David Love III Wins 2015 Wyndham Championship

The four rounds of this year's Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club have come and gone and the winner this year was surprising to say the least. 51-year old and 2012 US Ryder Cup Captain, David Love III won with a score of 17-under par and a single shot lead over Jason Gore. He shot a final round of 64 (his lowest of the year) which included four birdies and two eagles. This is the North Carolina native's 37th PGA Tour win and first win since 2008. It's also his third Wyndham Championship win.

Win this win, Love becomes the third oldest golfer to win on the PGA Tour, just behind the likes of Sam Snead in 1965 (who won his last event here at Sedgefield) and Art Wall in 1975.
"Any victory now is going to be really sweet when you're over 50," Love said afterwards. "To have your name thrown out there with Sam Snead at any point is incredible". It's always great to see an older golfer win professionally. It shows how great the longevity of golf can be and that the older guys can still keep up with the younger generation.

Equally important, Love now moves from 186th on the FedEx Cup Rankings up to 76th, putting him safely above the cut off of 125th for the PGA Tour Playoffs. After all, many players in the field the week had the intention of making it into the playoffs and a few were successful. 2nd place finisher Jason Gore moved from 166th to 98th, T3 Charl Schwartzel moved from 125th to 96th, T10 Jonas Blixt from 135th to 121st, T26 Camilo Villegas from 129th to 123rd, and Rio Ishikawa from 130th to 124th.

Sedgefield continued to play relatively benign over the weekend and many low scores were shot (which always makes the tournament more interesting). One player of note who didn't finish as well as we would of liked though is Tiger Woods. After promising weekday rounds, Woods shot a 68/70 on the weekend to finish at T10. Unfortunately, this was not enough to get him into the playoffs, as he only moves from 187th to 178th. His next tournament will be the Frys.com Open in October, the first event of the new PGA Tour season.

Finally, here's how our picks finished off:

1) Martin Kaymer: T14 at 12-under
2) Camilo Villegas: T26 at 10-under
3) Brooks Koepka: T6 at 14-under

Not too bad actually. Kaymer's finish though wasn't good enough to get into the playoffs (149th to 139th) but Camilo's was. Koepka was in contention with his final round of 65 (he was safely above the playoff cut-off already).


And there you have it, the last regular event of this season's PGA Tour is over. Next week the PGA Tour Playoffs kick off with The Barclays from Plainfield Golf Club in New Jersey. Stay tuned for our picks shortly.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 With his win, Davis Love III becomes the third oldest PGA Tour winner

(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Woods and Hoge Lead Halfway Thru 2015 Wyndham Championship

We're two rounds through this year's Wyndham Championship and the leaderboard is very interesting to say the least. Tied for the lead is Tiger Woods and Tom Hoge at 11-under. They lead by one against Davis Love III and Chad Campbell. The cut has also been set at 3-under.

Tiger Woods and Tom Hoge are probably two of the most different players on Tour. It's a great contrast really. On one hand you have a multi-major winning golfer, who is believed to be the best golfer in recent times. On the other, you have a relatively new and unheard of golfer looking to make a name for himself. And yet, here they both sit tied for the lead going into the weekend, probably with the same goal in mind; win or at least finish well enough to make it into the PGA Tour Playoffs. Hoge started off strong on Thursday with a 62 and a 67 today. Woods shot a 64 yesterday and a 65 today, but his front nine today was up and down, with two bogeys and three birdies. He made up with a 31 on his back nine though.

Sedgefield play very vulnerable over the first two days. Very low rounds were shot by many on both days, with the low round of the tournament so far being a 61 shot by Brandt Snedeker, which included a three hole birdie streak on 14-16 and no dropped shots. In fact, Hoge's 62 on Thursday was the best debut round in the tournament's history.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Martin Kaymer: T11 at 8-under
2) Camilo Villegas: T32 at 5-under
3) Brooks Koepka: T22 at 6-under

Pretty good so far and great going into the weekend. It's worth noting that there's a log jam of players tied at 9-under, about six of them. But given how benign the course has been, being within a few shots of the lead will definitely put you in contention.

