Rory McIlroy Wins 2021 CJ Cup

Rory McIlroy wins the 2021 CJ Cup; his 20th PGA Tour win (image: Getty Images)

 

 

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - Things were heating up this weekend in the desert at The Summit Club, particularly for one Irishman.

Rory McIlroy has won the 2021 CJ Cup with a final score of 25-under par and a one shot lead over Collin Morikawa. This is McIlroy's 20th win on the PGA Tour and second this year after the Wells Fargo Championship in May. 

 

The Northern Ireland native is in his 14th year on tour; his win this week ensures he will receive lifetime membership on the PGA Tour, which will begin at the end of his 15th season.

A WEEKEND OF CHANGING STORYLINES

Heading into the weekend of the 2021 CJ Cup, the storylines were completely different.

As we wrote about in our Weekend Update article, Keith Mitchell held a dominant lead over the rest of the field and showed no signs of letting up. But this all changed on Saturday, when Mitchell carded a 1-over 73, on a day that saw scores as low as 62, shot by none other than McIlroy, and a 63 shot by Rickie Fowler.

McIlroy and Folwer were the main headlines heading into the final round, each with their own devoted fanbases and story; fan favorites of the PGA Tour and some of the nicest players on it.

 

Fowler, who entered the tournament on one of five available sponsor's exemptions, was looking for a resurgence in his career and a return to the elite level of golf he was known for. McIlroy, who was performing well this year, was struggling with inconsistencies in his game as of late. 

 

It was McIlroy who would make the most out of their final round however. He shot a 66 that included four birdies on the front nine and a birdie and eagle of the back nine. His eagle came on the par 5 14th hole, where he sank an incredible 34-foot putt after driving the green.

Fowler, on the other hand, was in the mix until a double bogey on the 6th hole. Another bogey on the 10th hole negated the three prior birdies he carded. Folwer would finish his round with a score of 71. Fowler's efforts did not go unrewarded. His T3 finish launched him from 128th to 82nd in the World Golf Rankings and is further confirmation that his game is in a good place. It will be exciting to watch Fowler this year and his ensuing comeback.

In the group ahead of McIlroy and Fowler, Morikawa was on fire, carding a 29 on his front nine. An eagle on the par 5 18th hole, concluded his 10-under round of 62, the low round of the day, and put the pressure on McIlroy and Fowler.

Keith Mitchell was not completely out of the mix. He made a back nine resurgence after four birdies to rally back to a T3 finish.

HOW DID OUR PICKS FINISH?

 

1) Dustin Johnson: T45 at 14-under

2) Marc Leishman: T38 at 15-under

3) Justin Thomas: T18 at 18-under

Not bad finishes at all. The top of the leaderboard was crammed coming down the stretch, with 13 players at or lower than 20-under.

***

That concludes our coverage of the 2021 CJ Cup hosted by The Summit Club. Next week, we stay with the PGA Tour as it travels to Narashino, Japan for the 2021 Zozo Championship. This is another invitational event and again will boast an elite field. 

 

 

Stay tuned for our picks later this week,

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

Showdown at St. Andrews: Perez emerges victorious over Southgate at Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Sunday at St. Andrews, there is perhaps no better setting for the conclusion of a golf tournament. This year, the Old Course would end up playing host to a dramatic battle between Frenchman and European Tour rookie Victor Perez and Englishman Matthew Southgate, with Perez emerging on top, capturing the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. 

The two golfers finished their third rounds tied for the lead at 20-under. Both had played the Old Course relatively well over their first three rounds: Perez on Thursday, shooting a 64 and Southgate on Saturday, shooting a 65. The stage was set for an unlikely showdown between the two golfers.

Perhaps it wasn't the showdown we wanted, but looking deeper into these two golfers, it was certainly a showdown we could have expected. You see, despite being relatively new to the European Tour, both golfers had connections to links golf. Perez, in his rookie year, had been living in nearby Dundee for the past 18 months, no doubt honing his game on the many links courses in the area. Southgate, in his fourth year on tour, was no stranger to competition at the Old Course. In 2010, as an amateur he won the St. Andrews Link Trophy. He is also a member at Carnoustie. These connections would prove to be invaluable to both golfers.

With the stage set, the two golfers began their final round on a cold and windy Old Course. It was Southgate who would take the lead at the turn. Despite bogeying the first hole, he rallied back, birdieing holes 5-7 and 9; good enough for a one shot lead over Perez. His lead would grow to two shots after a three-putt bogey by Perez on the 11th hole. But Perez persisted; a birdie on the 14th hole and a bogey by Southgate evened out the score. 

Then came the infamous par 4 17th hole "The Road Hole". Perez placed his second shot safely onto the green after hitting the fairway with his opening drive. Southgate, on the other hand, drove his tee shot further but into the rough, resulting in a poor second shot that landed on the green, but much further away. A two-putt by Perez and three-putt by Southgate separated the two and pars on the last hole by both resulted in Perez winning the tournament by a single shot.

For Perez, the win is career defining (thus far) and his first on the European Tour. It is also most certainly the highlight of his 2019 season, having just one top-10 finish this year: the Hong Kong Open, which was also his first European Tour tournament. On top of the $800,000 in prize money, the Challenge Tour graduate will move into the top-70 of the World Golf Rankings and top-20 on the European Tour money list. He is also the first Frenchman to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

On his win, Perez stated. "The emotions were really high all day. It was really cold and windy, a long day out there and I felt I was able to battle. It wasn't easy, Matt played amazing. I was expecting some of the guys to charge and we were fortunate that it was kind of a one on one battle on the back nine. There's nothing like a win. The confidence that you get from getting it done, it's so difficult at this level to win. Being my first year, I'm obviously delighted."

On the pro-am side of the tournament, it came down to Tommy Fleetwood, who was paired with horseracing executive Ogden Phipps II and Rory McIlroy, who was playing with his father Gerry McIlroy. Both teams played extraordinarily well and finished at 39-under over. Interestingly enough though, the tie was not settled with a playoff, as is the case in most tournaments. Instead, the team whose pro finished with the lower final round score wins, being Fleetwood in this case with a 64 over McIlroy's 67.

