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September 2008 - Posts

• Camilo Villegas Wins in a Playoff Against Sergio Garcia

  A two-putt par to win the Tour Championship in a playoff was worth an extra $1.5 million to Camilo Villegas. A 7-iron to a scary pin on the 71st hole, under more pressure than he has ever faced? That was invaluable. Villegas overcame a five-shot deficit with six birdies on his final 11 holes of regulation—the last one after going at a dangerous flag on the 17th—and won the Tour Championship on the first extra hole against Sergio Garcia for his second straight victory. “Winning is awesome,” Villegas said after closing with a 4-under 66. The 26-year-old Colombian, who had gone 85 starts on the PGA Tour without winning, picked up his second in a row with a finish that brought the gallery to life on a sunny afternoon at East Lake. In a four-man race coming to the final holes, Villegas caught Garcia with a 7-iron from 184 yards to 12 feet on the 17th, then twice hit beautiful lag putts from 45 feet for par on the 233-yard 18th—once in regulation to finish at 7-under 273, then in the playoff to win. “Probably the shot of the tournament there,” Villegas said. “There’s a great chance the ball is going to plug if it comes up short in that bunker, and a yard long and it’s in the water. So it’s just hit and beg. It happened to be just fine.” Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson each shot 69, and each had a chance to join the playoff. Kim, playing in the second-to-last group with Villegas, missed from 30 feet. In the final group, Mickelson missed his birdie putt from 20 feet. Garcia, who blew a 54-hole lead of at least three shots for the third straight time, also had a 20-foot birdie putt to win in regulation. He didn’t give himself much of a chance in the playoff when his 4-iron came up 30 yards short and to the right. His flop shot over a bunker stayed in the collar of the green, and a chip to extend the playoff came up well short. “I doubted myself too much early on, and it cost me,” said Garcia, who squandered a six-shot lead in 2005 at the Wachovia Championship and a three-shot lead last year in the British Open at Carnoustie. The consolation prize might be the Vardon Trophy for lowest adjusted scoring average. Garcia came into the Tour Championship trailing Mickelson by one-hundredth of a point, and wound up at 69.40. Mickelson finished at 69.42. Tiger Woods, who had season-ending knee surgery after winning the U.S. Open, did not play the required 60 rounds to be eligible for the award, which will not be official until the tour’s Fall Series ends the first week of November. “Fun way to finish the year, have it come down to the last shot,” Mickelson said. What was supposed to be the highlight of the Tour Championship—the FedEx Cup—turned into an afterthought. Singh effectively wrapped up the $10 million prize two weeks ago in St. Louis, so all he had to do was finish 72 holes at East Lake and sign for the correct score to win the FedEx Cup. “I made one birdie and one bogey. It was easy not to make a mistake,” he said. Singh closed with a 70 and tied for 22nd in the 30-man field, but none of that mattered. He won the first two playoff events to take the drama out of the FedEx Cup for the second straight year. Villegas missed the cut at The Barclays in the first round of the playoffs, which ultimately was the difference. He wound up 551 points behind in the standings, but that was only bookkeeping. While the FedEx Cup suffered another dull finish, the Tour Championship was anything but that. Over the back nine, it turned out to be one of the best regular PGA Tour events of the year. Mickelson, Garcia, Kim and Villegas—four of the hottest commodities on a tour without Woods—had at least a share of the lead along the back nine at East Lake. They were in the final two groups. At least one player made birdie or bogey on every hole except the 18th, which yielded only one birdie in the final round. Villegas might have been the one player no one expected to be there. He started the final round five shots out of the lead, and despite a pair of birdies, gave it all back and more with a tee shot into the water on the par-3 sixth, and a bogey on the next hole. That’s when he got his first pep talk from caddie Gary Matthews. “My caddie looked at me straight in the eyes and he goes, ‘You ain’t going to give up on me. We can still do it.’ He was probably the only one believing that at that point,” Villegas said. The Colombian fired off three straight birdies as the leaders showed signs of a struggle, and the game was on. Garcia, also a playoff loser to Singh in The Barclays, failed to birdied the par-5 ninth from a greenside bunker, and didn’t make his first birdie until the 12th hole. Mickelson was reminded how much his putter has held him back, missing several chances inside 12 feet. Kim was the most steady of the bunch, but after taking the outright lead with a 20-foot birdie on the 11th hole, the 23-year-old did not make another birdie the rest of the round. Garcia steadied himself and was ahead by one shot until Villegas stood over his approach from the first cut of rough on the 17th hole, where the plan all week was to aim for the middle of the green. His caddie told him to take his chances with a 30-foot putt. “Sometimes I’m a little stubborn,” Villegas said. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to jump a little bit or not, but when my caddie looked at me, he goes, ‘Trust it. It’s not going to jump.’ I changed my target, looked straight at the pin, and went at it.” What a payoff it turned out to be. Posted Sep 29 2008, 10:42 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, 2008, Camilo Villegas, Tour Championship

• Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano Beats Lee Westwood in a Playoff

  Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano defeated Britain’s defending champion Lee Westwood in a sudden-death playoff to claim the British Masters title at the Belfry on Sunday. Both players finished on 12-under-par after 72 holes, two strokes ahead of the field, before Fernandez-Castano prevailed at the third extra hole. The Spaniard’s par provided an unexpected ending, with Westwood on his return from a disappointing Ryder Cup looking favourite for the title all week. However, Westwood’s closing two-under-par 70 allowed playing partner Fernandez-Castano to gain ground with a closing 67 before he eventually claimed his fourth European Tour success. “This is probably the best victory of my four, especially beating such a player as Lee,” Fernandez-Castano told reporters after celebrating his win by leaping into the Belfry’s lake. “My season wasn’t going well and I was starting to get worried… (but) the chip-in on the 12th was the key to it all.” The finale was expected to be a head-to-head between Westwood and New Zealand’s Michael Campbell, who were tied for the lead going into the fourth round after both finished off their fog-affected third rounds in the morning. Campbell, who subsequently finished in third place, two shots shy of the playoff, struggled to match Westwood, however, and the 35-year-old Englishman surged three strokes ahead of him by the seventh. Fernandez-Castano became Westwood’s chief challenger when he moved just a stroke adrift with a birdie on the 10th. The Spaniard caught Westwood after he conjured up a par on the short 12th by chipping in, having found water, and then holed from four feet from heavy rough on 13 for birdie. The pair were locked together at the treacherous 18th, where Fernandez-Castano again served up a magical par-save from the rough to force extra holes. A tired Westwood’s disappointment continued a week after losing his singles Ryder Cup match to Ben Curtis. Sunday’s shootout defeat left Westwood without a win this season but moved him up to second place on Europe’s money-list. “I felt I am at the end of my tether and running on empty, so to get into a playoff was good,” Westwood said. “I made some inroads on the order of merit but I’m still missing a win this year.” Posted Sep 29 2008, 10:40 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Lee Westwood, 2008, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, British Masters

• Lorena Ochoa Wins in a Three Way Playoff

  Lorena Ochoa won the Navistar LPGA Classic on Sunday for her seventh victory of the year and first since May, beating Candie Kung with a 2-foot par putt on the second hole of a playoff. “I had a good feeling that today it was my day and it was going to happen,” Ochoa said. “Sometimes you need to play and have a good time, and that’s what I did. Recharged after a month away from the tour, the top-ranked Mexican star closed with a 2-under 70 to match Kung (67) and Cristie Kerr (66) at 15-under 273. Kerr was eliminated with a bogey on the first extra hole. “It wasn’t easy,” said Ochoa, 2-6 in LPGA Tour playoffs. “If you look at the leaderboard, a lot of players were up there one and two shots behind. … I’m happy that I won the playoff because I need to improve in my playoff results.” Ochoa was winless in seven starts after opening the year with six wins in nine events, including four straight. “For sure, I had a few chances to win tournaments before and it’s been a little slow in the last few months,” Ochoa said. “I’m glad I did it this week and hopefully get in a good rhythm to keep it going and finish strong.” Shanshan Feng (66) and Song-Hee Kim (69) tied for fourth at 14 under on the links-style Senator Course, part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Capitol Hill complex. Sweden’s Louise Friberg, tied for the lead with Ochoa at 13 under entering the round, shot a 72 to tie for sixth at 13 under with Wendy Doolan (68), Sarah Jane Kenyon (69), Jill McGill (69) and LPGA Championship winner Yani Tseng (70). Ochoa made a 5-foot eagle putt on the par-5 eighth and also had a bogey and a birdie in the round that she finished with six straight pars—eight including the playoff. She earned $210,000 for her 24th career LPGA Tour victory to push her season total to $2,591,048. On the second playoff hole, Ochoa two-putted from the back fringe, leaving only 2 feet for par. Kung three-putted from about 30 feet. “It’s been a very good experience for me this week,” said Kung, who made a 22-foot birdie putt on 18 in regulation. “I haven’t played this well for a long time. And it’s been solid four days, I would say, or 3 1/2 at least. “All day I was focused. I was happy that I got myself to the playoff. I didn’t even know how big that putt was on 18.” Kerr also birdie 18 in regulation to get to 15 under, holing a 25-foot putt. She three-putted the first playoff hole to drop out. “It’s very disappointing because I only had to two-putt,” Kerr said. “The first putt I hit probably would have ended up maybe 5 or 6 feet short, but it hit something and came up short and it was really hard to read. I thought I hit actually a good shot into 18, but it came up 2 yards short or it would have been stiff. Posted Sep 29 2008, 10:38 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Lorena Ochoa, 2008, Candie Kung, Navistar LPGA Classic

