Monday, August 26, 2013

Bronson La'Cassie wins Cox Classic

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Australia's Bronson La'Cassie won the Cox Classic on Sunday to earn a PGA Tour card with a sixth-place finish on the Web.com Tour money list.
The former University of Minnesota player beat Matt Bettencourt with a par on the third hole of a playoff.
La'Cassie birdied the final two holes for a 4-under 67 to match Bettencourt at 21-under 263 at Champions Run. Bettencourt also finished with a 67.
La'Cassie earned $144,000 to jump from 33rd to sixth on the money list with $255,629. The top 25 after the tournament earned PGA Tour cards for the 2013-14 season.
''It feels really good, it gives you the belief that you can do it again so it feels great,'' La'Cassie said. ''I've never been to the tour before, so that will be sweet. ... I've always wanted to play in America watching it on TV back home. This is the place you want to be if you're going to make it.''
La'Cassie will play in the Web.com Tour Finals to position himself with the highest priority ranking possible for next season. He plans to keep it simple in the final four events.
''I'm playing well,'' he said. ''I'm really not going to worry about too much and just keep playing.''
Bettencourt made $$86,400 to finish 16th with $162,877.
''It's good to have my card back,'' Bettencourt said. ''I feel great and I'm looking forward to playing next week.''
Michael Putnam topped the list with $450,184. He had a 72 on Sunday to tie for 12th at 14 under.

Golf-NZ amateur Ko no closer to going pro after Canada triumph

Aug 26 (Reuters) - Lydia Ko's successful defence of her Canadian Open title on Sunday will make her "think" more about turning professional, but the trophy and $300,000 in foregone prizemoney would not hasten her decision, New Zealand's 16-year-old golf sensation said.
 Ko became the first amateur to defend an LPGA title with a commanding five-stroke win at Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton, but second-placed Frenchwoman Karine Icher will take the winner's cheque.
Ko has had four other top-10 finishes on the tour this season, giving up hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizemoney, but said in February this year she would take another two years before going pro.
"You know, I've always said I'm thinking about it and that's the same answer right here," Ko told reporters after winning her second LPGA title on Sunday with a sparkling final round six-under 64.
"Nothing has changed within the last 72 hours. I'm happy at the moment.
"I think this win will make us think a little better, and think, what is a good option right now."
Ko became the youngest winner on the LPGA Tour when she won last year's Canadian Open at the age of 15 years, four months and two days.
She underlined her quality by becoming the youngest winner on the European Tour by clinching the co-sanctioned New Zealand Open in February.
(Writing by Ian Ransom; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

John Riegger wins Boeing Classic

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) -- John Riegger won the Boeing Classic on Sunday in his fifth Champions Tour start, holding off John Cook and Fred Couples at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.
The 50-year-old Riegger birdied three of the final four holes - holing a 20-footer for birdie on the par-5 18th - for a 4-under 68 and a two-stroke victory over Cook. Riegger finished at 15-under 201.
''I didn't look at the board,'' Riegger said. ''The only person to put pressure on you is yourself. I knew these guys were great players their whole careers. Still are. I knew they were going to come out and throw some birdies at me early. I was going to play my game and I knew if I played the way I was capable of playing, things would take care of themselves.''
Riegger, a two-time winner on the Web.com Tour, is the fifth rookie to win this year on the 50-and-over tour, matching a record. He won $300,000, the biggest check in his professional career.
''This is going to go down as the best win of my career,'' Riegger said. ''It's been a long, crazy career. I've been around the world and had a little success on the PGA Tour, European Tour, Web.com, but my game has actually gotten better the last couple years. ... I was just trying to play my game, do what I was capable of doing, play the smart percentage and that's what I did all day long.''
Cook closed with a 65.
''For him to come out and not have that much experience, to do what he did down the stretch is very commendable,'' Cook said about Riegger.
Couples, from Seattle, was third at 11 under after a 66. He birdied the last three holes and four of the final five.
''Today it was a nice finish,'' Couples said. ''In the middle, I had a couple (missed) putts and that was about as good as I could have shot.''

Rookie Reed takes Wyndham lead

Rookie Reed takes Wyndham lead

CBSSports.com wire reports
Patrick Reed, with his wife Justine caddying, birdies six holes in a bogey-free round. (USATSI)
Patrick Reed, with his wife Justine caddying, birdies six holes in a bogey-free round. (USATSI)

