Australian Senior Golfer

THE US PGA Tour moves to Scottsdale in Arizona this week for the attractively named 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Nine Aussies will line up in the event but much of the early interest at least will be to see how young American Kyle Stanley handles backing up after his disastrous final hole at Torrey Pines last weekend.

I personally tore a clump of hair out when Stanley squandered his three stroke lead to eventually lose to Brandt Snedeker in a playoff at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego – so who knows how the 24  year old will be feeling.

Both Stanley and the extremely lucky (but very persistent) Snedeker will be back this week along with a very healthy field that includes the likes of Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and defending champion Mark Wilson.

The Aussie contenders include, Aaron Baddeley, Robert Allenby, Matt Jones, Mathew Goggin, Greg Chalmers, Marc Leishman, Nick O’Hern, Rod Pampling and Jarrod Lyle. There is also young Kiwi tour debutante   Danny Lee to keep an eye out for.

Australian Fox Sports television live coverage begins Friday 8am – 11am.

2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open Live Leaderboard

MORE of golf’s international big guns are back in action this week with Australia’s Jason Day and Geoff Ogilvy joining class fields on the European and US PGA Tours.

Big things are expected of Jason Day this year and he will kick off his 2012 campaign along with season debuts by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Thursday.

The European Tour event boasts the current world top four, McIlroy at 3, Luke Donald (1), Lee Westwood (2) and Martin Kaymer (4).

Woods is rearing to go for the year and says he’s in his best physical shape at the start of a season in more than a decade.

Woods says he is fully recovered from his knee problems and his confidence has been boosted by a win at the limited-field Chevron World Challenge last month. This week in Abu Dhabi he also credited his form in Australia late last year as a turning point.

“I think Australia was pretty big for me to go down there for two weeks and play in that type of wind, and to hit the ball as well as I did,” he said.

Woods is teamed with Donald and McIlroy for the first two days of the event while Day will join British Open winner Darren Clarke and big hitting Spaniard Alvaro Quiros in the following group.

Live television coverage of the event begins on Thursday night on Fox Sports from 9pm to 1pm and continues at similar times over the four rounds.

Ogilvy leads Australian contingent at Torrey Pines

Meanwhile, Geoff Ogilvy will lead a 13 strong Australian contingent

Into the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California.

The Australian line-up includes Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Aaron Baddeley, Greg Chalmers, Gavin Coles, Matthew Goggin, Nathan Green, Mark Leishman, Jarrod Lyle, Nick O’Hern, Rod Pampling and Matt Giles.

The tournament sees most of the usual US PGA Tour suspects getting back into action on the mainland for the first time in 2012, including the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney, Bill Haas, Camilo Villegas, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson, who may or may not turn up in his new Dukes of Hazzard muscle car. (Funny that, I picked him as a Toyota Prius or Mini Minor driver).

Ogilvy is another golfer confident of a good year.

“I think I could be coming into my prime,” the 34 year old said this week.

“Traditionally golfers become their best in their mid 30s. Hopefully I can have a healthy year as last year was a bit of an off year injury wise but there was a lot of good stuff amongst the bad. I think you learn more from your rough patches than your good ones so I should be a better player because of 2011.

“I think I have a better handle on golf then I ever have before and I have more tools now so hopefully that translates to better play.”

Live coverage of the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open begins Friday on Fox Sports 7am to 10am.

GREG NORMAN will have one of his very rare starts on the US PGA Tour this week playing in the Californian event formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic.

Norman was recruited to the tournament – now refreshed and rebranded as the Humana Challenge – by long-time friend and golf tragic Bill Clinton.

The Humana Challenge has a 144 player professional field that in 2012 will include the likes of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Hoffman and Bill Haas but also blends a celebrity element.

Celebrities involved include Clinton, who will partner with Norman, musicians Smokey Robinson, Alice Cooper and Michael Bolton and actors Morgan Freeman, Don Cheadle and Craig T. Nelson.

