Florida Golf Communities
Bridgestone Invitational Welcomes Golf’s Elite to Ohio This Week
This week is a very unique week on the PGA Tour. Not only are there two PGA Tour sanctioned events being played simultaneously, one of the events has no 36-hole cut.
Keegan Bradley won the Bridgestone Invitational in 2012. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The later event is the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club. The field, comprised by invitation only, features 74 of the top golfers from both the PGA and European Tours based on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Since the field is half the size of a typical PGA or European Tour event, there is no 36-hole cut, meaning all 74 golfers play all four rounds unless they withdraw or are disqualified. Tequesta resident Keegan Bradley is the defending champion of the event, shooting a four day total of 13-under par to win by one stroke over Steve Stricker.
Few though have had the success at Firestone that world number one Tiger Woods has. The Jupiter Island resident has won the event seven times in his professional career with his last win coming in 2009.
Other notable golfers competing in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational include Palm Beach Gardens resident Rory Mcllroy, Jupiter resident Ernie Els, Old Palm residents Lee Westwood and Charl Schwartzel, and Loxahatchee River residents Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler.
For complete coverage of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, visit www.worldgolfchampionships.com.
Canada’s Drought Continues In Its National Open
Canada will have to wait at least another year for one of its local golfers to win the country’s national championship. Brandt Snedeker won the RBC Canadian Open this weekend, extending the win-less streak for a Canadian golfer to 60 years.
Snedeker, who got off to a hot start at the begging of the season before missing time with a rib injury, held onto the lead throughout the weekend with the help of his clutch putting and short game. Snedeker started the first month of the 2013 season with three top-5 finishes including a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. It was during the final round of that event that he suffered a rib injury that would keep him sidelined and trying to recover for several months.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
The win not only makes his comeback complete, but it puts him in the company of Jupiter Island resident Tiger Woods, as one of only four multiple winners on tour this year. Snedeker can also thank fellow American Hunter Mahan for his weekend lead. Mahan entered Saturday with the 36 hole lead ahead of his 2:50pm tee time. While warming up on the driving range, Mahan received a call that his wive Kandi had gone into labor. Mahan immediately left the tournament to be with his wife for the birth of their first child, leaving Snedeker with the lead.
Brandt fought off several golfers throughout the day on Sunday on his way to his sixth career victory. Loxahatchee River resident Dustin Johnson went into the 17th hole with a share of the lead before his tee shot left him out of bounds and he carded a triple bogey on the hole. Despite triple bogey on 17, Johnson still finished the event in a tie for second.
While a Canadian golfer did not win the event, it was still a win of sorts for the country. Snedeker’s caddie, Scott Vail, is a native of Toronto and was on the bag for the victory. For a complete recap of the RBC Canadian Open, visit www.pgatour.com.
British Open Delivers Record Setting Telecasts
Phil Mickelson beat out the likes of Lee Westwood, Adam Scott, and Tiger Woods last week to win his first ever British Open championship and, according to the latest numbers, a record number of people gathered around their televisions to watch.
The Claret Jug, handed out to the champion of the British Open. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Despite being aired in the early morning hours here on the east coast of the United States and in the middle of the night on the west coast, the British Open set new records for ratings and total viewership of the event.
Starting at 4am on Thursday and Friday and 8am on Saturday and Sunday, ESPN earned a record-tying 3.1 U.S. rating for Sunday’s final round telecast. The telecast, which averaged over 4.3 million viewers, set a cable viewership record for the event, eclipsing last year’s mark when just over 4.2 million viewers watched.
Sunday’s final round received the third-highest ranking among all golf telecasts on cable. While many tuned in to watch Mickelson make his historical comeback, Tiger Woods seems to be the common factor in all three. In addition to Sunday’s round, the Jupiter Island resident was also part of the two highest rated golf telecasts on cable which included his 2008 U.S. Open playoff win over Rocco Mediate and his first round of the 2010 Masters.