• Monke Claims Maiden Victory in France

  Germany’s Anja Monke captured her maiden Ladies European Tour title on Sunday by winning the Vediorbis Open de France Dames at Le Golf D’Arras. Monke carded a final round of four-under-par 68 to finish on a four-round total of 10-under, two clear of Spain’s Tania Elosegui and Nina Reis of Sweden. “I can’t believe it!” said Monke. “I’ve worked for this moment for the last five years and so it’s nice to see it happen.” After opening with rounds of 67, 78 and 65, she came from four shots behind the third round leader Stefania Croce of Italy to secure the €52,500 first prize money. Croce carded 75 and shared fourth place on seven under par with England’s Lora Fairclough and Paula Marti of Spain. The 26-year-old Elosegui from San Sebastian took the early initiative in the final round, grabbing a three-way share of the lead on eight-under-par after she holed her second shot for eagle from 100 metres at the par four sixth-hole. She took the outright lead after a birdie at the seventh hole, but was eventually overtaken by Monke after 16 holes. Monke went to the turn in level par 36 with nine steady pars but picked up the pace with four birdies on the back nine at the 10th, 13th, 16th and 17th holes. After Elosegui bogeyed the par-four 16th, the 31-year-old Monke, from Herford, sank a ten foot birdie putt at the same hole to take a one stroke advantage and then extended it to two strokes by rolling in a birdie putt from ten-feet at the par-four 17th. “I was in a pretty good mood today because I didn’t have anything to lose, that’s how I felt this morning,” said Monke. “If I lost it then I lost it on Friday for sure. The other three days I won it.” The fifth year tour player had been a runner-up twice before on the Ladies European Tour in 2006, in Holland and in Hungary. She had also posted four top ten finishes on the LET in 2008. Monke turned professional at the end of 2005 after working as a medical technologist in a hospital laboratory for four years. She explained: “I know how real life is and real work so that makes my life even more enjoyable.” Monke went to qualifying school and won her full card, deciding to give herself two to three years to see how she enjoyed life as a touring professional. She found that she enjoyed the lifestyle so much that she committed to golf full time… and now she is reaping the rewards. Posted Sep 29 2008, 10:35 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Ladies European Tour, Vediorbis Open de France Dames, Anja Monke

• Eduardo Romero Clinches Title with Closing 66

  Argentina’s Eduardo Romero won the SAS Championship on Sunday for his third Champions Tour victory in five starts, closing with a 6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Tom Kite. Romero, also the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open winner in July and U.S. Senior Open champion in August, is the tour’s lone three-time winner this year. He had a 15-under 201 total on the Prestonwood Country Club course and earned $315,000 to jump from eighth to third on the money list with $1,501,799. Kite finished with a 69. Andy Bean and Gil Morgan shot 67s to tie for third at 11 under. Second-round leader Bruce Fleisher (72) and Jim Thorpe (67) finished at 10 under. After taking over the lead from second-round leader Bruce Fleisher on the first hole Sunday, the 54-year-old Romero never relinquished his hold on the top spot again. “This is the best week for my driver, but the real key is still the putter,” Romero said. “I’m putting so well, and the putter is giving me a lot of confidence.” Kite, the Boeing Classic winner in August, also finished second two weeks ago in the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn. “Eddie played awesome,” Kite said. “He birdied the first hole and never really looked back. I played a so-so round. I just wasn’t striking it quite as consistently. My swing just wasn’t quite there.” Romero, who consistently outdrove his opponents Sunday, is second on the Champions Tour in driving distance with a 295-yard average. The tour average is 272. “He’s long, but he’s not so ridiculously long that I can’t get it out there with him,” Kite said. “I just didn’t hit my irons nearly as close as I needed to.” Kite had a chance to close the gap significantly on Romero on the 434-yard, par-4 13. He was on the green in three, but missed a 16-foot putt for birdie. Romero missed the green with his second shot and bogeyed the hole. After that, Romero said, he had visions of his near debacle in the U.S. Senior Open, in which he bogeyed four consecutive holes down the stretch. He held on to win the tournament by four strokes. “I was feeling very nervous on 14,” Romero said. “I know Tom Kite is behind me, and I was only up two after 13.” But a 15 1/2 -foot birdie putt on No. 15 pushed the lead back to three. “I breathed after 15,” Romero said. I said, ‘This tournament is for me.”’ With Sunday’s win, Romero moved closer to the top spot in the race for the Charles Schwab Cup. He remains in fourth, but moved within 312 points of leader Jay Haas, who maintained his overall lead after tying for 17th place at the SAS Championship. Bernhard Langer remained in second, 139 points behind. Fred Funk stayed in third place, but moved closer to the Haas, after tying for 10th this week and picking up 47 points to move to within 222 of the leader. The next Champions Tour event—the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship in two weeks at Baltimore—will give top-10 finishers double points. The Schwab Cup winner takes home $1 million. Posted Sep 29 2008, 10:32 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Champions Tour, Eduardo Romero, Dick’s Sporting Goods Open

