THE best measure of how much golf is growing around the world can be found in Turkey, of all places. And not just because that is where the game’s stars have come to play.
Never mind that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are among eight elite players in an exhibition called the World Golf Finals that began on Tuesday. It’s mostly for show (four players wore shorts during the opening round of medal matches) and plenty of dough ($1.5m for the winner).
No doubt this can only help Turkey’s bid to land the Olympics in 2020 and present itself as a golfing destination. And having the biggest names in golf, even for a few days, might inspire more interest in the game.
Far more significant, however, was the tournament that left town with little fanfare.
The World Amateur Team Championship wrapped up on Sunday, with the US winning for the first time since 2004. What made this significant was not who posed with the Eisenhower Trophy, but rather who didn’t get to play. For the first time in the tournament’s 54-year history, there was an alternate list.
TV executive Neal Pilson once said the financial health of the PGA Tour was best measured by the waiting list of potential sponsors, and the same can be said of the World Amateur Team. It began in 1958 with 29 teams at St Andrews. This year there was a full field of 72 teams — from the US to Ukraine, from Bermuda to Bulgaria — on the Sultan and Faldo courses at Antalya.
Among those on the waiting list were Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, Namibia and Lebanon.
Justin Rose beat 14-time major champion Tiger Woods in the semifinals on Thursday (Friday, PHL time) to set up a title showdown with fellow Englishman Lee Westwood at the World Golf Final exhibition event.
Rose (69) carded two birdies and an eagle in the last six holes to defeat world number two Woods, who eliminated top-ranked Rory McIlroy earlier in the day, by one shot.
Westwood blitzed his way past 2011 U.S. Masters champion Charl Schwartzel by six strokes, the world number four firing two eagles and eight birdies in a course record, 10-under 61.
Rose trailed Woods, who beat McIlroy by six strokes in their final Group One encounter, until he holed a 110-yard sand wedge for an eagle two at the 14th.
The American smiled while Rose pulled his cap over his face after his ball took two bounces and disappeared into the hole.
"When Justin birdied 13 and holed out at 14 it was the turning point in the match," Woods told reporters. "I was two up at the time and all of a sudden one down with four to play.
"But in this strokeplay format it's not over until it's done. There can be some big swings out there and it's certainly frustrating when I've lost two matches by a shot this week."
Rose, who carded a 62 to defeat U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson in the morning, agreed with the sentiments of Woods.
Read More: Golf: Rose beats Woods to set up final with red-hot Westwood | Sports | GMA News Online | The Go-To Site for Filipinos Everywhere
Justin Rose beat European Ryder Cup teammate Lee Westwood by a stroke Friday to win the eight-player World Golf Final in Belek, Turkey, and earn a career-best $1.5 million.
The fifth-ranked Rose shot a five-under 66 in the all-English final at the Antalya Club to finish 5-0 in the $5.2-million event. Rose birdied the opening hole on the Sultan Course and led the rest of the way against the fourth-ranked Westwood, who earned $1 million.
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John Mallinger opened a four-stroke lead in the Frys-com Open at San Martin, Calif., making an eagle and two birdies on the final four holes for a nine-under 62.
Mallinger eagled the par-five 15th and closed with consecutive birdies to cap his second straight bogey-free round and reach 14 under. He matched the CordeValle Golf Club record with the 62.
Billy Horschel and Jhonattan Vegas were second. Horschel had a 65, and Vegas shot 67.
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Defending champion Na Yeon Choi took a two-stroke lead in the LPGA Malaysia at Kuala Lumpur, shooting a four-under 67 in hot and humid conditions to reach 10 under.
American Sydnee Michaels was second after a 65. Norway's Suzann Pettersen shot a tournament-record 64 to match American Lizette Salas and Japan's Momoko Ueda and Mika Miyazato at seven under. Salas had a hole in one on the par-three 15th in her 67.
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Dan Forsman shot a seven-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Fred Funk, David Frost and Larry Mize after the first round of the Greater Hickory Classic at Conover, N.C.
Justin Rose wins World Golf Final by a stroke - latimes-com
The good thing is you don’t have to swing the club different than your normal inside-out path. You do want to take at least one more club than normal because you will probably hit a little sand before making contact with the ball and you won’t be swinging as fast as usual because the loose footing won’t allow you to use your legs as much.
Aim a little left as the above physics will make it harder to square the club face and the ball will fade. Dig your feet in to aid in stability.
You want to choke down on the club a little to compensate for digging your feet in. When you swing, “try” to catch the ball clean with no sand. Even if you flat-top the ball, it will come out and advance toward the target.
Remember, there is a reason it’s called a hazard, but you can still play a good shot if you stay still, focus and swing smooth.
Jonas Blixt is a frustrated hockey player turned golfer. He's also a winner in his first season on the PGA Tour.