Stay tuned for our results post come Sunday,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Tiger Woods Co-Leads Going Into the Weekend at the Wyndham Championship

2015 Wyndham Championship Picks

We're entering the final week of the regular PGA Tour season with the Wyndham Championship, played at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. This event is mainly known for being the last regular PGA Tour event of the season, before the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and thus offers golfers one last chance to score enough points to complete in the playoffs. Despite it's fame, it offers one of the smaller purses on tour ($5.4 million) with just under $1 million going to the winner.

This tournament was first played in 1938 as the Greater Greensboro Open and held that title for nearly 50 years. It's been played at Sedgefield for a good portion of that time, but only returned to regular play there in 2008. History has also been made here over the years, particulary by Sam Snead, who holds the record of winning a tournament the most times, eight. He also became the oldest winner on the PGA Tour when he won this event in 1965, at age 52.

The big story this week is Tiger Woods, who entered this event last minute. As it stands now, Woods sits at 168th on the FedEx Cup Rankings. He needs to achieve a minimum ranking of 150th to become eligible to play in the first of the PGA Tour Playoff events (The Barclays) next week. He's hoping for a good result this week to make this possible.

The field this week might not be as elite or full of top-ranked golfers as we're used too, but it's full of talented and competitive players who are probably all looking to secure their playoffs spot. Given that, here's our picks for the Wyndham Championship:

1) Martin Kaymer
2) Camilo Villegas
3) Brooks Koepka

Kaymer is currently ranked 124th on the rankings and will no doubt bring his A-game this week. He's also one of the top-ranked golfers on the World Golf Rankings in the field this week at 21st. Camilo Villegas won this event last year and might do so again, seeing at he's ranked 102nd. Brooks Koepka sits safely at 6th in the rankings, but has been playing excellent golf these past few weeks (T6 at the Bridgestone Invitational and T5 at the PGA Championship).

Play kicks off early tomorrow morning but be sure to check out our Weekend Update post this Friday evening,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Our top pick this week is 2014 US Open Champion Martin Kaymer

Day Leads, Spieth Follows Going Into Final Round of the 2015 PGA Championship

There's just one round left in this year's PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. As it stands now, Jason Day is our leader at 15-under, with a two shot lead over current Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth. Just a shot behind Spieth lays Justin Rose and Brandon Grace.

Saturday definitely lived up to it's name "Moving Day". The conditions at Whistling Straits were ideal for scoring low and many players took advantage of this. Day shot a 66, but not in easy fashion. He carded eight birdies, an eagle, two bogeys, and a double bogey. Spieth shot a more traditional 65, carding seven birdies. Interestingly enough, Spieth has only made a two bogeys over his three rounds, the least in the field. The two will be paired in the final grouping today, one seeking his first major one, the other trying to put his name in history. I'm not sure what would be the bigger story, Jason Day winning his first major or Spieth winning 3 of 4 this year?

The low round of the day was that of US Open contender Branden Grace, with a 64 (8 birdies). This would have tied the course record on the Straits Course if Hiroshi Iwata hadn't broken it a couple of days ago. Also lurking behind the lead is 2010 PGA Champion Martin Kaymer, at four shots back. He also shot a 65 today. Kaymer was the last winner of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Due to the controversy with Dustin Johnson in 2010, Kaymer is often overlooked as the winner at times. Kaymer will be paired with PGA Tour rookie and long hitting Tony Finau.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Dustin Johnson: T9 at 9-under
2) Jim Furyk: 4-under at T30
3) Jason Day: 1st at 15-under

Johnson is still lurking despite not shooting as low of scores as some players. It'll take some work for him to win today, but golfers have come back from bigger margins before. Furyk may be out of contention, but will be looking for a good finish today; something he does so well.

