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Bob Hope Classic Power Rankings

January 19, 2011   B.J. George   No comments

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Matt KucharThe PGA returns to the mainland and begins its West Coast Swing with the Bob Hope Classic. This tournament features a long list of celebrities playing alongside the professionals, and the setup reflects that. It’s no coincidence that the four courses used in this event ranked in the top-seven easiest in 2010.

Expect one of the lowest scoring weeks of the year as players take on La Quinta Country Club, SilverRock Resort, PGA West’s Nicklaus Course and PGA West’s Palmer Course over five rounds. Only the top 70 and ties will play in Sunday’s final round, which is the same round David Duval fired a 59 to win by a stroke in 1999.

Here’s who we see contending on Sunday:

1. Matt Kuchar — Last year’s money winner has found his place on Tour and seems extremely confident right now. Kuchar, pictured, is one of only two players to record a top-10 finish in each of the first two weeks. In the final round of the Sony Open, he looked as relaxed as anyone and likely would have caught Mark Wilson had he not averaged nearly two putts per GIR.

2. Bubba Watson — The long-hitting lefty didn’t break 70 in the first tournament of the year but still managed a top-25 finish. One of his four top-3 finishes a year ago came at this tournament. His second-round 62 was the lowest of week. With a win under his belt now, maybe he’ll be able to close out the tournament if he finds himself the fourth-round leader again this weekend.

3. Bill Haas — Last year’s winner shot only one round higher than a 66 en route to his first career victory. Haas began this season with a 8th place finish at the Tournament of Champions, where he carded two bogey-free rounds and tied for 7th in driving accuracy. The 28-year-old hasn’t finished outside of the top 30 since September.

4. Charley Hoffman — The 2007 Bob Hope winner welcomes a shootout. Seventh last year in birdie average, Hoffman carded nine over a span of 13 holes during his third round in the opener two weeks ago. He’s also a long hitter with a personality that seems to fit a celebrity event.

5. Brendon de Jonge — Now in his fourth full season on tour, de Jonge is a likely candidate to pick up his first win in 2011. He tied for 6th last year with seven top 10s, which included three top 3s. There’s no questioning his ability to score as he led the Tour in total birdies in 2010.

 

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Ricky Barnes Leads Asia Pacific Classic

October 28, 2010   FanHouse Newswire   No comments

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Ricky BarnesSELANGOR, Malaysia (AP) — Ricky Barnes shot an 8-under 63 Thursday to take the lead after the first round of the inaugural Asia Pacific Classic, the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in Southeast Asia.

The 29-year-old American, seeking his first professional victory, had what he called a “stress-free” round sprinkled with eight birdies.

“I got off to a good start by making some good swings and had a 10-foot look at eagle on three which kind of got my round started,” Barnes said.

Ryan Moore (64) trails by one stroke, while Canadian Open winner Carl Pettersson (65) was two back along with Brian Davis and Charlie Wi.

Moore, who arrived in Malaysia on Friday to acclimatize to the time change and humid weather, had seven birdies. He has earned more than $2 million this season on the PGA Tour but has no victories.

“For me, this is my last chance to get a win and finish off the year the way I want to,” the American said. “It was a good season. I feel like it was better than last year, and last year I had a win. That’s what I’m coming here for. It’s my last tournament of the year.”

The 40-man tournament at The Mines Resort and Golf Club, which has Ernie Els (67), Luke Donald (67) and Retief Goosen (69) in the field, is also sanctioned by the Asian Tour. The winner will receive $1 million from the $6 million purse.

 

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Breaking Down Corey Pavin’s Most Likely Ryder Cup Picks

September 03, 2010   Mick Elliott   No comments

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Flick the lights. It’s last call.

Tuesday in New York, one day after this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship is scheduled to be completed, U.S. Ryder Cup team captain Corey Pavin announces his four at-large picks for the October matches in Wales.

Eight players — Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Jeff Overton, Dustin Johnson, and Matt Kuchar — already have secured spots on the team off a two-year points system.

Now Pavin gets the chance to put his lasting fingerprints on the team that will be a heavy underdog at Celtic Manor.

Only Mickelson (seven), Mahan (one), Stricker (one) and Furyk (six) have Ryder Cup experience.

“I am excited at the mix of youth, experience, aggressiveness and consistency of these players,” Pavin has said.

But the team’s success will inevitably be determined by Pavin’s four captain’s picks.

