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Thread: Golf 2014

  1. #85
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    norocosule! foarte fain turneul, mi-a placut terenul, golf in stare pura, in bataia vantului, fara chestii artificiale de amorul artei.
    The Show Must Go On

  2. #86
    Pro Memoria miril's Avatar
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    Super, Dorin! Selfie(s) 4 Ever!

    Intre timp, Tee Times For Pinehurst:

    http://www.pgatour.com/news/2014/06/...mickelson.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  3. #87
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    The Golf Boys Are Back! Ben Crane castiga FedEx St. Jude Classi, a cincea victorie din cariera la o distanta de trei ani de precedenta. Concursul a fost perturbat de vremea capricioasa cu multe intreruperi si... rupere de nori, lucru care a influentat se pare si transmisia TV catastrofala si nu ar fi prima data, americanii avand mari probleme cu transmisia asigurata de doua canale de televiziune diferite care se succed in ziua de concurs sa transmita, pe tot parcursul turneului. Au fost cam in total 3 ore si jumatate de transmisie efectiva din cele patru zile de concurs. Noroc cu Online-ul!

    Crane's career revived by victory

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...e-847-Badz.jpg
    Earlier this year, Ben Crane was contemplating life after golf. Now he's a TOUR winner again. (Stan Badz/PGA TOUR)

    MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Ben Crane estimates he slept fewer than three hours before the final day of the FedEx St. Jude Classic. An important day awaited him. He’d endured deep struggles this season but began Sunday with a four-shot lead.

    “I (was) just so nervous, so excited, so thrilled that my game has come around,” Crane said. “I did a lot of praying, lot of thanking God for some fun days.”

    Crane was able to complete his wire-to-wire victory, his 3-over 73 in the final round good enough for a one-shot victory over Troy Merritt. Crane began the week at No. 150 in the FedExCup, with just one top-25 in 16 starts and leaves Memphis 41st in the season-long race.

    He shot 63-65 in the FedEx St. Jude’s first two rounds, and played the first six holes of the third round in 1 under before play was called for the day. He started his 30-hole Sunday with a chip-in on his first hole. It was his only birdie of the day, but it was enough to win. He held a two-shot lead when he arrived at the 18th tee, then made a cautious bogey on the water-lined closing hole.

    This is Crane’s fifth PGA TOUR victory and first since the 2011 McGladrey Classic.

    “This win is different for me,” Crane, 38, said. “I want to treat it differently and I really want to enjoy it. I don’t want to act like there’s five more behind it.”

    Crane had to face his golfing mortality this year. He needed to make swing changes this season to alleviate back pain that forced him to withdraw from the first event of the 2013 FedExCup Playoffs, The Barclays. He needed on-course treatment throughout his best finish of 2014, a T9 at the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. He began to consider a future without the game.

    “This has been a really tough year,” he said. “I had to finally become OK with golf not being in the picture. I just felt like things were going in that direction and so I just got to the place where I said, ‘Lord if it’s not golf, I will love You.’ But if it is that would be really fun.”


    Final scores from the @fesjcmemphis:
    1. Crane, -10
    2. Merritt, -9
    T3. Simpson, -8
    T3. Every, -8
    T3. Pettersson, -8


    http://www.pgatour.com/the-upshot/20...e-classic.html

    Daca se intreba cineva cine sunt Golf Boys sa vada video-ul de mai jos.

    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  4. #88
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    bre oameni, invatati-va minte sa urmariti European Tour. runda finala de ieri a fost superba. ca tot turneul de altfel, in Austria.
    The Show Must Go On

  5. #89
    THE VIKING Dorin's Avatar
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    nr 1.
    Multumesc de comentariile dupa turneul suedez.
    nr.2
    Chiar ca a fost tre de tot in Austria. Suedezul a castigat si dreptul de US open !!!Plus calificarea automat pentru ET next year.
    nr 3: Transmisiile din Europa sint mai bune, mai variate , arata mai multi jucatori etc. Si fara reclame.....
    Pinehurst now !!! http://www.pinehurst.com
    THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

  6. #90
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    Magnifica victoria lui Martin Kaymer la US Open pe un teren de golf extrem de dificil si unde a condus detasat de la inceput si pana la sfarsit.

    Kaymer better now than when he was World No. 1

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...7-kinnaird.jpg
    Martin Kaymer celebrates with his caddie, Craig Connelly, after winning the U.S. Open. (Kinnaird/Getty Images)


    PINEHURST, N.C. – On Feb. 27, 2011, Martin Kaymer lost to Luke Donald in the finals of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, but in the process became the world’s top-ranked golfer. He was 26 years old, the second-youngest player at that time to ever hold that ranking. Only Tiger Woods had been younger.

    Kaymer, however, was not ready. Not ready for the demands on his time, for the raised expectations, for the increased attention in his native Germany.

    His place atop the world rankings lasted eight weeks. His tailspin lasted longer. He eventually separated from his caddie, Craig Connelly, feeling they were making too many mistakes. His confidence faded. It was his dark period.

    It is now 1,204 days later. Kaymer – now 29 years old -- has just won the second major of his career, going wire-to-wire to win the U.S. Open by eight strokes. Just seven other players have ever done that in U.S. Open history. The weekend at Pinehurst No. 2 was essentially a 36-hole coronation. There were no train wrecks at this weekend’s U.S. Open. Only a runaway train.

    Despite having won THE PLAYERS Championship and the U.S. Open in back-to-back months, Kaymer is not officially ranked No. 1 in the world. That designation belongs to Adam Scott. Kaymer is expected to move to No. 11, but perhaps he’ll be No. 1 again soon.

    And this time, he will be ready.

    “It shouldn’t sound cocky or arrogant, but I knew it would come,” Kaymer said. “I knew that I would play good golf again. There was enough belief there.”

    Actually, Kaymer is not back to where he was three-plus years ago. He’s better. Better than the Kaymer who was No. 1 back then. His game is better. Mentally, he’s in a better place. He’s having fun, and he’s shown it on two vastly different courses these past few weeks.

    “He has more shots in his armory,” Connelly said. “His short game’s improved. He’s 3 years older. So yeah, he’s improved. Absolutely.”

