2014 BMW PGA Championship Predictions - Weekend Update

The weekend is here and the cut has now been made at the European Tour's largest event at 3-over (+3). The leader going in to the weekend is Shane Lowry at 10-under (-10) with a two-shot lead over Thomas Bjorn. Here is how our predictions turned out:

1) Lee Westwood - T29 at 1-under (-1)
2) Padraig Harrington T56 at 2-over (+2)
3) Alvaro Quiros T48 at 1-over (+1)

And our player of note, Miguel Angel Jimenez, is T42 at even par.

Weekend play is always very exciting at this tournament so lets see how our picks continue and who will win it all,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Click Here for the 2014 BMW PGA Championship Leaderboard 

Bathurst Glen Golf Club Review #1

Name: Bathurst Glen Golf Club
Location: Richmond Hill, Ontario (~35 minutes north of Toronto)
Type: Public
Holes: 18 (2x9)
Length and Par: 3721-4551 yards / 63
Tees: (Shortest to Longest): Green, White, Black and shorter "Family Tees"
Website: http://www.bathurstglengolf.ca/

Located just north of Toronto, Bathurst Glen Golf Course is a family friendly, public, 18 hole golf course owned and operated by Toronto and Region Conservation. With an emphasis on environmental sustainability, Bathurst Glen offers a challenging yet fun experience, that golfers of all abilities will enjoy.

Course Layout:
Pace of Play:
Staff:
Value:
Course Conditions:

Price:
Difficulty:

Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 5

Bathurst Glen is a fun course that I used to play many times over the years (a few times recently) and one that I find to be best suited for medium to high handicappers, or anyone who wants to work on their game without coming across to many difficulties. Playing-wise, they offer a good par 63 course (see more below) with a few good holes, a great driving range for practice/warm-up (although the driving range is a little far and somewhat separate from the course itself), and good warm-up greens. Off the course however is a different story and a different feel. There is a small clubhouse with food services, but no other "clubhouse" ammenities like a place to kick back after a round (other than a small outdoor patio). It doesn't really give off that welcoming/inviting clubhouse feel that some courses do, because that's not to kind of golf course it is. It's more of a course where you go to golf and that's it. Whether this is a good thing or bad thing is completely up to personal taste. The staff is friendly however, which isn't always the case at courses like this, but I have noticed that the marshals always seem to be watching you as you shoot (which might be intimidating to some).

Getting back to the course now, like I said it is a par 63, mostly made up of par three's and four's, except for the 18th hole which features a nice par 5. It offers three sets of tees (Green, White, Black) for various skill levels, but this year has introduced "family tees" which are shorter than the Green tees and designed for kids/families who are new to golf. The hole layout is okay, however on some holes, all that separates your hole from the hole beside you is rough and a few oddly places trees. Most of the holes are pretty straight forward, most being dead straight with slight elevation change, which makes the course easy to play most of the times. The course is also pretty open and there are few places where you ball is totally non-recoverable. However, given that the course is owned by Toronto and Region Conservation, there are several fescue areas which prohibit searching for balls. Course conditions are pretty good, however I noticed that the bunkers don't drain well after some rain.

Some holes of note are #14, a 332-yard par 4, downhill, and tree lined to the left and dense rough to the right (a great looking hole) and #17, a 125 yard par 3 over water and slightly downhill, and #18, a 446 yard par 5 slight dogleg right then left to a water and bunker protected green.

And now finally the price which, to put it bluntly, is bad. 18 holes will cost you $40 during the week and about $50 (tax-excluded) on the weekends, with an additional $30 for power cart rentals. Given that it's a par-63 course suited for high to medium handicappers, you're not getting your money's worth, especially when you consider that Bloomington Downs is just a 10 minute drive away and a cheaper par 72 course. It's due to the price that I don't play here too often now. Oddly enough though, the course is often pretty busy on weekends and depending on who's playing, wait times are to be expected.

Overall, this course is an easy fun course to play as a high to medium handicappers, but is overpriced, given what you are getting.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

2014 BMW PGA Championship Predictions

Tomorrow is the start of one of the European Tour's most coveted tournaments, the BMW PGA Championship, played at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England. This tournament is the "Big One" when it comes to the European Tour, being known formally as the "Premier Event" for the Tour and due to the fact that it hands out a lot of World Golf Rankings points, as well as exemptions into this year's U.S. Open and the next three British Opens (Open Championships).

Despite being a field packed with the best of the best, come Sunday evening, there will only be one winner. Here are our predictions for the winner this year, in no particular order.

1) Lee Westwood
2) Padraig Harrington
3) Alvaro Quiros

We'll also be keeping an eye on Miguel Angel Jimenez, winner of last week's Spanish Open, and personal favourite around here.

Stay tuned to see how our predictions fare out,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Click Here for the 2014 BMW PGA Championship Leaderboard

What is the PGA Tour All-Around Ranking?

If you've watched a few golf tournaments on Tv before, then you may have noticed that during the commercials, a quick caption will pop up telling you what the All-Around Rankings for the PGA Tour as of this week are. But what is the PGA Tour All-Around Ranking? What does this mean? Here is a brief summary of what an All-Around Ranking is.

In short, the All-Around Ranking is basically a measure of how well players rank in several stats (Scoring Leaders, Putting Leaders, Eagle Leaders, Birdie Leaders, Sand Saves, Greens in Regulation, Driving Distance and Driving Accuracy) with respect to the number of events they've played. In essence, it ranks players by how well they've been playing over the season.

The rank is based on points, the lower number of points, the higher you rank in the All-Around Ranking. It is also updated weekly, much like the FedEx Cup and World Golf Rankings.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship Predictions - Results

Yesterday evening, the 2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship concluded, with American Brenden Todd taking the win with a final score of 14-under (-14), two strokes ahead of Canadian Mike Weir (see more below). Here is how our predictions fared:

1) Louis Oosthuizen T11 at 6-under (-6)
2) Graham DeLaet T7 at 8-under (-8)
3) Aaron Baddeley T29 at 3-under (-3)

Not too bad, but...

(Getty Images)

A few words must be said about Canadian and 2003 Masters Champion Mike Weir. Weir, who hasn't won on tour since 2007 and has been plagued with injury after injury over the years, finished a solo second; a result which propelled him to 238th on the World Golf Rankings, from his position last week of 605th. I was actually hoping that Weir would win, but considering what he's been through, a solo second is probably just as good.

Let's hope this is the comeback in Weir's career that we have all been waiting for,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews