Who will win the PGA Championship, glory’s last shot? Or should I say which Irishman?

Written by: Tony Korologos | Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Categories: European Tour • PGA Championship • Pro Golf • Tiger Woods
Tags: Phil Mickelson • Rory McIlroy • Tiger Woods

During this week of the PGA Tour season I get a little bummed out. Glory’s Last Shot means the season is winding down. Before I know it there will be snow on the ground here in Salt Lake and every other blog post will be me whining about it. There’s still some good golf to be be played though, both by the tours and locally.

Aussies?

Jason Day is my PGA Champ pick

My PGA Championship Pick: Jason Day

I think Jason Day‘s “day” will come, this week. Day has been playing some spectacular golf and knocking on the door of major championships for a year now. He seems to be close to winning every major these days, 2nd place finishes in this year’s Masters and U.S. Open. Just looked at Day’s money list stats for the last 4 years a minute ago and it shows a total rising star. Back in 2008 he made $700K, 2009 $1.2M, 2010 $2.9M and this year already at $3.1M and counting.

The one thing which could derail Day would be his confidence level. He seems to be a bit fragile and hard on himself. Perhaps a little too emotional sometimes on the course. Can he keep it in check?

After watching Adam Scott‘s big win last week, there doesn’t seem to be a better ball striker playing right now. Name me one? Another Aussie with a good chance of winning.

Irishmen?

Seems like Ireland owns major championships lately between Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlory. I’d mention Padraig Harrington too, but his game seems to be a jigsaw puzzle right now, for him. Which Irishman has the best chance this week? To me that is obviously the future PGA Tour member Rory McIlory.

American Players?

Tiger Woods

As I’ve been saying for a week or two now, Tiger Woods‘s comeback will be a work in progress and cannot be judged by a few rounds, or a tournament or two. How well will Tiger fare this week? I don’t think Tiger will win, and I doubt he’ll be a huge factor. But by saying that, I wonder if I’m putting part of my foot in my mouth already. I just haven’t seen anything yet to lead me to believe he will perform really well.

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Open Championship Final Thoughts

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, July 18th, 2011
Categories: (British) Open Championship • Champions Tour • European Tour • PGA Tour • Pro Golf
Tags: (British) Open Championship • Dustin Johnson • Phil Mickelson • Rory McIlroy

On this Monday I’m once again watching the final round of the (British) Open Championship. Great background media for golf blogging.

Congrats to Darren Clarke

This week’s Open was fantastic, and I’m so thrilled that I was wrong in my prediction that Clarke wouldn’t hold on and win. Very happy for Darren Clarke, especially with the heartbreaks he’s gone through both on and off the course. Well done and congratulations. I really hope some day I run into Clarke in a pub somewhere.

Phil Mickelson

Perhaps Phil Mickelson has quieted the critics who say he can’t play links golf, myself included. Looks like he may have finally figured it out after that super low 30 on the front nine yesterday and the T2 finish. Strangely enough, Phil’s play actually improved as the conditions worsened. Not sure he’ll ever win an Open, but it would be quite a story if he finally did. He needs to do it soon though. Not sure how many really good year’s he’ll have left with age and his physical condition with the psoriatic arthritis.

Dustin Johnson

For the 3rd time in what, the last six majors, Dustin Johnson is in the final group? You’d have to think it is only a matter of time before DJ notches a win in a major.

Rory McIlroy

Despite being the favorite coming in to this Open, I wasn’t surprised that Rory McIlroy didn’t quite have it this past week. This year has been huge, and I think he may have been a bit burned out. I do think he’ll be fresh for the PGA Championship.

Miguel Angel Jimenez

Here’s another guy I’d love to hang out with in a pub somewhere. Jimenez was in the mix for much of the week and you have to love this guy’s flare. It almost seems like golf gives Miguel something to do during the day to kill time before he enjoys a fine wine and a cigar in the evening. Jimenez got a ton of air time with his warm up routine. Between his not so flat-belly body shape, his long hair and his cigar, the moves in his warmup were more entertaining than a Lady Gaga video. His description of the routine included, “that’s me on the dance floor.” Love it.

Rickie Fowler

Rickie Fowler is building up a wealth of experience in pressure situations and major championships. Though he has yet to win a tournament as a PGA pro, hanging out in the top few spots on major championship leader boards will pay dividends in the future.

Fowler’s T5 this past week is his first top-5 in a major.