As always, we finish up our coverage with our picks results, which for the most part, were relatively good:

1) Rafa Cabrera Bello: T61 at 8-under
2) Alex Noren: T15 at 17-under
3) Tom Lewis: T5 at 19-under

I said it at the start of the week, the winner of this tournament was going to be a golfer who had a history with links courses and it turns out that could have equally have been Perez or Southgate. Our dark horse pick Tom Lewis had an excellent week, in particular shooting a 65 at Kingsbarn and 64 at the Old Course over the weekend. Noren also played well but did have reoccurring trouble on the Road Hole. Cabrera-Bello unfortunately missed the cut.

Overall, like so many editions before it, the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship did not disappoint. We saw it all this week, excellent golf from the world's best golfers, a collection of perhaps the finest links courses in the world, and of course dramatic storylines. These are just a few reasons why I'll be watching this tournament again and again every year.

Congratulations once again to Victor Perez. Who did you think was going to win? Let us know in the comments below,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

France's Victor Perez wins the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

(Getty Images)

2019 BMW PGA Championship Preview

The European Tour heads to Surrey, England this week for its flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club. Filled with a star-studded field consisting of top players from all over the world, this is one of the most elite and biggest events on the European Tour. Much is up for grabs this week: a nearly million Euro paycheck, 64 WGC points and exemptions into this year's US Open and the next 3 Open Championships being given to the winner.

The tournament will be contested on the West course at Wentworth, originally designed by Harry Colt in 1926 and adjusted over the years. The 7284-yard par 72 course is not the longest on tour but nevertheless tough. It's tree-lined, forest-carved holes demand accuracy and good ball-striking. It is also among the favourite courses for many tour pros who have had the opportunity to play it. 

Things are a bit different this year however, most notably the date. This is the first time that the tournament is being played in September, moving from its original slot in May as a result of the PGA Championship moving up to May. Given this, the weather may become more of a factor than in previous editions of the tournament. As of now, this doesn't appear to be the case for the first three rounds, but conditions could worsen for Sunday, which will no doubt make things interesting.

Perhaps a more interesting feature of this year's tournament is that GPS will be used to track slow play amongst the players. This is part of the European Tour's newly released initiative to combat slow play on tour. In particular, a tracking device will be placed on one player's golf bag in each group. Once a hole is completed, the information will be automatically sent to officials, who will be monitoring progress. Displays will also be available on each hole, to indicate tardiness, among other information. I am very curious to see what the results will, especially considering that we have an article on slow-play in the works. For more information, check out Golf Channel's article about it.

Personally, the BMW PGA Championship is one of my favourite tournaments to watch on the European Tour since it was the setting an amazing moment in golf, in my opinion. In the 2011 edition of the tournament, World Numbers One and Two, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald, respectively, had finished their final rounds tied for 1st place; a sudden death followed, on the par 5 1st hole of the West course. On the line was not only the tournament but also the title of World Number One. Donald and Westwood both started the hole well and both had roughly the same distances for their approach shots. Donald went first and landed his ball safely on the green, close to the flag. Westwood responded by landing his shot just inside Donald's but then watched his ball roll off the water-lined green into the water, resulting in Donald winning the tournament and the title. So much was on the line at that moment and Westwood, after seeing Donald's shot, knew he had to go for it. It was tense, yet exciting; that's why I'll never forget it. But moments like this seem to only happen at big tournaments like this. Luke also managed to defend his title the next year. 

As always, we end off with our picks for this week. Given the requirements of fairway accuracy and ball-striking, we decided to make our picks for this week loosely based on these stats:

1) Matthew Fitzpatrick

2) Tommy Fleetwood

3) Rory McIlroy

Fitzpatrick ranks consistently as one of the more accurate players on tour and doesn't drive the ball too far (something that will benefit him this week). Fleetwood is also very accurate off the tee and is coming off a T8 finish a few weeks ago at the Omega European Masters. McIlroy is our last pick and frankly is always a safe pick when he's playing well. He also won the tournament in 2014.

The first round kicks off early Thursday morning (EST time) and is the start of what's sure to be an exciting tournament. Be sure to check it out!

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

Can Matthew Fitzpatrick win the 2019 BMW PGA Championship this week? (PressClub Global BMW)

Spieth Leads, McIlroy in Pursuit at the 2016 Masters

The weekday rounds of the 2016 Masters have now concluded and a familiar face is atop the leaderboard. Reigning Masters Champion Jordan Spieth currently leads the field with a score of 4-under and a single shot lead over Rory McIlroy. The cut has also been set at 6-over.

Today's second round marks the 6th consecutive round that the Jordan Spieth has held the lead at the Masters, a record he now shares with golfing legend Arnold Palmer. Right from the open, Spieth impressed, shooting a 6-under 66 in the opening round. At one point today, he held a five shot lead, but ended up shooting a 2-over 74.

Most players rounds followed a similar suit to Spieth's. The scoring average for the opening round was much lower than today's average. Only four players in the field managed a sub-par round, Rory McIlroy included in this, shooting a 1-under. Amateur Bryson DeChambeau was on track to shoot a 3-under round, but found trouble off the tee and triple-bogeyed the 18th hole. However there were some players who found trouble during their opening round too, such as Rickie Fowler who shot an 80, and Ernie Els, who also shot an 80.

Today's round was also special for golfing legend Tom Watson, who played his last professional Masters round today. Watson was making good progress to make the cut, but after a series of bad putts found himself below it. If he made the cut, he would have been the oldest player in Masters history to do so.

Finally, here's how are picks are doing. Jason Day currently sits at T15 after shooting a 72/73. In today's round he was 2-under going into the back nine, but bogeyed several holes on the back nine. Just under Day at T33 is Henrik Stenson, who shot a 72/75. Like Day, Stenson found trouble on the back nine today. Lastly, Phil Mickelson failed to make the cut, just barely, in a shock to many, shooting 72/79. The 2010 Masters Champion shot even par on his first day, but found trouble on the closing holes of both nines today, with many of his shorter shots finding water hazards.

