Barry wins RMGA Club Championship

ADVERTISEMENT  

JANESVILLE — John Barry won the Riverside Men’s Golf Association Club Championship on Sunday thanks to five straight birdies in his final round.

Barry finished with a 36-hole total of even-par 144, including a 1-under par 71 on Sunday, to beat Rick Berry (148) by four shots. Blair Schmeiser and Michael Kletzien tied for third at 151.

Kevin Riley won the A Flight Championship in a playoff over Muskrat Mullen, while Jose Perez won B Flight.

Jefrrey Luek won C Flight and Mike Oliver won the Senior Flight

RMGA Club Championship

At Riverside (Par 72)

FINAL RESULTS

Championship Flight

Blair Schmeiser 74 77 151

Michael Kletzien 73 78 151

Aaron Coffey 74 79 153

Jacob Downing 75 79 154

Shannon Riley 78 77 155

Chad Sullivan 79 76 155

John Fugate 81 75 156

Jerry Rabbach 79 80 159

Gary Jr. Polglaze 81 79 160

Scott Waddell 77 84 161

Gary Neumueller 80 82 162

Jake Hassinger 81 86 167

A Flight

Kevin Riley 79 80 159

Greg Mullen 86 73 159

Steven Gelbach 81 81 162

Brian Cherry 85 78 163

John Zimmerman 84 79 163

Bill Hassinger 84 79 163

Scott Steinke 81 82 163

Larry Schumacher 83 81 164

Brent Corey 81 83 164

Efren Blanca 85 80 165

Dave DeGarmo 81 84 165

Bryan Thorson 80 86 166

Steve Thompson 85 82 167

Terry Kletzien 84 84 168

Aaron Story 88 81 169

Ryan Luebke 86 83 169

Dan Hermanson 89 82 171

Randy Krueger 86 87 173

Michael J. Reid II 80 96 176

Gary McVicar 93 84 177

Gale Alderman 89 90 179

Jeff DeGarmo 89 90 179

Kevin Mickelson 98 83 181

John Milberger 96 88 184

B Flight

Jeff Luebke 92 85 177

Howie Henning 91 92 183

Greg Fiedler 98 87 185

Cliff Wakefield 96 92 188

Erik Sheldon 93 98 191

Keith Trembula 95 99 194

Jeff Waite 91 103 194

Robert Oliver 106 98 204

C Flight

Jeffrey Luek 86 94 180

Edward JaDoul 88 95 183

Joe Slatter 99 89 188

David Thompson 97 92 189

Chad Sisko 104 87 191

Bob Stluka 100 91 191

Richard Millis 103 93 196

Tom Hillison 98 98 196

Mike Sisko 97 100 197

Peter dePoutiloff 101 97 198

Jeff Hassinger 100 101 201

John Hutchinson 106 101 207

Kyle Hassinger 111 104 215

David Young 112 120 232

Senior Flight

Mike Oliver 78 75 153

Roger Burdick 78 77 155

Phill Chilson 81 75 156

Keith Holden 77 80 157

Tom Collins 82 82 164

Olie Helgestad 84 83 167

Dave Applegate 85 83 168

Richard F. Schmitz 81 88 169

Ray Hallett 80 90 170

Jerry Shere 84 89 173

Jeff Sheldon 91 85 176

Steve Craig 90 88 178

Jim Arneson 95 85 180

Scot Hudson 90 93 183

Dave Lehmann 96 89 185

Jerry Green 112 94 206

Ken Creek 108 108 216

Barry wins RMGA Club Championship

‘Big Easy’ at 11 under : Global Golf Irons

LUSS, Scotland — Ernie Els shot a 4-under-par 67 Friday and extended his lead to four strokes after two rounds of the Scottish Open.

Els, who will defend his British Open title next week at Royal St. George’s, played through a persistent rain and moved to 11-under 131.

Welshman Phillip Price and Australia’s Terry Price shot second-round 68s and were tied for second at 7-under 135. South Africa’s Tim Clark was fourth at 6 under after a second straight 68.

John Daly’s 5-under 66 was the low round Friday, and he moved into a tie for 15th at 2 under. Colin Montgomerie followed an opening 71 with a 1-under 70. Phil Mickelson improved eight strokes from his opening round, shooting a 3-under 68 to make the cut by a stroke.

Els opened with four pars, then made three straight birdies beginning at no. 5. He dropped his only shot with a bogey at no. 12, but he rebounded to make consecutive birdies at Nos. 13 and 14.

Els insisted he was trying not to regard the tournament as a tuneup for the British Open.

“This is an independent tournament on its own,” Els said. “you have to take it as the Scottish Open, and whatever happens over the weekend, I’ve got to go play next week anyway.”

Tags: Colin Montgomerie, ernie els, Golf, LUSS, Open, Phillip Price, scotland, Scottish, Terry Price, tournament Related posts

‘Big Easy’ at 11 under : Global Golf Irons

25 YEARS OF CHAMPIONS TOUR IN NAPLES: Gary Player wins inaugural event in 1988

Editor’s Note: This story appeared in the Feb. 29, 1988 version of the Naples Daily News. The Daily News is celebrating 25 years of the Champions Tour in Naples by running a story from the final round online through Feb. 15.

NAPLES — Harold Henning — he led the ambush much of Sunday but finished third — made reference to “The Little Man.”