Other Australians in the professional ranks include Stuart Appleby, John Senden, Gavin Coles, Steve Elkington, Mathew Goggin, Nick O’Hern, Rod Pampling and Greg Chalmers

Norman hasn’t played in a tour event in the States since the 2009 US Masters.

The 56 year old is obviously feeling pretty fit and is also committed to playing the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Golf Classic in February and the Senior British Open in July.

“The good news is I feel good playing the game of golf again,” Norman said. “When you start turning and hitting the ball solid again – and long again – it makes me feel pretty good.”

The 2012 Human Challenge will be played at the La Quinta Country Club and has a US$5.6 million prize purse with US$1.008 million going to the winner.

The first three rounds of the four-day tournament will be played in a pro-am format, with each pro-am team consisting of one professional and one amateur and each group consisting of two professionals and two amateurs.

2012 Humana Challenge Australian TV Times

The event is being telecast live in Australian on Fox Sports.

Round 1, Friday 7 – 10am; Round 2, Saturday 7 – 10am; Round 3 Sunday 8 – 11am; Final Round Monday 8 – 11am.

2012 Human Challenge Live Leaderboard

2012 Humana Challenge Live Leaderboard

THE first full field event of the 2012 US PGA Tour season is underway with five Australian golfers lining up for the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Robert Allenby, Gavin Coles, Nathan Green, Jarrod Lyle and John Senden will be hoping to get their 2012 seasons off to a great start at the Waialae Country club in Honolulu, where Mark Wilson is the defending champion.

Sessions of the Sony Open are being telecast live in Australia on Fox Sports beginning Friday January 13 from 11am to 2.30pm.

Canada’s Graham DeLaet was the early leader, finishing with a 7-under par 63 while Nathan Green at the time of publication was the only Australian to have completed his first round, a 1-under 69.

Luke Donald wins the Race to Dubai European money title

LUKE DONALD has become the first ever golfer to capture both the American and European money titles in the same year.

The pundits had already given the 34 year old Englishman the accomplishment back in October when he had a dramatic come from behind win at the 2011 Disney Classic to take the US money title from the favourite Webb Simpson.

But then Rory McIlroy made a late season run on the European Tour to threaten Donald’s hold on the title on the other side of the Atlantic.

Donald went into the 2011 Dubai World Championship last Thursday knowing a win by the Northern Irishman and anything less than ninth by himself would lose him the historic double.

They teed off together as the last group in the first round with Donald uncharacteristically finding the trees in what was a precursor to a quite scratchy round.

Donald was rusty after five weeks away from the game for the birth of his second daughter and McIlroy, the current world No. 2, was looking ominous.

But as he has often demonstrated in recent times, Donald performs when really needed and his three consecutive birdies to finish his final round put an authoritative stamp on what has been a remarkable year.

“It’s something that I didn’t think was possible,” Donald said. “I played extremely solid, consistent golf all year winning four times and playing right at the right moments. I think it is testament to my hard work and it’s nice to see it paying off,” Donald said.

“I had so many mixed emotions but just tried to finish strong and three birdies was a nice way to finish the year.”

The actual Dubai tournament was won by Spain’s Alvaro Quiros who rolled in a huge eagle putt on the 18th green to beat Scotland’s Paul Lawrie by two strokes.

Quiros closed with a 5-under 67 to finish on 19-under while Lawrie (67) made a birdie on the last hole to finish alone in second a stroke ahead of Donald and his final round 6-under 66.

McIlroy, after his opening round 66, finished with three 71’s to be tied for 11th on 9-under.

Donald will be the star attraction at the 2011 JBWere Masters starting this Thursday at the Victorian Golf Club.

Green ... "It's a bit of a miracle"

JARROD LYLE and Nathan Green have earned coveted entry to the 2012 US PGA Tour after six rounds of the dreaded Q-School in California.

Lyle put in the best performance finishing tied for fifth and that will no doubt make his marriage to local girl Briony Harper in Shepparton this Saturday all the sweeter.

Green, on the tour for the past two years thanks to his win on the 2009 Canadian Open, was nowhere after five rounds with seemingly no hope of reaching the needed top 25.