Saturday is moving day and it's sure to be exciting, headlined by the fact that Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy will be in the final grouping. That's sure to bring excitement to any golfer and it's going to be great to watch these two battle it out.

Stay tuned Sunday evening for our results post to see who's won. Also check out our Twitter page for day to day coverage of the Masters.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Can Jordan Spieth pull off another Masters win this year?

Jason Day Wins the 2015 BMW Championship, Becomes World Number One

It may have been pretty clear from the start, but Jason Day dominated the entire field this week for an easy victory at the BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club. He finished off with a score of 22-under thanks to a pair of 69's over the weekend, a six shot lead over rookie Daniel Berger.  With it, he maintains his top spot on the FedEx Cup Rankings and also ousts Rory McIlroy to become the World Number One golfer on the World Golf Rankings, the youngest Australian to do so in history.

This is Day's second playoff win this year, and fifth PGA win of the year (including a major)! His streak kicked off near the end of July with his win at the Canadian Open. As of now, he's won four of his last six tournaments he's played in, a feat which has only been done by the likes of Tiger Woods, Nick Price, Vijay Singh, and a few more.

I've been saying this for years, but for most of Jason's career he's had great finishes but barely any wins. You could always count on him to have a great finish, especially in majors where we calculated that he had a 50% chance of finishing in the top 10 of any major he played. His win at the Farmers Insurance Open in February was his first in four year, and only his second of his PGA career. Many have called him the best player to not win a major or the best player who hasn't won a lot of tournaments, but he silenced them all these last couple of months. And considering his past and how golf has helped him get through it, there's no one more deserving of this success.

Like we said in our previous post, it's going to be hard to decide who the player of the year is. Is it Jordan Spieth, who won two majors, and nearly could have had them all? Or is it Jason Day, who's last couple of months has been career defining, full of broken records? Both are equally deserving, but who will it be?

Lastly, our picks finished pretty well too:

1) Louis Oosthuizen: T19 at 10-under
2) Rory McIlroy: T4 at 14-under
3) Justin Rose: T13 at 11-under

Funny enough, it was Rory who just a year ago was having a winning streak like Jason Day.

Next week is the final tournament of the playoffs and the season, the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Up for grabs is the FedEx Cup and over $10 million. Only the top 30 as of this week are invited, making it one of the most action-packed tournaments of the year. Be sure to check out our picks for it.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jason Day: World Number One

Jason Day Holds Steady Going Into Weekend at BMW Championship

Two rounds have been played at the BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club, although with the current scoreline, you'd think four have been played...

That's right, the current leading score is an 18-under, which is held by none other than Jason Day. The Australian shot an impressive 61/63 on his opening rounds and was actually on 59 watch most of the time. With that, he tied the PGA Tour record for lowest 36-hole score. In fact, due to the weather delay, Day had to finish his opening round yesterday morning. On his final hole, he had a 44-yard pitch shot, which he needed to hole to shoot that 59. It would have been the first 59 shot since Jim Furyk's 59 two years ago at this event.

Day's second round yesterday included seven birdies, an eagle, and a bogey; good enough to earn him a five shot lead over Daniel Berger and Brenden Todd. At this rate, Day's on track to win his second playoff event of the year. If he does (or finishes a solo second), he'll surpass Rory McIlroy as World Number One on the WGC rankings and may even beat out Jordan Spieth for PGA Tour Player of the Year (keep in mind that Spieth won two majors this year).

Weather conditions at Conway Farms were not the best and did result in the suspension of the opening round as we said. They didn't seem to affect the players too much though, as low scores were shot all around. Traditionally, players seem to always score low at Conway Farms (see Furyk's 59 in 2013) and the score average this year seems to be around the high 60's .

In other news, a unique streak is on the line for Hunter Mahan this week. He is the only player to play in every Tour Championship event (since it's inception in 2007). Mahan sits at T29 as of now and is projected to finish at 52nd on the FedEx Cup Rankings. He likely won't make it into the Tour Championship this year (keep in mind that only the Top 30 make it), unless he can do something big.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Louis Oosthuizen: T34 at 5-under
2) Rory McIlroy: T9 at 9-under
3) Justin Rose: T12 at 8-under


Pretty good results so far!

The third round is set to start later today. Be sure to check it out!


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jason Day is playing some of the best golf of his career at the moment

2015 BMW Championship Picks

We're back from our little break this week to give you coverage of the third event in the PGA Tour Playoffs, the BMW Championship, being played this year at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Illinois. Since it is the third stage of the playoffs, the field only consists of the top 70 players on the FedEx Cup Rankings, as of last week, making it one of the smaller fields in golf. On the line is a $8.25 million purse as well as entry into the final playoff event next week, the Tour Championship (only open to the Top 30 in the rankings).

The BMW Championship was historically played as the Western Open, before the Tour went to the current playoff format. The Western Open was one of the oldest events on tour, first being played in 1899, and was won by many golfing greats like Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, etc.

This is the first time that the BMW Championship has been played at Conway Farms Golf Club since 2013. During that edition of the tournament, Jim Furyk set the course record with a stunning 59, which was also only the 6th 59 ever shot in PGA Tour history. The club has also hosted many amateur events in the past, like the USGA Junior Amateur, as well major qualifying events. This week, the course will measure 7,149 yards long and play as a par 71.

As for our picks, though the field is getting smaller and smaller every week, the decision for making picks becomes tougher, since the field is filled with so many quality players who earned their way into the tournament. Given that, here's our picks this week:

1) Louis Oosthuizen
2) Rory McIlroy
3) Justin Rose


Play starts Thursday morning but be sure to check out our Weekend Update post Friday evening,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Louis Oosthuizen is our top pick this week

Jason Day Wins the 2015 PGA Championship

It's been a long time coming with many ups and downs, but our pick Jason Day has finally won his first major; the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. The Australian finished off the tournament with some style at 20-under, a new lowest 72-hole record, three shots ahead of Jordan Spieth. This is Day's 3rd win this year and 10th win as a professional. The win also moves him to third in the World Golf Rankings.