But actually it was Gary Player who was the “Little Big Man” at The Club at Pelican Bay.

The 52-year-old South African, decked out in his usual black shirt and trousers and white golf cap, used a string of four straight birdies on the final nine holes to charge to a one-shot win over Dave Hill in the inaugural $300,000 Aetna Challenge.

Player’s back nine of 31 sparked a final round of 67 and gave him a 9-under-par total of 207 for the 54-hole championship. It was Player’s second Senior PGA Tour title of the still-young 1988 schedule and his ninth Senior title overall.

Player’s thrilling charge — he birdied 14, 15, 16 and 17 and just missed a fifth straight on 18 — was the dramatic end to Collier County’s first full-bore men’s professional tournament. Player’s hot streak helped him overcome another golfer who turned red-hot in the stretch drive.

Hill’s final-round 67 included not only back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15, but more importantly, a hole-in-one on the 160-yard, par-3 16th. At the time, the 7-iron ace gave Hill — he was playing one threesome ahead of the final trio — a one-shot lead over Henning and a two-shot lead on Player.

Just how sharp was the caliber of play during Sunday’s sun-drenched finale?

“I know if I didn’t play with these guys every week, I wouldn’t have thought it was senior golf,” lamented Henning, whose final round of 70 left him three in back of Player. “They tell me these seniors can’t play at all. well, that’s the rumor. but they certainly showed today that there’s plenty of good golf left in them.”

Plenty of good golf — make that great golf — indeed. Player earned a first-place check of $45,000, with runner-up Hill getting $26,000, and third-place Henning cashing $21,500.

Player’s 67 Sunday came on the heels of what he called frustrating and disappointing 70s both Friday and Saturday.

“It was a difficult day for me to have to face up to today because yesterday was, as I said, probably as fine a round as I had played on the senior tour,” he said. “Yet I came off with a 70 and was so frustrated and disappointed. The first day I played very average and shot the same score.”

Sunday, Player began the day four-under, with a pair of pars. but he bogeyed the 150-yard par-3 third by three-putting.

He got that stroke back with a birdie on the 514-yard, par-5 sixth, knocking a pitching wedge to within 10 feet and then sinking the birdie putt.

With the even-par 36 on the front, Player said he figured the law of averages would come into play on the final nine. He adjusted his attitude accordingly.

“I said to my caddie, I said ‘Rabbit, I’m going to come back in 30 and win this tournament. If I can do it at The Masters, I know I can do it here,’ ” Player said.

Winner of more than $2.5 million since joining the PGA scene in 1957, Player birdied the 548-yard 11th hole by chipping to within eight feet.

On the 305-yard par-4 14th, Player chipped to within 18 inches of the cup to set up his birdie.

He called no. 15, a 510-yard par-5, his biggest gamble of the day.

“That par-5 with the water in front, I took a tremendous gamble,” Player said. “Yesterday, I took a 1-iron off the tee and knocked it in the water. my wife said to me this morning ‘Have a go. If you’re going to knock it in the water, knock it in the water like a man.’ I said ‘Whether it’s in the water with a 1-iron or a driver, it’s the same thing.’”

Well, Player did use a driver, and Sunday he knocked it over the water and into a trap. but he exited the bunker to within 15 inches of the cup and still managed a birdie.

On the 16th hole that Hill had aced, Player tapped in from six inches after his 8-iron was just short of a hole-in-one.

25 YEARS OF CHAMPIONS TOUR IN NAPLES: Gary Player wins inaugural event in 1988

OOSTHUIZEN BATTLES TO SHARE OF LEAD

Louis Oosthuizen: Produced a strong finsihOOSTHUIZEN BATTLES TO SHARE OF LEAD Africa Open. Click here to bet.Click here for latest golf betting Click here for our latest video interviews Click here for latest golf news Click here for latest golf scores Click here for 2012 European Tour calendar Click here for 2012 PGA Tour calendar

Overnight leader Louis Oosthuizen birdied three of the final four holes to retain a share of the lead on a topsy-turvy day on the Africa Open leaderboard in East London.

Defending champion Oosthuizen started his round with three straight birdies but could not match the pace of Friday, when he vaulted into the lead with a stunning 62.

A bogey at the 11th saw him falling into the clutches of the chasing pack before a late recovery gave the former Open champion a six-under 67 to be 21 under for the tournament.

That left him in a tie with countryman Tjaart van der Walt, who fired a round of 65.

Afterwards, Oosthuizen was left to reflect on the mistake on the 11th that cost him the overall lead.

“It was an elementary mistake really,” he said on europeantour.com. “Those little chip-outs seem easy, and I made the basic error of leaving it short of a tree for my approach to the green.”

Van der Walt birdied the opening four holes and, despite bogeying the eighth when he took a penalty, made the turn at five under par before three more birdies, including at the 18th, saw him take the outright lead before Oosthuizen completed his late fightback.

Van der Walt, who is yet to win a tournament in a 15-year career, remained bullish in his battle with bigger names at the top of the leaderboard.

“At the end of the day the golf ball doesn’t know that they are major champions,” he said.

“I’ve played at the highest level, I’ve never won majors or big events, so who knows what can happen.

“I do feel as if I am controlling the golf ball as well as I have in a long time. not just tee to green, but on the greens as well. And that’s a good sign for me.