• Vijay Singh Closes Out FedEx Cup Win and $10m Bonus

  Vijay Singh found it hard to get fired up for his last two tournaments. Surely that $10 million will make him feel better. Singh locked up the FedEx Cup and its huge bonus Sunday simply by finishing four rounds at the Tour Championship. He certainly didn’t win it with his play at East Lake, closing with an even-par 70 and a 9-over 289 total that left him in a tie for 22nd place in the 30-player field. He was 16 strokes behind winner Camilo Villegas, who beat Sergio Garcia in a playoff. But Singh’s lack of passion was understandable. The Fijian won the PGA Tour’s first two playoff events, building such a large lead that no one could catch him in the season finale unless the 45-year-old withdrew or was disqualified. “I was reminded a thousand times before I started this week: Make sure you finish 72 holes, sign your card, (have) enough clubs and, gosh, everything else,” Singh said. “I’m glad it’s over. I tried to make it very simple on my card today, no mistakes, and make all 18 pars.” After virtually locking up the cup with a five-stroke win at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Singh broke par only once in his final eight rounds of the regular season. It didn’t matter. He still earned $9 million in cash, with another $1 million is deferred compensation. “You make a bogey, you get congratulated. You make a double, you get congratulated,” Singh said, breaking into a smile. “It didn’t really matter what I made. It took away the focus of playing this tournament. I tried really hard. When I left to come here to play, I said, ‘I’m going to keep focus.’ But that’s as far as I got.” It was the second year of the FedEx Cup, and the second straight year the finale lacked drama. Tiger Woods skipped the opening playoff event in 2007 and still won by such a big margin he could have skipped the Tour Championship. Woods wasn’t around this time. He underwent knee surgery after his win at the U.S. Open in June, forcing him to sit out the rest of the season. Singh stepped up after a sluggish start, Overcoming various aches and pains, not to mention changes in his swing, he finished with three wins this year—all since August. Assessing his season, the three-time major winner called it “up there among one of the best.” “I was totally out of it for a long, long time,” Singh said. “It’s self-satisfying to know I never gave up, kept at it—hurt, not hurt, pain, if didn’t matter. I was out there practicing and believing in myself and doing it. At the end of the day, I came out up front.” He’s not sure what he’ll do with all that money. “I’ll find a million ways to spend it,” Singh said. “There’s a lot out there to do.” Posted Sep 29 2008, 10:30 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, FedEx Cup, Vijay Singh

• Anthony Kim Vaults Four Shots Clear in the 2008 Tour Championship

  Anthony Kim wore a red shirt, fired at flags and made birdies on almost half of his holes. So much for that Ryder Cup hangover. The way Kim played Thursday in the opening round of the Tour Championship, it was almost as if the Ryder Cup never ended. Four days after Kim humbled Sergio Garcia, he beat 29 players just as badly at East Lake with a 6-under 64 that gave Kim a four-shot lead over Masters champion Trevor Immelman, Ryder Cup teammate Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els. “It took me a couple of days to get over that celebration,” Kim said of a 16 1/2 -11 1/2 victory over Europe. “Obviously, it’s nice when you walk up to a green and you’ve got a couple of people (saying), ‘Nice job at the Ryder Cup. Way to bring the cup back home,’ little things like that. I feel like when I’m happy, having a good time, I’m going to make some birdies.” “So it was a good vibe out there.” Vijay Singh wasn’t feeling it. He only has to complete all four rounds at East Lake to capture the FedEx Cup, and that might have been the best part of his opening round at East Lake—he finished. But he started poorly, 5 over through 11 holes, before settling for a 73. Kenny Perry, the Kentucky hero from the Ryder Cup, also found little reason to smile. He opened with a 76, and while that won’t take away from his memories of red, white and blue, what irritated him was a pink slip. It was his summons for drug testing, the second of the year for the 48-year-old Perry. Good thing the 23-year-old Kim had four days to try to get the Ryder Cup out of his system. He was the life of the party Sunday night, especially after his 5-and-4 victory over Garcia in which Kim made birdie or better on six of his 14 holes. “Just trying to enjoy the moment,” he said. “This Ryder Cup hangover doesn’t feel as bad as a college hangover.” As well as he played at the Ryder Cup on a Valhalla course with soft greens and minimal rough, Kim was equally spectacular on an East Lake course that was tough as ever. Golf balls disappeared in Bermuda rough that was only 2 inches deep. The real challenge was getting the ball close to the cup on greens that were rebuilt in the spring. It usually takes a few years for new greens to settle, making them particularly firm. Add to that gusts up to 15 mph on a warm, dry afternoon and it’s no wonder only five players broke par. K.J. Choi was the other with a 1-under 69. The real marvel was Kim posting eight birdies in his round of 64 in his Tour Championship debut. He attributes most of that to a simple fix in his putting before he teed off. “It was the most basic thing you can think—keep you eye on the ball,” Kim said. “Now that I’ve got that under control, I’m going to try to make some more putts.” He didn’t have to make them from very far. Kim hit sand wedge to 2 feet on the third hole and to 3 feet on the fourth. The longest putt he made came from just behind the 11th green when he knocked in a 25-footer to start building a gap between him and the rest of the field that made it to the final event in the PGA Tour Playoffs. “I didn’t really know what score was out there,” Kim said. “I had heard the greens were really receptive last year, so I didn’t know what to expect. And obviously, it took me a couple of days to get over that celebration that we had on Sunday night, so I wasn’t expecting too much. Just taking what the course gave me.” What was so tough about that American party? “I did a lot of reading that night,” Kim said, smiling. “My eyes were tired.” The drama is gone from the FedEx Cup—Singh made sure of that with two victories—but perhaps there is one race that could come down to the wire. Mickelson has a chance to win the Vardon Trophy for the lowest adjusted scoring average, and at 69.52 he leads Garcia (69.53) by one-hundredth of a point. Mickelson at least needs to finish ahead of the Spaniard to capture his first major award on the PGA Tour. Kim, however, is one-tenth of a point behind at 69.62. Scoring averages cannot be computed until the end of the week, because scores are adjusted based on the average field score for the tournament. “It would be cool,” Mickelson said when asked about the Vardon Trophy. “I don’t really understand the mathematics of the scoring average, because it’s not really your score.” But he understood a 68 and was pleased with it. Mickelson made the turn at 4 under thanks to some putting that has been missing most of the year. One errant shot struck a small girl in the knee, and before Mickelson could check on her, his caddie brought some levity to the moment. “Have you seen our Crowne Plaza commercials?” he said, referring to one scene when Mickelson meets with various fans he has hit in the gallery over the years. Kim hit mainly fairways and greens, and he took only 26 putts for to match his lowest scores of the year and post his fifth consecutive round in the 60s on the PGA Tour. He played with Mike Weir (70), who watched some of the Ryder Cup on Sunday. He was asked if he saw any of Kim’s match against Garcia. “I saw the start,” Weir said. “He got off to a great start.” Four days later, Kim hasn’t slowed a bit. Posted Sep 26 2008, 08:36 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Ryder Cup, 2008, Anthony Kim, K.J. Choi, Tour Championship

