdrawn from one event and achieved five top ten finishes which includes the one this week and his maiden win one week ago at the Greenbrier Classic and seven weeks ago at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and the one in mid March at the Valspar Championship and also his tied for third finish at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in mid November last year. He will be disappointed with his first and second rounds this week that were both in the mid to low 70s especially his 74+2 in the second round because he played his first fifteen holes of that round in one under par and was right on the cut line but he played the last three holes in three over par to miss the cut by three shots!! But over the past three weeks he has moved his golf career up a huge notch and I look for him to keep on improving and this was after all his maiden Open Championship so he will gain some valuable experience for it and I look for him to have more top ten finishes in the events he plays on the USPGA Tour in the next few weeks.

Danny Jin-Myung Lee (NZL) (born 24 July 1990) is a professional golfer from Rotorua, New Zealand. Danny Lee (NZL) was born in South Korea and emigrated to New Zealand at the age of eight. His name in Hangul is 이진명. He became a naturalized New Zealander on 2 September 2008 at Rotorua, where he attended Rotorua Boys' High School. Danny Lee (NZL) turned professional after the 2009 Masters Tournament, forfeiting his guaranteed entry into the 2009 U.S. Open and the 2009 British Open as the 2008 U.S. Amateur champion. In April, Danny Lee (NZL) signed a two-year endorsement contract with Callaway Golf, to use Callaway clubs, balls, and signage on his clothes. The company has not released how much his contract is worth, but sources say it is for US$1 million per year. Danny Lee (NZL) was allowed to use seven sponsor exemptions during the USPGA Tour season, and gained three other starts courtesy of his U.S. Amateur and Johnnie Walker Classic titles. Danny Lee (NZL) entered the new season in 2012 with USPGA Tour and European Tour cards. He said he was still keen to play a two-tour schedule, however his main focus would be on America. He made only 13 cuts in 26 events on the USPGA Tour and lost his tour card. He did not play on the European Tour. After striking up a successful partnership late in the Nationwide Tour season, Danny Lee (NZL) said he would have Australian Graeme Courts, a former long-time caddy of Loren Roberts, working for him on the USPGA Tour. K. J. Choi (South Korea) introduced Danny Lee (NZL) to another Australian, Steve Bann, as a potential coach. "I am close with K.J. Choi and he said I was thinking too much about my swing," Danny Lee  (NZL) said. "I was always working on something and I am too technical sometimes so K.J. introduced me to Steve. Steve is a simple guy who is teaching me how to practice with better routine and how to trust my own game and not think too much. In 2013 Danny Lee (NZL) played on the Web.com Tour, finishing fifteenth on the regular season money list to regain his USPGA Tour card for 2014. His best finish was second at the Rex Hospital Open. In 2014 on the back of six straight missed cuts, Danny Lee (NZL) adopted a claw putting grip for the Puerto Rico Open in March. He credited the change of putting style for yielding him an instant result; a runner-up finish, two shots behind winner Chesson Hadley USA). And as I mentioned before 2014/15 USPGA Tour season has been Danny Lee’s (NZL) career best season to date and now he has got his maiden USPGA Tour victory I feel his game is only going to go from strength to strength with the renewed confidence it will bring to him. His Official World Golf Ranking has now moved to sixty ninth and he now gets guaranteed starts in the next three Major Championships and is exempt on the USPGA Tour till the end of the 2016/17 USPGA Tour season. I look for his second USPGA Tour win to come in the next few years and for him to achieve some top ten finishes in Major Championships (Perhaps at the PGA Championship next month?). The future looks very bright for Danny Lee (NZL) moving forward. I wish him all the best for the remaining part of 2015 part of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season.

The next best New Zealand Golfer in the field and playing in his maiden Open Championship was Ryan Fox (NZL) and he scored a good first round of 72 even par and it included a good front nine of 35-1 with birdies on the par four, first hole, par five, fifth hole and par three, eighth hole but had poor bogeys on the par four, third hole and par four, fourth hole and he scored a average back nine of 37+1 with birdies coming on the par four, tenth hole and par four, twelfth hole but had poor bogeys on the par five, fourteenth hole, par four, fifteenth hole and par four, seventeenth hole and he scored a brilliant second round of 69-3 that took two days to complete and included a average front nine of 37+1 where he bogeyed the par three, eighth hole and a brilliant back nine of 32-4 with an amazing eagle on the par five, fourteenth hole and birdies on the par four, sixteenth hole and par four, eighteenth hole and a shocking third round of 76+4 which included a shocking front nine of 40+4 which included poor bogeys on the par four, fourth hole and par four, sixth hole and a terrible double bogey six on the par four, second hole and he scored a good back nine of 36 even par with birdies on the par four, tenth hole and par four, eighteenth hole but had poor bogeys on the par four, sixteenth hole and par four, seventeenth hole and a brilliant final round of  67-5 which included a very good front nine of 33-3 with birdies on the par four, first hole, par four, second hole and par four, ninth hole and he scored a very good back nine of 34-2 with birdies on the par four, tenth hole, par four, thirteenth hole and par four, eighteenth hole with his lone bogey coming on the par four, sixteenth hole for a 72 hole total of 284-4 and he finished in tied for forty ninth position. He earned US $28,054 for his efforts but because he isn’t a current member of the USPGA Tour he doesn’t get a Money list or FedEx Cup ranking. From the one event he has played to date on the USPGA Tour this season so far he has made one cut and achieved no top ten finishes. He will be happy with his first, second and final rounds that were all at par and under par especially his 69-3 in the second round that included a brilliant 32-4 on the back nine and his 67-5 in the final round where he made six birdies!! But he will be disappointed with his 76+4 in the third round especially his 40+4 on the front nine!! He will gain a lot of confidence moving forward with this result this past week.

