INCAgolf All you ever wanted to know about golf (well almost)

Jan. 23, 2012 | updated 37 hours, 24 minutes ago
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Mark Wilson starts every round of golf he plays with two long tees, one short tee, a quarter, a penny and a divot repair tool in his hip pocket.

He’s not exactly superstitious. Wilson just likes the sense of order that ritual gives him as he embarks on an uncertain future over the next four or five hours and 18 holes.
“That’s one thing I can control,” Wilson explained. “A lot of things I can’t. I can’t control my opponents, bounces or the roll on the green.”

Nowhere was that more evident than during Sunday’s final round of the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. His opponents were making birdies with abandon and Wilson was stuck in neutral, watching his three-stroke advantage quickly disappear.

But when the pressure intensified on the back nine of the Palmer Private Course at PGA West, Wilson regained control of his game as well as the tournament. He tapped in a 9-inch putt for his first birdie of the day at No. 11 and holed a bunker shot for another at the 12th, an unexpected development that “gave me the momentum to go in the right direction,” Wilson said.

He and Robert Garrigus then traded birdie putts at the 16th to separate themselves from the crowd before a missed 6-footer at the next gave Wilson the upper hand he would not relinquish. Not even with Garrigus staring down a 28-footer for eagle as darkness enveloped the the 18th hole. Not when his own successful 10-footer for birdie there would more than do the trick as it broke a inch to the right and curled into the hole.

“That’s what we play for,” a reflective Wilson said. “You want somebody to win it, not necessarily lose it. So it was neat to have (Robert) making birdies back and forth. And I don’t look at the leaderboards really, and I just happened to glance on 17 to see what was going on. …

“But I reminded myself, I’m in position. You have a lot of thoughts go through your head; am I going to come out and play well and win or am I going to come out and play flat and finish 10th or am I going to have a horrible day and finish close to the bottom? You just don’t know.

Updated standings
Mark Wilson moved to No. 2 with his victory but Johnson Wagner maintained his top spot. Complete standings
“I just tried to clear my head of that and said, This is what we play for, let’s enjoy the day. Win or lose, let’s try to be a good example out there.”

Wilson ended up with a hard-fought, two-stroke victory over Garrigus, John Mallinger and Johnson Wagner — the fifth of his PGA TOUR career. Two came in the first five events of the 2011 season and now he has another in the just third of this year. There’s a reason for that, and Wilson, who didn’t build on his early season momentum last year, has scheduled several longer breaks this season to make sure he is fresh.

“When I came out the last two years, I really just had a clear mind and really focusing on what I’m doing, not worrying about my standing in the world rankings or my standing in the money list or FedExCup or how I’m doing against or the players that week,” Wilson said. “I feel like I’m more into my zone.”

And he certain was on the back nine Sunday. But as much as Wilson persevered with the pressure on, patiently waiting for the birdies he knew would come, Garrigus did the same after an extremely difficult start to the week.

http://www.pgatour.com/2012/tournaments/r002/01/22/ross-sunday/index.html

Jan. 10, 2012 |
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Imagine that you’re 44 years old, your left arm suddenly has no strength, and your livelihood depends on swinging a golf club.

It’s a scary thought. Steve Stricker didn’t know what was going on with his health last fall. All he knew was that his arm “didn’t feel like it really wanted to move.” There were no answers at that precise moment. Only questions — about his career, about his future, about perhaps whether he would even compete on a world-class level again on the PGA TOUR.

Even after he found out that the problem was between the C6 and C7 vertebrae in his neck, there was no consensus on the treatment. One well-known doctor in his home state of Wisconsin recommended surgery. Stricker then talked to others. He got more information to make a decision. He opted to hold off on surgery. Instead, he would undergo physical therapy and get a couple of cortisone shots.

Stricker feels great now. “I want to emphasize that,” he said. And on Monday, he confirmed that the health of his game also is in excellent shape. His three-shot win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions was a study in patience, experience and determination to start the 2012 season off on the proper note and win on a Plantation Course that has tempted him in past visits.

“I was comfortable today,” Stricker said about the 12th win of his TOUR career that gives him 500 points and the early FedExCup lead. “That’s what I was really proud of.”

Monday certainly could’ve been a source of great discomfort for a lesser player. Just like the day before, Stricker’s five-shot lead was reduced to one stroke on the front nine, as the trio of Martin Laird, Webb Simpson and defending champ Jonathan Byrd took turns putting heat on Stricker.

After Stricker failed to birdie the par-5 fifth when he three-putted from 33 feet, then he bogeyed the sixth when he struggled to get out of a “gnarly little area” in front of the green, the world’s No. 6 player spent some time beating himself up.

http://www.pgatour.com/2012/tournaments/r016/01/09/mcallister-stricker/index.html

By Doug Ferguson
Jan 9, 2012 8:03 PM ET

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Steve Stricker has a bad habit of losing big leads. He managed to slip back into his old habit of winning.

Despite losing most of his five-shot lead in only six holes, Stricker steadied himself in time to kick off the new PGA Tour season with a three-shot victory in the Tournament of Champions on Monday.