• Lee Westwood Trails Leaders by a Shot at the 2008 British Masters

  Holder Lee Westwood shrugged off the disappointment of last week’s Ryder Cup defeat to move within a shot of the lead with a four-under 68 in the British Masters first round on Thursday. The Briton, despite suffering fatigue at the end of his round, claimed a share of third place behind joint leaders Marcus Fraser of Australia and Swede Mikael Lundberg. Westwood picked up only one point in Europe’s Ryder Cup defeat by the U.S. in Kentucky. “Both weeks are completely different and this week is getting back to the day job,” the Englishman told reporters after carding six birdies and two bogeys at the Belfry. “I put last week in a box and filed it away, you can’t carry mental scars or baggage from last week with you. I’ve always been able to get a sense of reality and perspective that way.” Westwood’s fitness regime, which he began three years ago, also helped. “I started to feel jet-lag with four holes left but I might have gone with eight holes to go (in the past). There are no negatives to being fitter and stronger,” he said. The 2000 European number one noticed one big difference from the match at Valhalla, on the first tee. “It was a bit quieter than last week and there were no ghosts,” said Westwood referring to the American fan draped in a white sheet who confronted him in mid-round on Sunday. Former Russian Open winner Fraser, looking to climb from 115th on the European money-list to guarantee his tour card for next season, grabbed five birdies in his opening nine holes on the way to his 67. Lundberg, who won the 2008 and 2005 Russian Opens, also launched a strong first-day challenge. Victory here would move Westwood within $140,000 of money-list leader Padraig Harrington, who is absent this week. Rafa Echenique of Argentina, Dane Anders Hansen and Britons Marc Warren and Sam Walker shared third place with Westwood. Graeme McDowell, the only other European Ryder Cup player competing at the Belfry, produced a roller-coaster 72. McDowell, twice a winner this year, said he needed to focus better to challenge the leaders. “I wanted to get back to reality and put the shine on a good season but I was lacking a bit of concentration at times,” said the Northern Irishman. Colin Montgomerie slumped to an 81 while former Ryder Cup team mate Darren Clarke returned an 80. Posted Sep 26 2008, 08:33 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, 2008, Darren Clarke, British Masters