“I’m entitled to forget the one bad shot I hit all day [on the eighth]. I hit a bad tee shot, but luckily for me I was able to get a good drop on line of sight. I managed to get it on the green and almost made the putt.”

He was not the only man to enjoy at least a brief spell above Oosthuizen before the day was complete.

England’s Danny Willett was enjoying an outstanding day with five birdies on the opening nine and four more on the way back giving him the lead before a bogey on the ninth.

He went round in 65 to sit joint fourth, one shot behind double US Open champion Retief Goosen, whose drama-free 66 left him on 20 under par.

Richard Sterne enjoyed the best round of the day with an eagle on the 11th highlighting his scorecard as he signed for a nine-under 64 to move up to fifth place, four shots behind the leaders.

Thomas Aiken, who led after an opening round of 64, endured a rough day and fell into a tie for ninth place as he could only manage a round of 72.

Collated third round scores and totals, London Golf Club, East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 73):

198 Tjaart Van Der Walt (Rsa) 69 64 65, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 69 62 67

199 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 65 68 66

200 Danny Willett 67 68 65

202 Richard Sterne (Rsa) 69 69 64

203 Craig Lee 68 67 68, Alastair Forsyth 69 66 68, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa) 71 65 67

205 Richard Bland 67 69 69, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 64 69 72, Magnus a Carlsson (Swe) 69 66 70, Tyrone Ferreira (Rsa) 68 68 69

206 Adilson Da Silva (Bra) 69 69 68, Jaco Ahlers (Rsa) 65 68 73, Benn Barham 70 66 70, Shaun Norris (Rsa) 67 70 69, Phillip Price 66 71 69, Matthew Baldwin 72 64 70, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 71 70 65, Ruan de smidt (Rsa) 69 70 67, Lyle Rowe (Rsa) 73 68 65, Grant Muller (Rsa) 69 69 68, Josh Cunliffe (Rsa) 69 68 69, Tim Sluiter (Ned) 68 69 69

207 Danie Van Tonder (Rsa) 70 70 67, Tommy Fleetwood 69 66 72, Allan Versfeld (Rsa) 69 70 68, Augustin Domingo (Spa) 68 71 68, Peter Karmis (Rsa) 68 70 69, Doug McGuigan 70 69 68

208 Garth Mulroy (Rsa) 68 72 68, Andrew Marshall 74 65 69, Jorge Campillo (Spa) 71 66 71, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 67 73 68, Edouard Dubois (Fra) 69 71 68, Scott Pinckney (USA) 69 72 67, George Coetzee (Rsa) 71 68 69, Julien Quesne (Fra) 69 71 68

209 Jacques Blaauw (Rsa) 70 69 70, Chris Wood 69 71 69, James Kingston (Rsa) 70 71 68, David Howell 68 69 72, Alan McLean 70 71 68, Branden Grace (Rsa) 77 63 69, Sam Walker 69 68 72, Dawie Van Der Walt (Rsa) 70 70 69, Taco Remkes (Ned) 68 70 71, Keith Horne (Rsa) 69 67 73, Jj Senekal (Rsa) 67 71 71

210 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 71 67 72, Steven O’Hara 70 70 70, Sam Hutsby 73 65 72, Emiliano Grillo (Arg) 73 66 71, David Drysdale 72 69 69, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 70 70 70, Reinier Saxton (Ned) 71 70 69, Ariel Canete (Arg) 71 68 71, Charles-edouard Russo (Fra) 67 72 71

211 Desvonde Botes (Rsa) 69 71 71, Warren Abery (Rsa) 71 70 70, Bryce Easton (Rsa) 69 70 72, Albert Pistorius (Rsa) 71 69 71

212 Adam Gee 69 69 74, Andrew Georgiou (Rsa) 75 66 71, Jamie Elson 70 71 71, Wil Besseling (Ned) 69 70 73, Jordi Garcia (Spa) 68 73 71, Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa) 72 69 71, Phillip Archer 73 67 72, Justin Walters (Rsa) 73 68 71

213 Merrick Bremner (Rsa) 69 70 74, Jamie Moul 70 71 72

214 Knut Borsheim (Nor) 70 68 76, Vaughn Groenewald (Rsa) 73 68 73

215 Titch Moore (Rsa) 74 66 75, Dean O’riley (Rsa) 66 75 74, Neil Cheetham 71 68 76, JG Claassen (Rsa) 68 72 75, Matthew Nixon 70 71 74

217 Oliver Wilson 70 69 78

220 Ockie Strydom (Rsa) 70 69 81

E-mail Article Print-Friendly Subscribe to RSS Feed Post to del.icio.us Facebook

Click here to send us your sporting feedback

 Latest Golf Stories AMERICAN DUO CLIMB LEADERBOARD VICTORY FOR LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN STRICKER SPARKLES IN HAWAII OOSTHUIZEN BATTLES TO SHARE OF LEAD BYRD SOARS IN HAWAII OOSTHUIZEN STORMS AHEAD CASEY SUFFERS INJURY SETBACK NI STARS WELCOME PORTRUSH MOVE THOMAS AIKEN SETS THE PACE PORTRUSH TO STAGE IRISH OPEN

OOSTHUIZEN BATTLES TO SHARE OF LEAD

Golf Capsules: Choi has three-shot lead over Woods, Stricker

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — K.J. Choi opened with five straight birdies. Tiger Woods looked as good as he did in Australia, making his fourth birdie with a 3-iron to an elevated green on the par-5 fifth that covered the flag. And then, without warning, the wind showed up Thursday in the foothills of Sherwood Country Club.