    Connelly was asked about his split with Kaymer back in 2011. It came just three months after Kaymer moved to No. 1, and less than a year after the German had won his first major, the 2010 PGA Championship.

    For outsiders, it was a surprise move. For Connelly, it was reflective of the rising pressure on the young German.

    “The tension was building up,” Connelly recalled. “Him being world’s No. 1 and wanting success every single time he got to the golf course. We all do.

    “But, you know, that’s what we had to do. Obviously we’re together again. It’s been very, very fortunate to have worked out.”

    Connelly jumped back on the bag in August of 2012. A few weeks later, Kaymer sank the decisive putt in his match against Steve Stricker as Europe retained the Ryder Cup with an improbable final-day comeback. He did not feel he belonged on the team, but that single putt – his ability to deliver in the most crucial of moments for any golfer – was the turning point for his return to elite status.

    Before Sunday’s final round, Kaymer confided in Connelly. He told his caddie that the round would be the toughest he’s ever played. He was entering with a five-stroke lead, and the difficulty of protecting that on a pressure-packed Sunday at a major is enormous. Expectations were high – just like three years ago when he became No. 1.

    Unlike back then, Kaymer delivered. He didn’t shoot 65, as he had done in each of the first two days. But his 1-under 69 was just as effective. He showed early that he was not going to wilt. He was not going to fold. This was a Tiger-like performance, a Rory-like performance.

    And on the 18th green, after he sank another ticklish putt to save par, he gave a big hug to his Scottish caddie. Their working relationship has mirrored Kaymer’s career arc, and nothing was sweeter than this moment.

    “He’s a very calm person, very happy, very positive person,” Kaymer said of Connelly. “… I think that combination, me being fairly serious, him being a little bit more relaxed, that works out quite well for both of us.”

    Indeed.

    “Winning a tournament is impressive, but winning it by a large number against the best players in the world, there’s obviously no word for it,” said Jason Day, who finished 10 shots back but tied for fourth. “Martin’s had a couple of down years just recently and through, I’m just guess, like a lot of the European guys, they work very, very hard on their game. They take it very serious.

    “He struggled over the past few years and this year has been his breakout year again.”

    Like his caddie, Kaymer considers himself a much better player now than back in February of 2011. A more complete player. The swing changes he made have worked. The approach to focus less on technique and more on feel has worked. Striving to have fun instead of striving for perfection has worked.

    “It was just a matter of time,” Kaymer said. “It’s not a huge surprise to me that I played good golf. It’s just a surprise that I won such big tournaments. That’s a surprise. But I’ll take it.”

    It’s certainly a surprise to win a U.S. Open by eight strokes. It’s the fourth largest margin of victory in the 114 years that the event has been played. Kaymer had to carry the pressure of leading since his opening 65 on Thursday afternoon and he really never gave anyone else a chance to think about winning.

    “He kind of killed the event in the first two days,” noted Henrik Stenson.

    In his Scottish accent, Connelly tried to put into words what it meant. It wasn’t easy.

    “It’s not very often you see the likes of a runaway winner,” he said. “We’ve seen it with Rory at the PGA and U.S. Open. We’ve seen it with Tiger. But that’s seeing someone else do it.

    “To happen to the person you’re working for, for it to happen to us – well, right now it’s still very raw.”

    Well, he better get used to it. Martin Kaymer hasn’t officially returned to No. 1 in the world, but he’s sure playing like it.

    http://www.pgatour.com/news/2014/06/...r-victory.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  7. #91
    Pro Memoria miril's Avatar
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    Ce poate aduce sapte birdie(s) la rand decat victoria. Un sfarsit electrizant pe Travelers Championship, ca la cursele de cai.

    Perspective helps Streelman find 'the zone' on the back nine Sunday

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...chaelCohen.jpg
    Kevin Streelman surged down the stretch to claim his second career TOUR title. (Michael Cohen/Getty Images)

    CROMWELL, Conn. -- It was the day after Christmas last year and Kevin Streelman was just hoping to hear a scream from his newborn baby daughter after his wife underwent an emergency C-section a month early.

    His wife Courtney suffered from cholestasis, a liver disease in which pregnancy hormones affect the normal flow of bile in the gallbladder. It afflicts about 1 in 1,000 women, typically in the late stages of pregnancy, and usually subsides shortly after delivery.

    “They pulled her out and she was quiet for a few seconds and then she let out this belt, this loudest scream,” Streelman remembers. “We just looked at each other and started bawling our eyes out.”

    The experience helped put life in perspective for the 35-year-old journeyman who had missed his last four cuts. Little did he know how it would translate to the golf course and help him to his second career victory.

    Streelman made seven straight birdies to cap a final-round 64 and a one-stroke victory Sunday at the Travelers Championship. It was his second straight 64 and he earned 500 FedexCup points for the win to move to 27th in the standings.

    Sergio Garcia and K.J. Choi tied for second. They each shot 67.

    Streelman’s birdie streak to finish a round is a PGA TOUR record, surpassing Mike Souchak’s previous mark of six straight from the 1956 St. Paul Open. His back-nine 28 also matched a record at TPC River Highlands.

    “When you're in the zone like that, when athletes talk about being in the zone, everything is really slow, and it's really clear and concise, and it's very vivid,” said Streelman, who began the day four strokes back and was 2 over through his first seven holes Sunday. “The lines are easy to see. The hole seems to appear bigger. It's almost to a point it doesn't matter how you read the putts because you just know they're going in before you hit them.”

    At one point, Streelman had to back off his putt on the 12th hole because he started thinking about the fishing vacation he is taking next week in Flagstaff, Ariz.

    He made the putt and followed with six more birdies, then had to wait 45 minutes to see if it would be enough.

    Garcia and Choi each had a chance to force a playoff with a birdie on the 18th but each could only manage par.

    When Aaron Baddeley also failed to birdie the last, an emotional Streelman had his second win in just over a year.

    “Sometimes in this sport, especially when you miss some cuts or you just make it so important, like you just lock yourself up; you don't have freedom,” Streelman said. “I wasn't really expecting too much this week, but I just had really good perspective, and it just kind of came to fruition today.”

    http://www.pgatour.com/the-upshot/20...travelers.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  8. #92
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    Justin Rose la prima victorie a anului castigata de parca am fi la CM de fotbal, in prelugiri in fata lui Shawn Stefani.