However, his equal low round of the final session 6-under 66 saw him sneak in at 27^th because of ties.

”I can’t believe I am where I am to be honest,” Green said. ”It’s a bit of a miracle. I played the way I used to play and I played desperate and came up good. I haven’t had that feeling for a long while. It’s good to know there is still the competitive drive inside me.”

Green is threatening to join the ranks of the bellied putters next year in an attempt to overcome his problems on the greens.

Bitterly disappointed this week were Stephen Bowditch and Matt Jones, with the latter looking good early but collapsing with a final-round 75 to finish three shots short of the cut-off at six under while Bowditch closed with a 71 to also close at that score.

Other Australians missing out at Q-School included Steve Allan, Bronson La’Cassie, Craig Hocknull and James Nitties, whose only consolation might be that they were joined by some pretty impressive talent on the wrong side of the cut, including Major winners David Duval (once the world No.1), Lee Janzen, Rich Beem and Shaun Michael.

Sam Saunders, the grandson of golfing great Arnold Palmer, also missed out.

Bowditch and Jones will at least have limited status on the tour – around 16-18 tournaments – for finishing in the 126 to 150 bracket on last year’s money list.  Steve Elkington will also receive invites to several tournaments thanks to his 1995 PGA Championship win. Greg Norman could also sneak the odd start should he so desire.

That leaves 15 Australians on the 2012 US PGA Tour will full playing status – Jason Day, Adam Scott, Aaron Baddeley, John Senden, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby, Marc Leishman, Nick O’Hern, Greg Chalmers, Rod Pampling and Stuart Appleby; along with Mathew Goggin and Gavin Coles  who qualified by finishing in the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour.

LUKE DONALD has become the first player to win both the US and European Tour money lists after his emphatic come from behind victory at the 2011 Disney Classic.

The World No.1 performed when it really mattered – coming down the home stretch on Sunday – after many had earlier written of his chances of an historic double.

Donald came into the season-ending US PGA Tour tournament with a substantial lead in the European standings but was well behind American Webb Simpson in the US earnings list.

He needed to finish no worse than second at the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic and to beat Simpson to achieve a goal he firmly stated pre-tournament he had set for himself.

Donald began the final round five shots behind the leaders and one back from Simpson with the campaign seemingly in tatters.

Two bogies on the front didn’t help but from 10 he began a blistering assault of six birdies in succession to win the tournament by two strokes from Justin Leonard.

“It’s hard to put into words,” Donald said after posting his 8-under 64. “You know, obviously I came here and I told you guys on Wednesday that the goal was to win. You know, nothing was really going to be good enough other than that.

“You know, I think this is probably one of the most satisfying wins of my career just because of that. It was kind of do or die. Obviously it wasn’t looking great after the 8th hole, but I knew I was going to get on to a run.”

“I didn’t play my best golf throughout the week. I knew that something good had to happen. I just just kept plugging away. Obviously to birdie the first six holes on the back nine was the difference this week. I threw a few shots away carelessly throughout the first few days, but this means a lot.”

Aussie golfers’ tour card status

Australia’s Nick O’Hern was in the mix till late and had his chances before fading to a 71 and tied for sixth.

Happily for O’Hern though, the result put him well within the top 125 (96th) on the money list and secured his full exemption for the tour in 2012.

Not so Steven Bowditch, who had a roller coaster day and eventually finished at 10-under, seven behind Donald, and tied for 16th with Greg Chalmers and others.

That puts Bowditch at 132 on the money list and outside full tour status, though he will get as many as 20 starts, as will Matt Jones at 133rd.

Finishing inside the 125 but near the cut-off were Chalmers (105th) and Rod Pampling (124th), who had a nail biting time after missing the cut.

Nathan Green (168th)and Jarrod Lyle (167th) lost tour status and will

have to go through the qualifying process in late November.

Also on the way out are Aron Price (165th on money list), Cameron Percy (176th), Steve Elkington (199th) and Michael Sim (225th). (Elkington and Nathan Green will get some starts as past winners.)

