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?

Day 2 of the Open Championship

We're halfway through the 144th Open Championship at the Old Course at St. Andrews, but not all players have finished their rounds. In an interesting decision by tournament coordinators, due to the darkness the remaining players were given the option to finish their round in the dark or pick up tomorrow morning. As it stands right now though, the leader is still Dustin Johnson with a score of 10-under par and a one shot lead over Danny Willett. The cut also looks to be set at even par.

The initial delay today was due to the fact that the Old Course received heavy rain early this morning. It lasted just over three hours thanks to the work of the great groundspeople at St. Andrews, who worked hard to remove casual water that had collected on the many low parts of the course. That meant that the early tee times had to be moved back, as did everyone else throughout the day. Players who didn't want to finish today's round will have to wake up early tomorrow to complete it (at about 2AM EST). However it's forecasted to rain again tomorrow.

Wind was the prominent weather condition today. Like yesterday, a stiff wind was still present all day, but some players like Adam Scott (67) and Russell Henley (66) found low scores and again the front nine played easier than the back nine. However during the later rounds, the wind picked up significantly. At one point even the camera towers were shaking. We even saw leader Dustin Johnson back off from a par putt twice on the 11th due to strong gusts. He eventually missed it and bogeyed; his only one of the round. He too will finish off his second round tomorrow morning.

One player who elected to finish his round today was multiple Open Champion and golfing legend Tom Watson. Today was Tom Watson's last professional round at the Open Championship (as he unfortunately missed the cut). Despite the darkness, he received a warm welcome from fans and players as he stood on Swilcan Bridge on the 18th, for the last time as a pro. Watson won the British Open five times over his long successful career.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Tommy Fleetwood: CUT
2) Dustin Johnson: 1st at 7-under
3) Rickie Fowler: T49 at 1-under

Fleetwood unfortunately shot a 76 today, which was probably his first +70 round at the Old Course in a long time. Dustin continues to take advantage of an easy front nine and is looking great for the weekend. Fowler, on the other hand, will need to put in a bit of work to be into contention.

Weekends at the Open Championship are always a special thing. Stay tuned for our recap coverage on Saturday and check us out on Sunday to see who's won.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Can Dustin Johnson hold on for his first major win?

Europe Wins The 2014 Ryder Cup

Well it was definitely a Ryder Cup to remember filled with many ups and downs, but Europe wins the Ryder Cup for another two years, beating the US with a score of 16.5 to 11.5 at Gleneagles in Scotland. Their win was confirmed by European Rookie Jamie Donaldson, who put his second shot on the 16th hole to within two feet. US Competitor Keegen Bradley then conceeded the hole and thus giving Europe a total of 14.5 points and the win, in which they only needed 14 to retain the Cup.This is the third straight Ryder Cup that Europe has won.

This morning, the US was looking like they were going to make a good amount of points, but as we saw in the days before, Europe managed to find a way to make a comeback in most of the rounds that the US were leading. Here is a recap of today's singles matches (note that the matches are out of order):

1) Graeme McDowell VS Jordan Spieth > EUROPE 2&1
This was probably one of the most watched and anticipated matches today. From the start, it was looking bad for McDowell and Europe, as Spieth went 3UP through 5 holes. However an error by Spieth on the 10th sparked the start of a major comeback by GMac, who then went on to win the next four holes. As we've seen before, it was his putting that fueled his comeback. Another win on the 15th hole was good enough for the match to conclude at the end of the 17th hole. This is the GMac we all knew, the one who thrives and exceeds expectations even while under pressure.

2) Rory McIlroy VS Rickie Fowler > EUROPE 5&4
From the start of this match, Rory was on fire and and winning. By the 7th hole, he was 5UP and from there on until the end of the match (which was on the end of the 14th) Fowler only won a single hole (the 8th). Fowler wasn't playing bad golf, by as we saw just months ago on tour, Rory was playing just that much better. We saw in this match today who Rory is the #1 player in the world. Unfortunately this loss for Fowler means that he has never won a point for the US in all of the Ryder Cup career.