    Rose proves again he's one of the elite Helen Ross

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...47-RobCarr.jpg
    Justin Rose has six TOUR victories including the 2013 U.S. Open, and six international wins. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)

    BETHESDA, Md. -- The last time The Open Championship was played at Royal Liverpool, Justin Rose watched it on TV.

    "Missed it because I wasn't very good," the good-natured Rose said candidly. "I was having a bit of a rough spell."

    Indeed, he was. That Open was the sixth straight major in which Rose wasn't eligible to play. The man who has matured into a top-10 player in the world now calls it a "re-motivating" time in his career.

    "I just remember (the course) being burnt out, really warm, people eating ice cream and Tiger winning," Rose said with a wry smile.

    Times change. And the 33-year-old Englishman will head to Hoylake next month among the favorites after his gritty victory in the Quicken Loans National at Congressional, which played like a major championship venue on Sunday.

    Rose came up with a clutch par at the 17th hole and an even bigger 15-footer for a water-logged bogey at No. 18 to preserve his spot in a playoff with Shawn Stefani. He then won the Quicken Loans National for the second time in five years with a par on the first extra hole after Stefani put his approach in the water.

    "An amazing feeling in any sort of championship, when you make a putt like that that means something like that on the 18th hole, that's special," said Rose, who was one of just six players to break par on Sunday. "And then the playoff, it was just up to me to not do what I did the first time around."

    MORE: Justin Rose's winning equipment | Rose's post-round interview | FedExCup standings | TOUR Report

    The playoff was the first in the eight-year history of the Quicken Loans National, as well as the first in Rose's PGA TOUR career. With the sixth victory of his career, the 2013 U.S. Open champion won for the first time since that hard-fought victory at Merion 54 weeks ago.


    "It's a huge boost confidence-wise, yeah, for sure, because I've been semi-in contention this year," said Rose, who has six top-10s this season but nothing higher than fourth until Sunday. "... I haven't really been playing with a lead all year. To do it and get it done and make key putts, that's huge for my psyche going into a major championship.

    "And obviously for the rest of the year, gives me a nice boost: A nice boost into the FedExCup as the Playoffs are upon us; nice boost Ryder Cup points, probably takes that off my mind. So yeah, it's a really nice time of year to have a victory and allows me to focus on exciting challenges now ahead."

    Counting Merion and Congressional, which played to an average of nearly three strokes over par on Sunday, Rose has won on some of the game's stoutest courses -- including Aronimink, Cog Hill and Jack Nicklaus' Muirfield Village. So it should come as no surprise that he'll be looked at as a contender when the game's oldest major is played on the southwest coast of England in two weeks.

    "I like this type of test," Rose said. "... This week you're going to miss greens; you're going to be challenged; you're going to have to grind and you're going to have to do everything at some point this week, and that's the type of golf I like, that tests all your skill sets. That's normally what major championships do."

    http://www.pgatour.com/news/2014/06/...t-Hoylake.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  9. #93
    Pro Memoria miril's Avatar
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    Cand reusesti un eagle la cupa cea mai grea a traseului nu poti iesi decat invingator si detasat, pe deasupra. Masterfully done by Angel Cabrera care a dovedit ca poate castiga si turnee mai...obisnuite nu numai Master-uri.

    Cabrera strolls to Greenbrier victory

    Back nine hole-out, solid driving lift El Pato to first victory since 2009 Masters Tournament.

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...47-Warshaw.jpg
    It took two weekend 64s, but Angel Cabrera is a champion again on the PGA TOUR. (Warshaw/Getty Images)

    WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. -- Angel Cabrera greeted that hole-out for eagle at the 13th hole Sunday with an uppercut worthy of Joe Louis.

    The Greenbrier Classic certainly wasn't his -- yet. But the hard 8-iron Cabrera hit from 176 yards out was essentially the knockout punch as it gave the Argentine a commanding three-stroke advantage. (Click here to see Cabrera's hole-out eagle)

    Cabrera needed it, too, as he made a couple of messy bogeys on the next two holes. He two-putted the 17th from 38 feet for the final birdie in his second-straight round of 64, though, and ended up winning for the first time since the 2009 Masters.

    "This was a great opportunity," Cabrera said through his interpreter and coach Charlie Epps. "I wanted it. I needed to win a tournament. I felt under control today out there, and I didn't want to let it get away from me."

    Cabrera was making his first appearance in The Greenbrier Classic. The Old White TPC, which he blistered for a winning total of 16 under, is nestled in the Alleghany Mountains, which reminded Cabrera of the Sierras Chicas, or the "little mountains," back home in Cordoba where he learned the game.

    Cabrera was solid off the tee, precise with his irons and deadly with the putter all week on the C.B. McDonald gem. He ranked first in greens in regulation, fourth in driving accuracy, fifth in strokes gained putting and 11th in driving distance.

    The big stick, though, was the key in Cabrera's mind.

    "The big thing was the drive today," Cabrera said. "It was good all week long. It made the course play a little shorter for myself, but it was definitely my driver."

    Cabrera now heads to Royal Liverpool with momentum as he seeks to add the third leg of the career Grand Slam to his resume. He won the 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters -- and nearly added another Green Jacket last year, losing to Adam Scott in a playoff.

    "I've been confident with my golf swing, and I feel confident mentally," Cabrera said. "I'm just going to go over there and play, and it's a very important tournament and it's a different tournament, but I'm going to go play."

    For now, though, he'll savor the win at The Old White TPC.

    "The truth of the matter is I just had a great week, and I've just been working very hard to get to this moment, and I'm very, very happy," Cabrera said.

    1. Angel Cabrera, -16
    2. George McNeill, -14
    3. Webb Simpson, -10

    http://www.pgatour.com/the-upshot/20...r-classic.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  10. #94
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    Gritty Harman joins winning ranks

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    Brian Harman put forth a stellar performance to hold off Zach Johnson for his first TOUR title. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

    SILVIS, Ill. -- In the Takes-One-to-Know-One department, Brian Harman is in very good company.

    “He has always been known as just kind of a gritty player who plays pretty simple golf,” Zach Johnson said in describing his St. Simons Island, Georgia, neighbor and the freshly crowned John Deere Classic champion Harman.