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Patrick Reed listens to wife Justine. And with good reason: She's carrying his clubs.
With his wife serving as his caddie, the PGA Tour rookie shot a 6-under 64 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead in the Wyndham Championship. He had an 11-under 129 total.
"I don't mind her having all the attention," Reed said. "Less attention for me, which means I can just focus more on my game."
Reed had six birdies in a bogey-free round that was a stroke shy of matching his best of the year.
John Huh had the best round of the day -- a 62 -- to move to 10 under. John Deere winner Jordan Spieth was 9 under after a 66. Spieth also is a PGA Tour rookie, and Huh is in his second year.
Charlie WiBob EstesRory SabbatiniBrian Harman, Jim Herman and first-round co-leaderRoss Fisher were 7 under.
Wi had a 65, Estes, Harman, Herman and Sabbatini shot 66, and Fisher had a 69.
Organizers moved up the third-round tee times Saturday to try to dodge a threat of rain, with players going off in threesomes at the first and 10th tees.
Reed, the 23-year-old former college player at Georgia and Augusta State, had top-10 finishes in his last two tournaments. He could have built an even bigger lead in this one, but missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventh.
He closed his round with birdies on the eighth and ninth holes, sinking a 10-foot putt to applause from the gallery and walking off the green with his arm around Justine's shoulder.
She began caddying for him last summer before a Monday qualifying tournament in Houston. During a humid, 100-degree day in Texas, she had no trouble lugging around a bag full of rain gear, he said.
"I told her to read putts for me that day, and she just has a knack for reading greens extremely well," Reed said. "It's basically like my coach being out there with me. She knows just as much about the golf swing. She knows why I hit it left or right or anything like that, so I mean, if ever I get out of whack, she can fix me immediately."
Reed certainly has a history on Donald Ross-designed courses in North Carolina. He reached the semifinals of the 2008 U.S. Amateur on Ross' No. 2 course at Pinehurst, and the first cut he made on the tour came at this Sedgefield Country Club course two years ago after receiving a sponsor's exemption.
"That's why I love this event," Reed said.
Huh, a 23-year-old who was the youngest player on tour to win last year, came on strong late with birdies on his final three holes, including an 11-foot birdie putt on the ninth that closed his best round of the year.
Did he see this coming?
"Not 62. It was more like, maybe, 64," he said, laughing. "I drove the ball great since (The) Masters, actually. It's been a long time, but I was able to put everything together and I'm really pleased with it."
A breakout rookie year on tour continued for the 20-year-old Spieth, who was 19 last month when he became the youngest winner in eight decades with his victory in the John Deere Classic.
He had a boom-or-bust day at Sedgefield with seven birdies and three bogeys. After starting on the back nine, he birdied four of his final six holes and heard chants of "Spiethy" from the gallery.
"I wish they had said `Spieth' instead of `Spiethy,' but you can't pick your nickname," Spieth said, laughing. "It's great. It's kind of weird, kind of new to have people kind of cheering for me. ... All it does is help carry momentum, positive momentum, and hopefully, I'll have a lot of people be yelling at my back tomorrow."
The field is littered with players trying to either hold on to their FedEx Cup playoff position or force their way into The Barclays in New Jersey next week. The top 125 on the points list qualify for the postseason.
Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey, who arrived at No. 137, moved to 3 under after his 69. Fisher, at No. 162, kept himself in position to challenge for a playoff spot, and so did Herman, No. 149.
But for others, the bubble may have burst: No. 126 Peter Hanson and No. 129 Padraig Harrington both missed the cut. Hanson was at 1 over after his 73 while Harrington's 74 left him at 7 over.
Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC is strictly prohibited.

With an ace, Europe hangs onto Solheim lead

With an ace, Europe hangs onto Solheim lead

CBSSports.com wire reports
PARKER, Colo. -- Instead of seeing their lead disappear at the Solheim Cup, the Europeans saw it only cut in half.
They owed their slender advantage to a hole-in-one by Anna Nordqvist and a half-point from out of nowhere.
Nordqvist crashed a 7-iron on the 175-yard 17th into the pin, then the hole, to give Europe its only win in Saturday morning's alternate-shot matches. It was the highlight of a topsy-turvy stretch of golf on the back nine that ended with Europe holding a 6-5 lead over the United States.
"It was just an unbelievable shot," Nordqvist said after she and Caroline Hedwall beat Jessica Korda and Morgan Pressel 2 and 1. "It was the right shot at the right time."
Pressel, who watched her dreams of a U.S. Open title disappear in 2005 when Birdie Kim holed out from a greenside bunker up the road at Cherry Hills, saw another one slip away cruelly in Colorado.
"Are you kidding me?" she said on the tee box as she watched the shot go in.
The Americans were feeling the same way in the day's third match after letting a half-point get away.
Brittany Lincicome missed a short putt on No. 17 that would have clinched a win against Caroline Masson and Catriona Matthew. Moving to No. 18, Matthew holed a 6-footer for birdie to pull into a tie with Lincicome and Lizette Salas, who had led since the second hole but couldn't close it out.
"I feel like I was not putting good," Lincicome said. "We had so many chances and Lizette played so good today, and just a couple of 5-footers that needed to go in just didn't."
It wasn't all bad news for the Americans.
Brittany Lang and Michelle Wie teamed for a 2-and-1 victory over Suzann Pettersen and Beatriz Recari. The victory improved Wie to 5-0-1 when she plays in the Solheim Cup as a captain's pick. The Americans were 2 down at the turn but went 1 up over the next three holes, highlighted by a 30-foot birdie putt that dropped for Lang on No. 10.
"Lang was a superstar today," Wie said.
The United States' other point came from Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer, who beat Azahara Munoz and Karin Icher 1 up in the day's most tumultuous match.
The Europeans won four straight holes to go from 4 down to even heading into No. 15. They fell behind on the next hole, then drew even again on the 17th. Europe appeared to have the advantage on No. 18 when Lewis smothered her approach shot into the brush and trees left of the green.
But Icher, playing out of a bunker about 50 yards in front of the green, thinned a shot that got stuck in a yucca plant. All Creamer needed was to chip the ball back in the vicinity of the green and the Europeans, who had taken a drop, then hit a mediocre shot short of the green and conceded the match.
"They rallied on the back nine, made a bunch of birdie putts," Lewis said. "They made us make putts. We had to play some golf today."
The afternoon best-ball pairings looked like this: Jodi Ewart-Shadoff and Charley Hull against Creamer and Lexi Thompson; Munoz and Carlota Ciganda against Gerina Piller and Angela Stanford; Hedwall and Masson against Wie and Korda; and Recari and Icher against Pressel and Cristie Kerr.
American captain Meg Mallon was hoping the two late-morning victories would help the United States pick up steam in the afternoon.
"It was very nerve-racking, an unbelievable turn of events," Mallon said. "Watching a ball go in the hole like that, then to watch some of the other matches finish the way they did, was a great momentum turn for the U.S."
Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC is strictly prohibited.