3) Henrik Stenson VS Patrick Reed > US 1UP
This was a good match played between two very good golfers. The match was back and forth all through 18 holes, but eventually Reed won it after Stenson missed a short putt on the 18th that would've halved the match. Reed was by far the most enthusiastic American this week. During his match today, after hitting a nice iron, he turned to the European crowd and put his finger to his mouth, shhhh-ing them. Reed was the only undefeated American this week, and that's saying a lot considering this was his first Ryder Cup.

4) Martin Kaymer VS Bubba Watson > EUROPE 4&2
This match showed us another European dominance by Kaymer. He was 4UP against Watson for the majority of the match. It may have been obvious that Kaymer was going to win, but he won in excellent style on the 16th hole. After hitting his second shot right of the green, Kaymer decided to chip and ended up holing out from off the green. He reacted with just as much enthusiasm as he did when he holed the winning putt. Kaymer has been solid all week and was really a key player for Europe.

5) Justin Rose VS Hunter Mahan > HALVED
This match was mostly dominated by Mahan for the first nine. But then, just like we saw with McDowell, Rose went on a run winning four straight holes to square up the match. Going into the last hole however, near the green, Mahan tried to flop his ball onto the green, but overshot it. Mahan was 1UP at the time, but as we saw in 2010, he had trouble closing the match again. Rose took advantage of this and scrambled for a half point, which was all he could do at that point. Rose was also undefeated this week throughout all his matches.

6) Stephen Gallacher VS Phil Mickelson > US 3&1
This was another back and fourth between the European and hometown rookie and the US veteran. Both played great golf all throughout the match and both held the lead at one point in the match. However, Mickelson won the last three holes of the match and as a result won the match on the 17th hole, where Gallacher bogeyed and Mickelson parred.

7) Thomas Bjorn VS Matt Kuchar > US 4&3
Kuchar, despite not winning a single point or half-point this week, ended up winning this match after Bjorn wasn't playing his best golf (only winning two holes out of 15). Kuchar also played pretty good golf too and was able to capitalize on Bjorn's errors

8) Sergio Garcia VS Jim Furyk > EUROPE 1UP
Both Garcia and Furyk played great rounds of golf and just like other matches today, the score went back and forth between the two. However, Garcia managed to win both the 15th and 16th holes which put him from 1 DOWN to 1UP. He held onto this lead right until the last hole of the match. Garcia's putting was also exceptional today, having made a 40-foot putt for par and a half on one of the holes.

9) Jamie Donaldson VS Keegen Bradley > EUROPE 4&3
Donaldson was on form for his entire match and Keegan Bradley couldn't match his performance unfortunately. After winning the first point of the match on the 5th hole, Donaldson held on to the lead for the entire match. On the 14th hole, Donaldson ensured that Europe would retain the Ryder Cup at least, by staying 4UP with four to play (ensuring the half-point that Europe needed at the time to get to 14 points). On the 15th hole, Donaldson put his second shot to within two feet, after which Keegen Bradley conceeded the hole, and thus Donaldson won the match and the Ryder Cup for Europe.

10) Ian Poulter vs Webb Simpson
Again, another back and forth match here in which Poulter led a good portion of it. Towards the end though, Simpson caught up and was 1UP going into the last hole. However, a birdie on the 18th by Poulter ensured that the Ryder Cup veteran would remain undefeated in Ryder Cup singles matches, and more importantly win the half-point for Europe.

11) Lee Westwood VS Jimmie Walker > US 3&2
This match was not lost by Westwood, but rather won by Walker. Westwood played good golf but managed very few birdies, whereas Walker's points came off birdie's he made, most of the time. This caps off a good Ryder Cup for Walker and in a post-match interview, he said that he would love to play in more Ryder Cups.

