TALKING GOLF WITH GARY #198

Tiger back on top, The King speaks his mind, Pre teens qualifying,Recari in a playoff,Capt. Watson gives back and much, much more. Join me as I recap the week's golf action.

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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY #197

Love is in the air for Tiger, Streelman get his first , Lewis wins grabs #1 ranking,Gulbis with malaria and much more. Join me as I recap the week's golf action.


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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY #196

Tiger is back on the prowl, Scott Brown gets his first, Kisner,takes Chile Classic, the Euro Tour speaks ans so do I. Join me as I recap the week's golf action.

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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY #195

Another lousy week (weather wise) for the PGA Tour but a good week for Michael Thompson, Dawie Van Der Walt, Stacy Lewis and Patrick Cantlay. Accidents and dental problems and much more.Join me as I recap the week's golf action.

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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY 3-17-2013

 STREELMAN GET FIRST WIN
Kevin Streelman finally won on the PGA TOUR after many failed efforts, but, he looked like he's done it many times before.

Streelman didn't make a bogey over the final 37 holes on the tough Copperhead course at Innisbrook. He didn't miss a shot over the last 11 holes Sunday on his way to a 4-under 67. That gave him a two-shot win over Boo Weekley in the Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank.

Streelman won in his 153rd start on the PGA TOUR. The win gives him 500 FedExCup points and puts him into the Masters for the second time in his career.

Weekley closed with a tournament-best 63 some three hours before Streelman finished.

Jordan Spieth, the 19-year-old from Texas, tied for seventh and earned special temporary membership on the PGA TOUR for the rest of the year.



LEWIS WINS FOUNDER CUP TAKES #1 SPOT
Stacy Lewis won the LPGA Founders Cup and jumped to No. 1 in the world, taking advantage of Ai Miyazato's collapse on the 16th hole.

A day after Lewis was penalized two strokes for her caddie's mistake on the short par 4 16th, the American took a two-stroke lead with a birdie on the hole after Miyazato made a double bogey following a bad approach shot that left an unplayable lie in a desert bush.
Coming off a victory two weeks ago in Singapore, Lewis won for the seventh time in her LPGA Tour career to end Yani Tseng's 109-week run at No. 1.

Lewis closed with an 8-under 64 in perfect conditions  to finish with a tournament-record 23-under 265 total.

Miyazato was second, three strokes back after a 71. The Japanese star took a four-stroke lead over Lewis and Jee Young Lee into the final round when Lewis was penalized after play Saturday when it was ruled that caddie Travis Wilson tested the sand before Lewis played out of a bunker on No. 16.



FROST TAKES TOSHIBA CLASSIC
David Frost won the Toshiba Classic on Sunday, shooting a final-round 65 to defeat Fred Couples by five strokes and tie the tournament record of 19-under 194 set by Jay Haas in 2007.

Frost joined 2011 winner Nick Price as the only golfers to lead wire to wire in the event's 19 years. It was his fourth career Champions Tour victory and first since last year's AT&T Championship in San Antonio.

In four events this season, Frost hasn't finished out of the top 10, posting ties for ninth, fifth and losing in a playoff to John Cook in Hawaii in the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship.

Couples, the 2010 champion, began the day a stroke behind Frost and tied him after a birdie on the first hole. That was the last time Frost would relinquish the lead. He birdied the second and third hole to build a two-shot advantage and the lead never went lower than one the rest of the round.

After making a birdie on No. 10 Couples had a chance to tie Frost again, but made a bogey two holes later and never recovered. Couples battled back pain for most of the day, especially on the back nine. After hitting an approach shot on No. 16 Couples dropped the club and bent over in obvious discomfort.

Jay Haas, the 2007 winner, finished tied for third with Peter Senior at 11 under. Tom Watson finished fifth another stroke back and Champions Tour rookies Rocco Mediate and Esteban Toledo tied for sixth at 9 under.



AIKEN WINS IN INDIA
Thomas Aiken collected his second European Tour title with a three shot victory at the Avantha Masters.

India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar and China’s Liang Wen-chong both launched worthy challenges during the final round – the latter recording a hole-in-one at the seventh – but Aiken held firm to sign for a five under par 67 and 23 under total at Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort.

