McLennan Ross Sun Jr Championship

Calgarian Jaclyn Lee, the 2012 girls champion, holds her trophy at the conclusion of the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour championship held at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Red Deer’s Matt Codd won the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour championship held at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Youth golfers play at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. the resort hosted the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour, which brings together some of Alberta’s best junior talent. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Tony Hollett (right) watches as Chris Fuhr putts during the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour sponsors tournament on the Links course at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. the tour brings together some of Alberta’s best junior talent. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Junior tour golfers walk Hole 10 at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. the resort hosted the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour, which brings together some of Alberta’s best junior talent. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Red Deer’s Matt Codd won the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour championship held at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Austin Biletsky (left), 16, from Strathmore, and Andrew Harrison, 15, from Camrose, wait for their tee off on Hole 11 at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. the resort hosted the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour, which brings together some of Alberta’s best junior talent. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Red Deer’s Matt Codd won the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour championship held at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Austin Biletsky, 16, from Strathmore, tees off on Hole 11, at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. the resort hosted the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour, which brings together some of Alberta’s best junior talent. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Eric Field, 16, makes an approach shot on to the Hole 11 green at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. the resort hosted the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour, which brings together some of Alberta’s best junior talent. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Taylor Burdick, 17, from Calgary, at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. the resort hosted the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour, which brings together some of Alberta’s best junior talent. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Red Deer’s Matt Codd won the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour championship held at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Red Deer’s Matt Codd shakes hands with Brett Pasula during a playoff held at the conclusion of the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour championship held at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. Codd won after a playoff against Pasula, from Red Deer, and Tyler Saunders from Edmonton. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

(Left to right) Anthony Espejo, Melissa Nilson, David Risling and Jordan Andrew, McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour sponsors, pose for a photo at the conclusion of their round during the corporate tournament portion of the event at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. the tour brings together some of Alberta’s best junior talent. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Golfers Matt Codd and Brett Pasula walk off the course at the conclusion of the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour championship held at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. Codd won after a playoff against Pasula and Tyler Saunders. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Red Deer’s Brett Pasula reacts to a putt during a playoff against Dustin Saunders and held at the conclusion of the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour championship held at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. Matt Codd, also from Red Deer, won the championship. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Red Deer’s Brett Pasula chips during a playoff against Red Deer’s Matt Codd and Edmonton’s Tyler Saunders held at the conclusion of the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour championship held at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

Theoren Olver, 16, from Three Hills (left), and Eric Field, 16, push their golf bags on Hole 11 at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, outside of Ponoka, Alberta, on August 27, 2012. the resort hosted the McLennan Ross Sun Junior Golf Tour, which brings together some of Alberta’s best junior talent. IAN KUCERAK/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

McLennan Ross Sun Jr Championship

True Acceleration Improves Your fleeting Game With Discount Golf Clubs » Outdoor Sports

Nearly everyone that has played the game has heard that you should accelerate through putts, chips and pitches. Nearly everyone that has played the game has also heard that the fleeting game is optimal learned resort to a pendulum stroke. Sometimes you will even hear instructors tell students about a pendulum stroke and then tell them to accelerate, leaving the student confused and struggling.

In order to truly comprehend the challenge of chipping and putting with true acceleration, one needs to analyze what acceleration is. the universal idea of a pendulum stroke is such that the backstroke and forward stroke with discount golf clubs are approximate in distance and speed, as with a pendulum. There are no pendulums that I have ever seen that go fast on one side, fleeting on the other, or fleeting on one side, and long on the other. Pendulums are equivalent in distance on both sides, and equivalent in speed on both sides.

Do pendulums accelerate? Yes they do, and that is where we find the answer to true acceleration. If you look at a pendulum, it swings back and forth with very equivalent distance and pace, giving the impression that there is no acceleration to either side. however, upon further examination, you will realize that anytime an article changes direction, it must cease prior to going the other way. This is where you will find true acceleration. the putting stroke is the most visible pendulum stroke with discount golf clubs, but this technique should also be apply to chipping and pitching. resort to an equivalent backstroke and forward stroke enables for the greatest unplanned to control distance and execute a more solid strike of the ball.

Most golfers confuse acceleration, creating a faster forward stroke than backstroke. People constantly tell them they need to accelerate through the shot, consequently they attempt to speed the forward stroke to execute acceleration. This forced action requires an extended in tension in the hands and arms, and often is the first step to creating a “yip” stroke. the club should be accelerating as it moves forward much like your car will accelerate. Your car must go from 10, to 20, to 30, and consequently on. the discount golf clubs must do the same. when a player forces acceleration, the club will often have a dramatic extended in speed, creating a tense, forced motion. This forced motion also bounds your capacity to control distance, and ultimately, creates less solid shots.

Begin taking strokes in all of your fleeting shots with a more even stroke back and through. then once you obtain a feel for allowing the club to come forward rather than making the club come forward, you can appear controlling the distance of the shots by the length of the stroke. There are exceptions to every rule, but if you watch the optimal players in the world with the optimal fleeting games, you will see a very even stroke with putting, chipping and pitching with discount golf clubs. It is not the sole way to execute true acceleration, just the optimal way.

Watch your favorite players and look at the way the club comes forward. There is no forced acceleration. That is what makes it look consequently effortless. nothing is forced.

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True Acceleration Improves Your fleeting Game With Discount Golf Clubs » Outdoor Sports

Australian heartbreak at British Open – Sports – Castanet.net

Photo: the Canadian Press. all rights reserved. Ernie Els of South Africa putts on the 18th green to finish his round at Royal Lytham & St Annes golf club during the final round of the British Open Golf Championship, Lytham St Annes, England Sunday, July 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ernie Els felt something special could happen at the British Open, and it did.

all because of a collapse by Adam Scott that no one imagined.

four shots ahead with four holes to play, after eight straight holes with nothing worse than par, Scott bogeyed them all and had to fight back tears on the 18th green Sunday as the magnitude of his meltdown began to sink in.

Els, who started the final round six shots behind, finished off a flawless back nine with a 15-foot birdie putt for a 2-under 68 that looked as if it would do little more than lock up another runner-up finish at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

instead, he wound up with his second British Open, the other one was 10 years ago at Muirfield, and fourth major championship at a stage in his career when it seemed as though his best golf was behind him.

the celebration was muted, unlike his other three majors.