Despite the varying conditions over the four rounds, Day remained consistent; something which he does so well. He was the only player with four rounds in the 60's. He shot a 67 for his final round with seven birdies and two bogeys and held the lead by two shots or more at any point yesterday. He seemed unaffected by pressure at all, hitting 15 greens during his final round, despite being chased by Spieth. Day said it himself earlier this week, it was only a matter of time before he won a big one and he's come a long way and through a dark past to get here. But, he learned from his mistakes and stared to started to take the game more seriously. For the past several years, Day's always been around the top of the leaderboard in majors, so much to the point that it wasn't surprising. And with a 50% chance of making it into the Top 10 this week, it would seem foolish not to have him as your pick to win. There isn't anyone who deserves this win more than he does and to do it at Whistling Straits is even more special.

Jordan Spieth, despite finishing second and putting up a good challenge for Day, will have his fair share of celebrations. With his solo 2nd finish, the 22-year old has surpasses Rory McIlroy as the World's Number One golfer in the World Golf Rankings. He is well-deserving of this title of course, despite his age, Spieth finished 1st-1st-2nd-2nd in the majors this year; finishes other players could only dream of. When Rory was asked about the loss of his title, he responded well saying that Spieth has been the better player between them this year and is deserving of the title. Rory finished solo 17th this week.

The 2015 PGA Championship will be one to remember, partially due to Jason Day and partially due to the course it was played on. The Straits Course at Whistling Straits has reaffirmed itself this week as being one of the favourites amongst all golfers. Course conditions were ideal this week despite a few hiccups with the weather. It played tough when it had to and played easy when it had to. It's vastness and shear beauty is something we can all appreciate. I'm already looking forward to when the PGA Championship returns here.

Finally, here's how our other picks finished off:

1) Dustin Johnson: T7 at 12-under
2) Jim Furyk: 4-under at T30
3) Jason Day: WINNER

That's another pick win for us and it's the second time in a row that one of our picks has won the PGA Championship (we picked Rory to win last year too). Dustin Johnson could have made a real run at the lead, but had a crazy round of 69. He started with a quad bogey on his opening hole after getting stuck in a bunker for four shots, but then went on to card six birdies and two eagles over the rest of his round. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't carded the quad. Furyk had an average finish at T30.

And that's the last of the majors this year. In just two weeks, we'll be getting into the PGA Tour Playoffs so stay tuned for that. This week however, we'll be covering the Wyndham Championship. Be sure to check out our picks for it.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

After many years of trying, Jason Day has won his first major, the 2015 PGA Championship

Dustin Johnson Shoots 66, Leads By 1 at the PGA Championship

After just one round of play at Whistling Straits, the leader of the 2015 PGA Championship thus far is a familiar face; that of our pick Dustin Johnson. He sits at 6-under par and holds a single shot lead over David Lingmerth. This is the third major in a row that Dustin has held the lead after 18 holes.

Dustin's round yesterday consisted of five birdies, an eagle, and a bogey which led to his 66 (note that the course record on the Straits course is 64). He also showed us that he's both long and accurate off the tee, hitting 10 of 14 fairways (fairways which are some of the tightest on tour) and missing only one GIR. On some holes, his distance was an advantage, as he was able to hit the ball over danger zones that other golfers might find themselves it. Typically, golfers either hit the ball a long way or are very accurate, but having both traits is a deadly combination.

Like we saw in the British Open, the afternoon tee times of the first round played in tougher conditions. The scoring average here was a 74.91, compared to a 73.41 in the morning. This was mainly due to high winds that came in off Lake Michigan. Some good rounds were shot in the afternoon, i.e. David Lingmerth's 67. The toughest hole of the day was the 501-yard par 4 18th. It played with a scoring average of 4.654. “You have to hit the fairway,” Danny Lee said after his round; it's as simple as that.

Some other rounds of note were Rory McIlroy's 71. Rory seeks to defend his title this week; he was unable to do so at the British Open due to a soccer injury. He sits at T26 due to an up and down round filled with four birdies and three bogeys. He even found himself in tough water, literally. On the 5th, he landed his ball in shallow water and his ball was partially submerged. The World Number One decided then to just play the shot from the water, rolling one pant leg up (no Stensen undressing required here) and hitting. He landed the ball well on the green and sank the par putt for an incredible up and down. We also saw no lingering signs of McIlroy's injury too, which is great news.

Finally, here's how are picks are doing:

1) Dustin Johnson: 1st at 6-under
2) Jim Furyk: 1-over at T55
3) Jason Day: T3 at 4-under

We talked about Dustin earlier. Furyk shot a 73 yesterday and despite being one of the most accurate players on Tour, his round mostly involved taking and giving shots back all day. He carded four birdies but five bogeys. Jason Day, to no one's surprise, shot a 68 and carded an eagle on the 2nd, three birdies and a bogey. Similar to Dustin, he also hit all GIR's and leads the field in driving distance (Dustin is 2nd); factors which probably led to his success. It just goes to show you how key distance and accuracy will be this week.

There's still a lot of golf to be played. Today's early tee times are currently underway and TV coverage should be on this afternoon. Stay tuned for our next post!


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Dustin Johnson once again leads another major this year

Jordan Spieth Wins the 2015 US Open

After 72 holes of some of the toughest golf played on tour, the 115th US Open at Chambers Bay has now concluded, with 2015 Masters Champion Jordan Spieth emerging as the winner with a score of 5-under. This is Spieth's second major win in just his last two majors. He finished with a one shot lead ahead of Louis Oosthuizen and Dustin Johnson and is the first person to win the Masters then US Open in the same year since Tiger Woods in 2002. He's also the youngest player to achieve this feat since Bobby Jones. The low amateur of the tournament was 22-year old Brian Campbell at 5-over T27.

Coming into this week, you couldn't help but get the feeling that this tournament was going to end in some bizarre fashion. And that's exactly how it went down...