Tom Watson

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again… If all major championships were played on links courses, Tom Watson would have won about 3x as many majors as Jack Nicklaus. It was fantastic to watch Watson’s ace on the par-3 6th hole in the 2nd round. Even more fantastic and amazing that Watson made the cut in the Open at the ripe young age of 61. Final position for Watson, T22.

Bubba Watson

Speaking of Watsons… Bubba Watson’s (T30 at +9) skill level is sick. He is an amazing talent who curves the ball more than anyone in golf right now. But those high spin shots could make playing in windy “Open” conditions could make it more difficult to control the ball. Bubba has the power for sure, but he’ll need to master low spin shots to contend in the Open in the future.

Top 10’s who missed the cut

It was quite amazing that though the Open was played in England, the top two ranked players in the world who happened to be English, missed the cut. Perhaps #1 Luke Donald emptied his gun in winning the Scottish Open the week before? And one of my picks to win this Open, Lee Westwood (#2 in the world) missed the cut too. Very surprising.

Add to those two a pair of other top 10 players who missed the cut, Graeme McDowell and Matt Kuchar.

One major to go – Which Irishman will win the PGA Championship?

With the conclusion of the Open, the PGA Championship is coming up next. Based on the fact that an Irish player has won three of the last six majors, which Irishman will win the PGA Champonship? Perhaps Padraig Harrington? His game hasn’t been at its best lately. He has won it before.

2011 British Open Championship Final Leader Board

Written by: Tony Korologos | Sunday, July 17th, 2011
Categories: (British) Open Championship • European Tour • PGA Tour • Pro Golf
Tags: (British) Open Championship • Phil Mickelson • Rory McIlroy

POS	Name	Country	R 1	R 2	R 3	R 4	Total	To Par
1	CLARKE, Darren	NIR	68	68	69	70	275	-5
T2	MICKELSON , Phil	USA	70	69	71	68	278	-2
T2	JOHNSON, Dustin	USA	70	68	68	72	278	-2
4	BJORN, Thomas	DEN	65	72	71	71	279	-1
T5	CAMPBELL, Chad	USA	69	68	74	69	280	Par
T5	KIM, Anthony	USA	72	68	70	70	280	Par
T5	FOWLER, Rickie	USA	70	70	68	72	280	Par
8	JACQUELIN, Raphael	FRA	74	67	71	69	281	+1
T9	GARCIA, Sergio	ESP	70	70	74	68	282	+2
T9	DYSON, Simon	ENG	68	72	72	70	282	+2
T9	LOVE III, Davis	USA	70	68	72	72	282	+2
T12	STRICKER, Steve	USA	69	71	72	71	283	+3
T12	KAYMER, Martin	GER	68	69	73	73	283	+3
