Florida Golf Communities
Tee Times For Memorial Tournament
With the Memorial teeing off tomorrow morning, let’s take a look at some of the key tee times and pairings for this weekend’s event. Here is a look at when our top local golfers will be teeing off at Jack Nicklaus’ signature event.
Tiger Woods, Keegan Bradley, Fred Couples (1:16pm Thursday on #1 and 8:26am Friday on #10)- Woods is the defending champion, and the Jupiter Island resident has five career victories at Jack’s place. He is coming off of a win at The Players three weeks ago, his fourth victory of the 2013 season. Bradley has yet to make the cut at the Memorial but is coming off a second place finish at the Byron Nelson two weeks ago. The Tequesta resident broke the course record on his way to his runner up finish. Couples spends most of his time playing on the Champions tour these days but he did hold a share of the lead at the Masters going into the weekend.
Lee Westwood, Martin Laird, Billy Horschel (8:15am Thursday on #1 and 1:05pm Friday on #10)- Westwood is coming off a ninth place finish last week in England, but the Old Palm resident hasn’t played in this event since 2003 when he finished 29th. Laird is making his first appearance at Muirfield Village since he missed the cut in 2011. Horschel, one of the many first time winners on tour this year, saw his consecutive cuts streak end when he missed the cut at The Players. He will look to get a new streak started this week as he makes his debut at the Memorial.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Luke Donald, Russell Henley, Brandt Snedeker (8:26am Thursday on #1 and 1:16pm Friday on #10)- While Luke Donald missed out on his three-pete last week at the BMW PGA Championship, he has had some success at Jack’s event. A resident of Nicklaus’ Bears Club, Donald has finished 15th or better in his last four Memorial Tournaments. Henley, like Horschel, is one of the many first time tour winners playing the event and is making his Memorial debut this week as well. Snedeker started the season off on fire with four top five finishes in his first five events. A rib injury during his win at Pebble Beach has kept him sidelined on and off but he still sits second in the FedEx Cup Standings.
Charl Schwartzel, Ernie Els, Adam Scott (8:15am Thursday on #10 and 1:05 Friday on #1)- This group features three major winners, which is fitting since Nicklaus has won more majors than anyone in the history of golf. Schwartzel (2011 Masters Champion) opted to skip last week’s European Tour event and instead play in the Crowne Plaza Invitational. While the Old Palm resident missed the cut, Schwartzel returns to a course where he has never missed the cut in his five appearances. Els (4 time major winner) is making his 20th consecutive trip to Muirfield Village. The Jupiter resident has ten top 10 finishes, including a victory in 2004. Scott, the 2013 Masters Champion, has played a very limited schedule since earning his first green jacket.
Rory Mcllroy, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose (8:26am Thursday on #10 and 1:16pm Friday on #10)- A member at Jack’s Bears Club, Mcllroy has two top 10 finishes in the last three years at the Memorial. Watson has struggled since he won at Augusta last year, not recording a top 10 finish since the Match Play Championship in February. Rose won here in 2010 and already has three top 10 finishes to his name in 2013.
Rickie Fowler, John Huh, Bryce Molder (12:54 Thursday on #1 and 8:04 Friday on #10)- Fowler was in contention here last year until he shot an 84 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 52. The Loxahatchee River resident has never missed the cut at the Memorial and finished second to Rose in 2010.
For a complete list of tee times, visit www.pgatour.com.
Tiger Woods To Compete in Inaugural Event in Turkey
The European Tour has added a new event in Turkey to it’s end of year schedule and Tiger Woods has signed on to participate.
The inaugural Turkish Open will take place at the Montogomerie Maxx Royal course in Turkey and will be part of the new Final Series on the Race to Dubai. The Race to Dubai is the European Tour’s version of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs.
With a $7 million purse, the event will likely attract some of the biggest and best names in golf, including Woods. This will not be the first trip to Turkey for Woods. The Jupiter Island resident was featured in last year’s World Golf Final. While not an official event, Woods enjoyed the experience and said that he is looking forward to going back.
“I had a great time during my first visit to Turkey,” Woods said in a news release. “The fans who came to watch made it a rally special event and I’m looking forward to playing there once again.”