There's nothing like a Sunday at a major, especially when it's the last one of the year. If the conditions today are as good as yesterday, the winner may not be so clear cut. It wouldn't surprise me if the winner wasn't in the final two groups.

Stay tuned tomorrow morning to see who's won,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jason Day Seeks His First Major Win Today

WGC Cadillac Match Play Picks

This week's PGA Tour event is the World Golf Championships Cadillac Match Play (formerly the WGC-Accenture Match Play), being played this year at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California. Being a World Golf Championship (WGC) event, it is exclusive to the top 64 players in the World Golf Rankings. It also boasts one of the largest purses on Tour at $9.25 million.

As I mentioned in my last post, this is one of my favourite events on tour, for two reasons. Firstly, like I said it is a WGC event, so we get to see a unique field filled with the world's best players, which by it's nature bring world-class golf. Secondly, it's a match play event. Briefly, match play is a format of golf in which two players face each other at a time, rather than the entire field. Each hole is allocated one point and the player with the lowest score (compared to their fellow player) on each hole wins the hole and receives/takes away one point from their competitor, depending on if they are winning or losing overall. Whoever finishes ahead at the end wins. In a tournament format, match play differs from traditional stroke play in that the event is structured in a round-robin-like style, with each player having to win to advance to the next stage. The matches are far more exciting as well, since greater risks can be taken shot-wise as your score on one hole doesn't affect your overall score.

This is the first year that TPC Harding Park is hosting the WGC Match Play, but it has hosted a WGC event in the past (Cadillac Championship in 2005). It has also hosted a Presidents Cup (2009) and several Charles Schwab Cup Championships for the Champions Tour. Today, it measures at just under 7200 yards at a par 72.

My picks this week focused around one main factor; experience in match play, naturally. Since the match play format isn't seen too often on Tour, I chose picks who had contested in past match play events (and had done well) such as the Ryder Cup, etc. Here they are:

1) Graeme McDowell
2) Martin Kaymer
3) Rickie Fowler

GMac is a natural choice when it comes to match play. He's made it to the quarter finals in the past two years of this event and played excellently in past Ryder Cups, having holed the winning putt for Europe in 2010 and contributing points in 2014. He also won the Volvo World Match Play Championship in 2013 on the European Tour. Similarly Kaymer has also had excellent finishes in this event, his best being a 2nd place in 2011 (where he was the best player in the world at the time and rocked a snood that had everyone golf fashion expert talking). He also holed the winning putt for Europe in the 2012 Ryder Cup AKA the Miracle of Medinah. Lastly, Rickie Fowler is young, confident and has Ryder Cup experience, all of which combined make him excellent at match play.

Being a match play event, there is no cut as players are eliminated after each round. We'll still be posting on Friday to let you know what's going on at the halfway point of the tournament. Stay tuned for that and enjoy some great golf this week!


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

GMac has done well in past match play events

2015 Shell Houston Open Weekend Update

With today's round now complete, we're halfway through the 2015 Shell Houston Open. Our weekday leader is Andrew Putnam at 12-under with a one shot lead over Austin Cook (who qualified for the tournament on Monday) and 2011 winner Phil Mickelson. The cut has also been set this week at 4-under.

Putnam fired off a stellar round of 65 today, which consisted of 7 birdies including four in a row on the front nine. Ironically, the PGA Tour rookie made his tour debut last year at the Shell Houston Open. I wonder if Putnam ever thought last year, he'd be leading going into the weekend in just a year's time? Andrew's older brother, Michael, is also a PGA Tour player and is also in the field this week; he's tied for 12th at 8-under.

The Golf Club of Houston was playing very well on Thursday and Friday. Low scores were shot all around and the low round so far was a 63, shot by Scott Piercy. Piercy carded a 5-hole birdie streak as well as a 32-foot birdie putt on the last hole, all which contributed to that low score. Unfortunately, he followed that score with a 74 today. Thursday's round also saw several players holing out from the fairway for eagles, some on par 4's and some on par 5's.