Choi held his own in gusts up to 30 mph and finished with a 6-under 66, giving him a three-shot lead over Woods and Steve Stricker in the Chevron World Challenge.

They were the only three players to break 70 in the 18-man field in the final official event in America this year.

“Anything under par is a good day today with the wind up,” said Woods, a four-time winner of this event and the tournament host. “If the wind stayed down, you’re going to have to shoot probably 68 or below for it to be a good score.”

Five of the six players who broke par — Jim Furyk, Nick Watney and Rickie Fowler were at 71 — had most recently played at blustery Royal Melbourne in the Presidents Cup.

Choi figures he had even a greater advantage. he lives in Dallas.

“I was used to playing in the windy conditions, not only playing in Melbourne, but also living in Dallas, where there’s 20- to 30-mile wind every other day,” Choi said. “I’m used to practicing in those conditions. I’ve become very comfortable in those windy conditions.”

The notorious Santa Ana wind was in the forecast, with some projections of 60 mph gusts.

But when the elite field arrived at Sherwood, there was not even a breeze. Woods and Stricker birdied the opening two holes with relative ease. Woods added another birdie on no. 4 with a 25-foot putt, and then came his 3-iron from 229 yards to 18 feet for an eagle attempt that burned the edge.

He was standing on the sixth green, 15 feet behind the hole, when a big gust backed Woods off his putt and scattered leaves raced across the fairway behind him.

On the next hole, Stricker was staring over an iron shot that was drawing right at the flag. a strong gust swatted the ball out of the sky and dropped it 20 feet short of the green into the deep rough.

Watney was motoring along at 2 under when he had a birdie putt on the 14th. he addressed the ball, backed off and watched it move, costing him a one-shot penalty. a new rule that would eliminate the penalty stroke if deemed that the wind moved the ball after address is not effective until Jan. 1.

Watney took a positive out of that bogey.

“I might be the last player in history to be penalized under that rule,” he said. “That could be a trivia question one day.”

Best that he not hold his breath on that one.

Jason Day was among the leaders until the wind gobbled up his approach on the par-5 16th, leading to double bogey. Then he hit into the trees on the par-3 17th and injured his right thumb trying to play out of the mess. he made another double bogey, and then finished with a bogey for a 74.

Matt Kuchar, coming off a World Cup win with Gary Woodland in China, was 4 under until he made triple bogey on the 16th, bogeyed the 17th and had to settle for a 72.

Woods also made a bogey on the 16th after popping up a tee shot and running into trouble with his attempt to lay up. Earlier on the ninth hole, he had a nasty lie on the side of a hill with a large branch in his way, and he moved the ball only about 10 yards. but those were the rare mistakes.

He looked very steady for nine rounds in the wind in Australia. in more gusts at Sherwood, he didn’t look much differently. he was in control of his irons and even when he did miss off the tee, it wasn’t by much.

“It looks like he’s getting a lot of confidence back again,” Stricker said. “It looks like the Tiger of old, really, and it’s great to see. We need him out there playing, and playing well.”

Stricker hit a superb shot on the 10th with the wind at his back. After hitting driver that left him an awkward yardage — about 50 yards to a front pin — he nipped a wedge that just carried onto the green and checked up 3 feet away. he birdied the 18th to join Woods in second place, although Woods will be in the final group Friday with Choi.

Choi, even though he was three groups behind Woods, saw enough of him in the opening round. The fourth and fifth holes go in opposite direction of the second and third holes, and what Choi saw caught his attention, particularly the 3-iron that Woods hit on no. 5.

“I think he is really 80, 90 percent back to his form again,” Choi said. I’m very happy about playing with him tomorrow. Tiger is a good friend. He’s got a very strong will. He’s got the right mental attitude right now, and I think it’s going to be a very fun day tomorrow.

“I watched him play a couple of holes today, and I was very impressed at the way he was swinging, at his rhythm, at the power he had,” Choi said. “It almost seemed like watching the old Tiger back in the day.”

International

Westwood, Schwartzel lead by one shot in Sun City

SUN CITY, South Africa (AP) — Defending champion Lee Westwood birdied the last hole to shoot a 4-under 68 and share the first-round lead with Masters winner Charl Schwartzel at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on Thursday.

The third-ranked Westwood holed a putt from nearly 20 feet on no. 18 for his fourth birdie. The Englishman also had an eagle three on no. 9 and two bogeys.

Schwartzel unleashed a birdie blitz on the back nine at Gary Player Country Club, picking up five shots over seven holes after reaching the turn at 1 over.

Top-ranked Luke Donald was the early leader on his return to competition after a five-week break, but a double-bogey six on no. 17 gave him a 70 and a tie for fourth alongside five other players.Robert Karlsson of Sweden was alone in third after shooting 69.

Simon Dyson, fourth-ranked Martin Kaymer, South Korea’s Kyung-tae Kim, Graeme McDowell and U.S. player Jason Dufner were tied with Donald at 2 under.

Most of the 12-man field at the $5 million invitational event struggled through the second nine after a brief rain shower, but Westwood and Schwartzel made late rallies to top the leaderboard.