"I was more interested in hockey. I wanted to be a hockey player," the Swede said Sunday after his breakthrough victory in the Frys-com Open. "I never really got big enough or good enough to play. Golf kind of suited me pretty well."
Blixt was a defenseman and played hockey well into his teens. "It's the greatest sport ever," he said. "The lockout just kills me."
The third PGA Tour rookie to win this season, Blixt holed a 4-foot par putt on the final hole for a three-under 68 and a one-stroke victory in the Fall Series event at CordeValle. He finished at 16-under 268 and earned $900,000 and a tour exemption through the 2014 season.
Tim Petrovic (64) and Jason Kokrak (68) tied for second. Third-round leader John Mallinger had a 72 to tie for fourth at 14 under with Jimmy Walker (62), Vijay Singh (68) and Alexandre Rocha (68).
Two strokes behind Mallinger entering the round, Blixt birdied the first two holes but gave back the strokes with bogeys on the next two. The former Florida State player made a birdie on the par-four sixth, then had eight straight pars before the birdie on 15.
Blixt, 28, was making his 19th PGA Tour start. He finished third last week in Las Vegas.
"You learn something every time," Blixt said.
The only other rookie winners this year are John Huh in the Mayakoba Golf Classic in February and Ted Potter Jr. in the Greenbrier Classic in July.
Read More: Swedish rookie Jonas Blixt wins Frys-com Open by one | Golf | Detroit Free Press | freep-com
The University of Houston plans to add a women’s golf program for the 2013-14 season, vice president for intercollegiate athletics Mack Rhoades said Monday.
The women’s golf team will feature two student-athletes who will play as individuals in tournaments in 2013-14 before the debut of the entire team in 2014-15. Women’s golf will be the 17th program sponsored by UH, and the first to be added since softball in 2001.
The UH board of regents voted to add the program during a meeting earlier this month.
With the addition, current UH men’s head coach Jonathan Dismuke will become director of golf and oversee both programs. Current men’s assistant coach Chris Hill will be promoted to associate head coach. Rhoades and Dismuke plan to conduct a national search for a women’s associate head coach.
“When you look at the history of our golf program and the affinity for the sport of golf in the city of Houston, it is a perfect fit for the University of Houston to sponsor this sport,” Rhoades said. “With the recent construction of the Dave Williams Golf Academy and the beautiful, world-class experience at Redstone Golf Club, we cannot wait to see our future women’s golfers hit the course and provide us with another avenue of success.”
The Cougars opened the Davis Williams Golf Academy at Redstone Golf Club in August. The $500,000 facility includes four indoor/outdoor hitting bays with the latest technology.
The UH men’s golf program is considered one of the most successful in NCAA history with 16 NCAA team national championships and eight individual champions.
Women’s golf coming to UH soon | Cougars | a Chron-com blog
The weather the past two weeks had been overcast and rainy, and, unfortunately last week proved no different for the Weston golf team.
While every attempt was made to get the matches off earlier than 3:30 p.m. it did not happen and players were finishing in the dark.
Bedford went to Pine Brook Country Club instead of Weston Golf Course and that delayed the start of the match. The Weston players were ready to go when Bedford finally arrived.
Captain Matt Cowgill led the scoring for Weston with a three-over-par 39 for 16 points; his partner and fellow captain, Joe Wagner, added 10 points.
Seniors Geoffrey Ziobro and Jack Dennehy combined for 15 points and Weston led by 17 points.
Sophomore Will Bertelson and freshman Henry Hall added 14 and seven points, respectively, and increased the lead to 36 points.
The final pairing of sophomore Hunter Clutz, seven points, and junior Jason Foote, nine points finished the scoring for Weston. The Wildcats had soundly defeated Bedford 78-37.
Wednesday’s match was at Pine Brook. The rain was not supposed to be heavy but that was not the case. This match was being played for the Dual County League Small championship.
Both Weston and Concord-Carlisle played well.
Read more: Weston golf just misses gold ring - Weston, MA - The Weston Town Crier Weston golf just misses gold ring - Weston, MA - The Weston Town Crier
Tiger Woods hasn't been this busy on the golf course in seven years, a season that will wrap up in California with his annual World Challenge. Still to be determined is whether he'll keep playing that many events.
On Wednesday, Woods announced the 18-man field for the World Challenge, to be played the week after Thanksgiving at Sherwood Country Club. Woods is the defending champion, outlasting Zach Johnson to end a two-year drought.
The field features 13 players from the Ryder Cup — all but Phil Mickelson from the United States, only Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter are missing from Europe — along with Hunter Mahan, Nick Watney, Bo Van Pelt, Rickie Fowler and Jason Day. All of them are among the top 30 in the world.
