THE WEEK IN REVIEW (7/14 - 7/20)
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The Open Championship – Southport, England
In an Open Championship made memorable by an astonishing 54-hole performance by 53-year-old Hall-of-Famer Greg Norman, Padraig Harrington became only the seventh player in the postwar era to successfully defend the Claret Jug, playing spectacular golf over the closing holes to post a three-over-par winning total of 283 at Royal Birkdale. Harrington, who in 2007 became the first Irishman in 60 years to claim the Open, began Sunday two strokes behind the ageless Norman, then lingered among a group of contending players before stepping neatly away on the final nine, playing the last six holes in four under par figures. The clincher came at the 572-yard 17th where Harrington nailed a 5 wood second to within three feet, with the ensuing eagle staking him to the four-shot lead that would ultimately be the final margin of victory. For Norman, whose stunning play over the first three days injected an element of electricity that most assumed would be lacking absent an injured Tiger Woods, a Sunday 77 proved fatal – though to be fair, such a score was hardly out of line in the windy conditions, and Norman was unquestionably victimized by several lipped-out putts which might easily have fallen. Though his bid to become the game’s oldest-ever Major champion thus faded, Norman’s ultimate tie for 3rd must stand among the most unforgettable of the modern era. Though Harrington’s penultimate eagle allowed him to waltz comfortably up the 72nd hole, a bit of earlier drama was provided by England’s homestanding Ian Poulter, whose closing 69 drew him briefly within a shot of the leader. But in the hottest moments of the battle, Harrington’s birdies at the 13th and 15th, combined with the spectacular eagle, simply proved too much. For Poulter, the late rush nearly vindicated his frequently mocked January prediction that he would win the U.S. Open, while for Norman, this unbelievable week gets him a coveted invite back to the Masters. For Harrington, however, in addition to moving him to a career-best 3rd in the Official World Ranking, the win provides a dose of immortality, particularly given his status as the first European player since James Braid (1905-06) to claim the Open Championship in back-to-back years. All this from a man whose injured wrist made it questionable whether he would even be able to tee it up on Thursday – a concern which, though not as memorable as Norman’s mind-boggling run, will certainly add a bit of spice to the history books.
FINAL RESULTS ORDER OF MERIT E TOUR STATS INTERVIEWS
PGA Tour: U.S. Bank Championship – Milwaukee, WI
Richard S. Johnson became the sixth Swedish golfer to win on the PGA Tour by claiming the U.S. Bank Championship at Milwaukee’s Brown Deer Park, his 16-under-par 264 total besting Ken Duke by one. In a field rendered palpably light by the concurrent British Open, Johnson opened on Thursday with a pace-setting 63, then following middle rounds of 67-70, closed with a Sunday 64 (which featured eight birdies) to nose ahead of Duke, who closed with a 65. The trio of Dean Wilson, Chad Campbell and Chris Riley tied for 3rd at 267, while red-hot Kenny Perry, who passed on the British Open to honor an earlier commitment here, tied for 6th at 268. The win lifts Johnson from 612th to 271st in the World Ranking, and from 220th to 69th in official PGA Tour earnings.