"I'm a little numb at the moment," said Els, who was on the practice green behind the clubhouse when he won. "first of all, I feel for Adam Scott. He's a great friend of mine. Obviously, we both wanted to win very badly. But you know, that's the nature of the beast. That's why we're out here. you win, you lose.

"It was my time for some reason."

the wind finally arrived off the Irish Sea and ushered in pure chaos, a mental blunder by Tiger Woods that led to triple bogey on the sixth hole, a lost ball by Brandt Snedeker that took him out of contention and a topped shot that made former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell look like an amateur.

Nothing was more stunning that what happened to Scott.

He failed to get up-and-down from a bunker on the 15th. With a wedge in his hand in the 16th fairway, he went 30 feet long and missed a 3-foot par putt. From the fairway on the 17th, he pulled his approach into thick grass left of the green. And on the final hole, he hit 3-wood near the face of a pot bunker.

Scott still had a chance to force extra holes with a strong shot into 7 feet on the 18th for par. the putt stayed left the entire way. his chin buckled, and it looked as if he might start crying on the green. He composed himself and mouthed one word: "Wow."

"I had it in my hands with four to go," Scott said. "I managed to hit a poor shot on each of the closing four holes. look, I played so beautifully for most of the week. I shouldn't let this bring me down."

even so, it added another chapter to Australian heartbreak, most of that belonging to his idol, Greg Norman.

Scott was the fourth Australian since the 2007 Masters to lead going into the final round of a major, yet the proud land down Under remains without a major since Geoff Ogilvy won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in 2006.

Already in the World Golf Hall of Fame, the 42-year-old Els joined even more elite company. He became only the sixth player to win the U.S. Open and British Open twice. the others are Jack Nicklaus, Woods, Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones and Lee Trevino.

Woods came undone on the sixth hole when he tried to blast out of a bunker from a plugged lie, stayed in the bunker, and three-putted for triple bogey. Still with an outside chance after a birdie on the 12th, he stuck with his conservative plan of hitting iron off the tee and made three straight bogeys. He closed with a 73 to tie for third with Brandt Snedeker, who also had his share of problems for a 74.

Woods had his best finish in a major since he lost to Y.E. Yang in the 2009 PGA Championship, though he remains winless in his last 17.

"It's part of golf," said Woods, who move to no. 2 in the world. "we all go through these phases. some people, it lasts entire careers. Others are a little bit shorter. even the greatest players to ever play have all gone through little stretches like this."

Els finished at 7-under 273. He failed to qualify for the Masters this year for the first time in nearly two decades, but that won't be a problem now. his win gives him a five-year exemption into the majors.

even in the closing ceremony, holding that precious claret jug for the second time, his thoughts immediately went to Scott.

"sorry," he said, looking at the 32-year-old Australian, whose final bogey gave him a 75. "You're a great player, a great friend of mine. I feel very fortunate. You're going to win many of these."

It took Scott a decade just to get into position, and he let it slip away. It was the most shocking collapse at the British Open since Jean Van de Velde took a triple bogey on the final hole at Carnoustie and lost in a playoff. But this was different. It wasn't a last-minute blowup, more of a slow bleed, similar to Jason Dufner losing a five-shot lead to Keegan Bradley in the PGA Championship last year, or Ed Sneed making bogey on the last three holes at the 1979 Masters.

"I know I let a really great chance slip through my fingers today," Scott said.

Australian heartbreak at British Open – Sports – Castanet.net

Jim Furyk rides hot putter to two-shot lead at Firestone

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Jim Furyk went from a bunker to the right of the 10th fairway at Firestone to another bunker short of the green, leaving a difficult shot that he blasted out some 8 feet by the hole for an even tougher putt to save his par because of how it broke sharply to the right.

He made the putt, which was as satisfying as some of the birdies he made Friday on his way to the lowest 36-hole score of his career and a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Furyk is not the longest hitter, though he's long enough and atones for it by being straight. No one ever questions the quality of his iron play. His fortunes depend largely on how well he putts, and that explains why he had his worst full season a year ago since his rookie year on tour.

“I putted horrible last year,” Furyk said.

It was so bad that he even tried a belly putter, an experiment that lasted about a month. he found something in his stroke that he took down under to the lightening quick of Royal Melbourne and won all five of his matches in the Presidents Cup.

“In my career, that's probably my best putting event of my career,” he said.

Even though Furyk hasn't won this year, it has carried over. he lost in a playoff in Tampa. he was tied for the lead in the U.S. Open until a snap hook from a shorter tee on the 16th hole led to a bogey, a lost shot he couldn't make up over the last two holes. in both cases, he was putting on fast greens.

And that might explain what he's doing at 11-under 129, two shots clear of Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain, another shot ahead of Louis Oosthuizen, and a whopping 13 shots ahead of Tiger Woods, a seven-time champion at Firestone.

Yes, Furyk came to Ohio in a bit of the doldrums, though he attributed some of that to the greens. They were slow at Greenbrier, where he missed the cut. the greens are always on the slow side in links golf, particularly a British Open that is green from so much rain. And he missed the cut at the rain-soaked Canadian Open.

“I'm more comfortable on fast greens like we're seeing this week,” he said.

Woods isn't comfortable at all.

Nothing spelled out his frustrations quite like the seventh hole, his 16th of the round on Friday. he hit a tee shot on the par 3 that covered the flag and settled just inside 5 feet from the cup. he missed the birdie putt. Then, he missed the next one. Three putts from inside 5 feet for a bad bogey.

The rest of his round wasn't much better, and he wound up with a 72 to head into the weekend at 2-over 142. It's his highest score to par since he went 72-75 at the Masters and was 3-over par.

There was really nothing to say, and for a short time, no one did. Woods stood before a microphone looking out at a dozen reporters, waiting for a question, until one of them suggested that he comment on his round and everyone will go to lunch.

“OK, sweet,” Woods said, playing along. “I hit it good, made nothing, and we can all go eat now.”

What followed was more queries, trying to get to the bottom of why the guy who used to make everything can't make hardly anything now. Putting has been dogging Woods since the late winter, when he couldn't buy a putt at Pebble Beach, and two weeks later lost in the second round of the Match Play Championship when his 5-foot putt to extend the match never even hit the hole.