For Woods, the World Challenge will be his 24th tournament of the year, which includes the Ryder Cup and the exhibition he played last week in Turkey. That's his busiest schedule since he played 25 times in 2005, not including the Skins Game and PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
''It was nice to be able to — other than one setback at Doral this year — to be healthy enough to where I have the opportunity to play as much as little as I want,'' Woods said in a conference call. ''It wasn't something I was forced to sit on the sidelines, forced to rehab and get myself back into a position where I can compete. I was able to compete and play as many tournaments as I wanted to. So that was a positive.
American Jason Dufner produced a beautiful chip-in for birdie on the seventh hole but still trails world No.24 Bo van Pelt midway through the final round of the Perth International at Lake Karrinyup.
After 10 holes, van Pelt is 16-under par, two strokes ahead of countryman and playing partner Dufner.
Argentine Emiliano Grillo is struggling to keep pace at 11-under, while England's Paul Casey has been the big mover of the day, with the former world No.3 making up six shots through 15 holes to move to nine-under.
Norway's Knut Borsheim, big-hitting Victorian Steve Jones and Kiwi Michael Hendry are eight-under, while Spain's Alejandro Canizares and Greg Chalmers are one stroke further back.
Tommy Gainey narrowly missed golf's magic number. He happily settled for a course-record 60 at Sea Island (Ga.), and his first PGA Tour win Sunday in the McGladrey Classic.
Gainey became the fourth player this year to rally from at least seven shots behind on the final day to win on the PGA Tour. He made seven straight 3s on his way to a 29 on the back nine, then had to wait more than two hours to see if anyone could catch him.
Third-round co-leader Davis Love III, the tournament host and U.S. Ryder Cup captain, drove into the water on the 16th and made double bogey. Jim Furyk, the other co-leader at the start of the day, made a 12-foot par save on 17 to stay a shot back but pushed his approach well right on 18 and made bogey.
"It's been a hard year for me and finally, we got it right," said Gainey, a 37-year-old who's known as "Two Gloves" for wearing golf gloves on each hand.
He wound up with a one-shot win over David Toms (63). Toms also needed a birdie on 18 to catch Gainey but pushed his drive right into a bunker and had little chance of reaching the green.
Gainey finished at 16-under 264 and earned $720,000 and a two-year tour exemption. He went birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie in the middle of the back nine to bring 59 into the picture, a score only five players have managed in tour history. He had a 20-foot birdie putt on 18 that didn't have enough speed to hold its line.
"I didn't know having 24 putts and shooting 60 would be like this," he said. "So I'm pretty stoked about it."
Furyk (69) finished third at 266, while Love (71) tied for fourth with Brendon de Jonge (65) and D.J. Trahan (69) at 268.
LPGA Tour: Suzann Pettersen won the HanaBank Championship, beating Catriona Matthew with a 5-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole after blowing a big lead.
Seven strokes ahead of Matthew at the start of the day, Pettersen shot a 2-over 74 to finish at 11-under 205 at Sky 72 Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea. Matthew finished with a 67.
They played the par-5 18th three times in the playoff, halving the first two extra holes with pars.
Pettersen won $270,000 to move into ninth on the career list with $9,035,662.
Michelle Wie (70) tied for 30th at even par, and Tiger Woods' niece. Cheyenne Woods (75) finished 60th at 7 over.
European Tour: Bo Van Pelt won the Perth (Australia) International, closing with a 4-under 68 for a two-shot victory over fellow American Jason Dufner (69). Van Pelt finished at 16-under 272 at Lake Karrinyup and earned $333,330. It was his first win of the year despite having 10 top-10 finishes.
Etc.: Scott Steele, a caddie who worked for Larry Mize when he won the 1987 Masters, died Friday. He was 55. Steele had a heart attack Oct. 14 in the parking lot at the Champions Tour's Greater Hickory Classic, where he was working for Kirk Triplett in Conover, N.C.
Golf: Tommy Gainey closes with course-record 60 en route to McGladrey Classic title - San Jose Mercury News
U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, one of three players to win a major with the controversial long putter, says he is not worried by a possible ban but believes that outlawing the club would be wrong.
American Simpson has already begun practicing with a conventional 'short' putter in anticipation of a possible rule change, though he feels that large-headed drivers have had a much bigger impact on golf.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal and Ancient (R&A), the game's two governing bodies, have been discussing the status of 'anchored putters' with a ban among the options being considered.
"There's a bunch of arguments going around but I haven't heard a good one yet," Simpson told reporters on Monday (Tuesday, PHL time) ahead of this week's elite PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda.
"I'm friends with a lot of the R&A guys and the USGA guys. It's nothing personal and I know they are trying to do it for the betterment of the game, but I don't think it's a good decision."
Simpson switched to the belly putter in 2004 but says he has seen no evidence in the PGA Tour's 'strokes gained over the field' putting statistic that the longer putter gives players any advantage.
"Last year there was no one in the top 20 in strokes gained category that anchored a putter," he said. "So the argument of, 'it's an advantage', you have to throw that out there.
