The Australian Golf Open will be staged in Sydney through to 2015 in a deal announced by Golf Australia and the New South Wales state government on Monday.
It was also announced that the 2009 Australian Open will be held for the first time at the New South Wales Golf Club on Sydney’s southern coastline. (more…)
Sphere: Related ContentFor those PGA Tour players not qualified or who chose not to play in this week’s Open Championship on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, this week’s US$4,000,000 US Bank Championship in Milwaukee offers a chance to prosper while the game’s elite are battling it out at Royal Birkdale.
The original George Hanson designed and later remodelled Brown Deer Park Golf Club in Milwaukee, has played host to this event since 1994 and because of its regular scheduling around Open Championship time, has offered many lesser lights on the PGA Tour a chance to shine in the absence of the leading money winners.
The standout player in this week’s event is, of course, Kenny Perry, who is sticking to his schedule of playing events in 2008 that he feels will help his Ryder Cup aspirations. Perry’s recent brilliant burst of form, which he has seen him win three of his last five tournaments, has meant that goal has been well and truly achieved. (more…)
Sphere: Related ContentFresh off his second victory of the year, at the AT&T National, Anthony Kim was quick to swipe aside questions of where he ranks in golf’s under-30 crowd.
Adam Scott? Sergio Garcia? They are all well ahead of Kim, at least according to the 23-year-old two-time winner. Although those longer-tenured players do rank in front of Kim on the Official World Golf Ranking, it doesn’t look as though the former Oklahoma Sooner will be in the back of that pack for very long.
So is Kim gaining ground on his higher-profile 20-something competitors? Our experts give their takes in this week’s edition of Fact or Fiction. (more…)
Sphere: Related ContentAs Rocco Mediate put the finishing touches on his tie for 18th at the AT&T Championship on Sunday, he heard the chant, “Roc-O … Roc-O” at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.
“I don’t know how I’ve done any of this the last two weeks,” said Mediate, who finished six shots behind winner Anthony Kim. “It’s been an amazing trip.”
Mediate didn’t get the news until later, but his playoff loss to Tiger Woods in the U.S. Open last month, plus his performance in the Buick Open (tied for 28) and the AT&T earned him an exemption into the British Open. (more…)
Sphere: Related ContentJonathan Byrd fired a final-round 66, one of four rounds in the 60s to win the 2007 John Deere Classic by one stroke over Tim Clark. The victory was Byrd’s third since he joined the PGA Tour in 2002. Byrd won his first tournament — the Buick Challenge — in 2002, followed by the 2004 B.C. Open. The Illinois victory gave Byrd three wins while in his 20s. Byrd turned 30 in January.
This season, Byrd has enjoyed two top-10 finishes — at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (tied for ninth) and the AT&T Classic (fourth). He is 71st in the FedExCup standings and 72nd on the money list. (more…)
Sphere: Related ContentAnthony Kim shot a five-under 65 on Sunday to squeeze past a tight field and win the AT&T National by two shots.
It was the 23-year-old American’s second career PGA Tour title, the first coming just two months ago when he claimed the Wachovia Championship by five shots at tough Quail Hollow.
This week’s venue was Congressional, which will host the 2011 U.S. Open, and the talented Kim finished with a 12-under 268 total.
That bettered by three strokes K.J. Choi’s winning score from last season, the first year of Tiger Woods’ tournament.
“Winning [on the PGA Tour] is so tough that any time you get an opportunity to be in the hunt, it feels great,” said Kim. “And to capitalize on the two chances I’ve had of late feels wonderful.”
Fredrik Jacobson strung together four consecutive birdies near the end of his round and shot a five-under 65 to finish alone in second place at 10-under 270.
Rod Pampling also shot a 65 and Jim Furyk had a 66 to lead a group of six players who shared third place at nine-under 271. They were joined by Robert Allenby (67), Dean Wilson (67), Nick O’Hern (69) and Tommy Armour III (69).
Third-round leader Tom Pernice, Jr. stumbled to a two-over 72 and fell into a tie for ninth place with Alex Cejka (66) and Jeff Overton (70) at eight-under 272.
Steve Stricker, after trailing Pernice by a shot overnight, couldn’t overcome a slow start on the way to a three-over 73. He dropped into a share of 18th place at six-under 274.
U.S. Open runner-up Rocco Mediate (66) was among the players who joined Stricker at 274.
Kim joined Woods, Phil Mickelson and Kenny Perry as the only multiple winners on the PGA Tour this year. But while each of the other players is over the age of 31, Kim turned 23 just 17 days before his latest win.
Any remaining doubt that Kim is an emerging star was erased on Sunday. At least one player has already compared him to Woods.