Then again, Woods has won three times this year on the PGA Tour, more than any other player. Life is not that bad.

It just hasn't been a good week, and there have been a few of those.

“I get in these little spells where it's hot or cold,” Woods said. “Generally, I was a decent putter over the years, but lately it's been very streaky. I'm making everything or I make nothing. … I'm playing well. I'm hitting it well. I'm making nothing. certainly, I didn't hit it good enough to be 11-under par, but I certainly hit it good enough to be right there in the top five going into the weekend, no problem at all.”

Those spots – the players chasing Furyk – belong to others.

Cabrera-Bello is getting used to these big events – this is his third World Golf Championship of the of the year, and next week will be his third major – and he pieced together a 65 in the morning, on two occasions tied for the lead.

Oosthuizen, a delight to watch with that effortless swing, ran off a 65 and was three shots behind. Jason Dufner overcame a late mistake for a 66 and was four shot behind, with K.T. Kim of South Korea (67) another shot behind.

Luke Donald and David Toms were six shots back. That seems like a lot against Furyk, especially the way he has been playing, though Furyk had one eye on the forecast. a little wind could make Firestone a little more fiery and firm. Perhaps some rain is due by Sunday, which might make it play longer.

For now, he's right where he wants to be – atop the leaderboard with a shot at his first win of the year, and in dire need of a good result going into the PGA Championship, the final qualifying event for the Ryder Cup. Furyk is at No. 15. he can't break into the automatic eight even after a win, but it would all but lock him up as a captain's pick. he has not missed a Ryder Cup since his debut in 1997.

Jim Furyk rides hot putter to two-shot lead at Firestone

Lincicome, Kerr and Salas share Open lead

Ai Miyazato of Japan watches her shot from the 10th tee during the start of the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament at Blackwolf run in Kohler (DARREN HAUCK, REUTERS / July 5, 2012)

Reuters

9:38 p.m. CDT, July 5, 2012

(Reuters) – Long-hitting Brittany Lincicome birdied two of her last four holes in energy-sapping heat to surge into a three-way tie for the lead in Thursday’s opening round of the U.S. Women’s Open in Kohler, Wisconsin. Lincicome, who claimed her only major title at the 2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship, fired a three-under-par 69 at Blackwolf run to end a marathon day level with fellow Americans Cristie Kerr and Lizette Salas. “I was very in control of everything today, which is a nice feeling, obviously,” a beaming Lincicome told reporters after recording five birdies and two bogeys. “I knew exactly where my tee shots were going. I knew exactly where my irons were going. “The putts, even if I read them wrong, I still kind of got back on track, and I was making them. It was one of those days where you were like, ‘That was easy’.” Kerr, winner of the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open, parred her final 11 holes after recording three birdies in her first seven while LPGA rookie Salas mixed four birdies with a lone bogey as the trio took joint control of the year’s third major. “My goal is to kind of play like this consistently for the rest of this week and we’ll see where it falls,” said world number eight Kerr, who has not triumphed on the LPGA Tour since her second major victory at the 2010 LPGA Championship. “I’ve been pretty inconsistent this year, but I’ve found that determination, that fire in my belly today. you never know when the light switch turns on, and I feel like it has.” Japan’s Ai Miyazato, who clinched her ninth LPGA Tour title at the NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday, was among a group of four players one stroke off the pace after she opened with a four-birdie 70. BURIED MEMORIES the in-form Miyazato played most of her round before the temperature peaked at around 98 degrees Fahrenheit (36.66 degrees Celsius) and said she had intentionally buried memories of her victory four days ago. “Last week was just last week,” the 27-year-old world number three said. “I try to forget about my winning because this week is just a completely different golf course and different conditions, too. “I just trying to shake off everything and make a fresh start, and that’s why I think I played really well today.” asked how difficult it had been to cope with the soaring temperatures and high humidity, Miyazato replied: “I’m lucky because I played in the morning, so it wasn’t too bad. “But the last five holes it was really hard. I had the ice pack in my golf bag … and that helped. It wasn’t easy to keep really strong focus. you are just trying to stay in the present, and not really think about this heat.” Miyazato birdied four of her last nine holes to finish the opening round level with Americans Jennie Lee and 17-year-old Lexi Thompson as well as Spaniard Beatriz Recari. Taiwan’s world number one Yani Tseng, who has claimed five of the last 10 major titles, carded a roller-coaster 74 that included four birdies, one double-bogey and a triple-bogey at the par-four 11th. “I only had two bad holes,” said Tseng, who ended the opening round level with Michelle Wie and South Korea’s Ryu So-yeon, who won last year’s U.S. Women’s Open in a playoff with compatriot Seo Hee-kyung. “I hung in there, didn’t give up any more shots, fought to the end and made up a couple of birdies on the back. two over is not far back, and there is lots of golf to play in the next three days.” (Reporting by mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue and Nick Mulvenney)

Lincicome, Kerr and Salas share Open lead

Dougherty Wins Southwestern Amateur – Oklahoma State Official Athletic Site

June 15, 2012

MARANA, Ariz. – Oklahoma State’s Kevin Dougherty posted a 74 during the final round of play on Friday at the 97th annual Southwestern Amateur at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain on his way to a three-shot victory.

The rising junior carded his 2-over score in hot and windy conditions en route to a 72-hole total of 279. Dougherty’s 9-under total put him three strokes clear of Michael Davan at the par-72, 7,849-yard layout. the Murrieta, Calif., also posted rounds of 69, 66 and 70 on his way to victory

“I had a good ball striking day, but had some 3-putts on the first five holes on the front nine,” Dougherty said. “I was a little nervous on the first tee, but I am always nervous on the first tee.”

Dougherty’s victory came on the same course where former Cowboy All-American Hunter Mahan won the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship this past February.   

Dougherty Wins Southwestern Amateur – Oklahoma State Official Athletic Site

Woods trails Singh by 8 at Greenbrier Classic – Golf – The Olympian – Olympia, Washington news, weather and sports

Coming off a win last week at Congressional, Woods shot a 1-over-par 71 Thursday and was eight strokes behind first-round leader Vijay Singh on the Old White TPC Course.