"It's going to be tough if they do ban it. It's going to be tough for a lot of people, not just players. It's going to be tough for committees to really have a stance on it and explain why."
The use of an extended putter seems to be totally at odds with the spirit of the game, but it has played a key role in reviving the careers of several players who have suffered from the yips, or the putting twitches.
Broomhandle or belly putters, pioneered by 2002 European Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance among others during the late 1980s and early 1990s, are tucked under the chin or into the belly.
Read More: Golf: Long putter ban would be a belly ache for US Open champ Simpson | Sports | GMA News Online | The Go-To Site for Filipinos Everywhere
Tiger Woods hopes his "Duel at Jinsha Lake" showdown with Rory McIlroy in Zhengzhou on Oct 29 will usher in the beginning of many battles between the two.
Woods, 36, won three times on this year's PGA Tour and moved up to No 2 in the world rankings.
McIlroy, meanwhile, regained the No 1 position in August with his eight-stroke victory in the PGA Championship. Last month, the 23-year-old stretched his lead at the top with back-to-back wins in the Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship.
Woods, a 14-time major winner, believes the Northern Irishman will be one of his main rivals in the coming years and is now looking ahead to their 18-hole medal-match contest at the prestigious Jinsha Lake Golf Club.
"It's going to be a lot of fun going head to head with Rory. We're going to go out there and hopefully play well, give it a go and entertain the gallery," said Woods, who earlier this month played against McIlroy in a pool match in the Turkish Airlines World Golf Final.
"We've all seen how talented Rory is. It'll be fun to battle him for the next decade or so and hopefully we'll have many battles to come."
Woods' 100 career wins include 74 PGA Tour titles, second only to Sam Snead, and the American will be a massive draw as he appears for the first time at Jinsha Lake, one of the host venues in last October's widely televised China Golf Challenge, which McIlroy competed in.
"I enjoy head-to-head events, so it's great to do this in China. I've played in China many times over the past decade, but it will be my first time at Jinsha Lake and in Zhengzhou, so I'm looking forward to the experience. I've heard the fans get pretty excited," Woods said.
"China's a growing market and what they've done in golf over the past decade or so is incredible. China is young in golf terms but rising fast, especially with the sport joining the Olympics."
Woods has lots of experience in head-to-head events and one-day contests. The American competed in annual events from 1999-2005 comprising the "Showdown at Sherwood", "Battle at Bighorn" (three editions) and "Battle at The Bridges" (three editions). He also won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship three times on the PGA Tour.
The Duel at Jinsha Lake is owned and promoted by Infinite Ideas International (i3), the promoter of last October's seven-day, seven-city China Golf Challenge.
Raymond Roessel, the managing director of i3, is excited to bring together two such famous sports personalities, a year after working closely with McIlroy on the pioneering China Golf Challenge.
"It's such a rare opportunity to work with two such famous players and personalities as Tiger and Rory, and put them together in a head-to-head format," Roessel said.
Woods looks to 'decade' of battles with McIlroy |Golf |chinadaily-com.cn
Tiger Woods has admitted harbouring doubts over whether he could overhaul Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 Major titles and said a new generation, led by Rory McIlroy, had complicated his task.
Woods, speaking in Malaysia ahead of this week's CIMB Classic, said his confidence about reaching the magical 19 had "absolutely" wavered after going four years without a Major win since the 2008 US Open.
"It's like everybody else. I've gone through periods where I didn't hit very good, didn't chip very good, didn't putt very good," he said. "I know what I can do, but sometimes it just doesn't come out.
"That's when, for me, in the past and will always continue to be that way, I've just got to go back and work harder.
"Get out there and do my work on the range, do my work on the golf course at home and make that solid so when I get into a tournament situation, it is able to come out."
Woods' four-year Major drought follows a sex scandal that broke in 2009, prompting him to take a break from golf, followed by injury and a fresh attempt to remodel his game.
Three titles this season - breaking a two-and-a-half year barren streak - indicate the 36-year-old is getting back to form, but world No.1 McIlroy, 23, has now emerged as golf's stand-out performer.
"For a number of years I've been the youngest one. Throughout my years it's been Phil (Mickelson), Vijay (Singh), Ernie (Els), (David) Duval, Paddy (Harrington)," Woods said.
"All these guys won Major championships or were number one in the world or won a bucket-load of tournaments all around the world, but they're all older than me. I was the youngest of all of those parties.
"Rory is younger, so this is the next generation of guys... Rory is the head of the class of that by far. He's had an amazing start to his career, winning two Major championships and winning tournaments all around the world."
Woods said it was "good fun" to compete against the new players, but added that golf's strength in depth, aided by equipment and training changes, had made tournaments far more competitive.
"Look at how many guys won Major championships for their very first time. The game has gotten so much deeper in that regard," he said.
"So I think it's more difficult now to win golf tournaments in general because the equipment has nullified and brought the fields closer together."