The Turkish Open will be held November 7-10 and will have a field of 78 players.
Palm Beach Gardens Resident Wins Women’s Amateur Golf Championship
Susan Cohen recently won the Palm Beach County Women’s Amateur Golf Championship held on the Fazio Course at PGA National. Her 10 shot victory was her seventh consecutive amateur title.
The Palm Beach Gardens resident has won a record 10 amateur championships in her career and the 10 shot victory this year was not even her largest victory. Cohn won by 14 shots in 2008 and 12 shots in 2009.
The Fazio course is PGA National’s original course. Formerly The Haig and opened in 1980, the Fazio course “achieves that ideal balance where single-digit golfers will be fully challenged while higher handicaps will have a layout ideal for a day of enjoyable resort golf.”
The mother of three, Cohen is a native of South Florida native, having graduated from Palm Beach Gardens High School before attending the University of North Carolina on a golf scholarship. In 2012 she was recognized by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission as the Amateur Athlete of the Year.
PGA Tour Has Split Schedule This Week
Colonial Country Club home of the Crowne Plaza Invitational. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)
While most of the PGA Tour’s golfers will stay state-side this week, several of the top golfers in the world will go across the pond and compete in England. The Crowne Plaza Invitational will be held at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, while the European Tour will host the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club in England. The BMW PGA Championship is a popular tour stop during the year for the top international players on the PGA Tour. With the top golfers in the world spread out this week between Texas and England, we take a look at where some of our local golfers will be teeing it up as well as how they fair against the competition.
Luke Donald (BMW PGA Championship)- The Bears Club resident has dominated the event over the past few years. He enters this week as the two-time defending champion at the BMW PGA Championship. In addition to his back-to-back titles here, he also had a runner up finish in 2010. With his success at the event he has to be the favorite this week to complete the hat-trick.
Rory Mcllroy (BMW PGA Championship)- Mcllroy is playing in this event for the sixth time in his career. The Palm Beach Gardens resident has seen little success though. He missed the cut at the event last year and his best finish is a fifth place finish in 2009. Despite his struggles, the world number two golfer is still looked at as a favorite and could very well get his first win of the season in England.
Charl Schwartzel (Crowne Plaza Invitational)- One of the international players not competing overseas this week is Schwartzel. The Old Palm resident is competing at Colonial for the first time but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Schwartzel played the Byron Nelson for the first time in his career last week and finished third. Schwartzel is already off to a good start this year state-side with three top 10 finishes to go along with his two top 10s in Europe.
Wentworth Club home of the BMW PGA Championship. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)
Lee Westwood (BMW PGA Championship)- Westwood will be returning to his home country for an event for the first time since he moved to South Florida. The Old Palm resident has been on a tear as of late with four top 10 finishes in his last four events, including an eighth place finish two weeks ago at The Players Championship. This will be his 20th appearance at the BMW PGA Championship and he has finished second at the event in both 2000 and 2011.
Rickie Fowler (Crowne Plaza Invitational)- Fowler has improved every time he has played in this event since 2010. The Loxahatchee River resident finished fifth at Colonial last year but has had some struggles as of late. Since the Masters he has not cracked the top 30 in any tournament and will look to turn things around this week.
For complete coverage of the Crowne Plaza Invitational, visit www.pgatour.com. For complete coverage of the BMW PGA Championship, visit www.eurpeantour.com.
Another First Time Winner on the PGA Tour
Going into this week, there have already been seven first time winners on the PGA Tour in the 2013 season. It started week one with Russell Henley’s victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Since then, six other golfers have recorded their first career victories on tour including Michael Thompson at the Honda Classic at PGA National and Billy Horschel and Derek Ernst in back-to-back weeks at the Zurich Classic and Wells Fargo Championship. Number eight can now be added to the list, as Sang-Moon Bae won his first event on the PGA tour this past weekend at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
It was the third 1st time PGA Tour winner in last four events, this one coming at the TPC Four Seasons in Irving, Texas. Bae won by two shots over Tequesta resident Keegan Bradley. Bradley, the leader after 18, 36, and 54 holes was looking to become the first wire-to-wire winner at the Byron Nelson Championship since Tom Watson did it in 1980. After breaking the course record by shooting a 60 on Thursday, Bradley entered the final round with a one shot lead over Bae. Like he did the previous three days, Bae continued to chip away at Bradley’s lead. After carding three straight rounds of 66, Bae shot a one-under 69 on Sunday.