He’ll need some improvement on Friday to keep pace with a field that amassed 62 under-par rounds Thursday.

Woods committed to the Greenbrier Classic in may and didn’t play Old White for the first time until Wednesday. he needed 31 putts in the first round and said the greens were slower than those in his last three tournaments.

“I was a little bit off with my game, and on top of that I didn’t have the speed of these greens at all,” said Woods, the tour leader this year with three victories. “I missed literally every single putt high today.”

The greens were far more forgiving on approach shots than last year, when they were reseeded and Scott Stallings won at 10 under.

Singh had his best round in six months, shooting a 7-under 63 to lead Jeff Maggert, Jonathan Byrd and Martin Flores by one stroke.

“Gosh, I don’t know where that came from,” the 49-year-old Singh said. “I’ve been playing pretty good golf for a while, but just never got any scoring going. But today seemed I hit it close and drove the ball really well, hit a lot of greens and made some nice putts.”

The last time Singh played this well was an 8-under 64 in the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January.

Singh is playing in his ninth tournament in 10 weeks with two top-20 finishes in that span. last week, he also got off to a fast start but shot 81 in the final round and tied for 49th.

Something clicked Thursday, when he made six birdies on the back nine, finishing with four straight.

“Hopefully it keeps going,” Singh said. “I don’t feel tired. I feel really energized. I’ve been working really hard on my game, so it’s nice to see something happen.”

Singh earned the last of his 34 PGA Tour wins four years ago and will be eligible to join the Champions Tour in February.

Maggert, a year younger than Singh, has had to earn his PGA Tour card through qualifying school in two of the last three years. he hasn’t won since the 2006 St. Jude Classic and missed the cut in more than half his tournaments this year, including last week.

Although he feels he has a disadvantage off the tee compared with younger players on the 7,274-yard Old White, Maggert used strong iron play to make four birdies on his front nine.

Asked to describe his birdie putts, Maggert joked, “At my age, it’s hard to remember – short-term memory’s going.”

He didn’t need a big measuring stick – three of his six birdies overall were from less than 10 feet in a bogey-free round.

“I feel really comfortable here,” Maggert said. “There’s a lot of guys out here in their 40s, late 40s, that can really play some good golf still. So it’s not surprising to see some of the old guys up on the leaderboard.”

Byrd has five career wins and already has five top-10 finishes this year. he hadn’t played since the U.S. Open and fought through a nagging cough to finish birdie-bogey-birdie Thursday.

Flores had a rare bogey-free round that was his second best of the year. he spent the majority of 2011 on the Nationwide Tour, now called the Web.com Tour.

Playing alongside U.S. Open champ Webb Simpson and Steve Stricker and starting on no. 10, Woods birdied two of his first three holes in his final tuneup before the British Open in two weeks.

On the par-5 17th, he drove into a hazard, took a penalty stroke and three-putted from 20 feet for double bogey.

Phil Mickelson matched Woods with a 71. Mickelson vowed to focus more on golf this time after taking advantage of the resort’s numerous amenities with his family last year and missing the cut.

“I didn’t play that bad (Thursday),” Mickelson said. “But I made some mistakes there that were just a little sloppy.”

Simpson, J.B. Holmes, Andres Romero and Garth Mulroy shot 65. K.J. Choi was among a group of seven at 66.

Stallings birdied his final three holes Thursday for a 67.

Woods trails Singh by 8 at Greenbrier Classic – Golf – The Olympian – Olympia, Washington news, weather and sports

Nordea Masters: Westwood Three Clear

Finishing at 16 under for the tournament after a run of three birdies on the back nine, the Englishman held off his nearest challenger and compatriot Ross Fisher, who carded a fantastic 65 to prove that he had put last week’s penalty at the Wales Open behind him.

“I played well, hit a lot of good shots,” Westwood said.

“I didn’t really get into too much trouble. I got a bit of a flier on the second and that was the only bogey I made all day.”

Beginning the day with a birdie on the first, Westwood struggled to keep his momentum with a bogey on the second.

But this was quickly recovered with a flawless approach to the par three fourth which he easily birdied, eventually going out in 35.

“I did misread a couple of putts on the front nine, the one on five and the one on eight, but other than that I putted well,” he added.

“I’ve read the greens well this week and rolled in a couple of nice ones on the back nine.”

A run of three birdies on the way back from the 11th allowed Westwood to stay ahead of the chasing pack – including playing partner Peter Hanson, whose 69 left him one shot behind Fisher on 12 under.

England’s Richard Bland sits in fourth place after a 68, while in fifth place are Swedish duo Michael Jonzon and defending champion Alexander Noren.

Andrew Wild from Leaderboard’s Sandford Springs course said:

“Lee Westwood has played consistently well this week and it would be fantastic to see him win tomorrow.”

Nordea Masters: Westwood Three Clear

Thompson Leads U.S. Open; Tiger near the Top

Michael Thompson had a special Thursday at the Olympic Club. The 27-year-old Tucson native fired a stellar 4-under 66 to take the opening-round lead in the U.S. Open.

After going out on the front side with an even-par 34 thanks to three birdies and a like number of bogeys, Thompson warmed up with four birdies on the back on a day when only six players broke par at Olympic’s hard-and-fast Lake course alongside Lake Merced in San Francisco.

Paired in the first two rounds this year with Colt Knost, Thompson has some experience at this year’s Open venue: he lost to the Texan 2 & 1 in the 36-hole final of the 2007 U.S. Amateur at Olympic.

“I thought it was a great opportunity for us to go out and have a little rematch. It was a lot of fun. Colt is a great guy, and a great competitor,” Thompson said in a TV interview (Knost had a 75). “We both have a lot of good memories from this place. It’s just exciting to be back here at the Olympic Club.”

Thompson played as an amateur at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines; this is his first as a professional, yet he’s staying with the same family as he did for the Amateur. “I think it’s a real advantage having played here in 2007,” said Thompson, who needed only 22 putts Thursday. “A lot of the players haven’t seen the changes to the courses since 1998. Knowing, remembering certain spots that I have been in before, you play the course 15, 20 times, you’re going to know where to hit it and where not to. And what side of the hole is best.” (See below for Thompson’s full post-round interview.)