However, the divorced father-of-two insisted that while Nicklaus's 18 Majors, and Sam Snead's record of 82 tournament wins - Woods is currently on 74 - were important, there were bigger things in his life.
"I certainly want to break Jack's record and catch Snead's record. Those are all things that I would love to do throughout my career," Woods said.
"But being the best father I can possibly be to my two great kids, that certainly is number one in my life."
Golf: Tiger has doubts over breaking Nicklaus record - Sport - NZ Herald News
Welshman Jamie Donaldson made a dream start to the BMW Masters with a course record of 62 to take a commanding four-shot lead at the head of the 78-strong field on Thursday at the Shanghai Lake Malaren Golf Club.
Donaldson got off to a flying start with a birdie on the first hole before putting together a round that included 10 birdies and no bogeys. Rounds like that need little summing up.
"I just played great all day," said the Welshman, who came into the tournament ranked 20th in the "Race to Dubai". "I seem to have played quite well in China when I've been here. The golf course seems to suit my eye and the conditions were quite benign."
Four shots behind Donaldson at 6-under are two members of the victorious European Ryder Cup team: Francesco Molinari of Italy and Peter Hanson of Sweden.
Francesco, whose older brother Edoardo is just two shots further back on four-under, did not drop a shot and picked up six birdies thanks to his typically accurate short game.
Another man still on cloud nine after the remarkable Ryder Cup comeback is winning captain Jose Mara Olazabal of Spain. The two-time major winner rolled back the years to produce a vintage performance and card a round of 5-under 67. It is now seven years since the 46-year-old's last tournament victory, but the final day of the "Miracle in Medinah" showed the golfing world that anything is possible.
Olazabal is tied in fourth place with two Northern Irishmen: world No 1 Rory McIlroy and 2012 Trophe Hassan II winner Michael Hoey.
McIlroy can now look forward to a reunion with his former captain, as the trio on 5-under is set to tee off in the same flight on day two.
"I noticed Ollie's name on the board, which was nice to see," said 23-year-old. McIlroy. "A few weeks ago, 12 individuals came together as part of the team, and now we're back playing and trying to beat one another."
BMW brand ambassador Martin Kaymer started as he left off at the Ryder Cup three weeks ago, shooting five birdies on the front nine. Although the birdies did stop flowing in the second half of his round, the German recovered from a bogey on the penultimate hole with a sixth birdie on the 18th to end the day on 4-under.
"The conditions were really perfect. We had a bit of rain on the first four or five holes, but after that it was great," said Kaymer. "They moved a few tees forwards so that we could attack. From a playing point of view, today was relatively easy, so I would actually have expected more low scores."
On the importance of golf in China, the major winner said, "Golf is becoming more and more important in Asia. There are a lot of new tournaments and many more Chinese players coming to the fore. You can see that here at the BMW Masters. The field is excellent, the course is nice - and there are a lot of good Chinese players here."
As you would expect at a tournament boasting the strongest field in Asia this year, the top of the leaderboard is littered with big names, Major winners and Ryder Cup stars, and top-ranked Chinese player Liang Wenchong.
Among those within four shots of Hanson and Molinari in second place are Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa, -4), Justin Rose (England, -4), Paul Lawrie (Scotland, -3), Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland, -3), Liang (-3), Lee Westwood (England, -2) and world No 3 Luke Donald (England, -2).
With this much quality on show, golf fans can look forward to another feast of shot-making on day two.
World number nine Jason Dufner hit first hole-in-one at a PGA Tour sanctioned event when he aced the 201-yard par three seventh hole during the third round of the CIMB Classic on Saturday.
The American's five-iron shot was the highlight of a seven-under-par round of 64 that catapulted him up the leaderboard on a nine-under 204 total at the $6.1 million event that is co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour and PGA of Malaysia.
"Yeah, had a pretty good number in there, hit a five-iron, was able to hit a nice shot, a little bit of luck and it went in the hole," Dufner, who has won twice on Tour this year, told Reuters.
"First one in competition, 15th, I think, in my life so nice to get one in competition."
Dufner is the second highest ranked player in the 48-man field this week behind only 14-times major winner Tiger Woods, who started his third round brightly to hold the lead on 14-under after eight holes of his round.
The crowds flocked to the Mines Golf Course in Kuala Lumpur to see Woods on his return to Malaysia for the first time in 13 years, with Dufner's shot of the day attracting little attention.
"Maybe about five or six people," Dufner said of the audience for his highlight reel shot.
Golf - American Dufner lands his first ace on PGA Tour
American Nick Watney fired a course-record 10-under-par 61 to overhaul compatriot Bo Van Pelt and win the $6.1 million CIMB Classic on Sunday after a brave run by Tiger Woods again fell short on the back nine.