Playing together in the final pairing, Bae took the lead from Bradley on the par 4 third hole when he carded a birdie and Bradley carded a bogey. Bae birdied hole 5, 6, and 7 consecutively to stretch his lead to four shots. After a double bogey six on nine and a bogey on the par four 10th, the lead went back down to just one stroke. Bradley got back to even on the 15th hole after he carded a birdie and Bae carded a bogey but could not regain the lead. He missed a short birdie putt on 16 and bogeyed 17 as Bae went on to clinch his first PGA tour victory to go with his 11 international wins.
Old Palm resident Charl Schwartzel shot a final round 68 to finish third at 10-under. The 2011 Masters champion moved into the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings with the third place finish.
For a complete final leaderboard from the HP Byron Nelson Classic, visit www.pgatour.com.
Luke Donald Honored By Queen of England
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
On Friday, Luke Donald received the “Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” award at Buckingham Palace. The honor is an order of chivalry and was established by George V in 1917. It honors civilians and service personnel for public service and other distinctions.
The Bears Club resident was recognized for his accomplishments in golf, including spending a total of 55 weeks at the top of the World Golf Rankings over his career. During the 2011 season, Donald was the first to top the money list on both the PGA and European tour. He also helped raise funds for the First Tee organization.
Donald has the week off after his 19th place finish at The Players Championship last week. He will tee it up again next week over seas at the BMW PGA Championship in England where he is the two time defending champion.
Stacy Lewis Looking For Three-peat in Alabama
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Stacy Lewis’ life has changed greatly in the past year. The Palm Beach Gardens resident came into last year’s Mobile Bay LPGA Classic fresh off a missed cut in Hawaii the week before. Lewis went into Alabama looking for her second career LPGA victory. She won the event by one stroke on her way to finishing the season with four wins and a player of the year honor. She would add two more wins early on in the 2013 season to take over as the number one female golfer.
Now ranked number two, Lewis returns to Alabama this week for the 2013 edition of the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. In addition to the two wins, Lewis also has three top 10 finishes to her name this year. She will look to successfully defend her title for the second consecutive year against a field that will only feature one other golfer in the top 10. Notably missing from this year’s event is Inbee Park. It was Park who overtook the number one spot from Lewis last month. One player who will be in the field again this year is fellow American Lexi Thompson. Thompson finished runner up to Lewis last year, surging to within one stroke of the winner.
Also in the field this year is fellow Medalist Club member Belen Mozo. Mozo was in the news this week for accepting a prom invite from a Tennesse boy who suffers from a neurological developmental disability. For complete coverage of this week’s Mobile Bay LPGA Classic, visit www.lpga.com.
Local Golfers Go Low on Day One of The Players Championship
On what has typically been a very challenging Pete Dye designed course, scores were abnormally low yesterday on day one of The Players Championship.
33 players shot rounds in the 60s at the TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course with close to half the field shooting a score of par or better. Included in that group was everyone from the top players in the world in Tiger Woods and Rory Mcllroy, to relatively unknown Roberto Castro who tied the course record by going out early yesterday morning and shooting a 9-under 63. The highlight of Castro’s round had to be his shot at the famed par 3 17th. He put his tee shot less than two feet from the cup on the island green.
It was also a great day for several of our local golfers. Mcllroy lead the way, shooting the lowest round of the day out of the local golfers competing in the event. The Palm Beach Gardens resident had never made the cut at The Players Championship and going into this week had never shot a round under par at the TPC Sawgrass Course. Mcllroy went out yesterday morning under nearly perfect conditions and shot a bogey free round of 66.
Tiger Woods has also seen little success at this course. Since his lone win at The Players in 2001, the Jupiter Island resident had not broken par. In fact, since Woods turned pro, he had yet to shoot an opening round of under par. That was until yesterday. His only blemish on the day was a bogey on the 18th hole when had hit his approach shot too hard and cleared the green. Other than that it was smooth sailing for Woods who shot 5-under par.
