THE WEEK IN REVIEW (2/11 - 2/17)
Things may have been relatively quiet on the smaller tours but with Phil Mickelson winning in Los Angeles, Annika Sorenstam launching her comeback with a victory in Hawaii and Scott Hoch looking dominant on the Champions Tour, interesting storylines were not hard to find in Week Seven...
PGA Tour: Northern Trust Open – Pacific Palisades, CA
What a difference a year makes. Looking to redeem himself after giving away the 2007 edition of the then-Nissan Open with a 72nd hole bogey (and subsequent playoff loss to Charles Howell III), Phil Mickelson opened with a 68, charged into the halfway lead with a marvelous Friday 64, then closed with a pair of functional 70s to claim his first victory at Riviera, by two over 29-year-old Jeff Quinney. The win was not without anxious moments as Quinney, the 2000 U.S. Amateur champion, registered four birdies between the 6th and 11th to briefly take the lead, then gave them all back with bogies at the 13th, 14th, 15th and 17th, allowing Mickelson (who also bogeyed the 15th) to clinch victory with pars over the final three. Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald both closed in 68 to tie for 3rd at 277, while Ryuji Imada and Scott Verplank shared 5th, one stroke further back. Both Mickelson and Quinney – and nearly everybody else in contention – benefited immensely from the luck of the tee time draw, as stiff Santa Ana winds buffeted play on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, setting afternoon/morning players back considerably while only modestly affecting those whose times flip-flopped from morning to afternoon. The win came against a field which, despite the absence of Tiger Woods, was easily the strongest of the young 2008 campaign, and was Mickelson’s 33rd on the PGA Tour, moving him ahead of Horton Smith for 13th place on the career victories chart. It also consolidates his hold on the world’s number two ranking and jumps him into the top spot on the season’s money list, with earnings of $1,944,700. For Quinney, who logged four straight top-10 finishes on last year’s western swing, the runner-up finish moved him up 78 spots in the world ranking, to 68th.
FINAL RESULTS MONEY LIST PGA TOUR STATS
European & Asian PGA Tours: Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open – Jakarta, Indonesia
Despite a field devoid of top-flight international players, the Indonesia Open proved a most entertaining event indeed, with Chile’s Felipe Aguilar clinching his first E Tour/Asian Tour victory with a crucial birdie at the 72nd hole. The 33-year-old Aguilar, who’d previously torn up the relatively easy Cengkareng Golf Club with rounds of 65-62-67, came to the last trailing India’s Jeev Milkha Singh by one and appeared only to have forced a playoff with his birdie, but Singh missed a short par putt and Aguilar, a frequent winner in his homeland, was officially on the golfing map with a 262 winning total. Singh took second alone on 263, while South African James Kamte and Thailand’s Prom Meesawat, who closed with matching 67s, tied for 4th on 264. For Aguilar, who owns his own construction business in Chile and was twice a winner on the Euro Challenge Tour in 2007, the victory jumps him to 25th in the Euro Order of Merit, and lifts him 62 spots in the World Ranking, from 186th to 124th. For Singh, the loss marks a second straight week of disappointment, coming on the heels of last week’s MC (on back-to-back 77s) at the Indian Masters, the E Tour’s inaugural visit to his homeland.
FINAL RESULTS MONEY LIST E TOUR STATS
Sunshine Tour: Vodacom Championship – Pretoria, South Africa
Forty-two-year-old James Kingston, winner of the 2007 Sunshine Order of Merit, made a strong move towards defending that crown by claiming his second victory of the 2007-08 summer season, this time at the Vodacom Championship. After opening with rounds of 71 and 67, Kingston reeled off 11 birdies over his final 25 holes en route to weekend rounds of 68-65, and a two-shot victory over Brazil’s Adilson da Silva. Andre Cruse and Brandon Pieters shared 3rd, three strokes back, while world #72 Charl Schwartzel finished solo 5th, on 275. The victory, Kingston’s 10th on the Sunshine Tour and 14th overall, moves the Ottosdal native into 3rd place in the Order of Merit and 114th in the Official World Ranking.
FINAL RESULTS MONEY LIST SUNSHINE STATS
Australasian PGA Tour: HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship – Christchurch, New Zealand
Thirty-four-year-old American Darron Stiles fired a 10-under-par 142 to log an unofficial victory in the rain-shortened New Zealand PGA Championship, an event co-sponsored by the U.S. Nationwide Tour. Though neither Tour recognizes 36-hole results as official, Stiles still had to work for his title, holing an eight-footer for par at the last to hold off hard-charging Kiwi David Smail, who closed with the low round of the day, a six-under-par 66. The tournament’s biggest name by far, 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell, looked a contender after opening round two with a birdie to move to three under, but collapsed from there, finishing with 77 and a tie for 98th.
LPGA Tour: SBS Open at Turtle Bay – Kahuku, HI
It took Annika Sorenstam exactly one week – a paltry three rounds – to prove rumors of her injury-related 2007 demise greatly exaggerated. Beginning her 2008 schedule a month earlier than usual, Sorenstam indeed appeared fully recovered from the back and neck injuries that curtailed her 2007 campaign, logging critical birdies at the 16th and 17th holes en route to the third-round 69 that clinched a season-opening victory at the SBS Open. Sorenstam began the day in a 1st-place tie with former University of Arizona star Erica Blasberg at 137, went out in one-under-par 35, then added a birdie and bogey at the 11th and 12th before putting things on ice with her two late birdies. Blasberg, who’d never finished better than 18th in an LPGA event, closed with a disappointing 74 but still managed a tie for 8th, her 93 putts over three rounds nullifying a fine ball-striking effort that saw her hit nearly 80% of the greens. Rookies Jane Park and Russy Gulyanamitta, and veteran Laura Diaz tied for 2nd, two behind Sorenstam, while two more young stars, Angela Park and Japan’s Momoko Ueda tied for 5th, three behind the winner. Also notable was the solo 7th logged by 19-year-old Korean star Ji-Yai Shin, who does not have official status on the LPGA Tour (and was not listed in the pre-tournament field) but continues to demonstrate the makings of a world-class future. But for now, it was, once again, all about Annika…
FINAL RESULTS MONEY LIST LPGA TOUR STATS
Champions Tour: ACE Group Classic – Naples, FL
Having remained highly competitive on the PGA Tour into his late 40s , Scott Hoch seemed a likely candidate to dominate Champions Tour play upon turning 50 in late 2005, before having his senior debut postponed nearly a full year by surgery on his left hand. Returning to claim his first Champions victory in 2007, Hoch now seems poised (and healthy enough) to fulfill those lofty expectations, particularly after winning his second consecutive event at the ACE Group Classic, this time in a four-way playoff over Tom Kite and Brad Bryant (both of whom closed with 65s), and second-round leader Tom Jenkins. Hoch corralled the title with his second birdie of the afternoon at the 582-yard 18th, vaulting himself into first place on the Champions money list and setting the stage for what figures to be a hugely successful 2008.
Daniel