Open Season Wraps Up This Week
During the months of June and July several countries held their national championships of golf. It started in the second week of June when Merion Golf Club hosted the U.S. Open. Since Justin Rose won our national championship and the season’s second major, Ireland, France, Scotland, and the UK all followed suit, highlighted by Phil Mickelson’s Scottish sweep with wins at the Scottish Open and British Open.
The ninth green at Glen Abbey Golf Club, home of this year’s RBC Canadian Open. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The season of the open comes to an end this week when the PGA Tour hosts the 104th edition of the RBC Canadian Open. Returning to Glen Abbey Golf Club in Ontario for the 26th time, some of the top golfers in the world, including seven of the top 16, will look to conquer the Jack Nicklaus designed course and win Canada’s national championship.
17 Canadian born golfers will all look to become the first to win their national championship since Pat Fletcher in 1954. Others competing in the RBC Canadian Open include Jupiter resident Ernie Els, Old Palm resident Char Schwartzel, Loxahatchee River resident Dustin Johnson, and Bears Club resident Luke Donald. All four competed last week at the British Open with Schwartzel’s tie for 15th being the best finish among them.
In total, 29 of the 156 golfers competing this week played in last week’s British Open. For complete coverage of the RBC Canadian Open including tee times for the first two days, visit www.pgatour.com.
Phil Mickelson Wins First Career British Open
In what will surely be looked at as one of the greatest comebacks in not just golf but all of sports, Phil Mickelson erased a five shot deficit entering Sunday to win his first career British Open.
Mickelson, who won his first ever golf tournament on British soil last week at the Scottish Open shot a 5-under 66 on Sunday that left golfers and spectators around the world stunned. His final round 66 was not only the best score to be posted by anyone in the field on Sunday, it was also his personal best for a final round in a major in his hall of fame career.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
While Phil was sinking birdies at what seemed at ease (he carded four birdies over the final six holes) the rest of the field struggled to make pars, allowing Mickelson to shoot up the leader board and claim the Claret Jug.
Old Palm resident Lee Westwood, who entered Sunday with a two-shot lead, shot a 75 and finished in a tie for third. Masters champion Adam Scott birdied the 11th hole to take the lead before making four bogeys on the last five holes to join Westwood in a tie for third. Tiger entered the day just two shots back of Westwood. The Jupiter Island resident was in the best position to win a major since his last win at the 2008 U.S. Open. Woods shot a final round 74 and had to settle for a tie for sixth.
At the end of the day, when the top golfers on the leader board struggled, Mickelson kept fighting and did something he never though that he would be able to accomplish in his career.
“This is such an accomplishment for me because I just never knew if I’d be able to develop the game to play links golf effectively,” Mickelson said. “To play the best round arguably of my career, to putt better than I’ve ever putted, to shoot the round of my life … it feels amazing to win the claret jug.”
With the win, not only did Mickelson win his fifth career major and get one step closer to the career grand slam (he still needs to win the U.S. Open where he has been a runner up six time), he also moved up to number two in the FedEx Cup standings and in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Woods, Dustin Johnson One Shot off the Lead Heading Into the Weekend
It was another windy and dry day and Muirfield Golf Club in Scotland as the leader board started to look more like a U.S. Open than a British Open.
With the greens and fairways dried out and running fast and firm for the second straight day, Tiger Woods went out in the morning wave of golfers and shot an even par 71 to stay at 2-under for the tournament. The Jupiter Island resident, who started the day three shots back, struggled around the greens most of the day as they continued to dry out even more. Playing the back nine at one over par for the day, Woods made a difficult birdie putt on the tough 18th hole to get back to even par on the day.
The Claret Jug, handed out to the champion of the British Open. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
While Woods shot two strokes higher than in round one, the results were better on day two. Woods opened the day up three shots behind round one leader Zach Johnson. As he remained steady, shooting even par, the rest of the field struggled even more as most of the afternoon wave of golfers failed to match or break par. Woods now enters this weekend in a tie for second and only one shot back of the 36 hole leader Miguel Angle Jimenez.