Lee Westwood joined his fellow northern Palm Beach County neighbors at the top of the leaderboard after day one. Like Woods and Mcllroy, the Old Palm resident has not had the best of luck at the Pete Dye Course. In his ten appearances at The Players he has only had three top 10 finishes. After his round yesterday, he is well on his way to his fourth. Westwood went out in the afternoon and, despite the fact that the wind picked up, shot a bogey free 69.
Joining Westwood at 3-under is his Old Palm neighbor Louis Oosthuizen. Oosthuizen had an up and down first day that included three bogeys, four birdies, and an eagle on the par 5 11th hole.
For a complete live updating leaderboard, visit www.pgatour.com.
Great Golf Near Jupiter Inlet Colony
Jupiter Inlet Colony is a beautiful community on the ocean. It is located at the southern most point of Jupiter Island in Palm Beach County. The beach is accessible from all the homes by taking a short stroll across one of two brick walkways lined by many rare and beautiful flowering plants and trees. In addition to the beauty of the wildlife and the beach, Jupiter Inlet Colony is also in close proximity to some of South Florida’s premier golf courses.
One of the courses in close proximity is the beautiful Jupiter Dunes par 3 course. Jupiter Dunes is
located near the ocean on Jupiter’s natural estuary is a challenge for golfers of all skill levels. Whether you are a new golfer, junior, or someone just wanting to work on the short game, Jupiter Dunes is Florida’s finest short course. The Tom Fazio designed course was opened in 1973 and went under a re-design in 2003 meaning that it is modern but still has that old school feel.
For Jupiter Inlet Colony home listings in your area, visit http://www.waterfront-properties.com/jupiter-inlet-colony.php.
Previewing The Players Championship
The TPC Sawgrass has been a staple on the PGA Tour schedule since it hosted its first Players Championship in 1982. The Pete Dye designed course is one of the most innovative and unique courses not just on tour but in the United States. The famous par 3 17th hole is an island green that has swallowed many golf balls, and tournament hopes over the years.
The unique design of the course, coupled with the names the event has been able to attract, has quickly turned The Players Championship into the unofficial “fifth major” of the season. That will be the case again this week as all 50 of the top 50 golfers in the world will descend on Ponte Vedra Beach.
One of the biggest story lines going into the week, is that not a single pro golfer has been able to really get comfortable on the course. Sure there are several golfers that live in the area and play it year round, but it is set up completely different during tournament time.
“The problem is that the course is completely different when we play it,” Billy Horschel told reporters on Wednesday. “The greens aren’t tournament speeds. The rough isn’t tournament rough. It’s all a little bit different.”
Horschel is one of several players that call the TPC Sawgrass home year round. While there are some players who have shown signs of success over the years, no single golfer has really been able to break through. Since 1982, only four golfers have won at the TPC Sawgrass more than once. Here is a look at how some of our local golfers have done over the years.
Tiger Woods- Since Woods won here in 2001 he only has one top 10 finish, an eighth place finish in 2009. The Jupiter Island resident has never really gotten comfortable on the course. If there is a piece of good news for Woods heading into The Players Championship, it’s that he has already won three times this season.
Lee Westwood- Westwood has had a pretty good stretch as of late with three top 10 finishes in his last three events, including a tie for eighth at the Masters. While the Old Palm resident has had a little more success than Woods has seen lately he still hasn’t dominated this course with only three top 10 finishes in 10 appearances at The Players.
Luke Donald- The Bears Club resident has been one of the more successful golfers at the TPC Sawgrass without getting a win. In his eight trips to The Players Championship, Donald has made seven cuts and has three top-5 finishes. His game translates well to this course and he is coming off a third place finish at the RBC Heritage.
Rory Mcllroy- Mcllroy finished 10th last weekend at Quail Hollow for his third straight top 25 finish. The Palm Beach Gardens resident hopes that he can transfer his recent success to the TPC Sawgrass course where he is 0-for-3 with no sub-par rounds in three appearances.
One thing is for certain going into this weekend at The Players Championship. There will be no shortage of excitement. For complete coverage of The Players Championship, visit www.pgatour.com.
Connect with Us