Bhullar came flying out of the blocks, and looked as though he may add a European Tour title to the Challenge Tour victory he recorded on home soil two years ago when he followed birdies at the first three holes with an eagle at the 356 yard par four fifth after driving the green.

Aiken’s playing partner Liang also closed in with birdies at the second and fourth, but the 2011 Open de España winner responded by holing a six footer at the second to remain two clear.

Aiken knocked in an eight footer at the fifth to go to 20 under, and when Bhullar bogeyed the eighth and Liang double-crossed his tee shot right into bushes at the sixth, took a penalty drop, and eventually three-putted for a double bogey, the South African was four ahead.

However, as quickly as Liang’s title chances looked to have evaporated they reignited with an eight iron ace at the short seventh which halved the deficit.

Bhullar birdied three of the last five to set the clubhouse target at 20 under par, but Aiken completed regulation birdies on both par fives on the back nine – he almost eagled both – then sunk a 30 footer across the final green for a fitting finale.

Bhullar’s 64 gave him second, with Liang two shots further back in third following a 69.



LOCAL FAV TAKES THAILAND OPEN
Prayad Marksaeng shot a final-round 64 for a 24-under-par total of 264 to win the Thailand Open Sunday.

The 47-year-old Thai, who was runner-up here in 2011, trailed Lucas Lee of Brazil by three strokes at the start of the day but sank nine birdies against just one bogey to beat Scott Strange of Australia by two strokes. Strange hit a 67 in the final round of the Japan Tour event.

Marksaeng became the first Thai to win the tournament since Boonchu Ruankit in 2004.
Another Australian, Nick Cullen, shot a 65 to secure third place.



NEWS & NOTES 
Natalie Gulbis withdrew from the LPGA Founders Cup because of malaria contracted during the tour's Asian swing.

The LPGA Tour and the International Management Group said  that Gulbis is being treated at home in Las Vegas and is expected to be at full strength in three weeks.

Two weeks ago in Singapore, Gulbis pulled out of the HSBC Women's Champions before the second round because the illness that was later confirmed to be malaria. She opened the season with a 63rd-place finish in the LPGA Thailand.



Laura Diaz was appointed vice captain of the U.S. Solheim Cup team Wednesday, pairing her with Dottie Pepper six years after their friendship seemingly ended over Pepper's blunt televised comment during the matches.Diaz plans to play a full schedule this season and hopes to qualify for the U.S. team.

 
Jack Nicklaus has announced that The Australian Golf Club, where he won three of his six Australian Opens, will host the country's national championship in 2014 following a redesign of the layout by the 18-time major champion.

The course hosted the first Australian Open in 1904 and it was last played there in 2007 when it was won by Craig Parry.

Nicklaus, who won the Australian Open at The Australian in 1975, 1976 and 1978, also helped redesign the course between 1977 and 1980, adding length and water hazards.

This year's Australian Open will be played for the fourth consecutive year at The Lakes, also in Sydney, at a date to be determined in December. Peter Senior is the defending champion.


Mississippi's only PGA Tour event is safe for now.

Sanderson Farms has agreed to be the title sponsor for the newly-named Sanderson Farms Championship, which will be played at Annandale Golf Club in nearby Madison, Miss., on July 18-21.
The tournament has been a part of the PGA Tour since 1968. It has had several name changes over the years, and lost its previous title sponsor Viking Range Corporation after the 2011 tournament. A conglomeration of companies sponsored the 2012 event, which was called the True South Classic.

Now Sanderson Farms takes over as the title sponsor in a move that could bring some much-needed stability. The Laurel, Miss., based company is the third largest poultry producer in the United States.
 

CALENDAR
PGA TOUR - Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill - Tiger Woods

EUROPEAN TOUR -Maybank Malaysian Open - Louis Oosthuizen

CHAMPIONS TOUR - Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic - Fred Couples

LPGA TOUR - Kia Classic - Yani Tseng

WEB.COM TOUR - Chitimacha Louisiana Open - Casey Wittenberg



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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY 3-10-2013

 TIGER ON PROWL FOR MASTERS
Tiger Woods  picked up the pace in his march to the Masters. Woods delivered two quick birdies to take the drama out of Doral, and two late bogeys only made his victory in the Cadillac Championship seem closer than it really was.