T12	GLOVER, Lucas	USA	66	70	73	74	283	+3
15	COETZEE, George	RSA	69	69	72	74	284	+4
T16	GREEN, Richard	AUS	70	71	73	71	285	+5
T16	SCHWARTZEL, Charl	RSA	71	67	75	72	285	+5
T16	YANG, YE	KOR	71	69	73	72	285	+5
T16	JACOBSON, Fredrik	SWE	70	70	73	72	285	+5
T16	SIMPSON, Webb	USA	66	74	72	73	285	+5
T16	JOHNSON, Zach	USA	72	68	71	74	285	+5
T22	WATSON, Tom	USA	72	70	72	72	286	+6
T22	LEHMAN, Tom	USA	71	67	73	75	286	+6
T22	HANSEN, Anders	DEN	69	69	72	76	286	+6
T25	MCILROY, Rory	NIR	71	69	74	73	287	+7
T25	SCOTT, Adam	AUS	69	70	73	75	287	+7
T25	JIMENEZ, Miguel Angel	ESP	66	71	72	78	287	+7
T28	MOORE, Ryan	USA	69	74	76	69	288	+8
T28	HOWELL III, Charles	USA	71	70	73	74	288	+8
T30	CINK, Stewart	USA	70	71	77	71	289	+9
T30	DAY, Jason	AUS	71	70	76	72	289	+9
T30	WOODLAND, Gary	USA	75	68	74	72	289	+9
T30	NOH, Seung-Yul	KOR	69	72	75	73	289	+9
T30	LEWIS, Tom (A)	ENG	65	74	76	74	289	+9
T30	WATSON, Bubba	USA	69	72	74	74	289	+9
T30	LARRAZABAL, Pablo	ESP	68	70	76	75	289	+9
T30	PALMER, Ryan	USA	68	71	72	78	289	+9
T38	KHAN, Simon	ENG	71	72	77	70	290	+10
T38	OVERTON, Jeff	USA	68	71	78	73	290	+10
T38	BOYD, Gary	ENG	71	70	76	73	290	+10
T38	IKEDA, Yuta	JPN	69	71	75	75	290	+10
T38	ROCK, Robert	ENG	69	71	74	76	290	+10
T38	IMMELMAN, Trevor	RSA	70	72	72	76	290	+10
T44	LEVIN, Spencer	USA	72	69	81	69	291	+11
T44	ROSE, Justin	ENG	72	70	79	70	291	+11
T44	CHOI, KJ	KOR	71	72	75	73	291	+11
T44	STANLEY, Kyle	USA	68	72	77	74	291	+11
T48	BOURDY, Gregory	FRA	73	70	77	72	292	+12
T48	DE VRIES, Floris	NED	70	73	76	73	292	+12
T48	FURYK, Jim	USA	72	70	76	74	292	+12
T48	UIHLEIN, Peter (A)	USA	71	71	75	75	292	+12
T48	ALLENBY , Robert	AUS	69	72	75	76	292	+12
T48	MCEVOY, Richard	ENG	69	72	75	76	292	+12
T54	CASEY, Paul	ENG	74	69	78	72	293	+13
T54	SABBATINI, Rory	RSA	71	70	77	75	293	+13
T54	OOSTHUIZEN, Louis	RSA	72	70	74	77	293	+13
T57	HAAS, Bill	USA	72	70	79	73	294	+14
T57	HAVRET, Gregory	FRA	72	71	78	73	294	+14
T57	BARNES , Ricky	USA	68	74	78	74	294	+14
T57	ANDERSSON HED, Fredrik	SWE	68	75	77	74	294	+14
T57	GALLACHER , Stephen	SCO	70	71	77	76	294	+14
T57	VAN PELT, Bo	USA	73	69	73	79	294	+14
T63	MILLAR, Matthew	AUS	71	72	80	73	296	+16
T63	LUITEN, Joost	NED	73	69	79	75	296	+16
T63	WILSON, Mark	USA	74	68	75	79	296	+16
T66	LAWRIE, Paul	SCO	73	70	81	73	297	+17
T66	MOLINARI , Edoardo	ITA	69	74	76	78	297	+17
68	STENSON, Henrik	SWE	72	71	75	80	298	+18
69	FRAZAR, Harrison	USA	72	70	77	80	299	+19
70	FERRIE, Kenneth	ENG	71	71	76	83	301	+21
71	HWANG, Jung-Gon	KOR	68	74	83	79	304	+24