“I think any time there’s a younger guy that plays good, there’s always a little bit of buzz that’s created and people are looking and hoping to find the guy that’s going to challenge Tiger,” said Kim. “You know, right now, he’s obviously injured and not going to be out here, but it’s a time for the young guys to step up and make a statement.
“Hopefully other people will get to know golf besides Tiger. He’s done so much for the game. But at the same time, we need to step up and I think it’s going to be an around time for all the young guys.”
Kim had to wiggle through a tight leaderboard to come out on top.
Beginning the day three shots behind Pernice, Kim started strong with a birdie at his first hole. But it may have been his consistency that eventually helped him the most.
Kim collected five consecutive pars before making his next birdie at the par- three seventh. He made back-to-back birdies at the ninth and 10th holes to take a two-shot lead on Hunter Mahan.
And when he rolled in a five-foot birdie putt at the 16th, Kim held a three- shot lead on six players: Furyk, Pampling, Jacobson, Wilson, O’Hern and Armour.
He would not be caught.
Kim made consecutive pars to finish the round, which was good enough to hold off Jacobson’s late charge. He claimed $1.08 million for the win, moving to fifth place on both the FedEx Cup points list and the money list.
And there was the little matter of winning Woods’ tournament, even if the recuperating Woods wasn’t there to see it.
“To win his golf tournament is amazing,” said Kim. “Because I idolized him growing up, it’s so surreal for me to be in this position right now.”
(source: sport network)
Sphere: Related ContentIf Tiger Woods watched his signature tournament on television from his Orlando home yesterday, he might have seen a glimpse of his future when he returns to competitive golf next year on a healthy left knee. Specifically, he and viewers nationwide witnessed a 23-year-old potential long-term rival in full flight yesterday, a young man who shows no fear once he assumes the lead and says he loves to stomp on his opponents once he gets them down.
That’s precisely what Los Angeles native Anthony Kim demonstrated at the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club. With three birdies over a four-hole stretch in the middle of his bogey-free round of 5-under-par 65, Kim took the lead after his 11th hole and never let go. Then he wrapped his arms around the silver capitol dome trophy on the 18th green for his second victory in his last five events.
With four rounds in the 60s and a 12-under total of 268, Kim became just the fourth multiple winner on the PGA Tour this season, joining Woods, Phil Mickelson and Kenny Perry. More significantly, he’s the first American player under 25 to win twice in a season since Woods accomplished that feat in his first year as a pro in 1996. Just two other players under 25 have done it: Spaniard Sergio García and Australian Adam Scott, both now in the top 10 in the world rankings. (more…)
Sphere: Related ContentAmerican golfer Tom Pernice Jr. has a one stroke lead over compatriot Steve Stricker headed into the final round of the A&T National tournament in Bethesda, Maryland. As VOA’s David Byrd reports, Pernice struggled on the Congressional Country Club Course, but still took the lead late in his round.
Pernice started the day at 9-under-par and only a birdie (one stroke under par on a hole) on the 17th hole put him into the lead. The 48-year-old Pernice is 10-under-par, 200 for the tournament. He said after his third round that he cannot take winning for granted. (more…)
Sphere: Related ContentKenny Perry is coming home.
Perry shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday to win the Buick Open by a stroke at 19 under, likely locking up a spot on the Ryder Cup team that will face Europe at Valhalla about 40 miles from his birthplace.
“I’m ecstatic,” he said. “It really won’t sink in until I’m actually putting on the red, white and blue.”
Perry was amazed he won at Warwick Hills for a second time because Woody Austin closed with consecutive bogeys to blow the tournament and Bubba Watson just missed a 12-footer that would’ve forced a playoff.While Perry was on the driving range, he backed into earning $900,000.
“I still can’t believe I won,” he said. “I feel like I need to go make a birdie out there to win.”
Austin and Watson shot 68s.
The 47-year-old Perry joined Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson s the only multiple winners this year on the PGA Tour, became the oldest player to win at Warwick Hills and joined a short list of multiple champions in the event. (more…)
Sphere: Related ContentInbee Park woke up in the middle of the night 10 years ago when she heard cheering from the living room of her tiny apartment outside Seoul.Her parents were up at 3 a.m. to watch Se Ri Pak become the first South Korean and the youngest winner of the U.S. Women’s Open. The 9-year-old girl sat down with them to watch, half asleep, but definitely paying attention.
“When she made a putt, they were screaming,” Park said. “So I really could not sleep.”
Two days later, she placed her tiny hands around a golf club for the first time.
On Sunday, Park wrapped hands around the biggest trophy in women’s golf, capturing the U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen with nearly flawless golf over the final 10 holes as everyone else melted away.
“I didn’t know anything about golf back then, but I was watching her,” Park said. “It was very impressive for a little girl. I just thought that I could do it, too.” (more…)
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