Woods had full control of his game and never let anyone get closer than three shots until he had locked up his 17th World Golf Championship title. With a conservative bogey that didn't matter on the final hole, he closed with a 1-under 71.

Woods moves to No. 2, behind Brandt Snedeker, in the PGA TOUR's FedExCup standings. For the first time in five years, he has two wins before the Masters.

Woods improved to 41-2 on the PGA TOUR when he had the outright lead going into the final round, the last two wins with McDowell at his side. Woods last won while ahead at Bay Hill a year ago.

This was his 76th career win on TOUR, leaving him six short of the record 82 wins by Sam Snead. He now has more wins than Mickelson and Vijay Singh combined.



 BROWN GETS FIRST PGA TITLE IN OPPOSITE TOURNEY
Scott Brown made birdie on the 18th hole Sunday to go from a one-shot deficit to a one-shot victory in the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour title.

Brown closed with a 2-under 70. He earned a two-year exemption on tour and a spot in the PGA Championship this summer.

Fabian Gomez of Argentina had a one-shot lead until he went over the green and into a bunker on his third shot, blasted out to 15 feet and missed the par putt. He closed with a 71 and tied for second with Jordan Spieth. The 19-year-old from Texas had a 67.

Former U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein tied for sixth, giving him a spot in the Tampa Bay Classic next week.

Brown finished at 20-under 268 and earned $630,000.



KISNER WINS CHILE CLASSIC
Kevin Kisner closed with a 4-under 68 Sunday to win the Chile Classic and earn his second career title on the Web.com Tour.

Kisner, one of three 54-hole co-leaders, played the final five holes at the Prince of Wales Country Club 1-over par, but his 21-under 267 was enough to edge Brice Garnett (68) and Edward Loar (69) by one for the victory.

Guy Boros (65) and hometown favorite Benjamin Alvarado (71) tied for fourth at 18 under.
Five others were at 17 under.


NEWS & NOTES
The European Tour  supports the proposed ban on the anchored putting stroke.
The European Tour says in a statement Monday that it backs the Royal & Ancient and U.S. Golf Association on the rule change.

Tour chief executive George O'Grady says ''virtually all of our Tournament Committee and player representatives support the proposed rule even though they are aware, and have taken into account, the fact that some members and especially our senior members use the anchored method.''

The R&A and USGA announced the proposed rule on Nov. 28. They allowed a 90-day comment period that ended last Thursday.

The PGA Tour and PGA of America have announced their opposition to banning the anchored stroke, the common method for using belly putters and long putters that are pressed against the chest.



China is turning to Greg Norman to identify and coach its best players for the Olympics.
The China Golf Association on Friday appointed Norman the exclusive advisory coach of its national golf team to get ready for the 2016 Games in Brazil and improve China's global standing in golf beyond the Olympics.

Norman, a two-time British Open champion and former No. 1 player in the world, will development a comprehensive plan of instruction, nutrition, mental training and course management, along with providing his own tournament experience.

He will appoint two assistant coaches to work with the China Golf Association staff. Norman will make regular visits to the national team's training facility in Nanshan leading up to the 2016 Olympics.

Norman also will identify China's best prospects for the Olympics and broaden the junior program to reach every province.




A judge in Dallas is ordering an auction company to hold onto a champion's green jacket from the Masters golf tournament until ownership can be determined at trial.

Judge Emily Tobolowsky granted Augusta National Golf Club a temporary injunction 

Monday to stop Dallas-based Heritage Auctions from selling the jacket won by Art Wall Jr. in 1959. Last month the club, which claims the jacket was stolen from there, was granted a temporary restraining order days before it was to be auctioned.

The Dallas Morning News (http://bit.ly/Z3s3hV ) reports Stephen Pyles of Florida, who paid about $61,000 for the jacket at auction last year, now wants Heritage to sell it.
Pyles says there's no proof the jacket was stolen and disputes the club's claims that Masters jackets are supposed to remain there.