    Sound like anyone Johnson might know?

    “Jim Furyk?” quipped Johnson, the 11-time TOUR winner whose own brand of gritty, simple golf fell a shot short of Harman’s 22-under 262 winning total at TPC Deere Run on Sunday. “Yeah. That’s kind of what I try to model off of.

    “He’s fierce,’’ Johnson added of his young neighbor. “There’s not a whole lot of fear there. Might be a small guy, stature-wise. But there is nothing small about him in his golf game.”

    Indeed, at 5-foot-7, 180-pounds, Harman looks up to the bulk of his TOUR peers, including the 5-foot-11 Johnson.

    But Harman stood tallest this week, finally collecting the victory for which he has been itching over 88 TOUR starts spanning 2-and-a-half seasons. That includes his maiden appearance here at the Deere in 2012, when he played in the penultimate Sunday pairing alongside eventual winner Johnson, while fading to a share of 19th place.

    “That was the first time that I was anywhere close to the lead, and having to deal with all of the distractions of playing in the last couple of groups,’’ remembered Harman. “I actually talked to Zach about it. He felt like I was trying to get out of his way a little bit and I needed to kind of stake my ground. I definitely learned a lot from that situation.”

    It showed on Sunday, when Harman went out with a one-shot lead on three-time JDC winner Steve Stricker, and promptly staked his claim to the top of the leaderboard with 223-yard shot to inside 5 feet at the par-5 second. He rolled in the eagle putt and never wavered thereafter, offsetting a bogey at the fifth with a steely birdie at the difficult par-4 9th and three birdies coming in.

    He led by two on the 18th tee and a tap-in bogey for a closing round of 5-under 66 made him the 20th first-time winner at the Deere and the seventh former Georgia Bulldog to win on TOUR this year.

    The latter was a significant accomplishment in Harman’s mind, because the Savannah-bred lad is a Bulldog – and a bulldog – through and through.

    “We had some good teams, man,” he said of squads that included recent TOUR winners like Harris English, Chris Kirk, Russell Henley, Patrick Reed and Brendan Todd, as well as an alum named Bubba Watson. “We’re always pushing each other, still buddies, most of us. I’m so excited that now we’ve got something else to talk about.”

    Harman had plenty of time to talk with several of those UGA chums on a Deere-sponsored charter flight to London Sunday night. In addition to the 500 FedExCup points that lifted him to 14th in the season-long race and the $846,000 winner’s share, the recently engaged 27-year-old’s victory earned him the final berth in next week’s Open Championship. In addition, he'll make his debuts in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and Masters Tournament next year.

    Sporting a wide grin with the JDC trophy in front of him in his victory’s aftermath, Harman admitted all those perks crossed his mind during Sunday’s round.

    “I think anybody who says they block all that out, they’re being a little facetious,” said Harman, whose previous best finishes on TOUR were a pair of thirds.

    But his answer to those distractions was to ask: "What’s the best way to get those things you want? I’ve got eight holes to play, and I have got to play these holes like I play all the time.”

    Harman played them like a champion, which, of course, is what he now is, standing shoulder- to- shoulder with all those former Bulldog teammates and the worthy list of recent Deere winners like Stricker, Jordan Spieth and his gritty St. Simons Island neighbor.

    “I appreciate the way Zach plays the game,” Harman said of Johnson, who he said often bikes past Harman’s home with his children in tow. “He does it the right way. He does what he does extremely well.”

    Still, Harman’s breakthrough victory also is a result of committing to stand on his own.

    “At the beginning of this year, I kind of caught myself trying to imitate too many guys at once,” he said. “And I just kind of made the decision to try and be a little bit better version of myself. To do the things that I know how to do and to see where that took me.”

    His immediate destination is Hoylake. And, from there, who knows where?

    “I think the future looks pretty good,” said the gritty new champion.

    http://www.pgatour.com/the-upshot/20...e-classic.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  11. #95
    Pro Memoria miril's Avatar
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    Dupa o revenire incredibila...

    Clark's long voyage lands him second TOUR title

    Overtakes Jim Furyk with a back-nine 30 to win RBC Canadian Open

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...mgreenwood.jpg
    Tim Clark earned his second TOUR victory on Sunday. He also owns 12 career second-place finishes. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

    L’ILE BIZARD, Quebec -- Tim Clark stands a mere 5-foot-7, but what he lacks in height he makes up for in heart.

    The 38-year-old South African suffered a myriad of injuries in 2011 – causing him to play only four events that year – and had struggled in 2013-2014 -- having previously made just 10 cuts in 20 events -- but he explained his one-shot victory at the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday will be a confidence booster.

    “If I stay in this sort of frame of mind, there’s no reason why I can’t keep it going,” Clark said after picking up 500 FedExCup points to move to 27th in the standings. “The next two events are big for us, and I’d love to keep it going.”

    From confidence boosting, to, perhaps, another blow to one’s confidence, Jim Furyk was unable to convert a 54-hole lead again. He’s now failed to convert seven straight 54-hole leads since his last victory in 2010 and said he has “no one to blame” but himself.

    “It was a benign day, and 69 is not a bad round by any means, but by only making two birdies I let a couple guys back into the tournament,” he said.

    The 44-year-old takes some solace in the fact that he is confirmed as a member of the United States’ Ryder Cup team, but that doesn’t quash the pain of this loss.

    “I’m obviously disappointed,” he said. “I just didn’t putt well enough, and I didn’t convert the opportunities I had.”

    Neither Clark nor Furyk were affected by the rain delay that caused a 15-minute break in play as inclement weather passed through the Montreal area.

    “It was a really awkward break for everyone. It’s rare that we come off the golf course and then we’re not afforded a chance to go out and warm up, but we really weren’t in there that long,” Furyk said.

    The break happened while the final pair was on the 15th hole, and Clark was in the midst of a 5-under-par 30 back nine.

    “I knew I had to make birdies, and sometimes that can be easier when you know you have to be aggressive,” he said. “At that point (I had) nothing to lose. I suddenly just got hot, and I went with it.”

    Clark has some existing Canadian connections – having won twice on what’s now PGA TOUR Canada in 1998, and, his wife was born in Toronto. Her father is from Montreal, so there will be some local celebrations tonight before Clark prepares for next week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, and the PGA Championship.