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Right when it looked as though Stricker was coming unglued, he made back-to-back birdies at the turn. That restored his lead to three shots, and no one got closer than two shots the rest of the way.

Stricker birdied his last hole for a 4-under 69 for his 12th career win, which moved him to No. 5 in the world ranking.

Sweeter than the winner’s lei draped around his neck on the 18th green at Kapalua were his two children, 13-year-old Bobbi Maria and 5-year-old Isabella, there to greet him with a hug.

Stricker held back tears – they usually flow freely after a win – perhaps a sign that he’s getting used to this business of winning. It was his ninth PGA Tour win since he turned 40, and his eighth title in his last 50 tournaments.

As usual, he didn’t make it easy on himself.

Stricker had a five-shot lead going into the Monday finish on Maui, and it was just about gone when he muffed a flop shot and took bogey on the sixth hole.

Martin Laird, Webb Simpson and Jonathan Byrd each got within one shot of Stricker on the front nine, but not for long. Stricker rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth, pitched to tap-in range at the par-5 ninth and was on his way.

Laird closed with a 67, and his birdie on the last hole put him alone in second place. Byrd kept most of the pressure on Stricker along the back nine of the Plantation Course, but he bogeyed the 17th. He had a 68 and tied for third with Simpson, who had a 68.

Stricker could not have started the new season better – all four rounds in the 60s, and already able to book his room at Kapalua for next year.

“It was tough,” said Stricker, who finished at 23-under 269. “I never let up today. It’s always tough trying to win, and it’s even more tough when you have a lead like I did. I’m very proud of what I did today.

HAINAN, China — Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland ended the United States’ 11-year drought in golf’s World Cup by shooting a 5-under 67 on Sunday to win by two strokes.

The American pair fired six birdies in the alternate-shot final round at Mission Hills Blackstone course to finish at 24-under, 264 overall, notching the 24th U.S. win in the history of the tournament.

Gary Woodland and Matt Kuchar helped the United States end its 11-year victory drought in golf’s World Cup by shooting a 5-under 67 on Sunday.
English pair Ian Poulter and Justin Rose had the final day’s best round with a 63 to tie for second at 22-under with Germany’s Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka (69).

Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell led by two strokes going into the final round but could only manage an even-par 72 to finish tied for fourth with Australia, the Netherlands and Scotland.

The American victory was the first since Tiger Woods and David Duval claimed the title 11 years ago. The event was annual up until 2009, and this year’s tournament was the first in the new biennial format.

“We really clicked. It’s fantastic to win for the U.S.,” Woodland said.

The U.S. duo built a two-point lead over Germany midway through the round and after a rare slip with a bogey at the par-3 11th, the Americans responded with birdies on the next two holes and then pars the rest of the way to claim victory.

“Undoubtedly the shots on the 12 and 13th were key. It was a great moment and to shoot a par when you expected a bogey,” Kuchar said.

England seemed well out of contention heading into the final day eight shots off the lead, but soared into contention. However they needed more than one of the leading teams to falter. Instead it was only Ireland that came back to the field.

World No. 2 McIlroy was well below his best, hitting some loose shots, including a putt on the 18th which would have given Ireland a share of the runner-up check. The tournament favorites had a run of misfortune, including a penalty stroke on the 6th and four bogeys on the card.

They shared fourth with Australia’s Richard Green and Brendan Jones (69), plus Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher and Martin Laird (66) and the Dutch pairing of Robert-Jan Derksen and Joost Luiten (68).

Like Ireland, South Africa also had a pair of major winners who faltered on the final day, with Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen only able to record a 74 to quickly drop out of contention.

Defending champions Italy, represented by Edoardo Molinari and Francesco Molinari, also had a final-round 74 to finish 17th, 10 shots back.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

Nov 21 10:48a
by Kevin McCauley
Coming into team tournaments like the Presidents Cup, much like major tournaments, all eyes are on the highest ranked players in the world. The exception for the 2011 Presidents Cup was captain’s pick Tiger Woods of the USA, who didn’t exactly have a golf season that suggested he was one of the best 12 American golfers on the PGA Tour. Fred Couples picked Tiger for his experience and ability and that pick paid off, but he was far from the team’s biggest star in the Americans’ 19-15 win over the International team.

Instead of Woods or any of the top-ranked golfers on the United States team, Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan were the best performers for their squad. Furyk was perfect, going 5-0 as he played all five rounds of action. He partnered Phil Mickelson in their wins in the first three rounds of competition, then partnered Nick Watney in a huge one-up win over Ernie Els and Adam Scott in Saturday four-ball. On the final day, he defeated Els easily, 4&3, after the USA had lost six of the first eight singles matches.

Mahan was nearly as good. Though him and David Toms lost in Friday four-ball, he competed in and won in all four other rounds, capping off his performance with a 5&3 victory over Jason Day in singles that broke up a string of four-straight International wins on the final day.

This is now the sixth consecutive time the USA has won the Presidents Cup and the fourth straight time that they have won it outright, with the lone tie in the competition’s history coming in 2003. Since the Presidents Cup started in 1994, the International team has won just once.