Welcome to May in St Andrews Golf Magazine. May is the fifth month of the year and the month of the “fifth major”. But which tournament can realistically lay claim to this title?
most
Is it The Players Championship? The tournament played on a purpose-built course at the headquarters of the PGA Tour near Jacksonville, Florida that attracts the strongest field in golf with the highest prize purse. OR Is it the BMW PGA Championship? The tournament played at an 88-year-old course, at the headquarters of the European Tour near London and celebrating its 60th anniversary this month. If you asked this question in an American golf magazine the answer would be pretty emphatic in favour of Sawgrass. But it is without question that both tournaments are
of Major Championship standard and are the leading tournaments on the PGA Tour and European Tour respectively outside the Majors. In this month’s St Andrews Golf Magazine we preview both tournaments and look back at the first major of the men’s golfing calendar, The Masters. We break the news of our media partnership with the World Hickory Open and give you and introduction to hickory golf in 2014. We chat to Swedish youngster Joakim Lagergren and we hear the latest from Michael Buttacavoli and Stefanie Kenoyer on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and Symetra Tour. Here in St Andrews the standout event of the month is the Spring Meeting of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, and the season is in full swing as we head towards June and the major amateur events run by the St Andrews Links Trust. For the golfers visiting St Andrews we have a selection of 10 of the best courses to play in the area and further afield.
We also have a comprehensive run down of the results across the major tours and the latest rankings. Our countdown to Gleneagles and the 40th Ryder Cup matches begins with Matt Hooper’s memories of attending the 2010 matches at Celtic Manor. Stay up to date with all the news in golf across the world and in St Andrews at www.standrewsgolfmagazine.com and our Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus pages. Enjoy the third edition of St Andrews Golf Magazine and subscribe for FREE at www.standrewsgolfmagazine.com
Editors: Matt Hooper Colin Donaldson
Image credits: Front cover – Doha Stadium plus qatar Page 5 – Tyler Ward Pages 11 – Bill Spuce Page 14 – PGA Tour Media stock photography Page 15 – Keith Allison Page 17 – Lauren Teague Pages 18 – Alex Hooker Page 23 – Andy Brown Page 24 – Easylocum, Golf Club Atlas Page 25 – James Box, Andy Brown, Peter Schofield Frabber Pages 26 – Easylocum Page 33 – Keith Allison Page 37 – Victoria Winters Page 42 – © KReidPhotography.com Back Cover – PinehurstMedia.com
Last Month St Andrews Golf Magazine and the World Hickory Open Championship entered into a media partnership for the remainder of 2014. St Andrews Golf Magazine will provide comprehensive coverage of the event on www.standrewsgolfmagazine.com and our social media pages as well as a full preview and review of the event in our September and October editions.
In the lead-up to the 10th edition of the World Hickory Open we will feature interesting and insightful articles into the world of hickory golf as well as running a series called the “Legends of Hickory Golf” which profiles the great golfers of the hickory era up until the early 1930’s.
I will be the first to admit that prior to negotiating St Andrews Golf Magazine's media partnership with the World Hickory Open I was a little in the dark over just how big hickory golf is today. As part of our extensive and wide-ranging coverage of the World Hickory Open we will inform you, the reader, about its history and the scope of the game today and showcase
the organizations and individuals who are keeping the spirit of Morris, Park and Robertson alive.
Today, hickory golf is a past-time and evolving competitive stage for golfers wanting to play the game ‘as it was intended’ from a century ago. The World Hickory Open, has, in its short history become a premier event within the hickory game but it is far from being the only significant tournament played using Mashie’s, Niblicks and Spoons.
This August 14-16 the US Hickory Open will take place at the Country Club of Asheville in North Carolina. This 36-hole “major” of American hickory golf is part of the Society of Hickory Golfers Championship Series. The series as of 2014 includes 5 championships played on historic courses across the United States. One of these other events in the series is the Southern Hickory 4-ball Championship, which was played at the end of April at Highland Park in Birmingham, Alabama.
The first event of the SOG Championship series in 2014 was the Mountain Valley Open, interestingly played over the Number 3 course at Pinehurst, North Carolina – the destination for this year’s historic back-to-back United States Open Championships.