Watney started the day four back of overnight leaders Bo Van Pelt (66) and Robert Garrigus (66) but, after flirting with golf's magical number 59, ended one ahead on 22-under 262 to win the Asian and PGA Tour co-sanctioned event in Malaysia.
Woods hauled himself into contention with an eight-under 63 but had to settle for a three-way tie for fourth place, three behind Watney, and will rue a number of missed opportunities on the closing holes when he was close enough to challenge.
Watney needed to birdie the last to shoot the rare 59, but he could only bogey the hole after a poor second from the rough to the par-four fell 30 yards short of the green and gave Van Pelt hope of a playoff.
Van Pelt, who double-bogeyed the last chasing a 59 of his own in the third round on Saturday, failed to force a playoff, though, when he could only par the 409-yard 18th after hitting his approach into a greenside bunker.
The 31-year-old Watney, who won the PGA Tour's Barclays Tournament in August, could then celebrate after his brilliant 11-birdie show on the short and soggy Mines Golf Course, which proved an easy test for the 48-man field after a third consecutive day of preferred lies.
"I wasn't really thinking about winning when I teed off, but the round sort of built momentum and things just kept getting better and better. I'm thrilled to come away with the win," Watney told reporters.
"After the first round, I thought I was out of it to be honest, the lead was eight-under and there were so many guys," the world number 22 added.
Watney had an eventful level par opening round 71 with his caddie suffering heat stroke and forcing his wife to carry his bag for the final hole of the day before back-to-back 65s gave him a slim hope for Sunday.
"I saw leaderboards on the front nine but I was still well back," Watney said of his fast final round start.
"I didn't' pay much attention until I got to 13, I saw I was tied for the lead walking to the 13th green."
Watney rolled in a four footer for his eighth birdie of the day on the 386 yard par-four 13th hole to take the lead from Van Pelt, which he never relinquished.
CHALLENGE ENDED
Woods, dressed in his final round lucky red shirt, also produced a Sunday charge as he matched Watney's five-under-par 30 on the front nine but a run of five pars from the 11th all but ended his title challenge.
"I left a couple out there," the 14-times major winner told reporters after his first bogey-free round of the week.
"I hit a bunch of good shots. I just had one little bad stretch yesterday, other than that, I really played well this week."
Watney had no such issues, picking up three shots before another birdie came at the 292 metre 15th when he got up and down from the greenside bunker to stretch his lead to two.
That advantage became three when he drained a 20 foot effort at the par-three 16th and Van Pelt's barren birdie run extended to eight holes when he parred the 14th.
Van Pelt, who won the European Tour event in Australia last week, ended the birdie drought on the easy 15th before matching Watney's birdie on 17 when a lovely chip from a hollow in front of the green that trickled close to the cup.
But needing a birdie at the tricky last the assured driver uncharacteristically sliced his tee shot setting up a difficult approach and in the end holed a seven-foot par putt to tie playing partner Garrigus, who holed a similar length effort for a share of second.
"He let us have a little bit of a chance there with him bogeying 18," Van Pelt said of Watney's only dropped shot of the day before talking about a case of deja vu with his approach to the last.
"I had the exact same shot as I did yesterday, ball below my feet with a nine-iron. I thought it was going to come out straight and it came out right like yesterday, So I guess I need to practice that shot." (Editing by John O'Brien)
UPDATE 1-Golf-Watney shoots 61 to win in Malaysia, Woods fourth. - chicagotribune-com
Rory McIlroy shot a 5-under 67 to beat Tiger Woods by one stroke in a head-to-head, 18-hole exhibition match between the world's two top-ranked golfers at the Jinsha Lake Golf Club in central China on Monday. McIlroy, the World No. 1, took an early lead with two birdies on the first three holes and held on to beat Woods, who had two bogeys to go along with his six birdies for the day. The 14-time major winner finished with a 68.
Both players had to make long journeys to Zhengzhou, an industrial city in China's Henan province, after competing elsewhere on Sunday. McIlroy finished second to Peter Hanson in the European Tour's BMW Masters at Shanghai, while Woods tied for fourth in the PGA Tour's CIMB Classic in Malaysia.
The 18-hole medal-match, dubbed ''Duel at Jinsha Lake,'' marked the first time the two golfers had played head-to-head without other competitors.
Golf: Rory McIlroy beats Tiger Woods by 1 stroke with 5-under 67 in head-to-head match at China
Rory McIlroy outdueled Tiger Woods in the first one-on-one exhibition match between golf's two biggest names.
Woods thinks he'll have plenty of chances to get revenge.
McIlroy shot a 5-under 67 to beat Woods by one stroke in an 18-hole match between the two top-ranked golfers at the Jinsha Lake Golf Club in central China overnight - where the prize pot was a reported $US2m ($NZ$2.4m).
"This is certainly not like most Mondays. To have this many people come out and watch us play golf in an exhibition was something special. This doesn't happen," Woods said. "As far as doing something like this down the road, it would be fun."