• Trio Share Opening Round Lead in Navistar LPGA Classic

  Jill McGill, Jane Park and Jeong Jang shot 7-under 65s on Thursday for a share of the Navistar LPGA Classic lead, while top-ranked Lorena Ochoa was two strokes back in her first event in a month. Ochoa played her first competitive round since tying for sixth in the Safeway Classic on Aug. 24, her fourth top-seven finish in a row, but seventh straight winless start. She opened the year with six victories in nine starts, including four straight. “I’m in a better place mentally,” Ochoa said. “I feel very comfortable. I worked a lot on my game and it’s always good to get back to competition. I’m going to do my best this week and hopefully win the trophy.” Safeway winner Cristie Kerr and Janice Moodie opened with 66s on the links-style Senator Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Capitol Hill complex. Sandra Gal, Katie Futcher, Ji Young Oh and Louise Friberg matched Ochoa with 67s. “I do like this course,” Kerr said. “It suits my game. You have to hit good irons into greens and you have to be a good putter. You have to be smart with club selection off the tees. I work really well with my caddie, John Killeen, on that.” Sweden’s Maria Hjorth, the winner last year in the inaugural event, opened with a 76. Angela Stanford, coming off a victory Sept. 14 in the Bell Micro LPGA Classic in Mobile, withdrew before the round. No reason was given for her decision. McGill, winless in 13 seasons on the tour, had seven birdies in a bogey-free round. “We had really good conditions for the front nine. I would say the wind really was not a factor,” McGill said. “When we got to the back side, it picked up a little bit and halfway through the back side it switched directions on us. So as long as you know your directional compass, I think you’re all right out there.” Park had eight birdies and a bogey. “I’ve been really working on my ball-striking because I’ve been struggling with it for the past couple of tournaments,” said Park, the former UCLA star who won the 200U.S Women’s Amateur. “Everything just came together here this week. I also spent a lot of time on the putting greens, and thankfully, I just had a great day today.” She three-putted for the bogey on the par-5 17th. “It was just a dumb mental mistake,” Park said. “I missed. It was like a 3-footer and that pin was a little difficult. It was on a hill. It was a difficult hole and I think it’s probably one of the toughest holes out here.” Jang also had a bogey-free round. “I had good putts today. Some awesome putts,” Jang said. “Everything was on line and I had a lot of confidence with putting this week for some reason. I also had some great second shots and tee shots. I played well today.” She has two LPGA Tour wins, the 2005 Women’s British Open and 2006 Wegmans LPGA. “It looks like a British course, a links course,” Jang said. “I think I have a chance. … Putting is really important here. Tee shots are also important with all the bunkers, because if you go in them you can’t get out.” Posted Sep 26 2008, 08:31 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, 2008, Jeong Jang, Navistar LPGA Classic, Jill McGill, Jane Park

• Camilo Villegas Returns After Media Frenzy in Columbia

  After experiencing a hectic week of celebrity treatment in his native Colombia, Camilo Villegas has returned to his normal world of professional golf for the Tour Championship. Seventeen days ago, the 26-year-old clinched his maiden PGA Tour title at the BMW Championship, a breakthrough that sparked widespread media coverage in his homeland. “The media and the fans back home have been unbelievable,” Villegas told reporters on the eve of Thursday’s opening round at East Lake Golf Club. “It’s something new. “They’re still learning about the game but it’s fun to hear guys that have never watched a golf tournament, have never held a golf ball in their hand, talking about golf and rooting for a guy that’s out here trying to represent them as well as I can. “It’s good for golf in Colombia, it’s good for golf in South America, and that’s what it’s all about.” Villegas, who won his first title on the world’s biggest tour by two shots, returned to Colombia the following week to spend time with his family and friends. “That was awesome,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to get back home and just relax a little bit, even though there was not much relaxing. It was media, media, media and a little more media. “Even when I got there, there was a bunch of media at the airport. I have no clue how they found out I was travelling that day,” he added with a smile. Ranked 17th in the world, Villegas is delighted to be back at East Lake for the second year in a row at an elite event for the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings. “The Tour Championship is always one of your goals at the beginning of the year,” he said. “Being here is special and having a chance to just put yourself in contention against 30 guys that have had a great year is a lot of fun.” Villegas is scheduled to tee off with runaway FedExCup points leader Vijay Singh at 1410 local (1810 GMT) in Thursday’s opening round. Posted Sep 25 2008, 01:09 PM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, 2008, Camilo Villegas, BMW Championship, Columbia

• Vijay Singh as Hungry for Titles as Ever

  Vijay Singh is just five years away from joining the senior ranks on the U.S. circuit but has no desire to slow down his competitive approach at the highest level. The 45-year-old Fijian has won three titles in his last six PGA Tour starts and has all but secured the season-ending FedEx Cup before Thursday’s opening round at the Tour Championship. “I’m not going to go away for the next five years,” Singh told reporters at East Lake Golf Club on Wednesday. “If I keep physically fit and injury-free, I think I have a good chance to go into my fifties. “But it really depends. I kept telling everybody, if I cannot compete with the young kids, if I show up in a golf tournament and know I’m not going to win or I cannot win, then I think it’s time to walk away.” A winner of 34 titles on the PGA Tour since he joined the circuit in 1993, Singh is blessed with a loose-limbed swing and a work ethic unrivaled by most of his peers. “I’m in great shape for a 45-year-old,” the former world number one said. “My physique is not as good as a 25-year-old but the older you get, the harder it is to feel younger. “You’ve got to work twice or three times as hard and you also have to watch what you work on. It’s very easy to get hurt. “At the same time, I’m able to swing the club a lot freer than most guys close to their fifties,” added the three-times major winner. “I can still swing the club pretty much past parallel whenever I want to. “As you get older your swing gets shorter, your turn gets shorter, but mine seems to stay the same.” Singh has won a record 22 titles on the PGA Tour since turning 40, five more than next-best Sam Snead. He would dearly love to win many more, and increase his major tally. “My career is still at its peak, if I just keep my focus and have a good mindset,” he said. “The only issue here is how much stronger can I get and not get hurt. I’m making a plan and trying to get strong again and come out next year really fit and eager to go out there. “I want to compete better in the majors before I finish. This year was a disappointing in the four major events. I missed the cut in two of them and just did not compete in the other two, so that was a disappointment.” Singh tied for 14th at the Masters and shared 65th at the U.S. Open before missing the cut at the British Open and the PGA Championship. However he has since delivered red-hot form, his victories at the Barclays Classic and Deutsche Bank Championship effectively wrapping up the season-long race for the FedEx Cup. “I’m here fresh, I’ve practiced pretty good and I’ve come to win this golf tournament,” he said of the Tour Championship, the final event of the PGA Tour’s 2008 regular season. “I want to finish really strong.” Posted Sep 25 2008, 01:06 PM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Vijay Singh