Spieth was leading the tournament going into the 17th hole par 3, with Dustin Johnson chasing and Louis Oosthuizen two shots behind him already in the clubhouse. After a bad tee shot and a few missed putts, he ended up double-bogeying the hole. He was now tied with Dustin and Louis at this point. He redeemed himself with a birdie on the par 5 18th hole. Dustin, who was a hole behind Spieth and in the final group needed at least a birdie on the 18th to force a Monday 18-hole playoff (which incidentally is his birthday) and would win outright with an eagle. Things were looking good for Dustin after he hit an excellent drive and even better when he hit his second shot to within 15 foot. But Chambers Bay had one more trick up it's sleeve...

All that remained between Dustin and his first major win was a downhill eagle putt, a very tricky putt given the extreme slope of the hole and the pressure on him. He missed the eagle putt and watched his ball roll past the hole to about four feet. Then, in a shocking moment to all, Dustin missed the birdie putt which would have force the playoff, resulting in a shocked Spieth winning outright. You couldn't help but feel bad for Dustin Johnson. As most golfers know, three-putting after finding the green in regulation is one of the worst feelings in golf, let alone having a US Open on the line while doing so. This is the 4th time Dustin has come up short in a major, which makes the loss sting a bit more.

On the other hand, Louis Oosthuizen shot an amazing 29 on the back nine of his final round which consisted of six birdies in seven holes to play himself into contention. He started his week off with a 77, but fought back with back to back 66's and a 67 today to give himself a real chance at winning. Shockingly enough, that wasn't the low round of the day; that feat belonged to Adam Scott's 6-under 64. Chambers Bay definitely played easier today than the past two days, as seen in the number of scores in the 60's. It still, however, punished players who dared to test it's limits, as seen by Chris Kirk's 10 on the 1st hole (which played as a par 4 today).

Another notable round was that of World Number One Rory McIlroy. Rory was 6-under at the start of the 14th hole after holing a 72-putt for birdie on the 13th. With a score like that, he was threatening the leaderboard, but he followed up with a few bogeys to finish off the day with a 66 and tied for 9th.

Finally, our pick Justin Rose finished the tournament at 5-over T27. He shot a 71 today in a round that consisted of five birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey.

And there you have it, the second major of the year is now over and boy what a major it was! An interesting note is that the last four majors have been won by only two players (Rory and Spieth), which is a rare feat in professional golf. Congratulations once again to Jordan Spieth and be sure to join us next week for the Travelers Championship at TPC at River Highlands.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jordan Spieth: 2015 US Open Champion

(Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Four Lead Going Into Final Round of 2015 US Open

In recent years, there has never been this much drama or amount of storylines going into a final round of a US Open. As it stands now, four players share the lead: Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, and Brandon Grace. Four players, with a leading score of 4-under and a three shot lead, yet each has a unique story behind them.

Johnson played a solid round of golf and shot a even par 70, which could have easily been higher or lower depending on the hole. He was accurate all day, hitting all fairways, and recovered well when he found trouble. Day, who made headlines on Friday after collapsing at the end of his round, stunned and earned the respect of many during yesterday's round, who have deemed his actions as "superhuman". All day he was visibly cautious around the course and said after that he was about to call it quits three times during his round, again due to vertigo, the worst on the 13th. Despite this, he birdied three of the four final holes to shoot a 68, which was only one of six sub-70 rounds yesterday; a remarkable feat considering his state and that fact that Chambers Bay requires one's full attention pretty much all the time. Many are pulling for him to win and what a story that would be.

Spieth had a solo lead by three shots at one point during his front nine, but had a relatively quiet back nine. He missed a few costly putts to give some shots back and ended off with a 71, despite excellent putting on the front nine. Grace, of South Africa, also played excellent golf and hit a very good number of approach shots during yesterday's round. If it wasn't for Chambers Bay's tough greens, he could have been leading by several shots as well.

Rory McIlroy's round was one full of frustration, especially on the back nine. The World Number one couldn't hole a putt despite numerous excellent approaches. He ended up shooting an even 70 (which wasn't that bad) and stands at 4-over par.

Louis Oosthuizen shot the low round on Saturday, a 4-under 66. Again if it wasn't for the tough greens, be could have been even lower. Remember that this is the man who has been deemed to have one of the "most perfect" swings in golf and is already a major champion (2010 British Open at St. Andrews). There's something about his game that just seems relaxed and effortless. Be sure to keep an eye on him today as he sits at 1-under T5.

Saturday yielded the toughest conditions for Chambers Bay, as indicated by the higher leading score compared to Friday. As we said only a few players managed sub par rounds and conditions worsened as the round progress. This was partially due to the course itself drying up as the day went on, making everything harder and firmer. A low 70's round was a good score and any overall round at par or better means you're still in contention. With all this unpredictability, who knows how Chambers Bay will play today?

Finally, here's how are picks stand:

1) Phil Mickelson: T66 at 10-over
2) Justin Rose: T25 at 4-over 

Phil had a disastrous round that started off bad and stayed that way. He carded a total of nine bogeys and two birdies and he was seen hitting from all sorts of rough and fescue yesterday. Once again, it looks like Lefty's dream of the career grand slam is looking slim. Rose on the other hand played a decent round and neither increased or deceased his chances at winning. His score relative to this position on the leaderboard, shows just how tough it's been to go low this week.

Well it all comes down to the final round today. Who can step up and attack Chambers Bay? Who can defend from it as well when need be? We'll find out shortly and stay tuned for our post tomorrow morning about who won it.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Johnson, Spieth, Day, Grace; all looking for glory today
(Toronto Golf Reviews)

Johnson and Stenson Lead After Opening Round of 2015 US Open

The opening round of the 114th US Open at Chambers Bay was filled with a variety of excellent golf, along with a variety of scores, as the day progressed. As of this morning, Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson, who both had earlier tee times yesterday, are the current co-leaders at 5-under with a one shot lead over Patrick Reed. They were just one of 25 players to break ever par yesterday.

Johnson showed us yesterday how, despite being a links course, length pays off. He made a total of seven birdies and a single bogey for a score of 64. In his post round interview, he commented on how his game was solid during his round, especially with the driver, and praised the way Chambers Bay was set up. His score yesterday tied his lowest score in a major. Stenson was a little more aggressive with his round, managing seven birdies and two bogeys. Both are playing solid golf at the moment.

