Showing posts with label Golf stroke mechanics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Golf stroke mechanics. Show all posts

2/06/2016

Lowry Slips in Waste Management Open

Getty Images
Shane Lowry closed his second day in Arizona with a round of 70 and dropped off the pace as James Hahn shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 in breezy conditions Friday to take the lead in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Hahn had a 10-under 132 total on TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course to enter the weekend a stroke ahead of Rickie Fowler and Danny Lee. Fowler birdied his final hole for a 68, and Lee had a 66.

"I'm having fun out there," Hahn said. "Making a lot of putts, hitting a lot of fairways, giving myself many opportunities to make birdie."

An estimated 160,415 fans, not counting a large bobcat that sauntered between the first and second holes in the afternoon, packed the grounds. The crowd broke the Friday record of 123,674 set in 2014 and was the 10th-largest figure for any day in tournament history.

Hahn is at home at golf biggest party, becoming an internet sensation in 2013 when he celebrated a birdie on the rowdy par-3 16th with a "Gangnam Style" dance. He won his first PGA TOUR title last year in a playoff at Riviera.

"It's good for golf, good for the game, good for the fans that come out here," Hahn said. "They support the golf tournament, so might as well give them a show."

Hahn opened with a chip-in birdie on the par-4 10th and birdied the two back-nine par 5s, making a 30-footer on the 13th and hitting a wedge to 7 feet on the 15th. On his final nine, he hit a wedge to 3 feet to set up a birdie on the par-4 second, chipped to 3 feet for another birdie on the par-5 third, and took the outright lead with a 10-footer on the par-4 sixth.

"Sleeping in my own bed this week, live about 10 minutes away," Hahn said. "I have played this course a hundred times. The only thing different about the course today, as any other day, is the greens are better."

Fowler rebounded from a three-putt bogey on the short par-4 17th with the birdie on the par-4 18th. A day after driving into the left-side water, he hammered a fairway wood down the middle and -- with music thumping in the background -- hit his approach to 4 feet.

"It wasn't playing easy," Fowler said. "The wind was kind of blowing from an awkward position. ... Just tried to stay patient, fight through it."

The top-ranked player in the field at No. 4, Fowler has four worldwide victories in the last nine months. He missed the cut last week at Torrey Pines after winning in Abu Dhabi the previous week.

Lee birdied five of his first eight holes, highlighted by a 20-footer on the stadium 16th. The South Korean-born New Zealander won The Greenbrier Classic last year for his first tour title.

"Wind was definitely in play today," Lee said. "It was a little bit different than yesterday. The greens being so firm, you're kind of forced to hit driver. You want to hit a shorter club on the second shot."

Harris English and Hideki Matsuyama (70) were 7-under.

Keegan Bradley, penalised two strokes Thursday for having too many clubs in his bag, was 5-under after a 69. Bradley and caddie Steve Hale didn't notice the extra club until after the first hole in the first round.

Bubba Watson shot his second straight 69. "I used the wrong words," Watson said. "I have nothing against the fans and the tournament. The fans have been great. I love coming here. I've lived here every winter for eight years. This is a beautiful place. ... I didn't explain myself well. My wife says that, too, when I go home. I don't communicate very well."

The two-time Masters champion tied for second the last two years and has shot par or better in all 36 of his career rounds in the event, playing to a cumulative 97-under.

Phil Mickelson was 2-under after a 71. The 45-year-old former Arizona State player bogeyed Nos. 14 and 15, hitting a hybrid approach into the water on 15.

"That kind of let the round get away," said Mickelson, the tournament winner in 1996, 2005 and 2013. "I'm looking forward to having another shot at this golf course tomorrow."

Four players were unable to complete the round because of darkness, with Bo Van Pelt the best of group at 5-under with two holes left. ... Brandt Snedeker, the winner Monday at Torrey Pines, was 4-under after a 71. ... Jason Dufner shot 71-74 to miss the cut in his first start since winning at La Quinta.

Paul Dunne looks set to miss the cut after a second round 71 left him one shot adrift of the mark.

Padraig Harrington mussed the weekend and will  move to Pebble Beach after Friday saw  him sign ffor a 72 to finish +4

6/29/2015

Sharvin Clinches Brabazon


Cormac Sharvin continued his season of consistency when he lifted the English men’s open stroke-play title for the Brabazon Trophy over the Hollinwell course at Nottingham at the weekend.

The 22-year-old star from Ardglass who has been prominent in stroke-play events in Scotland, Wales and Ireland this summer already became the first Irishman since Rory McIlroy in 2006 to hold aloft the famous Trophy.

Sharvin who had put himself in pole position with a stunning five under par 67 on Friday to take the lead finished with a solid 70 for a 72-hole aggregate of seven under par 281.

And that total gave him a one-stroke victory over fellow Irishman and Walker Cup player Gavin Moynihan, the Dubliner who plays out of The Island.

Sharvin carded four birdies on the outward half and just one on the homeward stretch but seven pars to finish were sufficient for him to edge home.

Moynihan posted a brilliant concluding 66 which included two bogeys in the last three holes. An eagle three on the long sixth hole was the highlight of Moynihan’s final round.

In what was an excellent tournament for the Irish contingent Jack Hume of Naas ended in joint third place with the English pair of Charlie Danielson and Paul Kinnea, all carding totals of 284 – four under par. Paul Dunne tied for ninth spot with Kevin Le Blanc and Dermot McElroy in 11th place.

These performances will almost certainly cement places for Sharvin, Moynihan and Hume in the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup side to face the Americans at Royal Lytham and St Annes in September.

“I have been pretty consistent all season apart from a hiccup at the Amateur and it is great to win this big one – a tournament every amateur international targets,” said Sharvin.

He will now hope to help Ireland win the Euro Team Championships for the first time since 2008 and then play a major role in the Home Internationals before heading to Lytham.


10/23/2014

Relevant Rules


Rule 20-3

Placing and Replacing
If a ball or ball-marker is accidentally moved in the process of placing or replacing the ball, the ball or ball-marker must be replaced. There is no penalty, provided the movement of the ball or ball-marker is directly attributable to the specific act of placing or replacing the ball or removing the ball-marker.

If a ball to be replaced is placed other than on the spot from which it was lifted or moved and the error is not corrected as provided in Rule 20-6, the player incurs the general penalty, loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play, for a breach of the applicable Rule.

Rule 6-6
Scoring in Stroke Play
a. Recording Scores
After each hole the marker should check the score with the competitor and record it. On completion of the round the marker must sign the score card and hand it to the competitor. If more than one marker records the scores, each must sign for the part for which he is responsible.

b. Signing and Returning Score Card
After completion of the round, the competitor should check his score for each hole and settle any doubtful points with the Committee. He must ensure that the marker or markers have signed the score card, sign the score card himself and return it to the Committee as soon as possible. Penalty for Breach of Rule 6-6b: disqualification.

c. Alteration of Score Card
No alteration may be made on a score card after the competitor has returned it to the Committee.

d. Wrong Score for Hole
The competitor is responsible for the correctness of the score recorded for each hole on his score card. If he returns a score for any hole lower than actually taken, he is disqualified. If he returns a score for any hole higher than actually taken, the score as returned stands.