Westwood set up a strong finish when he landed a 5-iron within 6 feet on the par-five no. 9 and rolled in his eagle putt. he followed up with birdies on Nos. 10, 15 and 18.

“It was nice to hole that one at the last,” Westwood said. “I had it in the back of my mind that Charl was on 4 under and I wanted to be in the last group.

“I played lovely. Nice to make one-putt at the last from about 18 feet because I hadn’t made any all day. but tee to green was brilliant.”

Schwartzel double-bogeyed no. 9, pushing his tee shot into the right rough and then sending his third into the water in front of the green. but he had birdies at Nos. 10, 12, 13, 14 and 16 to come home in just 31 strokes.

“Turning one over, I wasn’t happy with myself,” Schwartzel said. “I felt like I was playing better than that. And sometimes that’s what you need to kick on. I just started firing at the flags. I probably got fearless.”

Playing for the first time since his blistering finish at Disney World to clinch the PGA Tour’s money list title, the top-ranked Donald had five birdies and a single bogey in a solid round through 16 holes.

But he put his tee shot on no. 17 into the water on the left of the fairway and emerged with a six to drop to 70 in his first competitive round in more than a month.

Dufner, the PGA Championship runner-up, had five birdies and three bogeys in his Sun City debut.

Italy’s Francesco Molinari chipped in for an eagle three on no. 2 but faded with four bogeys for a 72 and a tie for 10th with Denmark’s Anders Hansen.

British Open champion Darren Clarke was the only player over par with a 74.

McIlroy has share of lead at Hong Kong Open

Song leads LPGA Tour Q-school

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Christine Song shot a 2-under 70 on Thursday in windy conditions on LPGA International’s Legends course to take a two-stroke lead over former UCLA star Stephanie Kono after the second round of the 90-hole LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. Song had an 8-under 136 total. she opened with a 66 on Wednesday on the Champions course.

“The wind was tough today,” the 20-year-old Song said. “When it was blowing, it was really blowing.”

Kono, an amateur, had a 71 on the Legends course.

“The wind picked up on the back nine, where it was definitely a two-club wind at times,” Kono said. “This is not an easy course and, with the wind, it’s a beast.”

Jennie Lee, Jacqui Concolino and Rebecca Durham were 2 under. Lee had a 71, and Concolino shot a 72, both on the Legends course. Durham had a 71 on the Champions course.

Seventeen-year-old Ginger Howard, trying to become only the fourth black player on the LPGA Tour, was 5 over after a 79 on the Legends course.

The top 40 and ties will receive 2012 LPGA Tour membership.

Golf Capsules: Choi has three-shot lead over Woods, Stricker

New irons help Overton set course record and a share of the lead

KUALA LUMPUR: American golfer Jeff Overton only found out over the weekend that he was in the field for the US$6.1mil CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia after David Duval pulled out.

Overton arrived here

Martin Kaymer completes record comeback to win HSBC Champions

Martin Kaymer of Germany made nine birdies over his last 12 holes Sunday and closed with a 9-under 63 to win the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China, for the biggest comeback ever in a World Golf Championship.

Starting the final round five shots behind Fredrik Jacobson, with a host of stars around him, Kaymer ran off four straight birdies on the back nine at Sheshan International. He finally caught Jacobson with a birdie on the 13th, and then poured it on with key birdies on the final two holes.

Kaymer delivered the lowest closing round by a WGC winner since the series began in 1999, topping the 64 by Hunter Mahan last year at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Adam Scott, hounded by questions over caddie Steve Williams’ racial slur against former boss Tiger Woods, got within two shots of the lead early in the round until making two soft bogeys and never recovering. He closed with a 73 and was eight shots behind.

Jacobson led by as many as three shots until a long three-putt bogey on the par-5 eighth. As Kaymer made his charge, the Swede came to life with birdies on the 12th and 14th to stay tied. Jacobson’s hopes ended when he pulled his tee shot into the rough left of the par-3 17th and failed to get par. He shot 71 and finished three shots behind.

Graeme McDowell closed with two birdies for a 67 to finish alone in third, quite a turnaround from last week in the Andalucia Masters, when he failed to break 80 over the last two rounds at Valderrama.

Rory McIlroy made a short birdie on the par-5 18th that gave him a 69 and was significant for one other reason. with a three-way tie for fourth, he moved past Lee Westwood to no. 2 in the world. Westwood, playing in the same group, shot 40 on the front nine and closed with a 74 to tie for 13th.

It was the second win of the year for Kaymer, who moves to no. 4 in the world.

“it was an OK year,” Kaymer said. “But now it’s a good year.”

Europe now occupies the first four positions in the world ranking, starting with Luke Donald at no. 1. Donald did not play in the HSBC Champions because his wife is expecting their second child. He remains the favorite as PGA Tour player of the year, however, as PGA champion Keegan Bradley had a 72-72 weekend and failed his bid for a third victory this year.

Kaymer finished at 20-
under 268 and earned $1.2 million.

Jay Don Blake won the Charles Schwab Championship in San Francisco for his second victory of the season following a 20-year drought, and Tom Lehman took the season points title and $1 million annuity.

Blake closed with an even-par 71 for a two-stroke victory in the Champions Tour’s season finale. He finished at 8-under 276 at TPC Harding Park.

Mark Calcavecchia (69), Loren Roberts (70), Michael Allen (71) and Jay Haas (71) tied for second.