    As Clark’s young son, Jack, ran across the 18th green to greet his father, there were tears in Clark’s eyes. It was a long road back from injury, but he is excited for what lies ahead.

    “Today was just a dream day.”

    Final scores from the @RBCCanadianOpen:
    1. Tim Clark, -17
    2. Jim Furyk, -16
    3. Justin Hicks, -13
    Full scores: http://pgat.us/Scores

    http://www.pgatour.com/the-upshot/20...dian-open.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

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    Se pregateste predarea stafetei? Rory McIlroy in, Tiger Woods out?

    McIlroy drives away with another title

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...847-Condon.jpg
    Rory McIlroy's booming drives are turning heads and pushing him back toward golf's pinnacle. (Chris Condon/PGA TOUR)

    McIlroy led the field in driving distance at more than 317 yards a pop and in the final round had, among others, drives of 349 yards, 345 yards, 331 yards, 330 yards, and on the final hole a 328-yard bomb that left him yet another wedge in his hands.

    Numbers like that make it a lot easier to lead the field in greens in regulation, which McIlroy did at Firestone too.

    “If you're hitting arguably the hardest club in your bag that well, then the other stuff should sort of fall in line,” said McIlroy, who carded a 66 on a soggy Sunday that included three straight birdies to start to turn a three-shot deficit into a one-stroke lead that he would never fully relinquish the rest of the afternoon. “Whenever I drive the ball well, I always put myself in positions where I can attack flags and try and make birdies, but when I'm swinging it well with a driver that sort of funnels through the rest of my game.”

    Just a year ago and only a handful of months into an equipment overhaul, McIlroy struggled to hit the driver straight. It came to a head at The Open Championship at Muirfield, where he shot 79-75 to miss the cut.

    But he eventually got it figured out and in his last few starts in particular has driven it exceptionally.

    “The big thing for me is if you let it affect you mentally, it makes it more difficult,” McIlroy said. “If you can stay strong mentally when you’re going through the struggles you always seem to come out the other side OK. It’s when it affects you mentally you can start to lose confidence, then you’re losing confidence in your swing. It can spiral out of control, kind of like I did last summer.

    “It's the most comfortable I've ever felt trying to close out a golf tournament out there today. I felt normal. I felt like it was the first round or the second round. It didn't feel like a fourth round.”

    http://www.pgatour.com/the-upshot/20...itational.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

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    McIlroy regains No. 1 world ranking

    http://www.worldgolfchampionships.co...goryshamus.jpg
    Rory McIlroy moved up to No. 3 in the FedExCup standings with his victory at Firestone. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

    AKRON, Ohio -- With his victory Sunday at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Rory McIlroy moved back to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since early 2013.

    McIlroy now has 9.4077 points in the Official World Golf Ranking, followed by Scott at 9.2368. Sergio Garcia is third at 7.7803.


    McIlroy also picked up 550 FedExCup points to move to No. 3 in the FedExCup standings, important because the top five players entering the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola control their own destiny of winning the FedExCup. The FedExCup Playoffs begin with The Barclays, Aug. 21-24.

    Scott had a chance to hold on to the top spot with a solo fifth or better at Firestone but stumbled down the stretch, bogeying three of his final five holes to shoot 71 and finish in a tie for eighth.

    Not that Scott, who has held the position for the last 11 weeks, seemed too broken up about it. As McIlroy played behind him on the 18th, Scott stood on the green and playfully held up a No. 1 gesture to McIlroy with his index finger. Scott will also have a chance to reclaim the top spot next week at the PGA Championship.

    "It's been a lot of fun," Scott said. "Obviously, Rory's in incredible form at the moment. He'll be the man to beat next week, by the looks of things, and I'll be gunning for him for sure."

    For McIlroy, it is the third time he has reached No. 1 with a win. He first did it with a victory at the 2012 Honda Classic and again later that year with a record-setting eight-shot victory at the PGA Championship at Kiawah.

    "I think you just go and you play and you try to win golf tournaments, and if you win golf tournaments, the ranking takes care of itself," McIlroy said. "My goal now until the end of the year is just to try to win as many golf tournaments as I can. It's not to try to finish No. 1 in the world. It's just to get as many titles as possible."

    http://www.worldgolfchampionships.co...d-ranking.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

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    Tiger withdraws mid-round at Firestone

    http://www.worldgolfchampionships.co...goryshamus.jpg
    Tiger Woods hits a shot out of the rough on the second hole Sunday. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

    AKRON, Ohio -- Tiger Woods withdrew from the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Championship after just eight holes Sunday, citing lower back pain.

    Woods, who had microdiscectomy surgery at the end of March and was playing in just his 10th competitive round since returning, said he injured his back when he fell back into a bunker after playing an awkward shot on the second hole.

    "I just jarred it, and it's been spasming ever since," said Woods, who was 3 over on the day, 4 over for the tournament and 18 strokes behind leader Sergio Garcia when he withdrew following his tee shot on the ninth hole. "It's just the whole lower back."

    By Sunday evening, Woods was already back in South Florida, where he will be evaluated and make a decision on next week's PGA Championship in due course, Woods' agent Mark Steinberg said via email.

    Playing partner Bubba Watson didn't see Woods hit from the rough on the second hole but could tell something was bothering him.

    "I know that he's in the rough on 6, he hit it fat on 5 off the tee, which is going to, again, strain your back, put some stress on it," Watson said. "I've never had back problems, so I'm guessing it's pretty painful. He hit some shots that we're not used to seeing Tiger hit, even when he's coming back from an injury like this.

    "I told him when I shook his hand, I said, 'I'm praying for you. Hope everything turns out good. Hope to see you next week.'"

    When Woods arrived at his courtesy car he moved gingerly and was unable to bend down to tie his sneakers. He cautiously got in the passenger seat and was driven away by caddie Joe LaCava.

    Asked what his status is for next week's PGA Championship, Woods said, "I don't know. Just trying to get out of here." He had planned to arrive at Valhalla on Monday for a practice round.


    Woods' status for the upcoming FedExCup Playoffs was already in jeopardy before he showed up at Firestone, where he has won a record eight times. He entered this week 215th in the standings -- only the top 125 following the Wyndham Championship in two weeks are eligible.