Playing in the marquee threesome with reigning Masters’ champion Bubba Watson and four-time major winner Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods had a good outing, carding a slick 1-under 69 that listed three birdies and a pair of bogeys. Watson opened with a 78 and Mickelson a 76.

Woods is tied for second with David Toms, Nick Watney, 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose.

“I played well today,” noted Woods, who’s looking for his fourth U.S. Open title, which would put him three shy of Jack Nicklaus’s all-time record of 18 major titles. “I felt like I had control of my game all day and just stuck to my game plan and executed my game plan.

“Made a couple changes out there because the wind had shifted and the fairways were faster and so it was, we knew it was going to get quick as the week progressed, but we didn’t think it was going to happen overnight,” added Woods, who birdied two of the toughest holes on the course, the par-4s at Nos. 4 (438 yards) and 5 (489).

“I was really, really surprised at how much it had changed from last night or from yesterday. we teed off the same time yesterday and it wasn’t that bad. Come out here today and it’s just like they used SubAir (system) on the whole place and it was just quick. And we had to make the adjustments and I felt like I did that today.” McDowell has an affinity for U.S. Open courses and he’s proven it in the past. “I’ve always enjoyed the U.S. Open, even before I won Pebble (Beach) I always enjoyed the U.S. Open setups. And if you would have asked me before I won Pebble where did I fancy my chances, which majors did I like the best, I probably would have always said to you the U.S. Open and the British Open. Those are the two that I would always choose. “I’ve always enjoyed the set-ups,” added the 32-year-old Northern Irishman. “It really rewards placement off the tee, just hanging tough, staying patient, placing your iron shots, chipping, putting; really it’s golf’s toughest test. And they set the course up really it’s unique the golf course this year, there’s no doubt about it. It asks you to hit very perspective shots.” like Woods, 13-time Tour winner Toms posted a three-birdie, three-bogey 69. The 2001 PGA champion, whose last victory came at the 2011 Colonial, was pleased with his score and impressed with the USGA’s work for the course in the first round. “I thought the golf course was set up pretty nicely, actually,” said the 45-year-old Louisianan. “I think if somebody – well, you saw 4 under par today, so obviously you can score on the golf course the way it was set up. They had a couple of tees moved up. The ball was chasing out, so it wasn’t playing that long. It was just very, very difficult to get the ball in the fairway. “So if you can’t do that, then you can’t attack the pins that are close to the edges,” added Toms. “For me 1-under par was obviously a great round of golf. My short game was good today, my up-and-down game. I scored probably better than I played. I couldn’t seem to find the fairways early, and some way, I just scrambled around and made a lot of pars and started to hit the ball better, get the ball in the fairway.” The field’s other heralded triumvirate – no. 1-ranked Luke Donald, no. 2 Rory McIlroy and no. 3 Lee Westwood – failed to impress, finishing a collective 19-over par Thursday. Donald had a 79, defending champion McIlroy an eight-bogey-one-birdie 77, and Westwood a 73. McIlroy knows he’d better get his act together to have any chance of retaining the U.S. Open’s hardware, called the Jack Nicklaus Medal for the first time this year. “I . . . was in the wrong position off the tee or with my second shot and it makes it very difficult,” the 23-year-old Ulsterman said. “You know, when you’re trying to play catch up on this golf course; it’s very hard. I was able to make one birdie out there today. I need to try to make more tomorrow and limit the mistakes. “But you have to be so precise. Anything just a little off and it really punishes you. You have to be precise with your tee shots and your iron shots and leave it on the right side of the pins and today I didn’t really do any of that.” Donald didn’t adhere to his comments about Olympic – and himself – made this week. “As I said earlier, the U.S. Open, the margins are that much smaller and if you’re just a little bit off, which I was today, it’s tough,” he told reporters. “And then you have to really rely on chipping it close and making some putts and I didn’t do that. “My putter kind of went cold today; otherwise I could have probably grounded out a more respectable score. but this place is tough. I feel like even from yesterday it got a lot tougher and I didn’t hit the shots when I needed to.” Jason Dufner, one of the pre-tournament favorites off his two-win season and leadership of the season-long FedEx Cup points list, carded a 72. for awhile Thursday, Michael Allen had the shot of the day after jarring his second shot on the par-4 14th for an eagle. “I had about 142 (yards) to the hole. It was into the wind, it was playing kind of long,” noted Allen, a native San Franciscan, Champions Tour regular and member at Olympic since he was a teenager. “So I kind of hit like a nice 150 shot and it just came out. At that point, I just felt I really needed to hit a good shot and get a good birdie putt and then to see it go in. “I felt like maybe now I’m kind of back in the tournament and having a chance to still be, get things going out here and get things going the right way,” added Allen, the 2009 Senior PGA champion, who posted a 1-over 71 and is in contention. but then Watney took over shot-of-the-day honors with a very rare double-eagle on the 17th. From about 190 yards on the 522-yard par-5, the Sacramento native holed out a tantalizingly, rolling 5-iron to tremendous cheers from the gallery. It was only the third albatross in U.S. Open history. T.C. Chen did it in 1985 on the second hole at Oakland Hills, and Shaun Micheel managed the near-impossible feat in 2010 on the sixth at Pebble Beach. Beau Hossler, a 17-year-old from Mission Viejo, Calif., who also played in last year’s Open at Congressional but didn’t make the cut, is the low amateur through 18 holes, posting an impressive even-par 70. He’s tied for seventh with such luminaries as Matt Kuchar, Ian Poulter and former U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk. The teenager was in the first group out Thursday and took advantage of the pristine status of the course. “It was great,” said Hossler, who will play golf next year for the University of Texas. “Got to play on pure greens for the first nine holes and these greens are really good even on the back nine with people trampling them. I’m sure they will be good tomorrow . . . they were perfect the first nine. So it was great to go out with no wind as well.” Hossler isn’t the most callow stripling in the 2012 U.S. Open; that honor goes to Andy Zhang, a 14-year-old from China who now lives