So as well as those mentioned above, Australians in the top 125 with full 2012 tour status include Jason Day (9), Adam Scott (11), Aaron Baddeley (20), John Senden (33), Geoff Ogilvy (43), Robert Allenby (60) and Marc Leishman (100). Stuart Appleby (129) has full exemption due to his win last year.

Coles wins in Florida

Gavin Coles will jump back into the top tour after a gritty victory in the Nationwide Tour’s Jacksonville Open.

The 43 year old Bathurst golfer has battled away on the Nationwide circuit for three years after his last two-year sting on the PGA Tour.

His one stroke victory at the TPC Sawgrass in Florida moved him to 15th on the money list.

The top 25 get promoted so that’s also a certainty for third placed Matt Goggin while at 23rd Newcastle’s James Nitties has one more event to confirm his status.

Simpson takes money list lead

BEN CRANE has beaten Webb Simpson in a playoff for the 2011 McGladreys Classic at Sea Island in Georgia.

Crane beat his fellow American at the second extra hole when the very consistent Simpson three putted.

Despite the loss, Simpson moved to the top of the US PGA Tour money list and took a commanding lead over Luke Donald.

Simpson and Donald will fight out the top spot next week at the season ending event in Florida with the Englishman needing at least a top two finish to have a chance.

Donald is pitching to be the first player ever to win money titles on the US and European Tour. He already has a comfortable lead in Europe.

Nick O’Hern was the best of the Australians today and in finishing tied for 6th did enough to secure his tour card for 2012.

Robert Allenby was the only other Australian to make the cut and finished at T32.

AUSTRALIANS Nick O’Hern and Matt Jones are just two shots off the lead after the first round of the second last US PGA Tour money list event of the year.

They shot 5-under par rounds of 70 to go a long way towards securing their tour cards for 2012.

Needing to finish in the top 125 to guarantee a full tour exemption, O’Hern is currently in 106th position and Jones is 114th on the season long tour money list.

Rod Pampling, sitting precariously at 117th, was also doing well at 3-under while a number of others will need a big performance in the next three rounds or next week in the final event of the Fall series.

The other Australians in the field are Robert Allenby (58th, Even), Michael Sim (225th, 1-over), Nathan Green (179th, 1-over), Marc Leishman (96th, 4-over), Jarrod Lyle (171st, 4-over) and Steven Bowditch (138th, 5-over).

Webb Simpson, who has a chance of taking the tour money title from Luke Donald, is leading the tournament on 7-under tied with fellow American Zack Miller.

The 2011 McGladrey Classic is underway at the Seaside Course at Sea Island in Georgia and is being telecast live in Australia on Fox Sports.

IT TOOK six extra holes but America’s Bryce Molder finally broke through for his maiden US PGA Tour victory in his 132nd start at the 2011 Frys.com Open in California today.

His hapless playoff opponent was fellow countryman Briny Baird, who has now had 348 starts without a win.

Though I am not sure ‘hapless’ is the right expression, as Baird is the PGA player who has won the most money – around twelve million bucks – without ever having a win.

Both golfers had a number of opportunities to close the deal, both in regulation and as they repeated 17 and 18 again and again.

They both kept driving the par-4 17th (just around 284 yards) and then missing their eagle putts or chips. Both players birdied it three times in a row.

Molder finally sunk the winning six foot birdie putt the third time the playoff returned to the 18th. The sun was sinking rapidly behind the hills and the approaching darkness would probably otherwise have meant an overnight delay.

Molder had rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th in regulation to close with a seven-under 64 and force the playoff with Baird who shot a 67.

They finished on 17-under with the impressive 21-year-old American rookie Bud Cauley third at 15-under.

The best of the Australians were Rod Pampling (68), Cameron Percy (69) and Nathan Green (71) who tied for 24th on 8-under.

Tiger Woods, in his first tournament for seven weeks and the last before he heads off to Australia, improved from his disappointing opening 73 to finish with three rounds of 68. He tied for 30th on 7-under.

A local fan caused some consternation when he decided Woods needed feeding, or some other similarly enlightened notion, when he threw a hotdog at the former world No.1 as he putted on the 7th green.