    The last time Woods, a two-time FedExCup champion, failed to qualify for the Playoffs was in 2011 when knee and Achilles injuries caused him to sit out three months in the middle of the season.

    At 69th in Ryder Cup points, Woods' status for the matches at Gleneagles later this fall is also in question. He has been on every American team since turning pro except one, missing the 2008 matches after undergoing season-ending knee surgery following his U.S. Open victory at Torrey Pines.

    The WGC-Bridgestone was just Woods' third start after missing more than three months following surgery to alleviate pain caused by a pinched nerve.

    In his first tournament back Woods missed the cut in July at the Quicken Loans National, where he admitted he would not have played if the tournament did not benefit his foundation. But he said his back felt good.

    Two weeks later at Royal Liverpool, Woods made it to the weekend but shot a final-round 75 to finish at 3-over 294, his highest career total in an Open Championship. Still, he was encouraged that he was getting stronger.

    When Woods arrived to defend his title at Firestone, he admitted the back injury proved more debilitating than he thought.

    "There's no comparison between a knee and a back," the 38-year-old said. "The knee is so much easier to deal with and rehab from than coming back from a back. I've had Achilles injuries, obviously knee surgeries, but this thing is just way different.

    "Most of the people I talked to who have had the procedure have no idea how I'm even back here playing."

    Sunday's withdrawal marked the second time this season that Woods has pulled out of a tournament mid-round because of injury. He withdrew from The Honda Classic in March with five holes to play in the final round because of back spasms

    http://www.worldgolfchampionships.co...idgestone.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  15. #99
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    Noul rege al golfului, Rory McIlroy, The New Kid In Town, a castigat ultimul turneu de Grand Slam, PGA Championship, intr-un final electrizant care datorita ploii i-a adus pe protogonisti sa joace la limita vizibilului, ultimele doua grupe, incluzand pe castigator si pe locurile doi si trei, Phil Mickelson si Rickie Fowler, jucand aproape simultan ultima cupa.

    Updates from Valhalla

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...-jeffgross.jpg
    Rory McIlroy beat darkness, and the field, at Valhalla Golf Club. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

    The scene on 18 was surreal, but the result was familiar. Rory McIlroy won the PGA Championship for his fourth major championship and third consecutive victory. He two-putted from 45 feet on the final hole for a one-shot victory.

    McIlroy and fellow competitor Bernd Wiesberger played the final hole in darkness alongside the penultimate pairing of Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler.

    “I wanted to win this thing and get out of here,” said McIlroy, who has won two of the past three PGA Chamionships. He shot a final-round 68 to finish at 16-under 268 (66-67-67-68). Mickelson (66) finished one shot back after nearly holing a chip for eagle on the final hole. Fowler (68) and Henrik Stenson (66) tied for third, two shots back.

    McIlroy arrived at Valhalla Golf Club after winning his past two starts, at The Open Championship and World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. He has held the lead after seven of the past eight rounds in major championships.

    “I never dreamed I’d have a summer like this,” McIlroy said.

    He started the final round with a one-shot lead, but was two behind after bogeys at Nos. 3 and 6. He was bogey-free on the final 12 holes, though. McIlroy made birdie at the seventh hole, then hit a fairway wood to 7 feet for an eagle at No. 10 and made birdie at No. 13. McIlroy seemingly sealed the tournament after hitting a fairway-bunker shot to 11 feet and making the birdie putt to take a two-shot lead to the 18th tee.

    That was enough for McIlroy to beat darkness, and beat the field, at Valhalla Golf Club.

    http://www.pgatour.com/news/2014/08/...--round-4.html

    Rory McIlroy's Open Championship ball fetches $52K

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...ikeEhrmann.jpg
    Rory McIlroy throws his ball into the stands at Royal Liverpool after winning The Open Championship (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

    Three weeks after Green Jacket Auctions put the ball Rory McIlroy used to win The Open Championship on the auction block, a golf memorabilia collector purchased the ball on Sunday for $52,038.

    McIlroy threw the Nike RZN Black ball he used to win his third major championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in the stands, where it was caught by Lee Horner of Leeds, England.

    After holding onto the ball for a several days, Horner decided to sell it to Green Jacket Auctions — the same auction house that sold Ben Hogan's 1953 MacGregor irons, and the clubs Al Geiberger used to to shoot the first 59 ever recorded on the PGA TOUR.

    According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, the $52,038 paid for the McIlroy ball is the second-highest for a golf ball after the $55,865 that was paid in April 2011 for a Bobby Jones autographed ball.

    "How many chances will a collector have in their entire life to obtain the actual ball used to win a Major Championship?" Green Jacket Auctions said on its website. "This is a ball that will only gain in significance for the next 20, 50, even 100 years. In the collecting world, this is what's called a "dream piece" - something that no one could ever expect would become available for sale; yet here it is."

    Apparently, someone agreed with the auction house's assessment. A total of 45 bids were placed by 22 different bidders from across the world.

    http://www.pgatour.com/equipmentrepo...two-grand.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

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    Tiger Woods withdraws himself from Ryder Cup consideration due to injury.

    http://www.theguardian.com/sport/201...al-back-injury
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  17. #101
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    2014-15 schedule-Complete schedule for the upcoming PGA TOUR season

    http://www.pgatour.com/news/2014/08/...-schedule.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  18. #102
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    In sfarsit:

    Positive thoughts fuel Villegas' resurgence

    Colombian took some time away and now takes momentum into FedExCup Playoffs

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...47-Warshaw.jpg
    Camilo Villegas claimed his first trophy since 2010 on Sunday. (Todd Warshw/Getty Images)

    GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Camilo Villegas never hated the game. There were definitely times in the last three-and-a-half years, though, when he didn't love it very much.

    After all, this is a man who was ranked 12th in the world when he made the 2010 Honda Classic his third PGA TOUR title and entered the FedExCup Playoffs with great momentum. But when he came to the Wyndham Championship this week, Villegas had tumbled all the way to No. 254.

    There had been that 2012 trip to Q-School, as well as a stretch of 73 events where Villegas only posted two top-10s. The determined Colombian never completely lost confidence, though, and Sunday his resolve was rewarded when he fired his second 63 of the week to win by one.