FINAL RESULTS MONEY LIST PGA TOUR STATS INTERVIEWS
LPGA Tour: LPGA State Farm Classic – Springfield, IL
Korea’s Ji Young Oh won for the first time on the LPGA Tour at the State Farm Classic, defeating Yani Tseng on the first hole of sudden death after the pair deadlocked at 8-under-par 270 over 72 holes. Oh’s breakthrough came against a field missing the majority of the tour’s top stars, and required a touch of luck: Tseng, winner of the Macdonald’s LPGA Championship and one of the tour’s bright young talents, held a one stroke lead going to the last before missing the green long and carding a crucial bogey. Na Yeon Choi finished solo 3rd at 271, while the threesome of Shanshan Feng, Stacy Prammanasush and Hee-Won Han tied for 4th at 272. First-round leader Christina Kim, who opened the week’s low scoring with a Thursday 63, fell back on the weekend, ultimately tying for 9th. A disappointing footnote (especially for tournament sponsors) was the late disqualification of Michelle Wie, who opened with easily her three best rounds of the season (67-65-67) before being tossed on Saturday for failing to sign her scorecard the day before. Even for a Stanford student, it’s a long learning curve indeed…
FINAL RESULTS MONEY LIST LPGA STATS INTERVIEWS
Champions Tour: 3M Championship – Blaine, MN
Despite being hobbled by a pair of soon-to-be-operated-on knees, R.W. Eaks won his third Champions Tour title at the 3M Championship in Minnesota, and did so in style, his rounds of 65-63-65 adding up to a 193 total and a six-shot runaway over Gary Hallberg and Bernhard Langer. Eaks began the final round with a three-shot lead, and after carding three birdies and an eagle over his first six holes, was quickly off to the races. The 193 aggregate represented the lowest total in tournament history and the fourth lowest in the 29-year history of the Champions Tour.
FINAL RESULTS MONEY LIST CHAMPIONS STATS
Elsewhere…
Former LPGA Tour regular Akiko Fukushima claimed her second 2008 victory (and the 23rd of JLPGA career) at the Stanley Ladies, her 203 total bettering Ayako Uehara by a single stroke………Californian Kim Welch landed her first victory as a professional at the Futures Tour’s Alliance Bank Classic, beating Jin Young Park on the fourth hole of sudden death after the pair tied at 204 over 54 holes………Colt Knost fired a closing 62 en route to his second Nationwide Tour victory of 2008, the Price Cutter Charity Championship. His 26-under-par 262 total defeated his former Walker Cup teammate Webb Simpson by six………Switzerland’s Andre Bossert carded a 15-under-par 265 total to win the European Challenge Tour’s MAN NÖ Open in Austria, edging homestanding Markus Brier on the first hole of sudden death………Wes Heffernan won the Canadian Tour’s Players Cup with a 270 total, edging American John Ellis and fellow Canadian Dustin Risdon (who closed with a 62) by one.
The Open Championship – Southport, England
In an Open Championship made memorable by an astonishing 54-hole performance by 53-year-old Hall-of-Famer Greg Norman, Padraig Harrington became only the seventh player in the postwar era to successfully defend the Claret Jug, playing spectacular golf over the closing holes to post a three-over-par winning total of 283 at Royal Birkdale. Harrington, who in 2007 became the first Irishman in 60 years to claim the Open, began Sunday two strokes behind the ageless Norman, then lingered among a group of contending players before stepping neatly away on the final nine, playing the last six holes in four under par figures. The clincher came at the 572-yard 17th where Harrington nailed a 5 wood second to within three feet, with the ensuing eagle staking him to the four-shot lead that would ultimately be the final margin of victory. For Norman, whose stunning play over the first three days injected an element of electricity that most assumed would be lacking absent an injured Tiger Woods, a Sunday 77 proved fatal – though to be fair, such a score was hardly out of line in the windy conditions, and Norman was unquestionably victimized by several lipped-out putts which might easily have fallen. Though his bid to become the game’s oldest-ever Major champion thus faded, Norman’s ultimate tie for 3rd must stand among the most unforgettable of the modern era. Though Harrington’s penultimate eagle allowed him to waltz comfortably up the 72nd hole, a bit of earlier drama was provided by England’s homestanding Ian Poulter, whose closing 69 drew him briefly within a shot of the leader. But in the hottest moments of the battle, Harrington’s birdies at the 13th and 15th, combined with the spectacular eagle, simply proved too much. For Poulter, the late rush nearly vindicated his frequently mocked January prediction that he would win the U.S. Open, while for Norman, this unbelievable week gets him a coveted invite back to the Masters. For Harrington, however, in addition to moving him to a career-best 3rd in the Official World Ranking, the win provides a dose of immortality, particularly given his status as the first European player since James Braid (1905-06) to claim the Open Championship in back-to-back years. All this from a man whose injured wrist made it questionable whether he would even be able to tee it up on Thursday – a concern which, though not as memorable as Norman’s mind-boggling run, will certainly add a bit of spice to the history books.
