Rory McIlroy to play PGA Tour in 2012

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
Categories: European TourPGA ChampionshipPGA TourPro Golf
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Rory McIlroyRory McIlroy confirmed on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive show that he will in fact be taking up membership on the PGA Tour in 2012. Score a point for the PGA Tour over the European Tour for sure. I’m very excited to hear that we’ll be seeing Rory more here in the states.

And speaking of Rory, how do you think he’ll fare in the PGA Championship this week. He was so close last year.


Open Championship Final Thoughts

British Open ChampionshipOn 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 ChampionshipEuropean TourPGA TourPro Golf
Tags:
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

Thoughts on Rory McIlroy and the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, June 20th, 2011
Categories: European TourGolfGolf MediaPGA TourPro GolfTiger WoodsU.S. OPEN
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Rory McIlroy wins U.S. Open

Rory McIlroy - 2011 U.S. Open Champion - click for more

This past week’s U.S. Open has been one of the best, most entertaining and most surprising in recent memory.  Not surprising that Rory McIlroy won, as he was my pick to win. Surprising that McIlroy destroyed the field and blew away many records in this championship which is 111 years old.

U.S. Open Scoring Record

Rory McIlroy set the all time winning score record at -16.  That score practically laps the previous record of -12 by Tiger Woods.

Most Under Par At Any Point In A U.S. Open

Rory reached -17 for a while yesterday, which was an extension of his previous records of 13, 14, 15 and 16 under par.  The previous record for strokes under par was a tie between Tiger Woods and Gil Morgan at -12.

Quickest To Double Digits Under Par

McIlroy reached double digits under par in only 26 holes.  That blew away the old record of 39 holes by Gil Morgan.

36 Hole Scoring Record

With rounds of 65-66, Rory McIlroy set a new U.S. Open 36 hole scoring record of 131.

Not Records, But Noteworthy

McIlroy (-16) finished eight shots ahead of the nearest player, Jason Day (-8).  Not a record in the U.S. Open.  That distinction belongs to Tiger Woods, who won at Pebble Beach in 2000 by 15 shots.

McIlroy did something extremely uncommon for an Open, shot four rounds in the 60’s.

After making birdie on the par-4 4th hole in the final round, McIlroy had a 10 shot lead.  His approach had settled to about three feet.

With the win, McIlroy will move to #4 in the world golf rankings.

How about the state of USA professional golf?  Six out of the last 10 major championships have been won by non American players.

2nd consecutive year that Northern Ireland wins the U.S. Open. What are the odds?

10th Hole Entertainment

Just before Rory hit his shot on the 10th, one of the first real danger holes which could take a bite out of his chances of winning, NBC announcer Johnny Miller mentioned that he could hit two balls in the water.  So what does Rory do?  Hits a 6-iron over the flag which catches the slope of the green and nearly goes in for a hole in one.  Tap in birdie.  Nice call Johnny.  Try again.

“I thought that was probably the biggest point in the round because Yang had just stuck it in there close. So to follow that shot up with mine was pretty cool. To get the ovation coming on to the green, it was nice. And I was very happy to play the 10th and the 11th hole at 1-under par today, because they were two holes that you had the possibility of making a big number on. And to play those at 1-under par was big for me.” ~Mcilroy on his play at the 10th and 11th holes on Sunday

U.S. Open Setup?

I was surprised at the lack of “U.S. Open like conditions.”  I think Congressional Country Club was playing too easy for a U.S. Open and so do most actual golf journalists it seems.  Once again, I don’t consider myself a golf journalist.  I’m a golf blogger.  There’s a difference, but sometimes we can agree.  Not many scribes think the Open will return to Congressional because it is too easy and a little bit on the boring side.  I agree.  The Open should be a stern test, where even par or close to it is the winning score.  So far the most Open-like conditions this year have been at the tournament I covered live on location a few weeks ago, the Byron Nelson.

That being said, I do not discount Rory’s win at all and anyone who does is a bonehead.

Jason Day

Jason Day has been playing insane golf in the last few majors.  Dating back to 2010, Day has had three top ten finishes.  The last two majors now, the Masters and U.S. Open, Jason has two runner-up finishes.  Look for Jason Day to win a major sooner than later at this pace.

It you look at Jason’s score of -8 in this year’s U.S. Open, that would have been enough to win 26 of the last 30.

DC Fans Are Boneheads?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard more post swing yelling from idiot fans than this week.  How many times can some dumb ass yell “you’re the man,” or “get in the hole?”  These pinheads should be removed.  Show some class people.

More Story Lines

Man how many story lines are there this year anyway?  Couldn’t possibly cover them all.   It was a great week.