Joining Woods at 2-under heading into the weekend is Loxahatchee River resident Dustin Johnson. Like Woods, Johnson struggled to get anything going on day two firing a one-over par 72. The bright spot of the day for Johnson was an eagle on the par 5 fifth hole. It was his second eagle in as many rounds in the tournament.
While most golfers failed to break par on the day, a few golfers did manage to get in the red with a couple of neighbors sharing the low score of the day. Old Palm residents Lee Westwood and Charl Schwartzel both shot rounds of 68 to get back into contention heading into the weekend. For Westwood, the 3-under round puts him just one shot back of the leader and in a tie with Woods and Johnson while Schwartzel’s round moves in into a tie for 11th and four shots back.
For complete coverage of the British Open including a full leader board, visit www.theopen.com.
Tiger Shoots Two-Under in Opening Round of British Open
Tiger Woods went out on a very dry and windy afternoon at Muirfield Golf Club and shot the lowest round of the afternoon, firing a 2-under 69. His 2-under was good enough for a tie for ninth and only three shots behind leader Zach Johnson.
While the morning still had some moisture on the course from the watering the night before, as the day went on the course dried out and hardened, making it tougher and tougher to go low.
Muirfield in Scotland, home to the 2013 British Open. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Woods’ day got off to a rough start. After hooking his opening tee shot into an unplayable part of the rough, the Jupiter Island resident got up and down and managed to salvage a bogey. It was one of only three bogeys carded by Woods on the day, who despite the conditions getting tougher and tougher as the day went on prevailed and even carded five birdies.
One shot ahead of Woods on the leader board after round one is Dustin Johnson. The Loxahatchee River resident took advantage of the morning conditions to fire a 3-under 68, hitting 14 of the 18 greens in regulation thanks to having success with his 3-iron.
Sitting in a tie with Woods at 2-under are Phil Mickelson and Jordan Speith. Both won their respective tournaments last week (Speith won the John Deere Classic and Mickelson won the Scottish Open) and, like Johnson, took advantage of the morning conditions to go low.
Woods will hope for conditions similar to today’s when he goes out tomorrow morning. Woods will tee off at 4:44am ET. For complete coverage of the British Open including a full leader board, visit www.theopen.com.
Tiger Woods Signs Extension To Stay With Nike
Tiger Woods signed a new endorsement deal with his club and apparel sponsor Nike that will likely keep the Jupiter Island resident with the company for the remainder of his career.
Tiger Woods wins The Players Championship in May. Photo courtesy of Getty Images
While the financial terms or exact length of the contract were not disclosed, Tiger’s agent, Mark Steinberg did announce that the contract was signed about two weeks ago after meetings took place in Florida.
“We’re comfortable with where we ended up and the career trajectory that Tiger will be on with Nike,” Steinberg told ESPN. “I’m thrilled we were able to complete this deal.”
Woods’ current deal was signed in 2006 and he has been with Nike since turning pro in 1996 when he signed a five-year deal worth a reported $40 million. Woods also has endorsement deals with Rolex, Fuse, NetJets, EA Sports and Kowa, a Japanese company but Nike has been his longest standing sponsor.
With the new contract, Nike has now guaranteed that they have both the number one and number two golfers in the world in their clothing and using their equipment. In January, Nike signed then world number one Rory Mcllroy to a 10-year deal worth upwards of $200 million over the life of the contract. Prior to signing with Nike, the Palm Beach Gardens resident had been sponsored by Titelist since turning pro.
Tee Times Announced for the British Open
This week the golf world turns to Muirfield in Scotland, sight of the British Open and the season’s third major. Here is a look at some of the tee times and pairings for the first two rounds Thursday and Friday.
Dustin Johnson, Nicolas Colsaerts, Bubba Watson (3:44am ET Thursday and 8:45am ET Friday)- All three are big hitters off the tee, all ranking in the top five in average yardage off the tee. Loxahatchee River resident Dustin Johnson comes in with two top 10 finishes in his last two British Open appearances including a runner up finish in 2011.