    "You got to stay strong and keep working," Villegas said philosophically as he sat beside the big silver cup named the Sam Snead Trophy in tribute to the Wyndham Championship's eight-time winner.

    "I've always done that. I've always been a hard worker and always kind of believed in myself, sometimes more than others and, again, just happy to be right here right next to this trophy."

    Villegas, who shot a 29 on a front that included four birdies and an eagle, spent the final 50 minutes Sunday afternoon in the air-conditioned comfort of the scorer's trailer, waiting to see if Bill Haas, Freddie Jacobson or Nick Watney could force a playoff.

    Jacobson, who arrived at the 18th tee tied with Villegas at 17 under, came the closest. His approach landed short and on the fringe. All the Swede needed was a two-putt par, but he sent his first putt 10 feet past the hole and couldn't make the save.

    "Tough sometimes when you're watching it, you can't control (it)," Villegas said. "When the boys got closer to the last hole, you get a little anxious and, like I said, you don't have a golf club in your hand.

    "Sometimes it's better to be on the golf course."

    There have been times in the last few years, though, that Villegas was happier on one of his 100-mile bike rides than hitting balls on the range. In fact, he prepared for the Wyndham Championship by heading home to South America to visit his parents last week and ended up putting another 400 miles on those tires while the clubs were back home in Jupiter, Fla.

    "But, you know what, it's funny because your mind tells you things and then the next day you do it all over again," Villegas said. "What I mean by that is yes, there's times you go like, 'Man, I hate this game. How much longer do I want to play the game? How much longer do I want to travel?'

    "That's just you being silly because once again, you take two days off, you show up to the range, good attitude, keep practicing, keep grinding, show up to the tournament, hope you have a good week, work for a hard week, look at the trophy, want one of those in your house and, again, there's low spots but is that really you talking to you? I don't know."

    The margin between success and failure is one Villegas knows all too well after his struggles over the last three years or so. His game was spot-on at Sedgefield, though, and if he can practice what he preaches and not be so hard on himself, Sunday's turnaround just might continue.

    Villegas heads into the FedExCup Playoffs ranked 37th and likely safe for at least three of the four events after jumping 68 spots on Sunday. He's tasted Playoffs success in the past, too, finishing second in 2008 after two wins in the all-important final four.

    "Beginning of the year I look at my caddie and I said, 'Big guy, I want to win on the PGA TOUR again,'" Villegas said. "It happened to be the last tournament of the regular season and so, yes, I've accomplished my primary goal this year.

    "It feels great and I go to the Playoffs hopefully ... the same way I did this week and hopefully (I will) play some good golf."

    http://www.pgatour.com/the-upshot/20...-fedexcup.html

    Standings: 125-man Barclays field set

    http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.02394.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  19. #103
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    S-a intrat in faza decisiva a sezonului, patru turnee, unde castigatorul ia 2500 de puncte in comparatie cu 500 de puncte pentru un turneu obisnuit sau 600 pentru un turneu de Slam.

    FedExCup fate now in Mahan's hands

    He fires a final-round 65 at The Barclays to capture his sixth TOUR title and first since 2012

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...847-Condon.jpg
    Hunter Mahan poses with his wife Kandi, daughter Zoe and the tournament trophy after winning The Barclays. (Chris Condon/PGA TOUR)

    PARAMUS, N.J. -- Kandi Mahan stopped short of saying she had a premonition on Saturday night.

    But she knew that she and her 1-year-old daughter Zoe needed to fly to New Jersey to see how the final round of The Barclays played out. Her husband, Hunter, after all, would start Sunday's 18-hole finale one shot off the lead with so very much at stake.

    Win and he'd vault to No. 1 in the FedExCup. Win and that victory drought of more than two years would be history. Win and U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Tom Watson just might have him on speed dial next week when he announces his Captain's Picks.


    So Kandi and Zoe knew they had to be there.

    "It's just great to be together no matter what," Kandi said Sunday afternoon as she glanced at her curly-haired daughter, who was entertaining herself on the 18th green. "And if Hunter did win, we'd definitely wanted to be there. So we decided we wanted to go. Me and Zoe decided we wanted to go."

    Kandi and Zoe left her family's home in Odessa, Texas, at 10:30 on Sunday morning. Luckily, the plane had WiFi so she was able to keep tabs on the competition. Hunter was playing the 15th hole when they landed, and the 16th when the two got to Ridgewood.

    "There was no traffic," Kandi said with a smile. "... I mean, I got here quick."

    The best part? Hunter had just started a run of three straight birdies when his family arrived. Kandi and Zoe hid in the stately stone clubhouse until he teed off on the 18th hole, then waited outside the tunnel under the grandstands while he saved bogey from the bunker and preserved a two-stroke lead.

    Only then did Kandi put Zoe on the ground so she could take those unsteady steps of a toddler toward her daddy, oblivious to the cheers of the crowd. And when Jason Day, playing in the final group, couldn't hole his second shot, Mahan had his first victory since 2012.

    And a Kodak moment, as well.

    "I think every player dreams about that, when you have a child, for them to come out on the green," Mahan, who closed with a 65, said later. "It wasn't the last group or anything but felt good to see them. ... They always make everything special."

    Kandi said her husband was in shock when he realized they were there. The two actually were supposed to meet him on Tuesday in Massachusetts where he will play in the Deutsche Bank Championship -- and now goes in as the top seed in the FedExCup.

    "The first thing he was saying is when did you get here, when did you leave?" Kandi said. "He was just so confused. He's so excited. I think once it sets in, we'll have so much fun tonight celebrating as a family."

    After one more flight to Boston Sunday night, that is.

    The scenario brought back memories of last year's RBC Canadian Open, where Mahan held the lead entering the third round. Less than an hour before he was scheduled to tee off, though, he found out Kandi had gone into labor -- several weeks prematurely -- back in Texas.

    Mahan withdrew immediately. A friend knew a friend, well, you know how that story goes, and Mahan hitched a ride on a corporate jet already scheduled to head to Texas on Saturday. Within 15 hours he was by Kandi's side and present for Zoe's birth.

    So was it payback, Kandi was asked. "That's one way to look at it," she paused and said with a smile.