 

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Travelers Championship Preview: FanHouse Roundtable

June 23, 2010   FanHouse Staff   No comments

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The U.S. Open was a draining four rounds of golf. Pebble Beach played hard and fast as the world’s top golfers battled the course and attempted to beat out the California elements.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson came into the final round in striking distance of the lead. But the greens rolled fast and two top-ranked failed to capitalize on opportunities with the putter. Instead, Graeme McDowell survived the weekend to finish with an even par for the tournament and kiss the trophy on Sunday evening.

Now, the PGA Tour rolls on to the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. Veteran Pro Kenny Perry walked away with the trophy in 2009, but will a youngster step up to the challenge this year? The FanHouse team debates.

 

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Justin Rose Wins Soggy Memorial

June 06, 2010   FanHouse Newswire   No comments

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Justin RoseDUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Justin Rose joined the English revival in golf on Sunday, rallied from a four-shot deficit to win the Memorial with a flawless final round for his first victory in seven years on the PGA Tour.

It was the second straight year the Memorial winner came from four shots behind. Tiger Woods did it a year ago, and the 29-year-old Rose was equally impressive. He played bogey-free at Muirfield Village for a 6-under 66 and a three-shot victory over Rickie Fowler.

Rose tapped in for par, thrust his fist in the air and slammed it down, a moment long overdue. Even his 1-year-old son Leo approved. As Rose held him aloft in his arms, the infant clapped his hands.

“I’ve had a few close calls over time, and you start to sometimes wonder why you can’t get it done,” Rose said.

It was his 162nd start in PGA Tour events, dating to that memorable performance he turned in as a 17-year-old amateur when he tied for fourth at Royal Birkdale in the 1998 British Open.

Fowler, the 21-year-old rookie trying to become the youngest winner on the course Jack Nicklaus built, fell apart briefly on the back nine to fall three shots behind, and he never caught up. He closed with a 73 to finish runner-up for the second time this year.

Rose ran off three straight birdies to make the turn, saved par with a 20-footer on the 10th to keep his momentum, then seized control over the next hour despite making only one birdie.

 

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Remember Me? I’m Ricky Barnes — And I’m Back With a Vengeance

June 05, 2010   Mick Elliott   No comments

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DUBLIN, Ohio — Ricky Barnes has been paired with and outplayed Tiger Woods before.

Seven years ago, invited to Augusta National for the Masters as reigning U.S. Amateur champion from the University of Arizona, Barnes was grouped with Woods to begin play and starting with a first-day 69, routinely crunched drives past his celebrated partner on the way to beating him by seven strokes.

The newcomer was strength and swagger, a two-time college All-American, and went on to finish as low amateur at Augusta that year. It made Barnes easy to identify as a future pro star.

Except it took the Northern California native six more years just to reach the PGA Tour, and after finally climbing off the developmental circuits, he struggled as a rookie in 2009.

Maybe that explains Barnes’ efforts during Saturday’s third round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village.

Do you remember me now?

 

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Tiger Woods’ Masters Pairing to Include K.J. Choi, Matt Kuchar

April 06, 2010   Will Brinson   No comments

Tiger Woods, K.J. ChoiTiger Woods‘ 2010 Masters groupings and tee times have been the subject of much discussion: although, really, everything Tiger-related has been worth a couple thousand words these days. But the wait is over: Woods will play golf on Thursday (tee time: 1:42 PM ET) with K.J. Choi (seen above with Woods) and Matt Kuchar.

Tiger, Choi and Kuchar will be the second-to-last threesome of the day, meaning that the final group, featuring Adam Scott, David Duval and Ricky Barnes, are in for a full-on nightmare scenario throughout their first round, as they’ll be forced to play behind a large, noisy throng of spectators, all very eager to see how Woods’ fares on his first day back on the course.

As Jason Sobel noted on Twitter, the pairing is also a bit of a disaster for Kuchar, a 31-year-old Georgia Tech graduate and Atlanta native — his native proximity to Augusta means he’ll have plenty of friends and family joining him as he walks the course. Only they too will have to deal with Tiger-mania (and potential harassment from security, apparently) and a substantial portion of all patrons in one centralized area.

It also probably means that Kuchar, a two-time Tour winner, will struggle to best his T-21 finish in 1998. Choi, a 39-year-old from South Korea, has had more success at Augusta, finishing in a tie for third in 2004, and while he seems like a very long shot to win, at least his seven tour wins (17 total as a professional) give him some experience to draw from while dealing with the “Tiger Effect.”

 

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