Lehman shot a 72 to tie for 18th at 2 over, enough to hold off Calcavecchia by 74 points. Calcavecchia needed to finish no worse than a tie for second with one other player to have a chance to overtake Lehman.

Almost two months after surviving a five-hole playoff to win the Songdo Championship in South Korea for his first win since 1991, Blake calmly worked his way through the final round while a crowd of contenders took turns making brief runs at the lead.

Blake hit 12 of 14 fairways, made a pair of nice par saves out of the sand on the back nine then made the tournament-winning par on 18 after taking a bogey on the par-3 17th.

Blake earned $440,000 and finished fourth in the overall standings.

Japan’s Momoko Ueda won the Mizuno Classic in Shima, Japan, for the second time in five seasons, beating China’s Shanshan Feng with a 15-foot birdie putt on the third hole of a playoff.

Ueda, also the 2007 winner in the event sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and Japan LPGA, closed with a 3-under 69 to match Feng at 16 under at Kintetsu Kashikojima.

The victory, her first since the 2009 AXA Ladies Open, was her second on the LPGA Tour and ninth on the Japan LPGA.

“I was starting to think I’d never win again,” said Ueda, who earned her LPGA Tour card with her 2007 victory. “It’s been a tough four years in America.”

The 25-year-old Ueda earned $180,000 in the $1.2 million event. Feng finished with a 65.

South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi had a 64 — the best round of the day — to finish a stroke out of the playoff.

Scotland’s Catriona Matthew (67) and Taiwan’s Teresa (67) followed at 13 under, and Americans Stacy Lewis (65) and Mina Harigae (69) were another stroke back.

Martin Kaymer completes record comeback to win HSBC Champions

Last-minute entry Overton leads at CIMB Asia Pacific Classic

KUALA LUMPUR: American golfer Jeff Overton only found out over the weekend that he got into the field for the US$6.1mil CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia after David Duval decided not to make the trip.

Overton arrived here but not his clubs and as a result, did not get a practice round under his belt.

But it looked like nothing would bother the last entry for the field as he charged to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage with a spectacular nine-under 62 at Mines Resort and Golf Club.

Overton set a new course record with his marvelous effort and was joined by Swede Fredrik Jacobson, who carded a seven-under 64, to complete 36 holes at 13-under 129.

American Bo Van Pelt missed a 12-foot birdie try at the last but his seven-under 64 puts him in third place at 12-under 130.

Overton, who is winless on the PGA Tour, started superbly with three straight birdies and turned in 30 with two more birdies on the fifth and eighth.

The highlight on his back nine was the eagle on 15th.

He was certainly happy with his play, but the sun-burnt American would probably be just happy to be out on the course.

“I flew seven, eight hours to London, then I flew on Malaysian Air (Malaysia Airlines), some of the best first-class seating I

Golf Capsules: Woods makes it to the weekend at CordeValle

SAN MARTIN, Calif. (AP) — the fog finally lifted at CordeValle and revealed a Tiger Woods that looked vaguely familiar.

Woods ran off three straight birdies early in his round, survived a rough patch around the turn and kept the stress to a minimum Friday in his round of 3-under 68 in the Frys.com Open that assured he would be around for the weekend.

“I don’t like missing cuts, period,” Woods said. “If I miss the cut, that means you can’t win the tournament on the weekend. I’ve got a shot at it this weekend.”

He still was seven shots behind Paul Casey, who is making a revival of his own.

Casey, at no. 135 on the money list and in danger of losing his PGA Tour card, has been fighting a foot injury since the middle of may. he showed signs of getting better by winning in South Korea last week, and then he got over jet lag in time to post a 7-under 64.

That put him at 8-under 134. Bud Cauley, who turned pro this summer and is trying to avoid having to go to Q-school, had a 66 and was one shot behind. Fog delayed the start of the second round by 2 hours, 20 minutes, meaning it would not finish until Saturday.

Ernie Els, a surprise entry to this Fall Series event, made a steady move up the leaderboard and had an 8-foot birdie putt to tie for the lead on the 16th hole. he missed it and was at 7 under, and will have two holes to play Saturday.

Woods was so disgusted this his putting after his opening 73 that he went to the practice green in the chill of late afternoon after the first round and rapped 5-foot putts, sometimes using only one hand.

He also put two strips of lead tape on the bottom of his putter, and it seemed to pay off. he holed a 25-foot birdie putt on no. 14 to begin his run of three straight birdies, and all but one of his birdie putts looked to have a chance. he was missing, but not by much.

“I hit one bad putt today, and that was it,” Woods said. “Every other putt was on line.”

It was the first time since the Masters that Woods made a 36-hole cut, and the first time in two months that he broke par. That speaks only to the kind of stop-and-start year he has had, missing three months this summer to let injuries to his left leg fully heal, and missing the last seven weeks when he failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs.

And while the 68 was what he needed to make it to the weekend, the pleasant sunshine over CordeValle allowed for good scoring. he wasn’t the only one who took advantage, and several others did far better, starting with Casey.

Casey came up just short of the green on the par-5 15th, and then rolled in birdie putts of 40 feet and 25 feet on the next two holes, before finishing the back nine with a shot into 12 feet on the 18th. he added a pair of birdies on the front nine to put himself atop the leaderboard and raise his hopes going into the weekend.