    Mahan, who is the only player to have competed in all 29 FedExCup Playoffs events, said no payback was needed.

    "Well, nothing to make up for but it feels good to be back in contention and get a win," he said. "I was playing great that week, as well, but you never know what could have happened.

    "It feels good to get a 'W.' It's been a couple of years, and it feels good the way I did it with a great round on Sunday."

    Final scores from @TheBarclaysGolf:
    1. Mahan, -14
    T2. Appleby, -12
    T2. Tringale, -12
    T2. Day, -12
    Full scores: http://pgat.us/Scores
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  20. #104
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    Un alt concurs playoff, un alt castigator (din afara listei primilor zece):

    Kirk's victory shows he's ready for big stage

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...dWickerham.jpg
    With his win at the Deutsche Bank Championship, Chris Kirk now leads the FedExCup standings by 819 points. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

    NORTON, Mass. -- Chris Kirk picked up the biggest win of his career with a two-stroke victory Monday at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

    Just how big he’ll have to wait to see.

    But that’s a story for Tuesday night when Tom Watson makes his captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup.

    In the meantime, Kirk was happy with moving to the top of the FedExCup standings and earning a spot in the season-ending TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, where the Atlanta native will have a chance to play for $10 million and his first FedExCup title.

    “I'm still just in such shock that I actually won this tournament,” Kirk said. “It's going to take me a little while to figure that out.”

    A dozen birdies -- including five on Monday -- and no bogeys over the final 36 holes at TPC Boston certainly helped.

    So apparently did playing alongside Rory McIlroy a day earlier. Kirk fed off the environment and matched the world’s top-ranked player shot for shot.

    On Monday, Kirk held McIlroy, and everybody else, off with more mistake-free golf


    “Being in the group with (McIlroy) and watching him play so great (Sunday) … and just the huge crowds that go along with that, it's really just kind of heightens your focus a little bit,” Kirk said. “That's something that I do struggle with every now and then, really getting myself into it and getting focused, playing how many tournaments we play every year, every single shot, it's hard to get to that extreme level of focus where you don't even see anything around you or hear anything.”

    It was quite a turnaround from earlier in the week.

    Ten shots behind after the opening round, Kirk was so disgusted he skipped his usual practice session.

    But by the time he got to Monday he had rounded into form. Kirk made two birdies and a clutch 15-footer for par over his final nine holes to stay in front.

    As for whether he makes the Ryder Cup?

    “I would absolutely love to do it,” he said. “But I'm not going to really base how happy I am with how I'm playing, or how my year has gone, on whether I make the team or not.”

    Final from @DBChampionship:
    1. @Chris_Kirk_ -15
    T2. Geoff Ogilvy -13
    T2. @RussHenleygolf -13
    T2. @BillyHo_golf -13
    http://pgat.us/6012WSoy

    #FedExCup Standings
    1. Chris Kirk
    2. Rory McIlroy
    3. Hunter Mahan
    4. Jimmy Walker
    5. Matt Kuchar
    Full list: http://pgat.us/6015WSqf

    http://www.pgatour.com/the-upshot/20...nal-round.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

  21. #105
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    Frumoasa revansa lui Billy Horschel la BMW Championship, la o saptamana de la Deutsche Bank Championship unde a pierdut pe propriul...drive, la penultima cupa:

    Horschel riding wave of confidence to East Lake

    http://www.pgatour.com/content/dam/p...847-Squire.jpg
    Billy Horschel ranks fourth on the PGA TOUR this season in greens in regulation (70.03 percent). (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

    CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. -- Confidence may not be everything in golf, but it doesn't hurt. Right now, no player on the PGA TOUR has more confidence than Billy Horschel.

    A tie for second last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship, followed by a two-shot win Sunday at the BMW Championship makes Horschel the hot man on TOUR. It couldn't have come at a better time, given that the FedExCup and its $10 million bonus are up for grabs next week in Atlanta.

    "I'm not going to go ahead and guarantee a victory right now," Horschel said, "but I will say that I'm probably going to play very well and I will have a chance to win on Sunday."

    Strong words, but who can blame him?

    You could argue that he's a fat 6-iron away from consecutive victories in these Playoffs. Unlike Monday's poor swing on the 18th hole at TPC Boston that cost him a chance to catch eventual winner Chris Kirk, Horschel successfully avoided any meltdowns at Cherry Hills.

    He started the day with a three-shot lead over Ryan Palmer, but by the time they finished the 11th hole, the two were tied at 14 under.

    At that point, though, it was Palmer who drifted back, a victim of his own poor swing that he shanked out of the rough at 13, costing him a double bogey.

    Horschel had to survive challenges from Bubba Watson and Sergio Garcia on the back nine, although neither player put serious heat on him (Garcia eventually was done in by a triple bogey). And even though Horschel wasn't as his best, he did nothing wrong to give anybody else hope, reeling off 11 consecutive pars after making his final birdie of the day on the seventh hole.

    "I didn't have my great stuff," Horschel said about his 1-under 69.

    And so when he reached his approach shot at the 18th hole Sunday, were there any memories of that fat 6-iron he hit on his approach at 18 six days earlier? The one that he refused to dwell on this week but that others used in social media circles to criticize his game?

    No, Horschel didn't think about it. All he could think about was hitting the shot, then running to the bathroom.

    "I had been holding it for way too many holes," Horschel said with a smile. "I just felt like, you know, I can sort of relax now."

    And as for any critics that still don't believe in Billy Horschel?

    "You want to keep saying negative things to me, that just adds fuel to my fire," he said. "I'm going to stick it to you every time."

    Hmm, playing well and playing with a chip on his shoulder. Maybe a victory guarantee next week isn't that outlandish.

    Final from the @BMWChamps:
    1. Horschel, -14
    2. Watson, -12
    3. Hoffmann, -11
    Full scores: http://pgat.us/Scores

    Your #FedExCup Top 5:
    1. Chris Kirk
    2. Billy Horschel
    3. Bubba Watson
    4. Rory McIlroy
    5. Hunter Mahan

    http://www.pgatour.com/the-upshot/20...mpionship.html
    "The minority is sometimes right, the majority always wrong." - A Progres...sive Thinker

    "If you support a team that fails to win the league for years, it does feel like a kind of cult'." - Salman Rushdie

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