 Donald Trump is helping in a big way with the ''Els for Autism'' national golf tournament. Six of the tournaments will be played at Trump-owned courses. ''He's giving us one hell of a break,'' Ernie Els said. ''This is going to really help us. We have made $4 million the last two years, and with his help, we could be setting the next year with $7 million. That's how big this is.''


Justin Harding of South Africa had an 8-under 64 on Wednesday to lead three players in a 36-hole qualifier who earned spots in the British Open for the first time.
Harding finished the International Final Qualifying in Africa at 14-under 130.

Eduardo De La Silva of Spain had a 66 and Darryn Lloyd of South Africa had a 69 on the East Course at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington to earn the other two spots.

Golf's oldest championship has 36-hole qualifying on five continents. The final two to be held will be later this year in Europe and the United States.



PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and Nike Golf President Cindy Davis were the only two golf representatives on Sports Illustrated's list of the "50 Most Powerful People in Sports."

Finchem was ranked 25th and Davis 46th on a list headed, not surprisingly, by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.


CALENDAR
PGA TOUR - TAMPA BAY CHAMPIONSHIP - LUKE DONALD

EUROPEAN TOUR - AVANTHA MASTERS

CHAMPIONS TOUR -  TOSHIBA CLASSIC - LOREN ROBERTS

LPGA TOUR - RR DONNELLEY LPGA FOUNDERS CUP - YANI TSENG

WEB.COM TOUR - OFF



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TALKING GOLF WITH GARY 3-2-2013

THOMPSON WINS HIS FIRST AT HONDA
Michael Thompson had a one-shot lead as he stood in the 18th fairway, some 240 yards from the flag with trouble in the way in the shape of large lake. The motto from his golf team at Alabama was to ''finish strong,'' and Thompson did just that.

Instead of laying up, he drilled a 5-wood into the bunker left of the green, setting up a simple sand shot and a birdie he didn't even need. He closed with a 1-under 69, one of only five rounds under par on a punishing day at PGA National to finally become a PGA Tour winner at the Honda Classic.

Thompson holed a 50-foot eagle putt on the third hole, relied on a superb short game around the toughest part of the golf course to build a four-shot lead, and hung on for a two-shot win over Geoff Ogilvy that takes him places he always wanted to be.

He gets into his first World Golf Championship next week at Doral, and qualifies for two more WGCs this year at Firestone and in Shanghai. He's in the PGA Championship, gets to start next year in Hawaii and earned a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour. A big week indeed for Thompson.

It turned out to be a big week for Geoff Ogilvy, too.

The former U.S. Open champion missed his past four cuts and had plunged to No. 79 in the world ranking. He already missed the Match Play Championship and was ready to miss another WGC next week at Doral until putting together four solid rounds.

He chipped in for birdie behind the 16th green and two-putted for birdie on the 18th for a 69 to finish alone in second, moving him up to No. 47 to get into Doral.

Ogilvy has to stay in the top 50 by the end of the month to return to Augusta National. For now, he has smaller problems - he only packed enough for this week.

Luke Guthrie, tied with Thompson for the 54-hole lead, fell behind with a bogey on the second hole and closed with a 73 to finish third.

Tiger Woods was never in the picture. He started the final round eight shots behind, and whatever hopes he had of a rally ended on the sixth hole when he hit his drive so far to the right that the ball was never found.

Woods took double bogey, and only an eagle on the final hole kept the damage to a minimum. He closed with a 74 - his first time since the Masters last year that he failed to break par in any round of a 72-hole tournament - and tied for 37th.

It was the second straight year Woods closed with an eagle at PGA National - the difference was last year, it gave him a 62 and a tie for second.

Despite a bogey on the final hole, Erik Compton had a 70 and was part of the five-way tie for fourth. Compton, who already has had two heart transplants, earned his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour.
Thompson finished at 9-under 271, a strong performance considering the difficult course and the weekend wind. He was among three players who never shot over par at PGA National.

The final round was never going to be easy with the wind whipping on PGA National, and it showed. Of those who finished before the leaders even teed off, only two players managed to break par. 