• Lorena Ochoa Aims to End Winless Streak

  Lorena Ochoa takes another streak into the LPGA Tour’s Navistar Classic. For a change, she’s trying to end this one. Ochoa, set to begin play Thursday on Capitol Hill’s Senator Course, is making her first start since the Safeway Classic on Aug. 24 and is winless in seven events. “It’s been challenging in the last months, that I didn’t get any wins,” Ochoa said. “So it would be nice to start that roll again.” She spent much of the past month at home in Mexico trying to regain the form that helped her win six of her first nine starts this year, including four straight. Maria Hjorth snapped Ochoa’s three-tournament winning streak last year on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail course in suburban Montgomery, picking up her first LPGA Tour winner’s check in eight years. That makes Ochoa’s slump seem minor, especially considering she has four consecutive top-seven finishes. Ochoa said she has put in extra work on her short game and thinks she has found “something important in my putting stroke that will help me.” “I’m just making sure I finish the season strong,” she said. “That’s the way I want to finish. But there will always be motivation. There are always things that I would like to achieve.” Hjorth finds herself back in the unfamiliar role of defending champion. She has four top-10 finishes and more than $500,000 in earnings this year. “It’s always great to be back and being able to defend the title,” she said. “It’s a great feeling. I have a lot of positive memories, of course, coming back to a course where you played really well and got the victory in the end. “So it’s a lot of fun, and the course is in great shape this year. The greens are really, really smooth and nice.” Hjorth held on for a one-stroke win over Stacy Prammanasudh at last year’s Navistar Classic thanks partly to a huge last-day putt on the par-5 17th. The Swede sank the 20-plus footer from well onto the fringe above the green to take sole possession of the lead for the first time and keep a one-stroke lead over Ochoa. “I think it’s important for myself not to put pressure on me,” Hjorth said. “Whether the others put pressure on me, I don’t really know, but as long as I don’t put pressure on myself, I’m looking forward to defending.” Angela Stanford is another golfer with fond memories of Alabama. She won the Bell Micro LPGA Classic in Mobile on Sept. 14 for her second LPGA Tour victory and first since 2003. “The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind,” Stanford said. “I feel like I’ve been on the phone more than anything else just trying to reply to family and friends. It really didn’t set in until the end of last week when I got to go home. I finally went home on Wednesday, and kind of started to think about it. They say a win cures everything.” Good weather helps, too. The golfers player greeted by relatively mild temperatures for an Alabama September with a cool breeze, a stark contrast to the Mobile tournament. “It was 95 percent humidity and 90 degrees or whatever it was,” Hjorth said Wednesday. “And it was a difficult course, so that was really, really tough. So today it’s really nice. The weather is perfect. You can’t ask much more as a golfer.” Twenty-four of the 30 money winners are in the field, including Yani Tseng, Cristie Kerr, Karrie Webb, Morgan Pressel, Seon Hwa Lee. Posted Sep 25 2008, 01:04 PM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Lorena Ochoa, 2008, Maria Hjorth, Navistar Classic