FINAL RESULTS ORDER OF MERIT E TOUR STATS INTERVIEWS
PGA Tour: U.S. Bank Championship – Milwaukee, WI
Richard S. Johnson became the sixth Swedish golfer to win on the PGA Tour by claiming the U.S. Bank Championship at Milwaukee’s Brown Deer Park, his 16-under-par 264 total besting Ken Duke by one. In a field rendered palpably light by the concurrent British Open, Johnson opened on Thursday with a pace-setting 63, then following middle rounds of 67-70, closed with a Sunday 64 (which featured eight birdies) to nose ahead of Duke, who closed with a 65. The trio of Dean Wilson, Chad Campbell and Chris Riley tied for 3rd at 267, while red-hot Kenny Perry, who passed on the British Open to honor an earlier commitment here, tied for 6th at 268. The win lifts Johnson from 612th to 271st in the World Ranking, and from 220th to 69th in official PGA Tour earnings.
FINAL RESULTS MONEY LIST PGA TOUR STATS INTERVIEWS
LPGA Tour: LPGA State Farm Classic – Springfield, IL
Korea’s Ji Young Oh won for the first time on the LPGA Tour at the State Farm Classic, defeating Yani Tseng on the first hole of sudden death after the pair deadlocked at 8-under-par 270 over 72 holes. Oh’s breakthrough came against a field missing the majority of the tour’s top stars, and required a touch of luck: Tseng, winner of the Macdonald’s LPGA Championship and one of the tour’s bright young talents, held a one stroke lead going to the last before missing the green long and carding a crucial bogey. Na Yeon Choi finished solo 3rd at 271, while the threesome of Shanshan Feng, Stacy Prammanasush and Hee-Won Han tied for 4th at 272. First-round leader Christina Kim, who opened the week’s low scoring with a Thursday 63, fell back on the weekend, ultimately tying for 9th. A disappointing footnote (especially for tournament sponsors) was the late disqualification of Michelle Wie, who opened with easily her three best rounds of the season (67-65-67) before being tossed on Saturday for failing to sign her scorecard the day before. Even for a Stanford student, it’s a long learning curve indeed…
FINAL RESULTS MONEY LIST LPGA STATS INTERVIEWS
Champions Tour: 3M Championship – Blaine, MN
Despite being hobbled by a pair of soon-to-be-operated-on knees, R.W. Eaks won his third Champions Tour title at the 3M Championship in Minnesota, and did so in style, his rounds of 65-63-65 adding up to a 193 total and a six-shot runaway over Gary Hallberg and Bernhard Langer. Eaks began the final round with a three-shot lead, and after carding three birdies and an eagle over his first six holes, was quickly off to the races. The 193 aggregate represented the lowest total in tournament history and the fourth lowest in the 29-year history of the Champions Tour.
FINAL RESULTS MONEY LIST CHAMPIONS STATS
Elsewhere…
Former LPGA Tour regular Akiko Fukushima claimed her second 2008 victory (and the 23rd of JLPGA career) at the Stanley Ladies, her 203 total bettering Ayako Uehara by a single stroke………Californian Kim Welch landed her first victory as a professional at the Futures Tour’s Alliance Bank Classic, beating Jin Young Park on the fourth hole of sudden death after the pair tied at 204 over 54 holes………Colt Knost fired a closing 62 en route to his second Nationwide Tour victory of 2008, the Price Cutter Charity Championship. His 26-under-par 262 total defeated his former Walker Cup teammate Webb Simpson by six………Switzerland’s Andre Bossert carded a 15-under-par 265 total to win the European Challenge Tour’s MAN NÖ Open in Austria, edging homestanding Markus Brier on the first hole of sudden death………Wes Heffernan won the Canadian Tour’s Players Cup with a 270 total, edging American John Ellis and fellow Canadian Dustin Risdon (who closed with a 62) by one.
Daniel
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