Final 2011 U.S. Open Leader Board

Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, June 20th, 2011
Categories: European TourPGA TourPro GolfU.S. OPEN
Tags:
Final 2011 U.S. Open Leader Board
POS Player To Par Sun R1 R2 R3 R4 Total
1 Rory McIlroy -16 -2 65 66 68 69 268
2 Jason Day -8 -3 71 72 65 68 276
T3 Kevin Chappell -6 -5 76 67 69 66 278
T3 Robert Garrigus -6 -1 70 70 68 70 278
T3 Lee Westwood -6 -1 75 68 65 70 278
T3 Y.E. Yang -6 E 68 69 70 71 278
T7 Peter Hanson -5 -4 72 71 69 67 279
T7 Sergio Garcia -5 -1 69 71 69 70 279
T9 Charl Schwartzel -4 -5 68 74 72 66 280
T9 Louis Oosthuizen -4 -4 69 73 71 67 280
T11 Brandt Snedeker -3 -2 70 70 72 69 281
T11 Davis Love III -3 -1 70 71 70 70 281
T11 Heath Slocum -3 -1 71 70 70 70 281
T14 Graeme McDowell -2 -2 70 74 69 69 282
T14 Webb Simpson -2 -1 75 71 66 70 282
T14 Matt Kuchar -2 +2 72 68 69 73 282
T14 Fredrik Jacobson -2 +2 74 69 66 73 282
T14 Bo Van Pelt -2 E 76 67 68 71 282
T19 Johan Edfors -1 -4 70 72 74 67 283
T19 Steve Stricker -1 -1 75 69 69 70 283
T21 Ryan Palmer E -1 69 72 73 70 284
T21 Patrick Cantlay (a) E +1 75 67 70 72 284
T23 Robert Rock +1 -3 70 71 76 68 285
T23 Gary Woodland +1 -3 73 71 73 68 285
T23 Retief Goosen +1 -3 73 73 71 68 285
T23 Dustin Johnson +1 -1 75 71 69 70 285
T23 Bill Haas +1 E 73 73 68 71 285
T23 Brandt Jobe +1 +3 71 70 70 74 285
T23 Henrik Stenson +1 +3 70 72 69 74 285
T30 Ryo Ishikawa +2 -3 74 70 74 68 286
T30 Gregory Havret +2 -2 77 69 71 69 286
T30 Seung-yul Noh +2 E 72 70 73 71 286
T30 Rory Sabbatini +2 E 72 73 70 71 286
T30 John Senden +2 +1 70 72 72 72 286
T30 Do-Hoon Kim +2 +1 73 71 70 72 286
T30 Harrison Frazar +2 +2 72 73 68 73 286
T30 Zach Johnson +2 +3 71 69 72 74 286
T30 Kyung-tae Kim +2 +5 69 72 69 76 286
T39 Adam Hadwin +3 -3 75 71 73 68 287
T39 Martin Kaymer +3 E 74 70 72 71 287
T39 Sunghoon Kang +3 E 74 72 70 71 287
T42 Sang-Moon Bae +4 -4 75 71 75 67 288
T42 Lucas Glover +4 -1 76 69 73 70 288
T42 Russell Henley (a) +4 +4 73 69 71 75 288
T45 Charley Hoffman +5 -2 71 74 75 69 289
T45 Luke Donald +5 -2 74 72 74 69 289
T45 Michael Putnam +5 E 74 71 73 71 289
T45 Chez Reavie +5 +1 70 75 72 72 289
T45 Robert Karlsson +5 +1 79 67 71 72 289
T45 Padraig Harrington +5 +2 71 73 72 73 289
T51 Scott Piercy +6 -1 73 71 76 70 290
T51 Alexander Noren +6 +3 75 67 74 74 290
T51 Marc Leishman +6 +5 73 69 72 76 290
T54 J.J. Henry +7 -1 72 73 76 70 291
T54 Anthony Kim +7 -1 74 72 75 70 291
T54 Phil Mickelson +7 E 74 69 77 71 291
T54 Matteo Manassero +7 +1 74 72 73 72 291
T54 Edoardo Molinari +7 +2 74 70 74 73 291
T54 Alvaro Quiros +7 +7 70 71 72 78 291
T60 Todd Hamilton +8 -1 73 72 77 70 292
T60 Justin Hicks +8 E 74 71 76 71 292
T60 Marcel Siem +8 +2 79 66 74 73 292
T63 Bubba Watson +9 +2 71 75 74 73 293
T63 Brian Gay +9 +4 73 71 74 75 293
T63 Jeff Overton +9 +4 72 72 74 75 293
T63 William Cauley +9 +5 71 72 74 76 293
67 Kevin Streelman +11 +4 73 73 74 75 295