in San Diego. Zhang is the youngest-ever contestant in 112 American national golf championships and the first entrant from China; he posted a 79, tying the top-rated player in the world and 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell, among others. Zhang found the conditions a bit different than Hossler. “(The course) was really tough,” he said. “I didn’t hit the ball quite well, but my putting was okay. So, but the course is really tough. So I’m actually okay with what I shot today . . . At least I broke 80.” Casey Martin, the Oregon men’s golf team coach who qualified for his second U.S. Open – the first was in 1998 also at Olympic – carded a 74. “I felt like I was in a war,” the 40-year-old Martin said at greenside. Martin, who finished in 23rd place 14 years ago, is allowed to use a golf cart due to a birth defect in his right leg. considering that Martin hasn’t played much competitive golf, his round might have been even more remarkable than Thompson’s. “It’s been a long time,” the Oregon native – dressed Thursday in the Ducks’ garish Nike green – said to reporters about his previous tournaments. “A long time . . . because I haven’t competed in six years, you feel nerves. The sectional qualifying, I got a little nervous, but not like this. I haven’t felt like this in a long, long time. It’s the U.S. Open, you don’t, you can play in PGA Tour events all day long (and) it doesn’t feel like this. “I love to compete, I love the game,” he added. “I wouldn’t want to play this tournament every week . . . it’s such a stress. I don’t know how to explain that. I’m trying not to be overly dramatic . . . it’s just really, really stressful. Especially when I’m not used to playing in front of people and there’s people and then the fairways are really tight and the greens are so tough. It’s just everything combined . . . it’s overwhelming at times, but you just got to kind of take a deep breath.” After signing his card, Thompson met with reporters and discussed his fine outing. MODERATOR: We’re very happy to have joining us Michael Thompson who opened with a sparkling 66 today. Can you talk a little bit about your round and how you were feeling out there? MICHAEL THOMPSON: Feeling really calm and relaxed. I had a game plan going in. I’ve been here from Friday practicing, so I felt really comfortable on the course. Just going in, I know it’s a U.S. Open, so you’ve got to go in and expect to make bogeys and expect to make tough putts for par. I got off to a I guess a pretty good start. I made bogey on the first hole but made a good par on the second from the back, left bunker and holed out from the bunker on 3 for birdie. I felt like I was sticking to my game plan and really just trying to be patient and know that the chances were going to come. I guess I made a couple of bogeys on the 5 and 6 and then birdied 7 and 9 to get back to even par. And then on the backside the putter just I mean seems like every putt went in the hole. I think I made five 3′s in a row, and then was cruising. Got a little nervous there once all those cameras showed up. It’s always a little bit of an adjustment. In that sense, I kind of wish I was Phil or Tiger, because you get the cameras from the beginning. but really held it together. 16 was playing really difficult into the wind today. And then 17, I thought a hit a great third shot and then almost putted it in from just off the back of the green. then 18 I was just trying to hit a good putt and made I guess a 10 footer or so for birdie to finish off the round. It was just fun. I love this golf course. It’s the U.S. Open and I told my caddie a couple of times, I said, man, this is so awesome being here. I’ve been looking forward to hopefully playing in this event for over two years, since the U.S. Amateur in ’07. I just can’t be more thrilled. MODERATOR: Speaking of the 2007 Amateur, you were the runner up that year. You have a lot of experience. You’ve played a lot of rounds here. How nice is it to have that familiarity as you head out playing in the Open? MICHAEL THOMPSON: I think it’s a real advantage. There’s a lot of guys out on Tour who – especially some of the older guys haven’t seen the course since ’98 and it’s very, very different from then. And to be able to have that experience, I almost played, I guess 11, rounds in nine or ten days and you play a golf course, any golf course that many times you’re going to know where to hit it. I don’t know, I just fed off those vibes. I hit a lot of good shots, made a lot of good putts that week, and obviously off to a great start this week. Q. The first thing you said was you were calm and relaxed. How do you stay calm and relaxed in the first round of a U.S. Open? MICHAEL THOMPSON: this is my third major now. I got to play, too, as an amateur, where basically you have no expectations, no – there’s no real pressure on you playing as an amateur, because you have nothing to lose. I kind of just try to go in with the same attitude. I’ve got nothing to lose. this is just a bonus in my career. I’m not guaranteed into all the majors as a professional. And to be able to have the opportunity to play is just a wonderful experience. And then to have it be on one of my most favorite golf courses in the world, even better. I just – I’ve been working hard since Friday, and I think that really calmed me down in terms of I have something to focus on other than what’s going on around me. And I just went out and enjoyed the experience. I didn’t really care what happened today. I know what I’m working on right now is going to benefit me further on into the future. Q. because you wanted to get here so badly and this is kind of a bonus for you, was there actually kind of more pressure on you, in the sectional you wanted to advance and that was the big round for you? MICHAEL THOMPSON: oh, yeah. It’s like the second stage of Q School. second stage is really tougher than the final stage. being able – one, being exempt into the sectionals was a huge benefit. but my game wasn’t near what I wanted it to be going into sectionals. I teed it up that day really wanting to qualify, but at the same time really not having a whole lot of confidence in my abilities. And I went out and played great – played okay in the first round, I was just real conservative. I got upset at myself. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, had 20 minutes in between rounds, and went straight to the driving range and pounded 6 irons for 15 minutes. I was so determined I was going to get my swing to where I wanted to be to actually go out and play and be competitive. And the wind kicked up, which has always been good for me. I always have felt like I’m a good wind player. My putter got hot, as well. when I got done that day I couldn’t believe I finished second. I had no idea where I stood and I felt like there was enough good players that I’d be right around the cut line. It just all worked out. Q. You know that people are going to look at the leaderboard and see Michael Thompson at 4 under and look right past you to Tiger Woods at 1 under. make the argument why they shouldn’t look past you, that Michael Thompson’s name could stay in this mix over the weekend? MICHAEL THOMPSON: Well, the way I look at it is I’ve always kind of flown under the radar. Obviously my name’s in the spotlight, but a lot of people don’t know who I am. And I’m totally okay with that because I’ve always been a player that just kind of hangs around. I don’t give up very easily and I’m very proud of that. Give Tiger the spotlight. I don’t care. I’m going to go out and play my game. If I go out and putt the way I did today I’ll be in contention. Q. You talk about your experience on this course. Have you played here much since the U.S. Amateur; and same question, are you enjoying a little friendly revenge against most, at least for today? MICHAEL THOMPSON: You know, actually I haven’t been back to San Francisco since ’07. I’ve been meaning to come and visit the family that I’m staying with, I’m staying with the same family I did during the U.S. am. Jim and Joanne Hickman. They live on Lombard Street, on the crookedest street in the world. It’s been a joy to be able to spend time with them, kind of reminisce on days past and just enjoy this new experience. Today was fun with Colt. we talked about the U.S. Amateur and the changes with the golf course from then till now. And just joking and just enjoying, I guess, each other’s company. I know Colt’s a strong competitor and he’s going to fight back. I know he didn’t have a great round today, but I don’t expect him to be out of this by any means. Q. this is event is so magnified. People are going to see your name and want to know more about you. How would you describe Michael, the person, not the player? MICHAEL THOMPSON: Well, I like to – my parents raised me real well in that I was very well rounded. I played soccer all the way through high school, obviously played golf competitively and loved golf. I played basketball until I was 12. I’m an Eagle Scout. I love giving back. I try to do as many junior clinics as I can. I go down and practice with the Alabama golf team all the time trying to instill what little wisdom I have. They’re so good they don’t need any. I’ve gone up and talked to the Vanderbilt golf team. I’m a strong Christian. I miss going to church at the church in Birmingham where I live. I have a couple really good friends in Birmingham that it’s always nice to go home to, because we don’t talk about golf, at all. And good friends of mine, Ben and Beth Moody, and they are not afraid to tell me how it is. As a golfer, especially on this stage, it’s really nice to have people like that. but I’m married to a wonderful woman, Rachel. She’s out here every week supporting me. I wouldn’t be here without all the people around me. I’m not Michael Thompson without my team. I owe a lot of credit to them. Q. You said early on that as the crowd started – to be more cameras as the round went on you felt more nervous. What is your anticipation tonight for tomorrow? Are you a guy that visualizes about things it’s going to be like? MICHAEL THOMPSON: The good thing is that I can refer to a lot of past memories, playing in the Masters as an amateur, playing in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines as an amateur. I can look back on when I had the lead at McGladrey last year, when I was tied for the lead at the Canadian Open last year. I’m going to look back on those memories and how I felt during those rounds, post lead and all that stuff and try to just learn from it. I know tomorrow is Friday, just go out and do my best. Anything can happen. It’s a U.S. Open, I could get bad bounces tomorrow. That kind of stuff is out of my control. but I can do the visualizations and build on the confidence that I gained today to go out tomorrow and have fun. And as far as tonight is, tonight is going to be relaxing, because my wife and I are going out to dinner. I’m taking her on a date. That will be a good night. Q. do you have a spot picked out? MICHAEL THOMPSON: We’re going to a restaurant called Kokkari in downtown San Francisco and have eaten there already this week. It’s a fabulous restaurant. Q. your group started concurrently with the Tiger, Phil, Bubba group. Did you know that before? Did you realize that? What was your atmosphere early on, maybe compared to theirs? MICHAEL THOMPSON: Very different (laughter). It looked like they probably had 20,000 people watching their group. And I think we might have had a couple hundred. It was really relaxed out there. I’ve got a bunch of family here, so it’s nice that – it’s nice, one, to play well in front of family and friends, but also just to hear them cheering and screaming and enjoying themselves, as well. It was just fun. The Tiger, Bubba, Phil thing, that’s exciting. That’s typical USGA, putting the big three together. I think it’s great for golf. Hopefully one of these days in the future I’ll be part of that group. Q. You are 2 over after 6 which means you are 6 under the rest of the way. How do you do that? MICHAEL THOMPSON: I don’t know. You know, again, just the mindset of the U.S. Open is just hang in there. You get 2 over par, you’re really not playing that poorly. I knew 7 was a short par 4, that if I hit a good tee shot, which I ended up in the front right bunker, I could at least give myself a chance for birdie. 8, obviously just make par. That’s a totally different hole than ’07. And then 9, I hit a great tee shot and a great second shot to 15 feet past the hole. And one of those downhill, left to right putts that just happened to catch the edge of the hole. And then from then on I just kept playing solid, fairways and greens, fairways and greens. That’s really huge out here. In any U.S. Open, especially here at Olympic, because the fairways are very difficult to hit because they’re sloped and they’re angled in weird ways. On top of that, just getting my putter hot. I think I had five or six, 1 putts on the backside and it was just fun. Q. (Inaudible.) MICHAEL THOMPSON: I think for the first six holes, yeah. 1, 5 and 6 are really difficult par 4s in that they’re just so long. You’ve just got to survive those holes. And the experience that I’ve had playing in the U.S. Amateur and then being here since Friday, just getting to see the golf course multiple, multiple times, allows me to find the right lines off the tees and allows me to figure out how I want the ball to come into those greens. I can’t tell you how many times today we were just trying to hit it front edge, if not five shy of the green, and letting it bounce up. And that’s just the way you’ve got to play a U.S. Open. I like USGA events. They’re fun. MODERATOR: Well, we congratulate you again on your great play today. Thank you for joining us, and we wish you well the rest of the way. MICHAEL THOMPSON: Thank you. The transcript for the above interview is courtesy of ASAP Sports.