In a headline that's a little closer to home, Canadian Graham DeLaet is currently tied for 4th place at 10-under. Graham shot a pair of 67's, including 6 birdies and a bogey on today's round. At the moment, Graham is Canada's highest ranked golfer on the World Golf Rankings at 69th as well as one of the best Canadian golfers at the moment. The Saskatchewan native has yet to win on tour, but that could change this week.

And here's how our picks are doing so far:

1) Victor Dubuisson: T6 at 9-under (-9)
2) Martin Kaymer: CUT
3) Patrick Reed: T41 at 5-under (-5)

Excellent play from Dubuisson, who has the best chances of winning out of my picks. Patrick Reed could still be in the mix of things, depending on how he plays as well at the other players. Better luck next week for Kaymer also.

Lastly, in other news, it's been confirmed that Tiger Woods will be playing in The Masters this year. Now whether he's looking to compete or just play for the sake of things is another question. 

Stay tuned for our Results post Sunday night to see who's won the Shell Houston Open,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Andrew Putnam, a former Web.com player, will have a huge field chasing him this weekend 

(Stan Badz/PGA TOUR)

2015 Shell Houston Open Picks

With just one week until the Masters, the PGA Tour travels to Houston, for the 2015 Shell Houston Open, being played at the Golf Club of Houston. The course itself is one of the longer ones on tour, playing at just under 7,500 yards, including an almost 240-yard par 3 9th hole. The purse this week is also set at $6.6 million, with $1.188 million going to the winner.

Being the tournament before the Masters, a variety of players often compete at the Shell Houston Open. Some this week will be playing in order to get their golf game up to par for Augusta next week. Some this week will be playing in order to get into the Masters next week, as a good finish or a win allows for this in some cases. There's also quite a few more European Tour members this week, as I mentioned last week as well. Given this, the Shell Houston Open has always been a tournament where excellent golf is played, I think due to what's on the line for some players.

It was tough choosing my picks this week. There's just so much depth in the field this year that I could have easily picked 10 players and given them all equal chances to win. But I did manage to narrow it down to three:

1) Victor Dubuisson
2) Martin Kaymer
3) Patrick Reed

Dubuisson is my dark horse pick, but has shown that he reacts well under pressure, as we've seen in the WGC Match Play and Ryder Cup last year. I have a feeling he'll do really well this week. Martin Kaymer has always been a player who flies under the radar and could sneak up and win it this week. Reed is another young player who is playing great golf at the moment as well.

Those are my picks. Let us know what your picks are by commenting below,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Victor Dubuisson knows how to handle pressure and still play great golf

Bubba Watson Wins the 2014 WGC-HSBC Champions

After a final round that saw several players come within a shot of the lead over the last few holes, the 2014 HSBC Champions at Sheshan Golf Club (Shanghai) is now over and the winner this year is Bubba Watson, after a one hole playoff battle between South African Tim Clark and himself. The two of them finished the tournament at 11-under (-11) but on their first playoff hole, a birdie by Watson and a par by Clark decided it. With this win, Bubba now moves up to 7th on the World Golf Rankings. He would of taken home valuable European Tour playoff points as well, had he been a member of the European Tour.

Things weren't looking good for Bubba after going bogey, double bogey on the 16th and 17th holes. On the 18th hole, he found himself in a bunker on the par 5, about 60 yards away from the green, going for eagle. He hit his sand shot and watched in land on the green and roll into the hole, catapulting him back into the tournament by putting him at 11-under, much to everyone's surprise.

It was really anyone's tournament up until the last few holes. With Bubba and Clark both in earlier at 11-under, the last hole saw chances by Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, and Hiroshi Iwata to join this playoff (I thought for sure one of my picks would win it!). Both GMac and Iwata had birdie putts that would have done just that, but both missed. Sunday got the best of McDowell again as he unfortunately finished over par once again, despite holding the lead going into the weekend. For Iwata, a win this week would have been huge for his career, as a WGC win makes a player eligible for a variety of things such as tour cards and major eligibility.