“To be honest, it’s probably the best I’ve hit the golf ball all year,” Casey said.

It’s a good time for that to happen. Casey is playing the next two tournaments to meet the minimum requirement of 15 starts. if he doesn’t finish among the top 125, he likely would get enough exemptions as a past champion and for being among the top 50 in the world that he wouldn’t need to go to Q-school.

His only concern is playing better. the first sign should have been Thursday, when he was still dragging from the flight from South Korea, got to the top of the leaderboard only to lose a few shots at the end of his round for a 70.

Cauley left school early from Alabama this summer because he thought he was ready for the PGA Tour, and he has done little to show otherwise. Through six starts, he has earned $331,150. if he finishes the equivalent of no. 125 on the money list — he is likely about $300,000 away — he could join an exclusive list of players who avoided Q-school, which includes Woods, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard and most recently Ryan Moore.

“I want to miss Q-school as much as the rest of the guys,” Cauley said.

Woods had a 64 in mind when he arrived at CordeValle to a thick fog, twice warming up on the range as the delays dragged out. his three straight birdies included an 8-foot putt on the 15th after driving into a bunker, and a 7-iron to 3 feet on the 16th.

“I had it going early there, three in a row to get to 3-under par for the day, and if we could just keep it going, I could shoot my number,” Woods said. “I made a couple mistakes there at 18 and 1. But overall, I’m still within seven shots of it right now.”

His 3-wood on the 18th went just enough left to find a hazard, and he had to get up-and-down just to save bogey. It really looked ugly on no. 1, when he snap-hooked his tee shot and threw his driver to the ground. with the ball on the side of a hill and his feet on the cart path, Woods slipped badly on the swing and tumbled over, coming up well short of the green. he pitched only to 25 feet.

That was his seventh consecutive tee shot without hitting the fairway. on the next hole, however, he drilled one down the middle on a far more difficult driving hole, and missed only one fairway after that.

UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay, who beat Woods by four shots in the opening round, three-putted twice and had to made a 4-foot par putt on the last hole for a 74. he was at 1-over 143, and would not find out until Saturday if he was able to stick around.

Champions

Allen leads Insperity Championship

THE WOODLANDS (AP) — Michael Allen shot a 9-under 63 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead over John Cook after the first round of the Champions Tour’s Insperity Championship.

Taiwan’s Tseng leads home Hana Bank Championship

INCHEON, South Korea (AP) — Yani Tseng lived up to her top-ranked billing with a 7-under 65 on Friday to take the lead after the first round of the LPGA Hana Bank Championship.

The world no. 1 had ten birdies and three bogeys to take a one-stroke lead over Chella Choi, who capitalized on early mild conditions at Sky 72 Golf Club to set the early pace at 6 under.

Two-time defending champion Na Yeon Choi was in a tie for third with Sandra Gal of Germany at 5 under.

Paula Creamer and Sweden’s Sophie Gustafson were part of a group of six players in a tie for fifth at 4 under, joining Koreans Meena Lee, Hee Young Park, Jimin Kang, and Mi Hyun Kim.

Tseng overcame a poor start, bogeying two of her first three holes.

“I felt a little off and my tempo was off in the beginning,” said Tseng. “I tried to figure out what to do with my swing.”

Once Tseng figured it out, she cruised with birdies on seven of her next 11 holes.

After missing a three-footer for par on no. 16, Tseng reached the green in two on the par-5 18th for a birdie. Tseng could not remember the last time she had ten birdies in one round on Tour. She could have gone even lower considering her three bogeys all came on three-putts.

The Taiwan native has already won five tournaments this year and is on pace to sweep the LPGA’s season-ending awards.

Among other notables, 2007 champion Suzann Pettersen and former world no. 1 Jiyai Shin were at even par, along with Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie.

The winner of the inaugural 2002 edition of this tournament, Se Ri Pak, was off the mark with a 76.

After this week, the LPGA Tour heads to Malaysia and Taiwan and then wraps up its Asia swing with the Mizuno Classic in Japan in early November.

International

Slattery’s 6-under 66 leads at Madrid Masters

MADRID (AP) — England’s Lee Slattery shot a 6-under 66 on Friday to lead the Madrid Masters by one shot after the second round.

Slattery had seven birdies and one bogey at El Encin Golf Hotel to finish at 11 under. he leads Spain’s Eduardo de la Riva and Italy’s Francesco Molinari, who each shot 67.

First-round leader and 2009 champion Ross McGowan of England followed his opening 64 with a 72 to trail by three strokes.

Defending champion and top-ranked Luke Donald of England pulled within three shots of the lead at one point. But he fell back with two bogeys in the final three holes for a 70 and is five shots back.

Slattery, who lost his tour card in 2007, is in danger of falling off the main tour this season. But the 33-year-old rolled in an 80-foot birdie putt at the 14th before finishing with two straight birdies.

“I don’t think I’ve ever walked off the course feeling so relaxed,” Slattery said. “This suits me because I just enjoy it and don’t think too much. That’s the key.”

Americans Anthony Kang (73) and John Daly (74) are well behind the field.

Donald mentioned the windy conditions when discussing his round.

“A disappointing finish, but it’s not easy with the wind,” Donald said. “I played well the tougher holes and then I played the easy ones poorly. A couple of bad swings, really. “

McGowan struggled with the greens one day after making 10 birdies, including five in a row on Nos. 9-13.