The event, dubbed "Duel at Jinsha Lake," marked the first time the two golfers had played head-to-head without other competitors. It probably won't be the last.
Woods said he'd relish the chance to take on McIlroy more often to create a rivalry at the top of the game similar to the one between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray that have made men's tennis so exciting in recent years.
"If you look at the history of the game, it's not like other sports where the guys play against each other all the time. Jack (Nicklaus) and Arnold (Palmer) didn't go at it that often," Woods said. "But you know what, if we can do this for the next 10, 15 years, then certainly we can have that type of rivalry.
"I think having matches like this to promote the game of golf is what it's all about. We're trying to promote the game of golf in this region and it's come a long way since my first time here 11 years ago."
McIlroy took an early lead with two birdies on the first three holes and held on to beat Woods, who had two bogeys to go along with his six birdies for the day. The 14-time major winner finished with a 68.
Both players had to make long journeys to Zhengzhou, an industrial city in China's Henan province, after competing elsewhere on Sunday. McIlroy finished second to Peter Hanson in the European Tour's BMW Masters at Shanghai, while Woods tied for fourth in the PGA Tour's CIMB Classic in Malaysia.
McIlroy, who captured the PGA Championship in August for his second major, said the win over Woods offered some consolation for his defeat Sunday when he surged back from four shots down against Hanson only to lose by one stroke in the end.
"It's been a nice distraction to not dwell on what happened yesterday. I let a great chance to win a golf tournament slip through my fingers," McIlroy said. "Coming to do something like this today has definitely made it a little easier to deal with."
After falling two strokes behind on the front nine, Woods hit a perfect chip shot from the fairway on the par-3 12th hole that hit the pin and dropped in for birdie, bringing him within one shot of the Northern Irishman.
However, he then missed a long putt for par on the next hole, settling for bogey, while McIlroy sunk a 7-footer for par.
Woods made birdie on the 14th hole to pull within one stroke again, but he missed his final chance to level the score on the 18th when he overhit his approach shot and landed in a bunker, muttering "where did that go?"
The first head-to-head matchup between Woods and McIlroy at the eight-player World Golf Final in Turkey this month was far more one-sided. Woods shot a 7-under 64 to defeat the Northern Irishman by six strokes in a group match at the exhibition event.
China has lured a number of the world's top players with lucrative exhibitions in the past few years as part of an effort to grow the sport's popularity and market a bevy of new celebrity-designed courses.
No expense or extravagance was spared in welcoming Woods and McIlroy to the Jinsha Lake Golf Club, either.
As stunt planes buzzed overhead, a fleet of Rolls Royces whisked the players to the course, passing helicopters for sale and Aston Martins and Maseratis with showgirls draped over them. After the two struck a gong to open the event, fireworks exploded behind them and confetti cannons rained gold flakes over the jostling crowd.
Some spectators, however, were skeptical whether an event like this would actually attract new fans to the sport in China.
"The bosses here maybe want to sell the villas so they introduce two big stars to come here," said Michael Wong, vice editor-in-chief of China's Golfweek magazine in Beijing. "It's a show more than a game."
But fans on the course were excited to see golf's biggest names nonetheless.
Ji Tianxin, a 14-year-old student and occasional golfer, came with her father from Nanjing to watch McIlroy, her favorite player.
"I don't usually get this chance to watch the best players," she said, watching the players putt on the fourth hole. "I think the two are both stars so I really wanted to see them."
The duel even led to some sibling rivalry between a brother and sister from Beijing. Li Weiyang is a longtime fan of Woods because he appreciates his skills and finds him "charming," but his older sister Jing Sun was rooting for McIlroy.
Jing said they didn't have a wager on the match, but she thought it was a good idea.
"The bet can be who will drive back home," she said. "It's a long drive."
Golf: McIlroy beats Woods in $2.4m match - Sport - NZ Herald News
The sponsors of this week's WGC-Champions event have criticized world number one Rory McIlroy and 14-time major winner Tiger Woods for turning down the chance to play in the tournament.
The pair played in a lucrative head-to-head exhibition match on Monday at Jinsha Lake in China.
McIlroy is now in Bulgaria watching his tennis-playing girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki competing while second-ranked Woods moved on to Singapore to fulfill corporate engagements.
"On the one hand we have by far and away the strongest field in Asia this year, 13 of the top 20 are here. But of course we are disappointed the top two are not here," HSBC's worldwide head of sponsorship Giles Morgan told reporters.
"We are looking at a true world golf championship. As a sponsor we can provide the prize money and all of the wonderful facilities for spectators, customers, the media etc. But the one thing you need of course is the players."
Morgan emphasized how important it was for the sport's main attractions to turn up to the big events outside the United States and Europe given the financial recession.
"We believe very strongly in supporting golf around the world at all levels because we believe the sport has great potential to grow," he explained.