Thompson Leads U.S. Open; Tiger near the Top

Kings of the West Coast Swing: stats and equipment

By Seth Kerr

GolfWRX Staff Writer

With the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship marking the official end to the West Coast swing; let’s take a look back at some of the more important stats and what we learned so far.

Americans have won all nine PGA Tour events, with Kyle Stanley and John Huh being the only first-time winners. Huh is the only rookie to win on Tour, finishing off Robert Allenby in a marathon eight-hole playoff at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Despite Stanley’s disappointing loss at the Farmers Insurance Open, he is still the current race for the FedExCup point leader over Johnson Wagner and Phil Mickelson thanks to his  impressive win at the Waste Management Open.

Phil Mickelson had an up-and-down West Coast Swing, struggling early in the year before dominating Tiger Woods by 11 strokes in the final round to win at Pebble Beach. Tiger made the switch to the Nike Method 001 putter and it hasn’t worked so far, missing a number of makeable putts at Pebble Beach and the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in his loss to Nick Watney.

Mickelson followed up his victory at Pebble Beach with a disappointing finish at the Northern Trust Open. He had the lead for three rounds but could not finish off the tournament, losing to bill Haas in a playoff.

Stanley is the only player in the top-25 of driving distance to win on Tour this year. He is average 303.3 yards off the tee, well behind no. 1 Bubba Watson and his pink PING G20 driver (Watson is averaging 312.7 yards). Gavin Coles has the lowest driving average on tour at just 267.1 yards.

Gary Woodland used his Titleist 910 D3 driver for the longest drive of the year at an outrageous 450 yards on no. 18 at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The top-39 drives of the year were all 400 yards or more and all were from the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Using the new Cleveland Classic driver, Jason Kokrak had the longest drive from a tournament other than the Tournament of Champions at 399 yards at the Sony Open.

Paul Goydos leads the Tour in driving accuracy, hitting 73.76 percent of fairways. Hunter Mahan is the highest ranked winner in driving accuracy at no. 4, with an average of 71.26 percent of fairways hit.

Webb Simpson used Titleist 680 irons to hit 75.93 percent of greens in regulation to lead Bubba Watson and his PING S59 irons by just over 1 percent. it is a shocking stat for Watson, who is also the leader in driving distance.

You would expect the leader in driving distance and second in greens in regulation to be in contention each week to win. but Watson is just 21st in FedExCup points with only one top-10 finish. For Watson, it shows just how badly he has putted this year.

Watson and his PING Anser putter rank 170th in total putts with an average of 30.60 putts per round. That is a whopping 3.22 more putts per round than Greg Chalmers, who leads the tour in putts per round at 27.38. Chalmers is one of few players on Tour to use a Bobby Grace putter.

Brian Gay, who now wears TaylorMade gear but still uses Mizuno irons, gets up and down 74.68 percent of the time, making par or better an outstanding 59 out of 79 times. Scott Brown is worst on tour in scrambling only getting up and down a paltry 38.71 percent of the time.

Titleist gamer, Bobby Gates, leads the Tour in eagles with eight, while fellow Titleist pro, Ben Crane, who is not known for prodigious length, is second with seven eagles this year.

Perhaps the most well-known American Titleist player, Steve Stricker, leads the tour in scoring average at 68.13, but has only played eight rounds after taking five weeks off following the Sony Open.

In a sign of how well Stricker has played this year, he leads the Tour in seven total performance stats.

Stricker leads the tour in:

1) Birdie Average                                   5.13 per round

2) Sand Save Percentage                     73.33 percent

3) Par-5 birdie or better                       75 percent

4) Scoring Average                               68.13

5) Scoring Average before cut           66.50

6) Consecutive Cuts                              45

7) back nine Scoring Average          33.13

So what do all these stats tell us entering the Florida swing?  Probably not a whole lot.  None of the 2011 players who won on the West Coast won again before the Masters. In fact, Bubba Watson and Luke Donald were the only multiple winners who won on the West Coast last year.

Tiger Woods and Gary Woodland are just two players happy to hear that. while Woods has had a few good rounds, he has yet to show he can put together four solid rounds. Woodland has looked lost for most of the year, though he and his new coach, Butch Harmon, promise he will be ready for Augusta. And for pros that is what it’s all about. they would all trade there rankings in every stat for one major, because while no one remembers who finished no. 1 in scoring, putting, or birdies, everyone remembers who won major championships.

Below are a list of the winners and the clubs they played.

Hyundai Tournament of Champions — Steve Stricker

Driver: Titleist 909 D3 (8.5°)

Fairway wood: Titleist 906F2 (13°)

Hybrid: Titleist 909H (19°)

Irons: Titleist 710 AP2 (3-PW)

Wedges Titleist Vokey (54°, 60°)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot #2

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Sony Open — Johnson Wagner

Driver: TaylorMade R11S (8°)

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Burner SuperFast 2.0 (13.5°)

Hybrid: Adams Idea Pro a 12 (18°)

Irons: Titleist CB 712 (3-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey (48°, 54°, 60°)

Putter: Scotty Cameron proto

Humana Challenge — mark Wilson

Driver: PING I20 (8.5°)

Fairway Wood: Cleveland HiBore XLS (13°)

Hybrid: Ping i15(17°, 20°)

Wedges: Ping Tour (52°, 60°)

Putter: Ping Karsten Anser

Farmers Insurance Open — Brandt Snedeker

Driver: TaylorMade Burner SuperFast (10.5°)

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Superfast (15°)

Hybrid: Adams Idea a12 Proto (20°)

Irons: Bridgestone J40 Cavity back (4-PW)

Wedges: Bridgestone J40 (52°, 56°), Titleist Vokey (60°)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG Rossie

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B330

Waste Management Phoenix Open — Kyle Stanley

Driver: Titleist 910D3 (8.5°)

Fairway Wood: Titleist 910Fd (13.5°)

Hybrid: Titleist 503i (19°)

Irons: Titleist 712MB (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey (52°, 56°, 60°)

Putter: Scotty Cameron for Titleist Timeless (GSS) Proto

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am — Phil Mickelson

Driver: Callaway RAZR Fit (9.5°)

Fairway Wood: Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (15°)

Hybrid: Callaway X Proto (19°)

Irons: Callaway X-Forged (4), RAZR X Forged Muscleback (5-PW)

Wedges: Callaway X Series JAWS (52°, 60°, 64°)

Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG Blade Prototype

Ball: Callaway Hex Black Tour

Northern Trust Open — bill Haas

Driver: Titleist 910D2 (8.5°)

Fairway Wood: Titleist 910F (13.5°)

Irons: Titleist 712 CB (2), 710 CB (3-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey (54°, 60°)

Putter: Scotty Cameron for Titleist Studio Select Kombi

Mayakoba Golf Classic — John Huh

Driver: Ping G10 (7.5°)

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Burner (13°)

Hybrid: Titleist 910H (17°)

Irons: Ping S57 (3-PW)

Wedges: Ping Tour (52°, 58°)

Putter: Ping Scottsdale Wolverine

World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship — Hunter Mahan

Driver: PING G20 (9.5°)

Fairway Wood: PING G20 (15°)

Hybrid: PING i15 (17°)

Irons: PING S56 (3-PW)

Wedges: PING Anser Forged (56°, 60°)

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Kings of the West Coast Swing: stats and equipment

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