On the other hand, Kaymer's tournament finished abruptly on the par 5 18th hole. After laying up, Kaymer hit a good shot that landed right of the green and unfortunately rolled into the water, ending his chances at a playoff.

Oddly enough, McDowell and Kaymer still benefited points-wise from the tournament. McDowell finished T3 but all of the players ahead of and tied with him are not European Tour members, thus the Race to Dubai playoff points they won mean nothing. So in the end, GMac ends up winning the most points at the end of the week, which is a big bonus with only two more events to go. Kaymer finishing T6 takes home the second most points, along with the people he is tied with. GMac and Kaymer are now ranked 9th and 10th in the Race to Dubai points list, respectively.

Finally, here is how our picks finished the tournament:

1) Graeme McDowell: T3 at 10-under (-10)
2) Martin Kaymer: T6 at 8-under (-8)
3) Adam Scott: T12 at 5-under (-5)

Good finishes all round, however one again GMac comes up short at this tournament. I think he'll win a WGC soon enough though.

Next week is the second last European Tour playoff event, the Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya, Turkey, so stay tuned for our coverage of that.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Bubba holes out for eagle on the 18th hole at the 2014 HSBC Champions

Graeme McDowell Leads Going Into The Weekend At The HSBC Champions

We're halfway through the rounds of the 2014 HSBC Champions (with the third round set to start shortly due to the time difference) at Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai and one of our picks (and TGR favourite) Graeme McDowell leads going into the weekend with a score of 10-under and a three shot lead over Ian Poulter.

The Northern Irishman started his week of with a pair of 67's and had a combined total of twelve birdies through those rounds. Gmac seems to be playing very good golf in the past few weeks. While it's still too early to say, a win for GMac this week could prove helpful in the last few weeks of the European Tour Playoffs. He leads ahead of Ian Poulter who birdied four out of his last five holes to gain second place.

Sheshan was slightly vulnerable in the first few rounds, with good scores being shot all around. The low round of the week so far was shot by Japanese golfer Hiroshi Iwata, with a 7-under 63. Some players were not so lucky in their opening rounds, such as another TGR favourite Miguel Angel Jimenez, who shot a 78 in his opening round.

Even more unlucky was Australian Brody Ninyette, who shot a 86 90 and is in last place with a score of 32-over (+32). Brody battled through stomach issues before and during his rounds. The main reason he continued to play though was the guarenteed $40,000 he would get; since this even has no cut, all players get a paycheck. However a scorecard signing error resulted in Brody being disqualified. Ninyette's second round score of 90 was a tournament record and beat the old one by six shots.

Also in the news was Patrick Reed, who during his opening round muttered homophobic remarks to himself that were caught by Tv microphones, after three-putting the 10th hole. He has since apologized via Twitter.


Finally here is how our picks are doing so far:

1) Graeme McDowell: 1st at 10-under (-10)
2) Martin Kaymer: T11 at 3-under (-3)
3) Adam Scott: T15 at 2-under (-3)

Good results all over the board. I would personally like to see Adam Scott win another tournament before the year ends.

Stay tuned for our Sunday post on who won the tournament,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Can GMac hold onto his three shot lead and win the HSBC Champions?

2014 WGC HSBC Champions Picks

The second event of the European Tour Playoffs and last WGC event of the year has begun, we are of course talking about the WGC HSBC Champions, being played at Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai, China. This week, we'll be seeing 79 of the top players from all parts of the globe playing for valuable WGC points as well as points for other merits.

The HSBC Champions is probably one of the most prestigeous tournaments of the entire season, mainly because of what's needed to get an invite. Invitations are sent out to basically players who have won top-ranked tournaments on their respective tours and anyone in the Top 50 of the WGC. The Top-15 on the European Tour Race to Dubai Ranking as well the Top-5 players from the previous FedEx Cup also get an invite. Due to this, the field is full of the world's best golfers; you're pretty much getting the best of the best in this tournament. It's for this reason that I think it's one of the best stroke play tournaments of the year; it really shows how global the game of golf is too.