Open Championship Round Two Leader Board

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, July 15th, 2011
Categories: (British) Open Championship • European Tour • PGA Tour • Pro Golf
Tags: (British) Open Championship • Phil Mickelson

POS	Name	Country	R 1	R 2	Par
T1	CLARKE, Darren	NIR	68	68	-4
T1	GLOVER, Lucas	USA	66	70	-4
T3	CAMPBELL, Chad	USA	69	68	-3
T3	KAYMER, Martin	GER	68	69	-3
T3	BJORN, Thomas	DEN	65	72	-3
T3	JIMENEZ, Miguel Angel	ESP	66	71	-3
T7	LARRAZABAL, Pablo	ESP	68	70	-2
T7	SCHWARTZEL, Charl	RSA	71	67	-2
T7	LOVE III, Davis	USA	70	68	-2
T7	LEHMAN, Tom	USA	71	67	-2
T7	COETZEE, George	RSA	69	69	-2
T7	JOHNSON, Dustin	USA	70	68	-2
T7	HANSEN, Anders	DEN	69	69	-2
T14	SCOTT, Adam	AUS	69	70	-1
T14	MICKELSON , Phil	USA	70	69	-1
T14	LEWIS, Tom (A)	ENG	65	74	-1
T14	OVERTON, Jeff	USA	68	71	-1
T14	PALMER, Ryan	USA	68	71	-1
T19	STANLEY, Kyle	USA	68	72	Par
T19	KIM, Anthony	USA	72	68	Par
T19	YANG, YE	KOR	71	69	Par
T19	JOHNSON, Zach	USA	72	68	Par
T19	STRICKER, Steve	USA	69	71	Par
T19	SIMPSON, Webb	USA	66	74	Par
T19	ROCK, Robert	ENG	69	71	Par
T19	JACOBSON, Fredrik	SWE	70	70	Par
T19	DYSON, Simon	ENG	68	72	Par
T19	IKEDA, Yuta	JPN	69	71	Par
T19	MCILROY, Rory	NIR	71	69	Par
T19	FOWLER, Rickie	USA	70	70	Par
T19	GARCIA, Sergio	ESP	70	70	Par
T32	LEVIN, Spencer	USA	72	69	+1
T32	JACQUELIN, Raphael	FRA	74	67	+1
T32	GREEN, Richard	AUS	70	71	+1
T32	SABBATINI, Rory	RSA	71	70	+1
T32	HOWELL III, Charles	USA	71	70	+1
T32	DAY, Jason	AUS	71	70	+1
T32	WATSON, Bubba	USA	69	72	+1
T32	ALLENBY , Robert	AUS	69	72	+1
T32	BOYD, Gary	ENG	71	70	+1
T32	GALLACHER , Stephen	SCO	70	71	+1
T32	CINK, Stewart	USA	70	71	+1
T32	NOH, Seung-Yul	KOR	69	72	+1
T32	MCEVOY, Richard	ENG	69	72	+1
T45	FRAZAR, Harrison	USA	72	70	+2
T45	FERRIE, Kenneth	ENG	71	71	+2
T45	WILSON, Mark	USA	74	68	+2
T45	LUITEN, Joost	NED	73	69	+2
T45	IMMELMAN, Trevor	RSA	70	72	+2
T45	ROSE, Justin	ENG	72	70	+2
T45	FURYK, Jim	USA	72	70	+2
T45	OOSTHUIZEN, Louis	RSA	72	70	+2
T45	WATSON, Tom	USA	72	70	+2
T45	BARNES , Ricky	USA	68	74	+2
T45	HWANG, Jung-Gon	KOR	68	74	+2
T45	VAN PELT, Bo	USA	73	69	+2
T45	HAAS, Bill	USA	72	70	+2
T45	UIHLEIN, Peter (A)	USA	71	71	+2
T59	MOLINARI , Edoardo	ITA	69	74	+3
T59	STENSON, Henrik	SWE	72	71	+3
T59	ANDERSSON HED, Fredrik	SWE	68	75	+3
T59	DE VRIES, Floris	NED	70	73	+3
T59	HAVRET, Gregory	FRA	72	71	+3
T59	KHAN, Simon	ENG	71	72	+3
T59	WOODLAND, Gary	USA	75	68	+3
T59	MOORE, Ryan	USA	69	74	+3
T59	CHOI, KJ	KOR	71	72	+3
T59	CASEY, Paul	ENG	74	69	+3
T59	BOURDY, Gregory	FRA	73	70	+3
T59	LAWRIE, Paul	SCO	73	70	+3
T59	MILLAR, Matthew	AUS	71	72	+3
PLAYERS BELOW MISSED THE CUT
T72	AIKEN, Thomas	RSA	74	70	+4
T72	MACPHERSON, Bryden (A)	AUS	71	73	+4
T72	HARRINGTON, Padraig	IRL	73	71	+4
T72	WESTWOOD, Lee	ENG	71	73	+4
T72	HOLMES, JB	USA	69	75	+4
T72	CANIZARES, Alejandro	ESP	73	71	+4
T72	LEONARD, Justin	USA	70	74	+4
T72	CRANE, Ben	USA	71	73	+4
T72	WILLETT, Danny	ENG	69	75	+4
T72	STORM, Graeme	ENG	70	74	+4
T72	MAHAN, Hunter	USA	75	69	+4
T72	FISHER, Ross	ENG	71	73	+4
T72	HANSON, Peter	SWE	73	71	+4
T72	O’HAIR, Sean	USA	73	71	+4
T72	KULACZ, Rick	AUS	74	70	+4
T87	WHITEFORD, Peter	SCO	70	75	+5
T87	SNEDEKER, Brandt	USA	75	70	+5
T87	MCDOWELL, Graeme	NIR	68	77	+5
T87	WATNEY, Nick	USA	74	71	+5
T87	MANASSERO, Matteo	ITA	73	72	+5