Scoring was so difficult that Lucas Glover played the weekend in 2-over par and still tied for fourth.
Lee Westwood failed to save par on consecutive holes on the front nine and could never catch up. 

Charles Howell III, who started the day three shots behind and needed a win to get to the Masters in his hometown, fell apart on the back nine with a 41 and closed with a 78. Rickie Fowler made three bogeys on the first six holes and was never a factor.


VANDER WALT WINS HIS FIRST EURO TOUR TITLE
Dawie Van Der Walt became the fifth South African winner in 10 European Tour events this season with his two-shot victory at the Tshwane Open on Sunday.

Van Der Walt posted a final round 5-under 67 to finish at 21-under overall for his first win on the Tour.

The Texas-based golfer is ranked 436th in the world. Van Der Walt was among four players tied for the lead after the third round, including fellow South African Darren Fichardt, who shot 69 to finish second at 19-under in the European and Sunshine Tour event.

Local favorite Fichardt broke the early deadlock atop the leaderboard with birdies at Nos. 2 and 3.
Van Der Walt then countered by holing a 40-foot putt for eagle at the longest hole in the 41-year history of the European Tour - the 685-yard par five, fourth hole.

Fichardt responded with a birdie at the fifth but Van Der Walt birdied the sixth and seventh holes and held the lead from there. South African Louis De Jager posted a 69 to finish third on 18-under.
2010 US Amateur Champion Peter Uihlein is still seeking his first pro win. He was fourth with a 69 that included an eighth hole-eagle for a 17-under total.



LEWIS GETS SIXTH LPGA WIN
American Stacy Lewis won the HSBC Women's Champions on Sunday for her sixth career LPGA title, overcoming two bogeys and some shaky putting on the back nine to hold off South Korea's Na Yeon Choi.

Lewis, the 2012 LPGA Player of the Year, shot a 1-under 71 in the final round at Sentosa Golf Club to finish at 15-under 273, one stroke ahead of Choi.

Choi, who had a 72, was runner-up at the tournament for the second consecutive year. She lost to Angela Stanford in a four-player playoff last year.

Paula Creamer, hampered by a shoulder injury from a car accident last week in Thailand, briefly held a share of the lead early in the day but struggled with her putting on the back nine and faded to a 71 to finish third at 13-under.

Top-ranked Yani Tseng shot a 74 to finish a disappointing week in a share of 28th place.
Lewis started the day tied with Choi atop the leaderboard, but she was able to gain some distance with a superb shot on the par-5 7th hole.

After a long drive off the tee, Lewis hit a perfectly placed, 200-yard shot toward the pin that stopped about five inches short of going in for an albatross. She tapped it in for eagle, which put her one clear of Choi and two up on Creamer.

On the back nine, however, the 28-year-old American had to battle nerves and a determined challenge by Choi.

Leading by two shots on the 15th, Lewis hit her tee shot into the water for the second time this week and slammed her club into the turf in frustration. She took a bogey on the hole, allowing Choi to pull within one.

Then, on the 17th, Lewis hit into the bunker off the tee and missed a long par putt to card her second bogey of the back nine.

That gave Choi one last chance to even the score on the 18th, but she pulled her birdie putt wide by an inch. Lewis exhaled deeply after making her own par putt for the win.

Lewis and Choi had their putting woes, but it was almost worse for the 26-year-old Creamer, who was aiming for her 10th LPGA title.

She missed a 20-footer for eagle on No. 12 by inches, covering her mouth in disbelief. Then she barely missed a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 14 and started laughing. Two more near-misses followed on No. 15 and 16, which wiped the smile from her face.

Creamer never dreamed she'd be this close to the title after the car accident on the way to the airport in Bangkok after the LPGA Honda Thailand tournament last week.

Creamer set low expectations for her chances, which may have taken the pressure off.



CANTLAY SECOND YOUNGEST WINNER ON WEB.COM TOUR
California rookie Patrick Cantlay fired a 5-under 66 Sunday and pulled away from fellow third-round co-leader Jim Renner to win the Colombia Championship at Country Club de Bogota by four strokes.

Cantlay finished with a tournament-record total of 18-under, bettering the old mark set by Steven Pate in 2010 by seven strokes. In addition to earning his first professional title at the tender of age of 20 years 11 months and 15 days, Cantlay also becomes the second-youngest winner in Web.com Tour history.