The tournament returns to Sheshan Golf Club again this year, after being played in 2012 at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China. Sheshan has hosted the HSBC Champions ever since the tournament was created.The course is also known for it's lengthly par-3's as well as it's 8th hole, a 603-yard par 5.

As I mentioned before, given the immense depth of players in the field this week, it was hard to choose three picks to win. Ultimately here is who I ended up choosing:

1) Graeme McDowell
2) Martin Kaymer
3) Adam Scott

Stay tuned for our Friday post to see who's leading going into the weekend,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

2014 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Weekend Update

The weekday rounds have now concluded at this year's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which is being played at Carnoustie, Kingsbarn, and the Old Course at St. Andrews. The leader going into the weekend is Frenchman Rafael Jacquelin who holds the leader at 9-under (-9), with a one shot lead over the likes of Shane Lowry, Ryder Cup vice captain Padraig Harrington, and more. Rafael shot a 7-under 65 at Kingsbarn and a 2-under 70 at Carnoustie over the two days.

It seems like out of the three courses being played, Kingsbarn is playing the easiest. So far, we've seen many low scores coming from here including a 64 shot by Oliver Wilson. However since each course plays and scores differently, come Sunday morning we could see a different looking leaderboard.

We're also seeing some good rounds from last week's Ryder Cup players. Stephen Gallacher seems to be playing very well in front of his home (Scottish) crowd. He's currently T9 at 6-under (-6) after shooting a 68 70 at Kingsbarn and Carnoustie, respectively. Padraig Harrington is also doing really well, as mentioned above. Even the Captain himself, Paul McGinley isn't doing too bad at T40.

On the pro-am side of things, Peter Lawrie and Kieran McManus (son on Irish businessman JP  McManus) lead with a score of 20-under. They have a two shot lead over Gregory Bourdy/Andrew White and George Coetzee/Rurik Gobel.

As for our picks, here is how they are doing:

1) Victor Dubuisson: T20 at 4-under (-4)
2) Martin Kaymer: T110 at 2-over (+2)
3) Simon Dyson: T79 at even par (E)


No surprises here from Dubuisson, who knows, he might make a run come the weekend rounds.


The day to watch will be Sunday, where all players will be playing the Old Course at St. Andrews, which will be filled with good golf for sure. Stay tuned for our post on Sunday, recapping the weekend rounds and who the winner is.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Rafael Jacquelin leads the 2014 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

2014 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Picks

One of the most exciting European Tour events is set to start tomorrow. We are of course talking about the 2014 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. This tournament is unlike any other tournament on the European Tour and is personally one of my favourites to watch every year.

What makes this tournament so different? Well to start, it's played at three separate courses over the course of the four day event; Kingsbarn Golf Links, Carnoustie Golf Links, and the Old Course at St. Andrews, with all Sunday rounds being played at St. Andrews. Over the course of the tournament, players travel from course to course to play their round for the day. You'll also notice that these courses are all in links-style, which always makes for a much more interesting round of golf.

This tournament is also a pro-am (similar to the AT&T National Pro-Am) meaning that amateur golfers (usually celebrities or persons of note) get the chance to play on a team with professional golfers. Thus there are two parts to this tournament, the individual (professional) part, which is just like a normal professional tournament where the lowest combined 4-day score wins with a monetary reward (one of the largest on the European Tour). The last part is the pro-am portion where a single amateur is paired with a single pro, and the pro-am duo with the lowest score wins this portion of the tournament. Both parts are played consecutively and both the pro and the amateur travel from course to course.

Lastly, this tournament is special since part of it is played at the Old Course at St. Andrews, the physical home of golf. It's filled with so much history and the course itself is such an icon in the golfing world. In fact, the British Open will be returning to St. Andrews in 2015; it was last held there in 2010.