• Colin Montgomerie Backs Sandy Lyle for Ryder Cup Captaincy

  Eight times European No. 1 Colin Montgomerie will give his full backing to fellow Scot Sandy Lyle for Europe’s 2010 Ryder Cup captaincy. Montgomerie, who has ruled himself out of the job in two years’ time, told a news conference at the Belfry on Wednesday that Lyle, the only one of the ‘big five’ European major champions not to have captained, should “have his turn”. Lyle’s peers—Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam and Nick Faldo—have all served as captains. “It would be a shame if Sandy doesn’t get the chance,” Montgomerie said on the eve of the European Tour’s British Masters. “I think it would be only fitting if he does the job at Celtic Manor, as his four major colleagues have all done it.” With Europe’s players meeting next week at the Dunhill Links Championship to discuss possible captains, Montgomerie will urge them to pledge their support for Lyle. “There is no other outstanding candidate at this time,” said Montgomerie. “I don’t think (Jose Maria) Olazabal wants it and the others are not ready yet.” The choice of captain will be made by the Ryder Cup committee next year around the time of the Abu Dhabi Championship in January. Lyle has always been popular on the Tour, even if some commentators doubt whether he has the necessary leadership qualities to wrest the Cup back from the Americans. But Lyle can count on plenty of backers, not surprisingly including his caddie for his two major wins and several successful Ryder Cups, veteran Dave Musgrove. “Sandy has the best credentials of any potential captain for judging how his players are playing and helping with their games,” Musgrove told Reuters. “And he’d soon get used to making decisions and speeches.” Montgomerie is not interested in the captain’s job yet and is holding out for the role in 2014 at Gleneagles in his native Scotland. Spaniard Olazabal, Nick Faldo’s deputy at Valhalla where Europe lost 16-1/2 to 11-1/2 earlier this month, is also ruling himself out to similarly try to make the team as a player. Montgomerie has therefore already lined up Lyle, Olazabal in for the 2012 encounter in America, and himself two years later, as the next incumbents. “When you look at the candidates it doesn’t take an Einstein to work out who the next three Ryder Cup captains could be,” he added. Posted Sep 25 2008, 01:02 PM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Nick Faldo, Ryder Cup, Colin Montgomerie, Sandy Lyle

• Ryder Cup Stars Primed for Korea Open

  Ryder Cup stars Anthony Kim of the United States and England’s Ian Poulter will headline the Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open next week. Kim, who played a major role in the American team’s triumph over Europe last week, is expected to challenge for honours alongside the exuberant Poulter at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club. Asian Tour’s Order of Merit leader Mark Brown of New Zealand, former number one Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand and compatriot Chapchai Nirat, Malaysia’s Ben Leong and Korean leading lights Mo Joong-kyung and Hwang Inn-choon will face the talented duo in the US$1 million event. Kim, 23, has emerged as one of the most exciting talents in world golf this year. He has posted two wins on the US PGA Tour including two top-three finishes. He starred in the Ryder Cup, winning 2 ½ points in his debut which was highlighted by a massive 5 & 4 victory over Spain’s Sergio Garcia in the opening singles that led the way to a famous US victorious. The Californian-born Kim, who turned professional in 2006, is a three-time All-American and was part of a victorious 2005 United States Walker Cup team. Earlier this year, he finished tied fifth in the Ballantine’s Championship on Jeju island, Korea. England’s Poulter, 32, will join Kim as one of the tournament favourites where he has enjoyed a superb 2008 campaign. He challenged for his first major title at the British Open before finishing second behind Padraig Harrington. A seven-time winner in Europe, Poulter posted four points on the board for Europe in the Ryder Cup to justify his selection as a wild card pick by captain Nick Faldo. Brown will also be expected to fight for honours. The Kiwi is counting on a strong finish in Korea to take him closer to the prestigious Asian Tour’s Order of Merit crown. Back-to-back wins at the SAIL Open and Johnnie Walker Classic in India in February propelled him to the top of the rankings and he is keen to end the season with the prized Merit title. Posted Sep 25 2008, 01:00 PM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, 2008, Anthony Kim, Ian Poulter, Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open

• Lee Westwood Clarifies His Crowd Comments

  Lee Westwood said on Tuesday his criticism of unruly U.S. fans during last week’s Ryder Cup had not meant to sound like an excuse for Europe’s defeat. After the United States’ 16 1/2 to 11 1/2 victory in Kentucky, Westwood said some spectators had dealt out “fairly nasty” and “pretty shameful” abuse. The Briton had blamed U.S. captain Paul Azinger for inciting the crowd but in a statement released on Tuesday he praised the American’s captaincy. “A lot of what I said in Valhalla during and after the Ryder Cup didn’t come out quite as I intended and finished up sounding like sour grapes,” Westwood said in the statement released by his management company. “So let me say right now that I applaud America’s victory, Paul Azinger’s captaincy in general and the vast majority of the watching public who witnessed a titanic struggle between two very good sides. “I regret that I singled out a small minority of the crowd who had a go at me and my family during competition days because far and away the greater majority were impeccably behaved and got right behind their team as did the excellent European supporters.” He added that he had not wanted to sound like a bad loser. “My comments about the hecklers and Paul’s geeing up the crowd before the event were in no way intended to be an excuse or the words of an ungracious loser because the American team performed brilliantly and fully deserved to win,” he said. “I may not have been too thrilled with one or two things that happened in Valhalla, but I am taking absolutely nothing away from America’s win. When you’re beaten by a better side, you just have to admit it. “Well done USA. See you in Celtic Manor (for the next Ryder Cup in 2010).” Posted Sep 24 2008, 08:52 AM by Golf International with no comments Filed under: Golf International, Ryder Cup, Paul Azinger, Lee Westwood