With the absence of wind and rain, you may think that Chambers Bay would play slightly easier (in fact, the morning rounds played slightly better than the afternoon rounds). However, it's sloping fairways, high risk/reward holes, and especially its tricky greens, did not make that the case. Around the greens, we saw a variety of shots from players trying to get close to the flag, everything from de-lofted hybrids to flop shots, some paying off more than others. The greens, which appeared patchy and discolored, did receive some criticism from players such as Rory McIlroy, Colin Montgomerie, and more vocally Sergio Garcia. But as Phil Mickelson said, the course as a whole was a good challenge. You definitely had to think hard about the risks and rewards of every shot you hit. That being said though, it was "easy" relative to other US Open venues. Yesterday's rounds were the lowest since the 2003 US Open at Olympia Fields

Things just seem to be getting worse and worse for Tiger Woods, who's been having a few "firsts" recently; and not the good ones. The three-time US Open champion carded a 10-over 80, which was his worst score in a US Open round to date. Woods managed only one birdie and most of his scores were bogeys with a triple on #14. From an outsider perspective, he seems to lack confidence, summed up by his topped 2nd shot on #18, which ended up in a deep fairway bunker known as "Chambers Basement". He also hit only six fairways and nine greens.

In other news, Gary Woodland appeared to be suffering from severe dehydration and needed to go to the hospital yesterday, where it was determined he had a virus. He sits at 4-over T98 and hopes to play in today's round.

To round off the post, here's how are picks are doing:

1) Phil Mickelson: T14 at 1-under
2) Rickie Fowler: 155 at 11-over
3) Justin Rose: T52 at 2-over

Phil was part of that lower morning wave of players and was leading the tournament at one point before making a couple of bogeys here and there. In his interview, Phil said Chambers Bay played difficult, but what he expected and that the biggest challenge (for him at least) was the differences in putting green speeds from hole to hole. A good round today could mean great things for Mickelson going into the weekend. On the other hand, they say you can't win a major on a Thursday, but you can definitely lose it, and that looks like the case for Rickie Fowler. He's currently in second last place and struggled yesterday especially on the back nine where he was 8-over. This was a very unexpected round for Rickie, who usually plays solid links golf. To finish off, Justin Rose had a good round which just so happened to contain a few more bogeys than birdies. He was in good spirits though and is definitely still in the mix.

Chambers Bay looks like it'll play a bit different today. It's forecasted to be overcast and slightly windy today; the amount of wind today could wreak havoc on scores. Stay tuned for our recap of today's action, tomorrow morning.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Dustin Johnson leads along with Henrik Stenson at the 114th US Open

2015 Irish Open Weekend Update

We're two rounds into the Irish Open and we've already gotten a taste of how tough Royal County Down can be. The leading score is just 3-under and is held by six players including the likes of Chris Wood, Bernd Wiesberger, Soren Kjeldsen, and more. The cut has also been set at 6-over par.

To say Royal County Down is playing tough so far is actually an understatement. I mentioned in my Picks post that unpredictability would be a key factor in the difficulty of the course and that was just the case in the weekday rounds. Conditions started off favourable for the early Thursday rounds but steadily worsened as time passed. During today's round, only 15 out of 156 players managed to break par and a round in the low to mid 70's was considered average.

Irishman Padraig Harrington didn't let an injury and withdrawal from the BMW PGA last week hinder him this week. He's currently tied for 2nd place with Luke Donald. Padraig predicted earlier this week that an Irishman would win the tournament and so far it's looking like it could be him!


Tournament host and World Number One Rory McIlroy shot a 80/71 and missed the cut for a 3rd straight year. His opening round of 80 was his worst professional round since 2011. Many will probably attribute this to fatigue and that's looking like the case.

Continuing with the trend of bad scores, American Jonathan Moore made headlines for all the wrong reasons. The 2007 Walker Cup hero knows Royal County Dawn well, but carded a Kevin Na-esque 13 on Royal County Down's par 4 13th hole, which included four lost balls (three off the tee) and an encounter with a bunker. He finished the tournament in last place and was subsequently cut.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Lee Westwood: T39 at 4-over
2) Miguel Angel Jimenez: T19 at 2-over
3) Tommy Fleetwood: T39 at 4-over

1) Graeme McDowel: T55 at 5-over

I really didn't expect all of my picks to make the cut this week considering how tough the course has been. Good results from all though, but yet again GMac just barely makes the cut. He still gets to play the weekend though, which is certainly a plus.

Given the log jam of leaders expect even better golf to come this weekend. Who knows how Royal County Down will play? Stay tuned for our results post on Sunday.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

2015 Irish Open Picks

This week the European Tour visits the coasts of Northern Ireland specifically at Royal County Down in Newcastle for the 2015 Irish Open (formally the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation). As the title says, this year's Irish Open is being hosted by World Number One and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, who will also be donating his winnings to charity this week.

Royal County Down is a links golf course with a rich history. The Old Tom Morris-built course opened its doors in 1889, making it one of the oldest golf courses in all of Ireland. Over that time, it's hosted tournaments such as the Senior British Open, the British Amateur, British Ladies Amateur, the Walker Cup in 2007 (where some say the McIlroy vs Fowler rivalry started) and much more. In fact, the last time Royal County Down hosted the Irish Open was 80 years ago in 1935. It was also ranked the best golf course in the world outside the US in 2005 and 4th best in 2007, by Golf Digest. It goes without saying that we're getting a chance to see a top notch course this week.

Not only is Royal County Down a links course (which in it's own right usually leads to an excellent display of golf) it's one of the best and purest in the world. Expect nothing short of typical links golf this week, i.e. changing weather/wind, firm fairways, massive slopes in almost every spot, thick rough, dangerous patches of gorse, and above all, unpredictability. While change in conditions are bad for the players, it's always great to watch as a spectator. The winner this week will be the player who can overcome these changes the best.