There will also be several Ryder Cup members playing this tournament as well, including European Captain Paul McGinley. The likes of Rory McIlroy, Stephen Gallacher, Martin Kaymer, Vice-Captain Padraig Harrington, Victor Dubuisson, as well as Ryder Cup Royalty Colin Montgomerie and Sir Nick Faldo.

Given that, here is who we think will win the individual part of the tournament:

1) Victor Dubuisson
2) Martin Kaymer
3) Simon Dyson

It's risky choosing Kaymer and Dubuisson. They might still be on a high from winning the Ryder Cup (hopefully this means better golf), or they'll be drained from it. We'll have to wait and see...

Stay tuned for our weekend update of the tournament on Friday,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

The famous 700-year old Swilcan Bridge at the Old Course at St. Andrews

2014 European Ryder Cup Team Confirmed

At 7:30AM EST this morning, the twelve players of the 2014 European Ryder Cup Team were confirmed by European Captain Paul McGinley. The 2014 Ryder Cup this year is being played at Gleneagles, Scotland (the second time the Ryder Cup has been played in Scotland)

Here is the full team as it stands:

2014 European Ryder Cup Team
Captain:
Paul McGinley

Vice-Captains:
Sam Torrance, Des Smyth, Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jose Maria Olazabal

Team (qualified):
Rory McIlroy (NIR)
Henrik Stenson (SWE)
Sergio Garcia (ESP)
Justin Rose (ENG)
Martin Kaymer (GER)
Victor Dubuisson (FRA)
Thomas Bjørn (DEN)
Jamie Donaldson (WAL)
Graeme McDowell (NIR)

Captain Picks:
Ian Poulter (ENG)
Stephen Gallacher (SCO)
Lee Westwood (ENG)

Wow, this is a very good team with lots of depth and character from it. You have Rory McIlroy, who's just white-hot on fire as of now with his two major wins and WGC win, making his third Ryder Cup appearance (2010, 2012). Henrik Stenson also had an amazing season last year, with both the PGA and European tour money lists, as well as having good major finishes his year. This is Stenson's third Ryder Cup appearance (2006, 2008). Then there's Sergio Garcia, who seems to always be a shot behind Rory and is a Ryder Cup star in his own right. This is Garcia's seventh Ryder Cup appearance (1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012).

Justin Rose also played a major part in the 2012 European Ryder Cup team's comeback two years ago and is a top-level golfer as well as Martin Kaymer, who has won twice this year, including the US Open. Victor Dubuisson will be making his first appearance, but played will in the WGC match-play this year. Jamie Donaldson is also making his first appearance this year, well deserved without doubt. Thomas Bjørn also brings much experience to the team. Finally, Graeme McDowell is also a Ryder Cup hero and sealed the European team's with back in 2010, with a key putt.

As for the three Captain Picks, it was expected that Ian Poulter and Stephen Gallacher would be picked, Poulter simply because he is the embodiment of the Ryder Cup and brings so much energy to it, and Gallacher who literally played his way on the team with impressive golf this year, and especially last week at the Italian Open (this will be his 1st appearance and 1st on home soil). The name Gallacher is also famous in Ryder Cup history. Stephen's uncle Bernard Gallacher was a Ryder Cup non-playing captain back in 1991, 1993, and 1995, and played in eight Ryder Cups before. It was really between Lee Westwood and Luke Donald, who are both great Ryder Cup players. Captain McGinly said in his press conference that it ultimately came down to the form of the two players. This is Lee's ninth Ryder Cup appearance.

Within the next 48 hours, the last two vice-captains will also be picked by Paul McGinley. Stay tuned for that and for the American Ryder Cup team Captain Picks, later on this evening.

This should make for a very exciting Ryder Cup this year, come the end of September,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

UPDATE (09/03/14): Captain McGinly announces his last three assistant captains: Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and 2012 captain Jose Maria Olazabal.