T87	VILLEGAS, Camilo	COL	71	74	+5
T87	NOREN, Alexander	SWE	69	76	+5
T94	KARLSSON, Robert	SWE	72	74	+6
T94	CABRERA, Angel	ARG	72	74	+6
T94	DONALD, Luke	ENG	71	75	+6
T94	DALY, John	USA	72	74	+6
T94	DUFNER, Jason	USA	74	72	+6
T94	STREELMAN, Kevin	USA	76	70	+6
T94	SCHIETEKAT, Neil	RSA	73	73	+6
T101	MEESAWAT, Prom	THA	72	75	+7
T101	MARITZ, Martin	RSA	73	74	+7
T101	CORFIELD, Lee	ENG	72	75	+7
T101	KNUTZON, Jason	USA	75	72	+7
T101	HOFFMAN, Charley	USA	72	75	+7
T101	LAIRD, Martin	SCO	72	75	+7
T101	OGILVY, Geoff	AUS	74	73	+7
T101	POULTER, Ian	ENG	69	78	+7
T101	OLESEN, Thorbjorn	DEN	73	74	+7
T110	BJERREGAARD, Lucas (A)	DEN	73	75	+8
T110	LANGER, Bernhard	GER	75	73	+8
T110	TAKAYAMA, Tadahiro	JPN	70	78	+8
T110	BAE, SM	KOR	72	76	+8
T110	GARRIGUS, Robert	USA	74	74	+8
T110	CALCAVECCHIA, Mark	USA	69	79	+8
T110	MOLINARI, Francesco	ITA	73	75	+8
T110	HIRATSUKA, Tetsuji	JPN	75	73	+8
T110	ELS , Ernie	RSA	72	76	+8
T119	LYLE, Sandy	SCO	73	76	+9
T119	BYRD, Jonathan	USA	75	74	+9
T119	BARNES, Kurt	AUS	68	81	+9
T119	KENNEDY, Brad	AUS	77	72	+9
T119	NA, Kevin	USA	74	75	+9
T119	LASKEY, Mark	WAL	73	76	+9
T125	JAMIESON, Scott	SCO	75	75	+10
T125	MARINO, Steve	USA	74	76	+10
T125	GREEN, Nathan	AUS	74	76	+10
T125	BADDELEY, Aaron	AUS	77	73	+10
T125	SHADBOLT, Thomas	ENG	74	76	+10
T125	LILLY, Simon	ENG	74	76	+10
T125	TIDLAND, Chris	USA	77	73	+10
T132	KUCHAR, Matt	USA	74	77	+11
T132	LAM, Chih-Bing	SGP	76	75	+11
T132	JAIDEE, Thongchai	THA	75	76	+11
T132	FUJITA, Hiroyuki	JPN	75	76	+11
T132	CURTIS, Ben	USA	77	74	+11
T132	DAVIS, Brian	ENG	75	76	+11
T138	O’MEARA, Mark	USA	76	76	+12
T138	KIM, KT	KOR	75	77	+12
T138	ESTES, Bob	USA	74	78	+12
T141	WOOTTON, Adam	ENG	71	82	+13
T141	JOHNSTON, Andrew	ENG	74	79	+13
T141	KELLY, Jerry	USA	74	79	+13
T141	MARKSAENG, Prayad	THA	76	77	+13
T141	DAVIES, Rhys	WAL	75	78	+13
T141	MCGUIRK, Francis	ENG	77	76	+13
T147	SMITH, Andy	ENG	81	73	+14
T147	QUIROS, Alvaro	ESP	75	79	+14
T147	ISHIKAWA, Ryo	JPN	74	80	+14
T150	KAWAI, Hiroo	JPN	75	80	+15
T150	DUVAL, David	USA	78	77	+15
152	HAMILTON, Todd	USA	77	79	+16
153	BRIER, Markus	AUT	77	80	+17
154	EDWARDS, Simon	WAL	82	79	+21
155	HINTON, Craig (A)	ENG	82	87	+29

2011 Open Championship is underway

Written by: Tony Korologos | Thursday, July 14th, 2011
Categories: (British) Open Championship • European Tour • Golf • PGA Tour • Pro Golf
Tags: (British) Open Championship • Phil Mickelson

Good thing my body clock is all whacked out since going to St. Andrews last week. That means I can wake up way too early and watch the Open Championship.

As it sits right now, at 9:37am ET, Thomas Bjorn is the leader in the clubhouse at -5 with Miguel Angel Jimenez (love that guy) at -4.

Rory McIlroy finished the day at +1. Not bad.

Phil Mickelson missed the first fairway and made bogey on his first hole.

Tom Watson just teed off with a bomb of a drive down the right side of the 1st fairway.

Dustin Johnson was at +2 but then he aced the 163 yard par-3 16th hole to bring it back to even. That’s where he finished. T14 so far.

The DVR will be working hard today, as I’m off to play my Thursday match. Hope my game has decided to return to my body. Haven’t played well since coming back from Scotland.

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