The society has a fixture list including matches against distinguished golf clubs and major championships across the UK and Europe including the Dutch Hickory Open, the European Hickory Championship, L’Open de France Hickory and many, many more.
www.standrewsgolfmagazine.com will provide reports from our friends at the Society of Hickory Golfers on each of the events on the Championship Series schedule as part of our build-up to the 2014 World Hickory Open.
The BGCS is much the same as the SOHG but there has been no break away to make a playing society.
The SOHG founded in 2000 is a spinoff from the Golf Collectors’ society of America, looking after those golfers who want to play using hickory golf clubs. In the UK the chief association of hickory golf is the British Golf Collectors Society. Formed in 1987 with the aim of promoting interest in the history and traditions of golf, and collecting items associated with that history. Current membership is around 600 based in all regions of Great Britain and abroad, particularly Continental Europe and the United States.
The United States is not the only country outside Scotland with an interest in hickory golf. Sweden leads the way with its 16th Championship with fields of as many as 150 competitors’ .Since the founding of the World Hickory in 2005, which other than the Swedish was the only open, others have followed gradually over the last few years. Switzerland, Canada, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Australia and more have hickory golf associations. This is by no means an extensive list of the countries which are taking up hickory golf and keeping the traditions of the game alive.
In Australia the Australian Golf Heritage Society, located near Sydney, has a mission to encourage the collection, research, recording and preservation of information and objects connected with the history of golf in Australia. And to inform golfers, golf clubs and the community in general. The main event of the society is the Australian Hickory Shaft Championship played since 1995, along with other significant events including the Bobby Locke Trophy.
The Professional Hickory Golf Association was formed in 2011 by Mike Stevens and has ‘chapters’ in North America and Europe.
David Hamilton, Golf historian writing in the 2008 World Hickory Open guide, says “A while back, collectors only brought hickory clubs to admire and they put the rare ones on the wall to display. Then they cautiously used less precious ones for light-hearted ‘hickory hacking events’. Then the realisation came that these clubs were efficient instruments and had a
pleasing performance, and that the shafts had all the variety of a natural wood product.
Moreover, using hickories seemed to put the fun back into the game which had become expensive, slow and ill-suited to the length and features of the established courses.
Hickory play is making a statement that not only can golf be fun, but also the modern game is in danger of losing its way.”
Throughout the coming months we will be bringing you several in-depth features about the development of the golf club and balls from the very beginning through to the modern day; as well as spotlighting the legends of the game played with hickory clubs and covering the biggest events in the hickory calendar. All of this leading to Panmure in October for the 10th World Hickory Open Championship. Written by Matt Hooper.
Bubba Watson is like one of those crazy artists you see on the Discovery Channel, and last month at Augusta he painted some more extraordinary pictures as he danced his way to a second Masters title. For so long Bubba has been portrayed as a goofy golfer who loves to curve the ball outrageously, at Augusta he proved that he is one of the most talented players the world has ever seen. He has it all. He can shape the ball both ways, under pressure. He can hit the ball 350+ yards with ridiculous ease. And he has a delightful touch around the greens and superb putting stroke. Bubba Watson is the complete golfer, especially now he has got his mind under control. Back in February at the Waste Management Phoenix Open his mind was anything but under control. He played the kind of go for broke shots that you would expect from a 16-handicap golfer and he got stung. After hitting driver on the 72nd
hole when only a long iron was required he knifed a wedge shot through the green and made a costly bogey which handed the title to Kevin Stadler. Then in the very next week Bubba bounced back with a fantastic performance, recording a pair of 64’s at the weekend without a bogey to take the Northern Trust Open title. It was his first win since the 2012 Masters. When he came second to Martin Kaymer at the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits I thought it was a flash in the pan. We would never see or hear of Bubba again. Then when he produced the outrageous recovery from the trees on the 10th hole in the 2012 Masters playoff with Louis Oosthuizen, I was in awe. But now, in 2014 I believe we are witnessing true greatness; A talent which American golf has never seen. Bubba Watson is the Seve Ballesteros of the United States. Will he win 5 Majors, over 50 titles and become world number one?