Martin Kaymer Wins the 2014 US Open

It may have been clear from a few days ago, but Martin Kaymer has won the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst No. 2, by an astonishing 8 shots over Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton. This is Kaymer's second win of the year, the first being his win at the high-profile Players Championship in May. He closed the tournament with a respectable 1-under 69. It was really his tournament to win and his performance this week was reminiscent to that of Rory McIlroy's US Open win at Congressional in 2011.

What's even more amazing is that these three players were the only players to finish under par at the tournament, as conditions at Pinehurst No. 2 toughened as the week progressed.

With his win, Martin Kaymer becomes the second Major Champion from Germany, after Bernhard Langer. In his interview at the closing ceremony for the tournament, Kaymer happily noted that with their Major wins, he and Langer have almost completed the "German Gran Slam" (Lagner winning the Masters twice, and Kaymer winning the PGA Championship).

With Kaymer's play so far this year, it wouldn't be surprising if he came close to or even regained his place atop the World Golf Rankings. We'll just have to wait and see.

Finally, here's how our picks finished the tournament:

1) Jason Day: T4 at 1-over (+1) < Once again with a great major performance
2) Phil Mickelson: T28 at 7-over (+7)

1) Graeme McDowell: T42 at 7-over (+7)


Stay tuned next week for our coverage of the Irish Open,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Martin Kaymer Wins the 2014 US Open (Eric Gay/AP Photo)

Day 3 at The 2014 US Open

The Saturday, or "Moving Day" rounds, at the 2014 US Open have now concluded and once again, the leader is Martin Kaymer. However, Kaymer shot a 2-over 72 today, so his lead has dropped to 5 shots (still remarkable) over Americans Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton, who both shot 3-under 67's.

Today, Pinehurst was a little tougher, as reflected by some of the scores. Players such as Keegen Bradley and Toronto Golf Reviews favourite Graeme McDowell both shot 5+ over rounds, plumeting them down the leaderboard.

Perhaps the bigger story of the day was Erik Compton and his personal story. Compton, who is a double heart transplant recipient, has defied the odds over the years and has managed to become a professional golfer despite his adversities, playing at the top level with some of the best in the game. It goes without saying that a win for him this week would be truly remarkable. But we'll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon for that.

As for our picks, here is an update on them:

1) Jason Day: T16 at 3-over (+3)
2) Phil Mickelson: T30 at 5-over (+5)

1) Graeme McDowell: T42 at 7-over (+7)


Stay tuned tomorrow for the winner of the 2014 US Open,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Erik Compton

Day 1 at The 2014 US Open

The first round of the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 is now over and the overnight leader going into the second round is German Martin Kaymer. Kaymer shot a 5-under 65, and holds a three shot lead over Americans Kevin Na and Fran Quinn, Zimbabwean Brenden De Jonge and Northern Irishman (and favourite around here) Graeme McDowell, who all shot 2-under 68's.

The main storyline of the first round was the vulnerability of Pinehurst and how it was more open to scoring than most players thought it would be. Players noted that it was a different course than what they played during their practice rounds earlier in the week. Despite this vulnerability, only 15 players managed to shoot sub par rounds. That number is high however, by US Open standards, which have a tendency to finish around or just under par in most cases.

As for our picks, here are their opening round scores and positions on the leaderboard:

1) Jason Day: T68 at 3-over (+3)
2) Phil Mickelson: T16 at even par (E)
3) Luke Donald: T134 at 7-over (+7)

1) Graeme McDowell: T2 at 2-under (-2)
2) Miguel Angel Jimenez: T50 at 2-over (+2)

Will Pinehurst No. 2 stay vulnerable throughout the next three rounds of the US Open? Who knows, but stay tuned for the second round of the US Open tomorrow and our coverage of it afterwards,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Martin Kaymer during the opening round of the 2014 US Open (Andrew Gombert/EPA)