Reed, Huh co-lead after three rounds at Wyndham Championship

Reed, Huh co-lead after three rounds at Wyndham Championship

CBSSports.com wire reports
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- John Huh refused to let tough conditions -- and one terrible hole -- get him down. He was rewarded with a share of the lead at the Wyndham Championship.
The PGA Tour's reigning rookie of the year shot an even-par 70 on Saturday and joined Patrick Reed atop the field after a soggy third round. Huh and Reed, the second-round leader who shot a 71, were at 10-under 200.
Huh shook off a triple bogey on his second hole, making up for it with three birdies in a four-hole stretch of the back nine.
"Since the rain picked it up this morning, it wasn't easy for us to play out there, but I told myself, `Be patient, stay dry and keep grinding out there,'" Huh said.
Zach Johnson had the day's best round -- a 66 -- and was one stroke back along with Bob Estes and John Deere winner Jordan Spieth. Estes shot 68, and Spieth had a 70.
Eight players were within two shots of the lead.
"It's a Monday qualifier," Reed said. "I had a lot of success at Monday qualifiers, and that's basically what it is. I let everybody back in the field and to now, all of a sudden to have it as bunched as it is, it's going to be whoever can make as many birdies as possible tomorrow and shoot a low number."
There weren't many of those during a rainy day at a Sedgefield Country Club course with challenging pin placements. Play was halted for 2 hours, 59 minutes in the morning while the soaked course could dry out somewhat.
Tour officials moved up Sunday's final-round tee times in an attempt to beat the rain, just as they did for the third round when they sent players off in threesomes at the first and 10th tees.
Play was halted when early morning showers rendered the Donald Ross-designed course unplayable. Rain fell intermittently throughout the day, and though players were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls, the conditions played havoc with virtually everyone on the course.
"I don't remember a time when there wasn't even a mist in the air," Johnson said. "But the course held up considering. ... The greens were still fast."
It was the worst total score for a third-round leader since the tournament moved back to this course in 2008. Every other 72-hole leader here in that span was at least 14 under.
Only 13 players shot better than par 70, after 78 players did it Thursday and 63 Friday.
Huh began the day one stroke off the lead after a career-best 62 in the second round. His seven on the par-4 second caused him to plummet down the leaderboard.
Turns out that was his only bad hole: He followed that with 10 straight pars before a birdie binge in which he landed approach shots on the 13th and 15th holes within inches of the flagsticks.
Reed, the 23-year-old PGA Tour rookie who led by one stroke after two rounds, looked as if he might be in trouble after a pair of bogeys midway through the round dropped him two strokes behind Spieth.
Then Reed got hot.
The turning point, he said, was a strong drive on the par-4 14th that eventually set up his 20-foot birdie putt.
He followed that with impressive approach shots on the next two holes that left him with birdie putts of 5 feet that he sank, moving him to 11 under.
He was inches from a fourth straight birdie when his putt on the 17th trickled past the cup, and he slipped back to 10 under when his par putt on the 18th trickled inches wide.
Johnson was one of the few players who didn't seem to struggle much on this soggy day, with five birdies during a round that was bogey free until the last hole.
The 2007 Masters champion began the day at 5 under -- six strokes behind Reed, but methodically pushed his way up the leaderboard during the round. Then, he surged to the top with two birdies in a four-hole span of the back nine.
He placed his approach shot on the par-4 14th roughly 15 feet from the flagstick and sank that putt to move to 10 under. A three-putt on the 18th for bogey dropped him back.
"Frankly, for 17 holes, I didn't look like I was going to sniff a bogey," Johnson said. "For the most part, it was solid from hole 1 to hole 18."
Charles Howell III was disqualified before starting his round because tour officials said he used a non-conforming driver during the second round.
The weight port cover on his driver came off while he was on the driving range and he played his round Friday with it -- which was not allowed.
Howell shot a 68 during that round to move five strokes behind Reed, the two-day leader, but will receive no prize money and no playoff points.
Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC is strictly prohibited.

Blog List