Golf News On and Around the Links
Apr 24, 2014; Pensacola, FL, USA; Young golfers wait to get a look at two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (not pictured) as he visits Osceola Municipal Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Ben Twingley/Pensacola News Journal-USA TODAY Sports
Golf news for the past week revolves around two tournaments. The World Ladies Championship provided an early dress rehearsal for the Rio Olympics and the Valspar Championship, which wins this week’s award for the Most Dramatic Finish, gave us a peek at what could unfold at Augusta. And with Arnie’s Invitational, the Founders Cup and the Madiera Islands Open on tap for this week, golf’s in full swing!
On the Links
More from Golf News
- Golf Rumors: LIV set to sign Masters Champion in stunning deal
- Brutal return leaves Will Zalatoris looking towards 2024
- Stars You Know at World Champions Cup Starts Thursday at Concession
- 2023 Hero World Challenge Predictions: The Return Of Tiger Woods?
- RSM Classic Brings the controversial 2023 PGA Tour Season to a close
To no one’s surprise Inbee Park and So Yeon Ryu again won the team competition at the LET World Ladies Championship but Park, even though she’d led the individual stroke play competition for three rounds, uncharacteristically missed a putt at the last and Ryu didn’t, which gave Ryu the individual stroke play championship. Despite her hopes for a victory going in, former champion Suzann Pettersen trailed along in third place.
Because golf is a sport that’s typically contested at the individual level, our tendency is to focus on individual stroke play but in the case of the World Ladies Championship I think we need to look forward a bit. Park and Ryu are truly a powerhouse team and there’s little doubt in my mind that they’ll lead the South Korean Olympic contingent. We got a peek at last summer’s International Crown at some other women’s team possibilities and again last fall at the Ryder Cup at some of the possibilities for the men. With the exception of Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth, at both events the Americans fell far short of the mark.
Jordan Spieth wins the Valspar Championship. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
After three rounds of a rotating leaderboard, Brendon de Jonge had fallen back, Patrick Reed had come sneaking up, and Sunday at the Valspar Championship turned turned into a deadly shooting match between Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Ryan Moore, Henrik Stenson and Sean O’Hair. By the 72nd hole there were 3 men standing and then, 3 holes into the playoff, only Spieth was upright.
George Coetzee came home to the Pretoria Country Club to win his 2nd European Tour event at the Tshwane Open. Sunday at the Tshwane was almost a mirror image of Sunday at the Valspar with a six-way tie at the top of the board going into the final round. Like Spieth, Coetzee pulled a couple of trick shots out of his bag which paid off handsomely in the end.
Around the Links
Neither Rory McIlory nor Tiger Woods played in competition last week and with the exception of a suggestion on Twitter that he may have been practicing shots at Augusta National McIlroy didn’t make the news this week but Woods did, by announcing that he isn’t going to play Bay Hill this week. That’s news?
To everyone’s amusement both John Daly and Henrik Stenson weighed in on the PGA Tour’s PED policy.
With both the LPGA and PGA Tour players getting focused on the first Major of the season, the ANA Inspiration (formerly the Kraft Nabisco Championship) April 2-5 and The Masters Tournament April 9-12, there may not be much time or energy right now for personal hijinks.
Coming Up
The LPGA Tour goes back to work this week in Phoenix with the Founders Cup. Look for a spirited battle between Stacy Lewis and Lydia Ko, but with five champions in five events I’m thinking there could be yet another surprise in store for next Sunday. Watch for my tournament preview and picks on Tuesday.
The Ladies European Tour is taking the week off. They’ll be back next week with the Lalla Meyrem Cup in Morocco.
The PGA Tour will be at Bay Hill for Arnie’s Invitational, sans Tiger, but don’t despair. If the weekend at the Valspar is any indication of what’s to come, the inexorable march to Augusta National is building the players’ competitive energy as we all move steadily toward The Masters. Don’t miss Danny Norris’s fantasy picks coming up early in the week.
The European Tour is on the move too, playing the Maderia Islands Open. In case you need a little brush-up on your geography, the Maderia Islands are a Portuguese archipelago located about 360 miles west of Morocco. For sheer wild beauty, Wildfire and Bay Hill pale in comparison to the Clube de Golf do Santo da Serra.
The ProGolfNow staff of writers will keep you updated as the week unfolds!