“They are playing quicker today and I didn’t really get the speed at all,” he said. “After yesterday’s scoring, the pins are tucked in and the wind picked up, so it’s a bit tougher.”

Golfer wins bodyweight in ham for hole-in-one

MADRID (AP) — Scottish golfer Elliot Saltman made a hole-in-one during his second round at the Madrid Masters and earned a tasty prize — his bodyweight in ham.

Saltman made the shot from the par-3 third hole at El Encin Golf Hotel. Heavily cured and salted ham is a Spanish delicacy.

“I’ve been trying to lose weight, but now I’m thinking I should have just kept it,” Saltman said.

Despite the feat, the no. 686-ranked player is well off the leaders’ pace. After two rounds, he was 3 over and 14 shots behind clubhouse leader Lee Slattery of England.

Saltman has a knack of carding holes-in-one — he hit two in different rounds at the 17th hole in the Wales Open in June.

Ham was the prized offered for a hole-in-one at the third — prizes on other holes included a car and a watch.

Tournament spokeswoman Maria Madrigal told the associated Press that Saltman would take home about 238 pounds of ham, with organizers going by the weight listed on his official European Tour profile.

Saltman’s only problem is getting the “excess baggage” back to Scotland.

“I don’t think they’ll let me take that on the plane,” he said.

In January, Saltman got a three-month ban from the European Tour for marking his ball incorrectly at a Moscow tournament in September 2010.

He was the first professional to be banned from the European Tour since 1992, when Johan Tumba of Sweden was suspended for 10 years for altering his scorecard at qualifying school.

Elsewhere

Hanefeld leads Senior PGA Professional

ALDIE, Va. (AP) — past champion Kirk Hanefeld increased his lead to six strokes in the Senior PGA Professional National Championship, shooting a 5-under 67 on Friday at Creighton Farms for a tournament-record 11-under 133 total.

The 55-year-old Hanefeld, the 2008 winner from Acton, Mass., had seven birdies and two bogeys in the second round to break the 36-hole record of 134 set by Reed Hughes of Senatobia, miss., in 2006. Hanefeld opened with a 6-under 66 on Thursday at River Creek Club.

“I feel pretty good all around with my game and where I stand,” Hanefeld said. “Both rounds could have been better, but I won’t complain. everybody makes a few mistakes and after 36 holes I am happy.”

Because of the wet conditions, preferred lies were used for the second straight day.

The final two rounds will be played on Creighton Farms’ Jack Nicklaus Signature course.

“It is harder over here at Creighton Farms,” Hanefeld said. “They took it a little easy on us today, but I don’t expect that over the weekend. this is a terrific golf course and very difficult. I am just going to play my game and play my best and see where I fit in at the end of Sunday.”

Robert Linville of Greensboro, N.C., was second after a 67 at River Creek Club.

“This is a traditional layout, and really nice. both days the weather was perfect, we didn’t have any wind,” said the 53-year-old Linville, the the PGA director of instruction of Precision Golf School in Greensboro. “The green complexes at Creighton Farms are very difficult. To get through there even par yesterday, I was happy about that. We finished at dark last night. I had a stretch in the middle of today’s round where I just made a lot of birdies. I made all the putts when I hit it close.”

The top 35 finishers will earn spots in the Senior PGA Championship in may at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich. the top five will receive exemptions into the final stage of the 2011 Champions Tour Q-school.

Golf Capsules: Woods makes it to the weekend at CordeValle

Golf roundup: Rickie Fowler, 3 others share second-round lead; Tiger Wood’s back in the pack

“Today was not very good,” Woods said.

It was good enough for Scott, except for making the putts he holed in the opening round of this World Golf Championship. He had a 70, which is never bad at Fire-stone in any condition.

After opening with a 62, Scott was at 8-under 132 along with Ryan Moore (66), Fowler (64) and Bradley (65). Jason Day bogeyed his last hole for a 70 and was one shot behind with Martin Laird (67) and Robert Karlsson (65).

“The last time I shot 62 was probably a long time ago, so am I going to expect to do it two days in a row?” Scott said. “I don’t think so. but it’s a hard golf course, and if you’re just a little off, you get quite severely penalized. There’s no real secret that it’s not easy to shoot a couple of 62s.”

Fowler was all over the place. He made only five pars, and kept his gallery guessing the rest of the time. there were three straight birdies, and a wedge he holed from 110 yards for eagle on no. 3. He followed that with three bogeys and three pars.

“A lot of good things came out of today,” said Fowler, who is still searching for his first win. “Building some confidence going into the weekend.”

No one appeared to have more fun than Bradley, the nephew of LPGA Hall of Fame player Pat Bradley and a winner this year at the Byron Nelson Championship. with big crowds lingering even after Woods left the course, he could hear plenty of cheers for birdies all around him, and even some for himself as he worked his way to the top of the leaderboard.

“I had Luke Donald behind me, Phil Mickelson a few groups behind me,” Bradley said. “I mean, it’s something that I dreamed about since I was 2 years old. It’s kind of happening in front of my eyes, which is a weird feeling to describe. but it’s spectacular. I just can’t express how much fun I’m having out there.”

Golf roundup: Rickie Fowler, 3 others share second-round lead; Tiger Wood’s back in the pack

Next Page »