Ernie Els, Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker (4:11am ET Thursday and 9:12am ET Friday)- Els is not just the defending British Open champion, he is defending Muirfield champion. The Jupiter resident won the Claret Jug both last year and the last time that Muirfield hosted the event in 2002. With Justin Rose winning last month’s U.S. Open, Snedeker is the lone player in the pairing without a major championship.
Muirfield in Scotland, home to the 2013 British Open. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Rory Mcllroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Phil Mickelson (4:44am ET Thursday and 9:45am ET Friday)- Mickelson finally got over the hump and one in the UK this past weekend when he took down the Scottish Open. A win at the British would put him closer to the career grand slam. For Mcllroy, he is still in search of his first win of the 2013 season. The best finish at the British Open for the Palm Beach Gardens resident is a tie for third in 2010.
Lee Westwood, Charl Schwartzel, Sergio Garcia (9:01am ET Thursday and 4:00am ET Friday)- The biggest surprise out of this group is that Schwartzel is the only major winner (the Old Palm resident won the 2011 Masters). Since making his British Open debut in 1995, Westwood has four top-10 finishes including back-to-back top-5s in 2009 and 2010.
Luke Donald, Matt Kuchar, Adam Scott (9:12am ET Thursday and 4:11am ET on Friday)- Donald only has one top-10 finish at The Open, when the Bears Club resident finished in a tie for eighth last year. He will be paired with Matt Kuchar who already two wins to his name this year including the Memorial and Adam Scott who lost a four shot lead with four holes to go at last year’s Open.
Tiger Woods, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen (9:45am ET Thursday and 4:44am Friday)- Woods, who has missed the last few weeks with a left elbow injury has said that he has recovered and is ready to go. The Jupiter Island resident, who has already won on the tour four times this year, will look to end his major drought at 16. He will be paired with 2010 British Open winner Loius Oosthuizen and Graeme McDowell, fresh off his win at the French Open.
For a complete list of tee times and pairings, visit www.theopen.com.
Recapping the Weekend in Golf
Since his second place finish at the Puerto Rico Open in early March, it wasn’t so much of an if but when Jordan Spieth would get his first career PGA Tour win.
Jordan Speith earns his first PGA Tour win at the John Deere Classic. Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Having already earned special temporary member status and his tour card for his five top-10s and over $1 million in earnings, the only thing left was to get a win and get a permanent spot on the tour.
He has had several close calls during the first half of the season too. He was in the hunt at both the Crowne Plaza Invitational and the AT&T National where he finished seventh and sixth respectively. He didn’t let the near misses get him down though and the perseverance paid off on Sunday when he survived a five hole playoff against defending champion Zach Johnson and David Hearn.
Not only did the win make him an official PGA Tour member, making him eligible for the Fed Ex Cup, it also earned him a spot at this week’s British Open and next year’s Masters. Speith can also say that he has done something that not even the likes of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, or any of the other greats have done. At 19, Speith became only the second teenager ever to win on the PGA Tour and the first since Ralph Guldahl took the Santa Monica Open in 1931.
Phil Wins For First Time Across The Pond
Starting the day two shots back, Phil Mickelson did something on Sunday that he had yet to do in his career: win an event in the United Kingdom.
Phil Mickelson wins the Scottish Open for his first ever win in the UK. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Mickelson shot a three under 69 on Sunday and then birdied the playoff hole to take the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. It was his first win on any European soil since he won a European Challenge Tour event in Paris in 1993.
It was also a successful Scottish Open debut for Brooks Koepka. The Wellington resident who is playing this year on the European Tour shot a four day total of 10-under par, good enough for a tie for 12th.
All three (Micckelson, Koepka, and Speith) will join the rest of the top golfers in the world including Jupiter Island resident Tiger Woods and Palm Beach Gardens resident Rory Mcllroy at this week’s British Open which starts Thursday at Muirfield.
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