Tiger Woods (USA) who was playing in his eighth tournament of the 2014/15 USPGA Tour season in his first round scored a shocking 76+4 and included a shocking front nine of  40+4 with bogeys on the par four, first hole, par four, second hole, par five, fifth hole and par four, seventh hole. Then he played the back nine in 36 even par which was good and included a lone birdie on the par five, fourteenth hole but he had a poor bogey on the par four, tenth hole and it was after his two week layoff to work on his game since the Greenbrier Classic in earlier July. Then he came out in the second round and scored 75+3 which was shocking and included a shocking front nine of 38+2 with bogeys coming on the par four, fourth hole and par four, sixth hole and he scored a poor back nine of  37+1 which included birdies on the par four, tenth hole and par four, sixteenth hole but he had poor bogeys on the par four, thirteenth hole, par five, fourteenth hole and par four, fifteenth hole for a 36 hole total of 151+7 and he missed the cut by seven shots!! He moved to 180th position on the current 2014/15 USPGA Tour Money list standings with US $225,198 earned from the eight events he has played in to date this season so far. He moved to 195th position on the current 2014/15 FedEx Cup Points standings list with 95 points earned from the eight events he has played to date this season so far. From the eight events he has played to date this season so far he has made four cuts, withdrawn from one event and achieved no top ten finishes. He will be really discouraged by his first round 76+4 and his second round 75+3 after he had come off his best ball striking round of the season two weeks ago at the Greenbrier Classic when he scored a blemish free 67-3 in the final round. At least he will be happy that his back held up to complete 36 holes and the last six events he has played on the USPGA Tour his back has felt great!! and I feel more made cuts and top ten finishes are not too far way for him if he can find away to hit his drives in the fairway and just play more consistent golf on the whole!! His next start will likely be at the Quicken Loans National that he hosts which is in two weeks time.  I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2015 part of 2014/15 USPGA Tour season. 

Next week the USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup heads north of the boarder to Canada for the RBC Canadian Open and it is played on the Glen Abbey GC, Oakville, Ontario, Canada (which has hosted the tournament many times in the past). It carries a large prize purse of US $5,800,000 for the taking. Tim Clark (RSA) is the defending champion and will be keen to defend his title. Tim Wilkinson (NZL) and Steven Alker (NZL) will likely gain starts as well. It starts on Thursday 23rd July and I will report back who won the trophy next week.

So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list this week and coming in at Number One Position for the fiftieth week of his fifth spell of his career and for the 90th week of his career in total is Rory McILroy (NIR) fresh off his tied for ninth position at the 115th U.S. Open Championship four weeks ago and his missed cut at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation seven weeks ago with 12.60 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Jordan Spieth (USA) who is fresh off his tied for fourth position at the 144th Open Championship this past week and his win at the John Deere Classic one week ago with 11.66 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Bubba Watson (USA) who is fresh off his missed cut at the 144th Open Championship this past week and his tied for thirteenth position at the Greenbrier Classic two weeks ago with 7.09 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Dustin Johnson (USA) who is fresh off his tied for forty ninth position at the 144th Open Championship this past week and his tied for second position at the 115th U.S. Open Championship four weeks ago with 6.60 Official World Ranking Points and rounding out the top five on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list standings this week is Justin Rose (England) who is fresh off his tied for sixth position at the 144th Open Championship this past week and his solo 74th position at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open two weeks ago with 6.50 Official World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) this week is in his eighteenth week of another spell of being the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world after his missed the cut this past week at the 144th Open Championship. This week he remains in 69th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list standings with 2.02 Official Golf World Ranking Points. 

Remember the most important shot in a game golf is the one you are about to play!!
Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings, wikipedia.org, Google search engine, europeantour.com, golfchannel.com