Well, he is world number four as I write this article and Tiger Woods is out of the game for an unknown length of time. We have one more major at least before Woods returns and Pinehurst could be a perfect place for Bubba to add a third major. Five majors are not out of the question for Bubba; his game can bring almost any course to its knees. His driver-sand wedge to the par five 13th hole still resonates across the world of golf. I would say he won’t win 50 times; he may not win 20 times but when he does win it will be a big win. On Tuesday Tee Time in February after his win at Riviera I said that when he puts it all together Bubba is the best golfer in the world, last month at Augusta he proved that beyond any reasonable doubt. To put it into context the list of 2-time Masters Winners reads: Olazabal, Crenshaw, Langer, Ballesteros, Tom Watson, Hogan, Nelson, Smith, Mickelson, Faldo, Player, Snead, Demaret, Woods, Palmer and Nicklaus. Enough said.
By Matt Hooper
The 2014 season to date has been remarkable and one of complete contrast from the men’s to the women’s tours. On the PGA and European Tours the stars have rarely played and when they have they flatter to deceive. On the LPGA the stars play week-in-week-out and have claimed title after title. But the one thing that the two tours have in common is youth, and the youth are taking over. The average age of winner on the LPGA Tour in the 2014 season is 24 and on the PGA Tour / European Tour it is 31. In the past 12 months we have had winners on the LPGA at the age of 16 and on the PGA Tour a 20-year-old became the youngest winner since Bobby Jones. However this generation of young players are not just talented, they are mature and they have respect for the traditions of the game. Jordan Spieth carries himself like a true professional and his reaction in defeat at The Masters was dignified and thoughtful. Last May Italian Matteo Manassero became the youngest ever winner of the BMW PGA Championship, incredibly it was his fourth title on tour at the age of 20. The Players Championship and BMW
PGA Championships do not just thrive on star power. They provide a platform for new, young rising stars to burst onto the scene and show what they can do in front of the world’s eyes. The likes of David Lingmerth, Oliver Wilson, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Roberto Castro, Rickie Fowler, Nick Watney, Kevin Na, Camilo Villegas and James Morrison have all come to wider attention with their performances at either Sawgrass or Wentworth. Good play at either of these courses generally tends to be a sign of a strong career down the line, with Rose being a two-time runner-up at Wentworth and the 2013 US Open Champion; And Adam Scott winning the 2004 Players Championship and going on to win the 2013 Masters. The championships may be prestigious, full of history and the venues may be revered but this generation of bold and bright youngsters are not afraid of reputations and are eager to write their own chapter in the history of the two greatest events outside the Majors. By Matt Hooper.
It is that time again, the time when a magnificent golf course is ignored, and one par three dominates our screens for four nights and terrifies every one of the 156 competitors in the 33rd Players Championship to be played on the Tournament Players Club Stadium Course.
back. So who are the favourites for the 2014 edition?
With The Masters fading from the memory the appetite for major golf is whetted again with arguably the biggest event outside the majors – The Players Championship. 156 of the world’s best touring professionals will converge on Jacksonville, Florida this month for their championship.
Jordan Spieth is playing in his first PLAYERS Championship. His record on the tour so far though gives him every chance of going ahead and contending on the weekend here.
Sawgrass is a course that seemingly, the players either love or hate, and it usually takes a few times playing in the championship to know how to play it. It demands long and accurate driving, precise iron shots and a hot putter to walk away victorious. The list of winners is testament to this over the last decade and especially more so since the refurbishment of the course in 2006. The 2013 champion Tiger Woods is unable to defend his title due to rehabilitation after an operation on his
Masters champion Bubba Watson may struggle around the tight layout, with very little room for him to hit huge curves off the tee and his record is poor with a best of tied for 37th on two occasions.
Adam Scott is a past champion at Sawgrass but his season has been indifferent so far following a stellar 2013. Rory McIlroy doesn’t have the best of records around the stadium course, and despite his consistent form in the last 6 months it would be a major shock if he was to claim a first PGA Tour title in nearly 2 years in this championship. So the man who must be the favourite coming into THE PLAYERS Championship this year is surely 2012 champion Matt Kuchar. He took the Zurich Classic and Wells Fargo Championship off following four remarkable weeks in late March and
early April. He lead the Texas Open after 54 holes and finished tied for fourth after a final day 75; he then lead the Shell Houston Open on the final hole before finding the water with his second shot and losing in a playoff; at Augusta he shot 74 on the final day to finish tied for fifth; and at the RBC Heritage he holed a bunker shot on the 72nd hole to defeat Luke Donald by a single stroke and claim his first win of 2014. Kuchar is in form and he has form at Sawgrass. His game is suited to this style of golf and that makes him the outstanding favourite to claim the title again at the 2014 championship.