We have a great field this week, partially due to it being the Irish Open, being hosted by Rory McIlroy, and being played at Royal County Down. Due to this, we've put a little more thought into our picks this week:

1) Lee Westwood
2) Miguel Angel Jimenez
3) Tommy Fleetwood

1) Graeme McDowell

Lee Westwood has traditionally played pretty good on links courses. So has Miguel, who has had good finishes in the past British Opens (also played on links courses). He also may have some momentum from that 2nd place finish last week at the BMW PGA. Tommy Fleetwood may have some as well. We'll also be watching TGR favourite Graeme McDowell, who had a T6 finish last week.

Play kicks off early Thursday morning at around 2 AM Eastern Time. A notable group to watch is GMac, Jimenez, and Westwood, who tee off at around 2:50AM EST.

Stay tuned for our Weekend Update post on Friday,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Royal County Down in Newcastle, Northern Ireland

2015 BMW PGA Championship Weekend Update

We're two rounds into the BMW PGA Championship with two more to go at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England. As it stands now, the leader going into the weekend is Italian Francesco Molinari at 10-under. He holds a one shot lead over Challenge Tour player Byeong Hun An AKA Ben An (who currently holds the record for younger winner of the US Amateur, which he won in 2009 at age 17.) The cut has also been set at 2-over this week

Conditions were perfect at Wentworth over the past two days, which led to good scores all around. Molinari started the tournament off with a 65 and followed it up with a 69 today. Ben An shot a 64 earlier today in a round that consisted of 8 birdies with four of them in a row. TGR favourite and former winner Miguel Angel Jimenez is also in the mix of things at 6-under T6. Many players were eager to put in a good round before the weekend.

World Number One Rory McIlroy is also making headlines this week, but for the wrong reasons. The Northern Irishman missed the cut after shooting a 71 76, but is also receiving a fine from the European Tour after throwing one of his clubs after a bad shot on the 17th on Thursday. In a post round interview, Rory stated that he was mentally angry and showing signs of fatigue.

Also in the news, the other older Molinari brother, Eduardo, and Padraig Harrington have withdrew from the tournament due to injuries; a shoulder injury for Padraig and a wrist injury for Eduardo.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Graeme McDowell: T62 at 1-over
2) Danny Willett: T25 at 2-under
3) Chris Wood: T17 at 3-under

Good work from Willett and Wood, they're in good positions going into the weekend. Though it looks like GMac needs a couple of big rounds to have a run at the title.

Stay tuned Sunday for our Results post to see who's won,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Francesco Molinari is on track for his first European Tour win in three years

(David Cannon/Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy Dominates at Quail Hollow

Viewers and players alike were treated to a real spectacle this weekend at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club, in the form of one of our picks this week: Rory McIlroy. The World Number One showed us this weekend why he holds that title, winning the tournament by a Tiger-esque 7 strokes, finishing at 21-under, which is also a new final score record (previously held by Anthony Kim's 16-under in 2008). He finish ahead of Webb Simpson and PGA Tour Rookie Patrick Rodgers. This is Rory's second win this year and second time winning this tournament (his last win was in 2010 and was his first PGA win). This is also his 11th PGA Tour win and it further cements his place atop the World Gold Rankings.

The action started on Saturday when the Northern-Ireland native shot a course record 61, on a day where a score in the low 70's to high 60's was great. The round consisted of 11 birdies and the remarkable part was that nine of his eleven birdie putts were within 10 feet, on a course that's home to some of the longer holes on Tour. He followed this up with a 69 on Sunday.

As well as leading the tournament, Rory also led the field in driving distance and strokes gained tee to green, with an average drive of just over 321 yards. This was a key advantage to Rory, who could (and did) easily take advantage of the long par 4's and 5's. For example, the 16th at Quail Hollow is a 514-yard par 4, and played as the toughest hole on Sunday. In his final round, Rory hit a monster 364-yard drive to about 150 yards, then hit a gap wedge to three feet. While accurate approach shots like this are common on Tour, it's pretty rare to see them from these distances. Another record McIlroy broke this week was most birdies made in the tournament (27 this week).

Phil Mickelson, one of our other picks this week, also had an excellent T4 finish at (12-under). With this finish, Lefty continues his streak of amazing finishes at this tournament (despite not liking the course). Our last pick, Bill Haas finished the tournament at 1-over T68

On another note, that's another pick win for us and our second in just a month. This week, our coverage heads across the pond to Surrey, England at the Wentworth Club for the BMW PGA Championship, the crown jewel of the European Tour. Stay tuned for our picks for the tournament on Wednesday.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Rory McIlroy Wins The 2015 Quail Hollow Championship in Style

2015 Wells Fargo Championship - Weekend Update

The second round of the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Golf Club has just concluded and the leaders going into the weekend are North Carolina native Webb Simpson and Robert Streb at 10-under and with a two shot lead. Simpson took hold of his share of the lead through consistency, shooting a pair of 67's whereas Streb shot a 65/69, which was the lowest round on Thursday. The cut was also set at even par this week.

Quail Hollow is playing fair so far. The average round seemed to be just above or below 70 and the club house lead so far is still Streb's 65. Any round in the high 60's was very good and probably put you in a good position going into the weekend.

Our picks this week are doing well as now. Rory McIlroy is tied for 5th at 7-under, as is Phil Mickelson. Bill Has is 2-under and tied for 42nd. Rory said in a post-round interview that he was in solid form and his score shows it. He shot a bogey-free 67 today. I find it interesting that Phil claims Quail Hollow is a poorly designed course, but he always plays well here despite this. He shot a 66 today and is a sure favourite for many going into the weekend.

Colt Knost also made headlines today by making a hole in one on the par 3 227-yard 17th hole. The hole-in-one, aside from being a great feat on it's own, resulted in Colt going from just missing the cut to just making the cut. He sits at T55 at 1-under.

Join us Sunday evening for our Results post to see who won,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

US Open Champion Webb Simpson Co-Leads Going Into The Weekend

2015 Wells Fargo Championship Picks

The Tour moves north this week to Charlotte, North Carlolina for the Wells Fargo Championship (formerly the Quail Hollow Championship) at the Quail Hollow Club. This is a very new tournament, with respect to other events on the PGA Tour, having first been contested in the 2003 season. This year marks a special year for the tournament, as it's purse broke the $7 million mark this year, with the winner taking home just under $1.3 million.