T68 Alexandre Rocha +13 +5 69 76 76 76 297
T68 Christo Greyling +13 +5 72 74 75 76 297
T68 Kenichi Kuboya +13 +6 73 73 74 77 297
71 Wes Heffernan +19 +7 75 71 79 78 303
72 Brad Benjamin (a) +21 +9 72 73 80 80 305
CUT Chad Campbell +5 76 71 147
CUT Paul Casey +5 73 74 147
CUT Stewart Cink +5 70 77 147
CUT Christopher DeForest +5 71 76 147
CUT John Ellis +5 74 73 147
CUT Rickie Fowler +5 74 73 147
CUT Stephen Gallacher +5 73 74 147
CUT Scott Hend +5 69 78 147
CUT Jesse Hutchins +5 76 71 147
CUT Martin Laird +5 73 74 147
CUT Hunter Mahan +5 74 73 147
CUT David May +5 71 76 147
CUT Nick O’Hern +5 77 70 147
CUT Justin Rose +5 74 73 147
CUT Adam Scott +5 74 73 147
CUT Aaron Baddeley +6 71 77 148
CUT Ben Crane +6 77 71 148
CUT Ernie Els +6 73 75 148
CUT Elliot Gealy +6 77 71 148
CUT Shane Lowry +6 72 76 148
CUT Ian Poulter +6 75 73 148
CUT Nick Watney +6 75 73 148
CUT Mark Wilson +6 78 70 148
CUT Briny Baird +7 75 74 149
CUT Bennett Blakeman (a) +7 76 73 149
CUT Alex Cejka +7 75 74 149
CUT Greg Chalmers +7 76 73 149
CUT Jason Dufner +7 75 74 149
CUT Jim Furyk +7 74 75 149
CUT Andres Gonzales +7 79 70 149
CUT Trevor Immelman +7 75 74 149
CUT Jon Mills +7 76 73 149
CUT Francesco Molinari +7 75 74 149
CUT D.A. Points +7 74 75 149
CUT Sam Saunders +7 74 75 149
CUT Michael Tobiason Jr. +7 75 74 149
CUT David Toms +7 74 75 149
CUT Marc Turnesa +7 76 73 149
CUT Camilo Villegas +7 77 72 149
CUT Chris Williams (a) +7 76 73 149
CUT Scott Barr +8 75 75 150
CUT Angel Cabrera +8 71 79 150
CUT K.J. Choi +8 77 73 150
CUT Nicholas Colsaerts +8 76 74 150
CUT Matthew Edwards +8 75 75 150
CUT Fred Funk +8 75 75 150
CUT Miguel A. Jimenez +8 77 73 150
CUT Ryan Moore +8 73 77 150
CUT Peter Uihlein (a) +8 72 78 150
CUT Robert Allenby +9 73 78 151
CUT Bubba Dickerson +9 70 81 151
CUT Joey Lamielle +9 76 75 151
CUT Thomas Levet +9 75 76 151
CUT Geoff Ogilvy +9 75 76 151
CUT Kirk Triplett +9 76 75 151
CUT Jonathan Byrd +10 75 77 152
CUT Zach Byrd +10 77 75 152
CUT Michael Campbell +10 75 77 152
CUT Robert Dinwiddie +10 78 74 152
CUT Hiroyuki Fujita +10 79 73 152
CUT David Howell +10 78 74 152
CUT Cheng-Tsung Pan (a) +10 74 78 152
CUT Michael Smith +10 76 76 152
CUT Michael Whitehead +10 77 75 152
CUT Chris Wilson +10 74 78 152
CUT Brad Adamonis +11 77 76 153
CUT Beau Hossler (a) +11 76 77 153
CUT Dae-Hyun Kim +11 79 74 153
CUT Maarten Lafeber +11 79 74 153
CUT Brian Locke +11 75 78 153
CUT Adam Long +11 76 77 153
CUT Ryan Nelson +11 75 78 153
CUT Andreas Harto +12 78 76 154
CUT Scott Pinckney (a) +12 79 75 154
CUT Will Wilcox +12 79 75 154
CUT Steve Irwin (a) +13 78 77 155
CUT Kevin Na +13 80 75 155
CUT Brett Patterson (a) +13 77 78 155
CUT Geoffery Sisk +13 77 78 155
CUT David Chung (a) +15 82 75 157
CUT Ty Tryon +15 84 73 157
CUT Matthew Richardson +16 77 81 158
CUT Michael Barbosa (a) +24 83 83 166
WD Tim Petrovic

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