Opinion: MOVE THE PLAYERS BACK TO MARCH The Players Championship used to be without question the best tournament in golf, better than any of the Majors and was in many respects the ultimate World championship of professional golf played on arguably the greatest course of the modern era in front of a raucous but respectful gallery in the first couple of weeks of spring. For many years media and PGA Tour hyperbole labelled the championship as Golf's Fifth Major and there was an annual debate each March, several players said that they felt it was more of a major than either The Masters or the PGA Championship and the debate was great for the championship because it brought even more attention to it during the first few weeks of the season. In 2006 the PGA Tour announced a major structural change to the schedule, concluding the season with the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup in September and moving The Players Championship to May, in an attempt to give the PGA Tour significant tournaments in February (WGC-Accenture Match Play), March
(WGC-Cadillac Championship), April (The Masters), May (The Players Championship), June (The U.S. Open), July (The Open), August (WGCBridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship) and September (The Tour Championship). This, Tim Finchem believed would enhance the championships reputation, stature and bid to become the fifth Major in golf. Along with the structural changes to the season and moving The Players Championship to May three further changes were made. An elaborate new clubhouse was constructed, which to be fair is outstanding by all accounts and looks magnificent; major internal surgery was undertaken to the course, keeping the external look the same but changing the characteristics of the golf course by installing drainage that could withstand a “100-year storm�. The brand of the event was also given a major overhaul, with a new logo, new television deal and new broadcast structure designed to run in a similar way to the agreement between CBS and Augusta National to show less adverts and more golf. All of which the PGA Tour
obviously decided would help create the biggest championship in golf. The problem for the PGA Tour is they already had it and they didn't realize. They got so wound up with the fifth major hype that they forgot to sit back and put into perspective what they actually already had. They had a championship which attracted every single one of the world's best golfers every year, something which virtually no other PGA Tour event could do at that time outside of the Majors. They had a golf course which given the conditions could be brutal and punishing, resulting in a winning score of -3 in 1999 and given calm conditions a course where a player such as Greg Norman could shoot a record-low of -24. The Players Championship also had the richest purse in golf and the most recognizable single hole in the entire world. The Players Championship had absolutely everything and the PGA Tour didn't realize it and made the biggest mistake they have ever made, they ruined golf's greatest championship. Another reason the PGA Tour moved the event to May was the weather, because of
two consecutive Monday finishes in 2000 and 2001, but rather confusingly they went ahead with major surgery and installed supposedly world-class drainage. But why do that if you are moving the tournament to May to avoid the traditional March storms (which by the way have led to only 3 Monday finishes in 26 Florida Swing tournaments since 2007)? The course was supposedly designed to be firm and fast, but I have never read or seen the designer Pete Dye say that and he once remarked that it was a modern Pine Valley.
English Open in the first week of June. Fast forward to 2014 and the European Tour now has the Championship at Laguna National, Madeira Islands Open, the Open de Espana and BMW PGA Championship. Many will say “this isn't the PGA Tour's problem”, but it is.
The course, especially over the last three holes, has now become somewhat of a lottery; it is so firm and fast and there is so much water in play that there is as much luck required as skill. The Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass was once known as the ultimate in target golf and it was at its best like that, to trick it up and make the fairways and greens rock hard is detrimental to the course and tournament.
Prior to 2007 all of the world's best players were in Florida anyway as they prepared to play in The Masters a couple of weeks later.
The European Tour schedule in May used to feature (2000) the Spanish Open, Open de France, Benson and Hedges International Open, the Deutsche Bank SAP Open TPC of Europe and the Volvo PGA Championship, followed by the
It has also had a detrimental impact upon the European Tour's schedule, as have the other changes to the PGA Tour schedule in September, all to achieve something which had already been achieved by Pete Dye and Deane Beaman
If golf is weaker around the world it means the PGA Tour has no competition and interest in the sport from sponsors around the world dies, eventually impacting upon the PGA Tour in the USA.
The championship now stands alone, or sticks out like a sore thumb in between the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas.
– creating tournament.
the
World's
Written by Matt Hooper.
best
golf
I first visited Wentworth in September 2005 with one of my golfing buddies for the HSBC World Match Play Championship. For years I had watched the match play and the PGA on television and in truth never been wowed by Wentworth. But it all changed very quickly once we walked on to the West Course that morning. I was blown away by the vast elevation changes and the views through the trees when walking down the seventh hole over to 10, 11 and 12. It was simply breathtaking in its beauty. I had been initiated into the Wentworth fan club. The houses around the edges of the golf course add to the aura of the place, they are not intrusive, despite their size, and they give the course a real feel of intimacy. The course has of course undergone major renovations since 2005 under the guidance of Ernie Els but the routing and most of the holes remain the same as they were when laid out by Harry Colt in 1926. It has an unusual but dramatic finish with the back-to-back par fives allowing for major changes at the end of the championship. Since 1984 the West Course has been the permanent home of
the PGA Championship, which celebrates its 60th year this month. It will be the 34th time the Wentworth Club has hosted the championship which has evolved into being the most significant on the European Tour calendar outside the Majors and World Golf Championships. This year is also the tenth year of BMW’s sponsorship of the PGA Championship, and the German car maker has brought all the class and style it has with its events to Wentworth and made a great event even better. A bigger grandstand behind the 18th hole, larger scoreboards, better tented village and hospitality areas are just some of the things they have improved at the championship. The championship is always very popular with the best players in Europe and further afield. Unfortunately no American has won the championship since Arnold Palmer in 1975 and only the likes of Peter Uihlein, Rich Beem and Shaun Micheel have event stepped on the hallowed turf in recent years. In 2007 Vijay Singh said "This is a premier event in Europe and I am saddened by the fact that when you have the TPC (Tournament Players Championship) in the U.S., you have a lot
of Europeans going over there and playing," "The PGA Championship over here is big or even bigger... I would like to see more Americans playing in this tournament." "It may require this one to become a major maybe. That's one way of getting them over here." "They could have made this a World Golf Championship (WGC) event, they have three in America including one in Doral, and they could have made the PGA that event. "Maybe in the future they could do that. That's one way of bringing all the topranked players over here." Sadly those words fell on deaf ears and no highly ranked American has made the journey to the Burma Road. Whether this is the fault of the players themselves, the sponsors or the European Tour is up for debate. Either way it is a crying shame that so many of the world’s top players would choose to skip such a prestigious event and superb golf course each year.
Under the sponsorship of BMW the championship has consistently attracted the leading European players and has provided dramatic final days. None more so than in 2011 when Luke Donald and Lee Westwood went head-to-head for the title and world number one ranking. Donald was victorious at the first extra hole and successfully defended the trophy in 2012. In 2013 Italy’s young star Matteo Manassero emulated the godfather of Italian golf, Costantino Rocca, in winning the championship. He did so by defeating 2010 champion Simon Khan and 2-time European Tour winner Marc Warren on the fourth extra hole. The BMW era has seen great change to the West Course, with a universal overhaul of the greens and bunkers by Ernie Els. This was done in mind of making the championship Major standard in terms of the test facing the players. Some of the changes proved unpopular at first, particularly the 18th. But gradual tinkering by Els and the club has brought the design up to the level that you would expect to find for such an important event.
With the US Open at Pinehurst just a few weeks away it can be argued that there is no better place to prepare than the modern West Course at Wentworth. Its raised greens repel any poorly directed approach, and it is more important than ever to place the drive in the correct portion of the fairway. That being said it is even more surprising that fewer top American and Australian golfers make the journey to Wentworth each May. The field this year is packed as usual with the leading European stars and the odd South African superstar. US Open Champion Justin Rose, 2-time Major Champion Rory McIlroy and former World Number One’s Lee Westwood and Luke Donald lead the field for this May’s 60th edition. Rose was defeated in a play-off by Anders Hansen in 2007 and fell away on the final day in 2012 to finish four strokes behind Luke Donald in second place. Rory McIlroy has an indifferent record around the West Course, contending early in his career in 2010 and finishing fourth.
Lee Westwood has won once at Wentworth before, in the 2000 CISCO World Match Play Championship, but never in the PGA. He came second to Donald in 2011 and in 2000 three strokes behind Colin Montgomerie. Luke Donald has an outstanding record in the PGA Championship. The Englishman finished second to Simon Khan in 2010, losing by a single stroke before winning in 2011 and 2012. Luke so nearly became the second man after Colin Montgomerie to win three consecutive PGA titles. 2013 Race to Dubai and FedEx Cup champion Henrik Stenson, defending champion Matteo Manassero, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell, Charl Schwartzel, Ian Poulter, Victor Dubuisson, Thomas Bjorn, Jamie Donaldson, Ernie Els, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Stephen Gallacher, Jonas Blixt and Martin Kaymer are among the other notable entrants. Just 18 of the world’s top 50 will play in this year’s championship, which is considerably less than just a couple of years ago when 33 of the top 50 contested the championship.
Whatever the field though this championship remains one of the greatest in the game; with a history and roll of honour to make any tournament organizer green with envy. As with The Masters and The Players Championship, the BMW PGA Championship is about the golf course. It is the stage for the players to perform, and what a majestic stage it is.
Does playing in Scotland, the home of golf, inspire you? Oh yeah, I like most of the courses here, I actually haven’t played any bad course here yet. The average course is really good.
What is your Scotland?
favourite
course
in
Castle Stuart. I haven’t played St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns yet though! Who would you say is your golfing inspiration? My stepfather, he played on the European Tour from 1998 to 2001. I was with him then on tour watching him from outside the ropes. Learning a lot from him and he still teaches me.
What is your favourite course on the tour? Usually it is the courses that you play well on. I like the course that they play in Sweden (Bro Hof Slott). You really need to be a good ball-striker and it’s a lot of risk and reward on that course, which I like.
The most important was securing my card in autumn 2012 at Qualifying School. Probably the tournament where I was most happy walking off the 18th green was at the Scandinavian Masters a couple of years ago where I finished sixth.
What is your favourite tournament to play in? Scandinavian Masters, it is in Stockholm, my home town. I get a lot of support out on the course, and that is the tournament I enjoy playing the most because of the support.
What is the favourite club in your bag? It changes week to week, but usually I am good with the driver off the tee.
What are your career goals?
At what age did you start playing golf? Six years old.
What would you say is the best moment of your career so far?
My goal is to play in a Ryder Cup team because if you play in the Ryder Cup you have always been doing really well.
I hope you all enjoyed reading about life on tour in the May edition of St. Andrews Golf Magazine. So far I have played the first 6 events of the 2014 season on the PGA Latinoamérica Tour. Unfortunately the year has not started as well as I hoped. The great thing about golf is that it can all turn around with one good week. I’ll tell you a little about the highlights of my year so far…
Our first event of the year was in Bucaramanga, Colombia at Ruitoque Golf and Country Club. I played two solid rounds to put myself within a few shots of the lead and in the top 6 going into the weekend. It was exactly how I wanted to start off my year. I was in a great position to get my first win. I was unable to capitalize on the opportunity and finished the tournament tied for 25th. I guess as a reader the first thing you wonder is “What happened?” Simply put, I just didn’t handle the moment to the best of my ability. Once you get to the weekend of a golf tournament, SCORING your best under pressure is the biggest challenge. You have proven your
physical capabilities just by being there. The scorecard doesn’t come with a video attached of your golf swing or putting stroke. I didn’t shoot as low as I needed to win the tournament. It wasn’t my swing and it wasn’t my putting stroke. Whether it’s your club championship, memberguest, or the Masters, it’s always how you handle the moment. Fortunately I had another opportunity to seize the moment. If you remember from last article, we played in 2013 in Cordoba, Argentina at Angel Cabrera’s home course. We had the privilege of going back to Cordoba and again having Angel in the field. I finished 3rd last year and was excited to play that golf course again. After a low afternoon round of 67 on Friday, I found myself one stroke off the lead and in the final group on Saturday. Similarly as in Bucaramanga, I didn’t manage my game as well as I needed in order to win. After a poor third round I kept it together for the final round and finished tied for 10th. Although I was out of the tournament, I birdied 15 and 16 to move up a few spots. I learned a great lesson last year, which was evident in this event; every dollar
counts. I have to finish in the top 5 to move up to the Web.com Tour. Those two birdies on 15 and 16 to finish 10th instead of 17th that week could make the difference for all I know.
Although golf takes a lot of time, I really get to enjoy myself off the course. My bucket list includes visiting the updated list of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World. After missing the cut in Merida, Mexico, a group of players and I went to Chichén Itzá, an old Mayan city in Yucatan Peninsula with beautiful ruins throughout. I highly recommend going to see this amazing archaeological site if you are ever in the area. Another interesting thing I got to do was partake in the filming of “Esto es PGA Tour Latinoamérica” in Antigua, Guatemala. It was the second installment of the series, which has already aired all over Latin America and will soon start airing in other continents. The video is on YouTube so feel free to check it out. My next event is the week of May 12 – 18 at the world famous Teeth of the Dog Golf
Course at Casa De Campo in the Dominican Republic. After that we play our final event of the spring in Rio Hato, Panama, about two hours outside of Panama City.
We will pick up again in September for our second half of the season. You can follow my progress at www.pgatourla.com and get to know a little bit more about my travel via my Twitter and Instagram accounts @mbutta326.
Wow this year is already flying by. I honestly think every season on tour goes by quicker and quicker, or maybe it's just that I am getting older! I simply can't believe that we are already into May. I feel as though I only just finished
qualifying school for the LPGA in December and now we are into our sixth event of the twenty tournament season. The beginning of the year starts out a little slow as we only have a few tournaments each month but now we are really getting into the "swing" of things. The next ten weeks will be full of weeklong tournaments spanning all the way from Florida to Michigan and featuring many states in between. It is always exciting to enter into the bulk of the season because it means that at the end
of the summer ten hard working girls will be given full status tour cards onto the LPGA. That is a dream come true for the majority of the girls out here, something we have
been thinking about since we were little ones in pigtails practicing our putting until dark and asking our parents if we could "just hit a few more before dinner." For me, I don't know what excites me more, the goal at the end of the season or the process of trying to achieve it. Throughout these next few weeks we will be going to both new tournaments as well as events that have been on the schedule for years. Both have their advantages. This week is especially an exciting week for me because one of my corporate sponsors, Chico's, is actually the Title Sponsor of the event.
They have made me the face of the tournament and I have been able to enjoy all sorts of fun experiences that go along with that responsibility, including appearances on the Golf Channel and being featured in magazines and billboards! I am thrilled to be the brand ambassador for such an amazing company and couldn't be where I am today without their support.
Back to life on the road, the most important part about going through a ten week stretch is to make friends to enjoy it with! I have made so many great friends through my experiences on the Big Break and we call one another our little "traveling tour family." This is so important because when you are away from your family for the entire summer, you have to have a support system. These ladies will be lifelong friends and for that I will always be grateful for the Symetra tour for making that possible. I hope to interview them throughout our season and feature them in the next few editions of St. Andrews Golf Magazine!
Well, off I go to practice, tournament starts tomorrow and I want to give myself the best chance to lift that trophy on Sunday!
2nd: Luke Donald -10
April 10-13
3rd: Ben Martin -9
The Masters Winner: Bubba Watson -8
April 24-27
2nd: Jonas Blixt and Jordan Spieth -5
April 3-6 Zurich Classic of New Orleans The Shell Houston Open Winner: Noh Seung-Yul -19
April 17-20
2nd: Andrew Svboda and Robert Streb -17
Maybank Malaysian Open
Winner: Matt Jones -15* nd
2 : Matt Kuchar -15 Winner: Lee Westwood -18
3rd: Sergio Garcia -13 *Jones won at first extra hole
2nd: Bernd Wiesberger, Louis Oosthuizen and Nicolas Colsaerts -11
April 10-13
April 24-27
The Masters
April 3-6
Winner: Bubba Watson -8
NH Collection Open
2nd: Jonas Blixt and Jordan Spieth -5
Winner: Marco Crespi -10 2nd: Jordi Garcia-Pinto
April 17-20 RBC Heritage Winner: Matt Kuchar -11
and Richie Ramsay -8
Volvo China Open Winner: Alexander Levy -19 2nd: Tommy Fleetwood -15 3rd: Alvaro Quiros -13
2nd: Stacy Lewis -11
Official World Golf Ranking 4/5/2014
3rd: Jenny Shin -10
Pts ave. 1
Tiger Woods
USA
8.45
2
Adam Scott
Aus
8.16
April 3-6
3
Henrik Stenson
Swe
8.00
Kraft Nabisco Championship
4
Bubba Watson
USA
7.35
Winner: Lexi Thompson -14
1
Inbee Park
KOR
10.12
5
Matt Kuchar
USA
7.14
2nd: Michelle Wie -11
2
Lydia Ko
NZL
9.42
6
Jason Day
Aus
6.69
3rd: Stacy Lewis -7
3
Stacy Lewis
USA
9.31
7
Jordan Spieth
USA
6.01
4
Suzann Pettersen
NOR
8.91
8
Sergio Garcia
Esp
5.89
5
Karrie Webb
AUS
7.24
9
Phil Mickelson
USA
5.84
Lexi Thompson
USA
6.78
5.79
Winner: Michelle Wie -14
6
Eng
2nd: Angele Stanford -12
7
So Yeon Ryu
KOR
5.73
3rd: Inbee Park -11
8
Shanshan Feng
CHN
5.51
9
Paula Creamer
USA
4.93
USA
4.69
10 Justin Rose
ROLEX Rankings 4/4/2014
April 16-19 LPGA Lotte Championship
April 24-27 LPGA Swinging Skirts Classic Winner: Lydia Ko -12
10 Cristie Kerr
MEMORIES OF THE MANOR – THE 2010 RYDER CUP
Every time the Wales Open is played it brings back memories of the 2010 Ryder Cup and the magical Thursday which I attended, the final practice day and the fantastic opening ceremony.
By Matt Hooper
Seeing the venue for the first time that morning was breath-taking, and I came away thinking that this was the best venue in world golf, so much room, such great viewing places for spectators and great room for hospitality, as well as it being a genuinely good golf course.
The Twenty Ten course is not designed by some major champion or career golf course architect, it was designed by the team at European Golf Design and is the first purpose built golf course for the Ryder Cup, and to that end it deserves to attract a much stronger field than the one which assembled near Newport last August.
However, it is fitting that it became the first qualifying event for the 2014 Ryder Cup, replacing the traditional start of the campaign - the OMEGA European Masters.
The next 4 months will be dramatic, compelling, heart-breaking and exciting as the best golfers in Europe compete across the globe for 9 automatic spots and 3 captain's selections for the 2014 European Ryder Cup team.
As I did in 2010 I will be attending the final practice day and Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Ryder Cup after having purchased my ticket last month, I may however be there all week in a media capacity but that is yet to be confirmed. The crowds and the atmosphere on a Ryder Cup Thursday is like that of a final day of a Major Championship and it is great fun to see the teams preparing for the biggest and most pressure-packed three days in golf.
The opening ceremony was special and was very much the template for all future opening ceremonies in the Ryder Cup, something I think the whole of the golfing world wished that Medinah would follow in 2012, but they didn't. Rhydian Roberts, Sarah Kempe, Only Men Aloud and Katherine Jenkins wowed the crowd with their performances before the teams entered the arena to the accompaniment
of the Sky Sports Ryder Cup anthem Promise Me from the movie First Knight. It was a truly special day and one I will cherish forever, the 2014 Ryder Cup will though be even more special, given that it is staged at a place I used to work. I am sure I speak for every golf fan that the next 4 months cannot go quickly enough and another epic edition of golf's greatest show gets under way.
The Club has an active fixture list along with many social events.
Become part of the history of the game of golf. Join our Club.
Membership is available for golfers of all abilities and for non-golfers who just wish to be part of the Club itself.
The St. Andrews Caddies Golf Club is fully affiliated with the Scottish Golf Union and Fife Golf Association.
enquiries@standrewscaddiesgolfclub.com .
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Members receive the following benefits; - Reduced Green Fee’s at several local courses. - Priority access to tournaments run by the Club. - Discounts at multiple stores in St. Andrews.
Join in the history and the traditions of the game.
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