"But in order to showcase itself particularly in emerging markets for golf such as China we feel as many of the top players should be here."
Morgan said that with so many sporting sponsors suffering during the recession, golfers should be wary of upsetting them.
"Without the sponsors there isn't professional golf and I speak on behalf of the industry," he added. "Here in China we have built something very big, very quickly so we need to continue to try to invest and encourage people to play.
"I feel very strongly as I know a number of sponsors do, that particularly in a downturn, particularly when there are financial difficulties around the world, that golf cannot be immune."
The $7 million WGC-Champions event starts on Thursday.
Golf: McIlroy and Woods criticized for Champions no-show | Sports | GMA News Online | The Go-To Site for Filipinos Everywhere
New Zealand professional Michael Hendry has a chance to claim a special piece of history when he tees it up at Clearwater for the New Zealand Open later this month.
The 33-year-old, who won the inaugural New Zealand PGA Pro-Am Championship in March for his biggest victory on home soil, will look to become the first golfer for more than five decades to win the New Zealand PGA-New Zealand Open in the same year.
Australian legend Kel Nagle was the last golfer to complete that feat when he did the double in 1957 and 1958.
Hendry, who recently finished fourth in the Perth International at the co-sanctioned European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia event, is excited about the prospect of that milestone.
"That would be a special achievement if I can pull it off as no one has done that in a long time."
Hendry, like most Kiwi golfers, said winning the New Zealand Open had been a dream since he began playing competitively.
"It is our national championship so it's a tournament I will always do my best to play. Whether the purse was $500,000 or $50,000 I would still be playing this event as I love it. I want to play well in it and I want to win it."
He is looking forward to returning to Clearwater and in particular rethinking his game plan for the John Darby and Sir Bob Charles designed layout.
"Clearwater kicked my a*** last year," he said laughing.
"I had never played Clearwater like that. It was firm and the rough was long and it played really hard. I had a game plan that had worked at Clearwater in previous years but the course was playing really differently. So I will be having a rethink about my strategy this time around and make sure I am better prepared."
Hendry, who is playing the third stage of four at Japan Q School this week, is the current leader on the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with $164,233.42 ($207,000 NZD) from five events. He leads compatriot Mark Brown by $107,000 (AUD) as he heads into the business end of the season.
If Hendry can finish off the Order of Merit it could be career changing.
He would be exempt for five years on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the OneAsia Tour as well as entry into the final stage of qualifying at major tours around the world.
He would also receive tournament exemptions to the British Open at Muirfield in 2013 and entry to some of the World Golf Championship events.
Hendry took his game to the next level in Perth when he finished fourth in a world-class field with the likes of Jason Dufner, Paul Casey and Charl Schwartzel in company.
As he did before his biggest win - the Indonesian Open of 2010 on the OneAsia Tour - Hendry felt like a big performance was coming.
"I felt I was due that sort of performance. I said to a good mate at the Wanganui Pro-Am that I feel like I am pretty close to playing really well and it wasn't so much hope but I knew that it was coming.
"That result in Perth gave me a huge amount of confidence to know that I can compete with some world-class golfers and that I was good enough. It was great exposure for me too as a lot of people have congratulated me on that performance since coming home."
Playing more golf has seen Hendry come back to his best in 2012 and he is looking forward to making the most of a hectic run in the next six weeks.
For a late starter Hendry has already forged a career of note but he is not done with yet.
Hopefully there is more to come and winning the NZ Open is top of that list.
"It has had a volatile existence in the past few years so we are all very grateful that we still have it. It would be nice to play well and it is about time that a Kiwi finishes the week with the title. If it is not me winning it then I hope another Kiwi can get the job done."
Golf: Hendry looks to make history - Sport - NZ Herald News
Never mind that Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are among eight elite players in an exhibition called the World Golf Finals that began on Tuesday. It’s mostly for show (four players wore shorts during the opening round of medal matches) and plenty of dough ($1.5m for the winner).
No doubt this can only help Turkey’s bid to land the Olympics in 2020 and present itself as a golfing destination. And having the biggest names in golf, even for a few days, might inspire more interest in the game.
Far more significant, however, was the tournament that left town with little fanfare.
The World Amateur Team Championship wrapped up on Sunday, with the US winning for the first time since 2004. What made this significant was not who posed with the Eisenhower Trophy, but rather who didn’t get to play. For the first time in the tournament’s 54-year history, there was an alternate list.
TV executive Neal Pilson once said the financial health of the PGA Tour was best measured by the waiting list of potential sponsors, and the same can be said of the World Amateur Team. It began in 1958 with 29 teams at St Andrews. This year there was a full field of 72 teams — from the US to Ukraine, from Bermuda to Bulgaria — on the Sultan and Faldo courses at Antalya.
Among those on the waiting list were Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, Namibia and Lebanon.
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