The Quail Hollow Club has a rich history, being founded by George Cobb (creator of the par 3 course at Augusta) in 1959 and undergoing renovations over the years by the likes of Arnold Palmer and Tom Fazio. The club is set to host the PGA Championship in 2017 and the President's Cup in 2021. The course however came under scrutiny in 2010 by Phil Mickelson, who criticized the greens, saying that they were some of the worst on Tour.

A number of players have also won for the first time at Quail Hollow, including Anthony Kim, World Number One Rory McIlroy, current Players Champion Rickie Fowler, and Derek Ernst.

Once again, the field this week is packed tight with top ranked and skilled players, all looking to win this tournament. In fact, 8 of the top 20 ranked players on the World Golf Rankings will be teeing it up this week. Our picks this week are:

1) Phil Mickelson
2) Rory McIlroy
3) Bill Haas

Phil may not seem like the first choice for some due to his comments, but it's worth noting that he only finished under T15 twice since 2004. Rory McIlroy is a former winner here and his game is on point at the moment; he's always a good pick any week too. Bill Haas, who had an excellent final round last week at TPC Sawgrass, might still have some of that momentum coming into this week.

Play kicks off early tomorrow morning and it sure to feature some great golf. Stay tuned for our weekend update post on Friday to see who's leading going into the weekend.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

A younger, curly haired Rory McIlroy won the Quail Hollow Championship in 2010

Rory McIlroy Wins the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play

San Francisco was treated to an excellent and world class display of golf this week at the World Golf Championships Cadillac Match Play at TPC Harding Park. With the new match play format (implemented just this year) we saw more matches being played than any year before, as well as more rounds of golf than any other golf tournament, which brought out a different side of some golfers. But after 7 matches, 3 of witch concluded today, World Number One Rory McIlroy emerged as the winner, defeating Gary Woodland with a 4&2 score. This is Rory's first PGA Tour win this year and his last PGA Tour win since the PGA Championship last year. Ironically, Rory has won 2 of the last 4 WGC events, his last being the 2014 WGC Cadillac Championship, which was also his last non-major PGA Tour win.

Rory remained undefeated all week, but his journey to the final round was not easy. He defeated the likes of Japan superstar Hideki Matsuyama, Paul Casey (a match which concluded early this morning due to darkness yesterday), and Jim Furyk (who finished 4th). In his match against Furyk, Rory was 1 down going into the 16th hole. It wasn't looking good for him, but Rory went on to win the next three holes and beat Furyk, going birdie, birdie, eagle. He drove the green on the 18th and made a huge (albeit unexpected for both him and Furyk) eagle putt to win.

In the final match, Rory took an early lead against Gary Woodland, going 4 up through 7. Both players were playing well, although Gary Woodland battled against errant drives most of the round. But Woodland made a charge on the back nine, taking two points away from Rory on the 11th and 12th. But things turned for the worst for Woodland on the par 3 13th hole, where he was left with a short four foot putt to win the hole after Rory had duffed a chip. Woodland missed and they halved the hole, but from there on, Woodland wasn't the same. He would concede the 16th hole and watch after a poor bunker shot.

The 3rd place match was played between Jim Furyk (surprise, surprise) and young Englishmen and European Tour player Danny Willett. This was a back and fourth match, with Furyk leading going into the back nine, but Willett dominating much of the back nine. By no means did Furyk lose the match, rather, Willett won it. Despite being for 3rd place, Willett probably comes out as the biggest winner this week, as his 3rd place finish was enough to earn him temporary PGA Tour status for the rest of the season.

TPC Harding Park was not forgiving this week, especially the deep (US Open style) rough. On the back nine, many of the par 4s required a tee shot in the fairway, as a second shot from the rough would often result in balls not having enough spin to stay on the green when they landed. We saw this a lot in Woodland's final round, where he was penalized a few times for missing the fairway.

Finally, our lone pick who made it to the knockout rounds, Rickie Fowler, lost in his first match to Louis Oosthuizen, who dominated most of the match.

There you have it, the 2nd WGC event of the season. As I promised, it was filled with excitement and world class golf. Next week is the biggest event of the PGA Tour, the "5th major", the Players Championship from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Stay tuned for our picks for it.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Rory McIlroy Wins the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play

2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational Weekend Update

We're halfway through this year's edition of the Arnold Palmer Invitational from Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida. It's been an interesting few rounds with some pretty low scores all around. The leader going into the weekend is Morgan Hoffman at 13-under (-13), with a three shot lead over Harris English, Henrik Stenson, and 2014 winner Matt Every. The cut has also been set at 2-under (-2), which is the lowest cut in the tournament's history

Bay Hill has been playing perfect scoring-wise, especially this morning, where the greens were soft and vulnerable with no wind at all. Many players took advantage of this, including Morgan Hoffman, who make nine birdies (6 alone on the front nine) which aided in a 65 on the day. The low round of the day however was a 64, shot by Australian Danny Lee (T6).

Probably one of the most common picks this week was Henrik Stenson and for good reason. He's probably playing the best golf of his career right now and always seems to be in contention. I'm confident he'll get another win in no time. He shot a solid 68 66, which included 4 hole birdie streak on the last few holes today. This is really good considering that the back nine at Bay Hill has seen less scoring than the front nine so far.

A less common pick this week was Rory McIlroy, who is 8-under T6. Rory shot a 66 today, which was his first sub-70 round for him in 8 rounds on the PGA Tour. He also had a nice 5 hole birdie streak on the front nine today. This is Rory's last event before the Master's, which is the major that he's yet to win.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Billy Horschel: T23 at 5-under (-5)
2) Henrik Stenson: T2 at 10-under (-10)
3) Graeme McDowell: CUT

Good work from Billy and Stenson. It looks like GMac might be in a little slump as of now, considering how he's playing. Hopefully it's just a temporary thing!

Be sure to check our Results post Sunday evening to see who won,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Can Hoffman hold on to the lead for his 1st PGA Tour win? (Charles King/Orlando Sentinel)