Cantlay also picks up a check for $126,000 and takes over the No. 1 spot on the money list.Cantlay’s 66 was the best round of the final day, just as his 65 was the low round on Saturday.

Cantlay started the final round tied with Renner but spurted to the lead with birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 and then eagled the par-5, 10th hole from 12 feet to increase his lead to two over Renner, who birdied the hole.With no other serious challengers, the back nine was left to the final pairing.

A bogey by Renner at No. 12 increased Cantlay’s lead to three and another birdie by the leader at No. 14 moved it to four, where it stayed the rest of the way as both players closed their round with four consecutive pars.

Shane Bertsch (70) finished third at 12-under 272 while Texas teen Jordan Spieth (67) and Brazil’s Alexandre Rocha (68) shared fourth place at 11-under.


 NEWS &NOTES
Still feelings the effects from a recent five-car crash, Ai Miyazato withdrew from the HSBC Women’s Champions citing whiplash. Miyazato practiced for about 15 minutes at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore, where she won in 2010, before telling officials that she would be unable to play.

“I have pain in my neck and shoulder, so I’ll sit this tournament out as a precaution,” she said in a statement.

The news is better for Paula Creamer, if only slightly. Though she was unable to play in the pro-am Wednesday, she attended a photo shoot this week and is hopeful of teeing it up Thursday.

On Monday, Creamer tweeted that she “felt like a ping pong ball” after being in the middle of a five-car crash as the LPGA players headed to the airport Sunday after the final round of the Honda LPGA Thailand event. Creamer said then that both she and longtime caddie Colin Cann both suffered whiplash and likely would be sore for several weeks.

Suzann Pettersen also traveled with the group, but managed to avoid the accident in the trailing car.


Rory McIlroy abruptly walked off the course Friday at the Honda Classic, telling reporters who followed him to his car he's ''not in a good place mentally.'' An hour later, he attributed his withdrawal to a sore wisdom tooth.

It raised serious questions about golf's No. 1 player with the Masters just more than a month away.
McIlroy already was 7-over par through eight holes of the second round when he hit his second shot into the water on the par-5 18th at PGA National. He shook hands with Ernie Els and Mark Wilson and was headed to the parking lot before they even finished the hole.

He said there was nothing wrong physically. When asked about his swing, the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland replied, ''Yeah, I really don't know what's going on.''

About an hour after he left, McIlroy released a statement that pinned his withdrawal on dental problems.

''I have been suffering with a sore wisdom tooth, which is due to come out in the near future,'' 
McIlroy said. ''It began bothering me again last night, so I relieved it with Advil. It was very painful again this morning, and I was simply unable to concentrate. It was really bothering me and had begun to affect my playing partners.''

He was seen eating a sandwich on the 18th fairway.

McIlroy apologized to the tournament, saying he had every intention of defending his title at the Honda Classic. He mentioned the wisdom tooth on Twitter and said he was ''gutted.''




Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat shot a 9-under 63 Friday to win a 36-hole Asia regional qualifying tournament for this year's British Open.

Kiradech finished at 13-under 131 at the Amata Springs Country Club, where the top four players advanced to the July 18-21 tournament at Muirfield, the 142nd British Open.

Two-time Asia-Pacific amateur champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, who shared the first-round lead, shot 69 Friday to finish second, four strokes behind. Daisuke Maruyama of Japan (65) and Wu Ashun of China (68) also qualified by finishing tied for third.

Teenage amateur Guan Tianlang of China, who won the Asia-Pacific amateur championship on the same course last year and has qualified for the U.S. Masters, shot 74 Friday to finish 16 strokes behind.




CALENDAR
PGA TOUR -  WGC - CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP - JUSTIN ROSE

                       PUERTO RICO OPEN - GEORGE MCNEILL

EUROPEAN TOUR - OFF

CHAMPIONS TOUR -   OFF

LPGA TOUR - OFF

WEB.COM TOUR - CHILE CLASSIC - PAUL HALEY II


For the full recap listen to my podcast weekly 
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