12) Victor Dubuisson VS Zach Johnson > HALVED
This was a rather uneventful match for the first 10 holes, as neither Dubuisson or Johnson won any holes, just pars between the two of them. Then on the 10th, Johnson took a 1UP lead, which kicked off a rally between the two for the lead over the next two holes. It ended with Johnson making a putt to half the match. Dubuisson played great golf all week, and as McDowell said, he's probably the next biggest thing in European golf.

Overall, the 2014 Ryder Cup may not have been as down-to-the-wire as the 2012 Ryder Cup in Medinah, but it was still one full of excitement and great golf, as is always promised with a Ryder Cup. Let's hope the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in the US.

What was your favourite part of this year's Ryder Cup? Leave a comment and let us know,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 (Jamie Donaldson: The Man Who Won the 2014 Ryder Cup for Europe)

2014 US Ryder Cup Team Confirmed

Just a few minutes ago, 2014 US Ryder Cup Captain Tom Watson confirmed his twelve man squad for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, Scotland, which is being played from September 26th to 28th.

Here is the full squad on the US side:

2014 US Ryder Cup Team
Captain:
Tom Watson

Vice-Captains:
Raymond Floyd, Steve Stricker, Andy North

Team (qualified):
Rickie Fowler
Jim Furyk
Zach Johnson
Matt Kutchar
Phil Mickelson
Patrick Reed
Jordan Speith
Jimmie Walker
Bubba Watson

Captain Picks:
Keegan Bradley
Hunter Mahan
Webb Simpson


The US side also has a great team and will definitely not let the Europeans win without a fight. Let's start with Rickie Fowler, who is making his second appearance (2010 - captain's pick). As we've said many times on this site, Rickie is almost as hot as McIlroy at the moment, or it certainly shows that way. He's an asset to the team for sure. Jim Furyk brings experience to the team, making his ninth appearance this year, as does Phil Mickelson, who is making his eleventh appearance, and Matt Kuchar, making his second appearance. The US team this year also has a few rookies who have played their way onto the team this year in spectacular fashion; Patrick Reed, Jordan Speith, and Jimmie Walker (Speith is the second youngest team member in American history). Zach Johnson and Bubba Watson round out the nine who qualified, and are also assets to the team as well.

As for the picks, Keegan Bradley's game is consistent and very good at the moment, as he makes his second appearance. Hunter Mahan, is the most experienced of the picks and has experienced the highs and lows of the Ryder Cup, having lost the winning point to Graeme McDowell back in the 2010 Ryder Cup. Despite this, his match play record is outstanding and he'll be a valuable player to the team if he can put his bad memories behind him. Webb Simpson rounds out the picks as another consistent player and one with a very good record in his last inaugural Ryder Cup (2012).

It may be played only once every two years, but the Ryder Cup is without a doubt one of the most anticipated events in golf. As always it is sure to make for some great entertainment and feature a type of golf that we might not see on the regular tours.

We know the full teams now, but it's still hard for me to make a pick on who will win the 2014 Ryder Cup. As of now, I'm giving the edge to Europe, but just barely. It's hard to beat the spirit they bring to each Ryder Cup (as Poulter would probably agree). Don't count the US out though, they'll be looking for redemption after the 2012 Ryder Cup AKA the "Miracle at Medinah".

What do you think of the picks? Who do you think will win come the end of September? Leave a comment and let us know,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

2014 Greenbrier Classic Predictions

The 2014 Greenbrier Classic starts tomorrow morning at the Old White TPC course in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. This is a tournament played by many to make sure their game is up to par for the upcoming Open Championship, which starts at Royal Liverpool in just two weeks.

With that in mind, here are our picks for the winner this year:

1) Kevin Na: He's really on his game at the moment and a win for him wouldn't surprise me
2) Brenden Todd
3) Bill Haas

Also, we'll be keeping an eye on Mike Weir, who is a local favourite here.

There are also a few notable players playing the Greenbrier Classic this year, such as Sir Nick Faldo, Tom Watson, Darren Clarke, and John Daly.

Stay tuned Friday evening to see how our picks are doing and who the leader going into the weekend is,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews