Monday Golf Update

by Shaun Hall (IMG Canada)

PGA Tour
Last Week:  The Honda Classic

Players competing in the Honda Classic this past weekend had to fight hard against a challenging course and difficult weather conditions.  Sunday saw wind whipping on PGA National which showed in the fact that only five players recorded rounds under par.  One of those rounds was played by the champion, Michael Thompson.  Thompson closed with a 1-under par 69 to hold off runner up Geoff Ogilvy and take his first PGA Tour event of his career.  A 50-foot eagle putt on the 3rd hole and a birdie on the 18th cemented his victory with an overall score of 9-under par (271).  With this win, Thompson moves into 11th place in the FedExCup standings and will compete this weekend at the WGC - Cadillac Championship.  He also earns a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

Opening rounds of 71 and 70 put Mike Weir at 1-over par, just missing the cut by one stroke.  A number of other IMG players competed at the Honda Classic, with Sean O'Hair and Y.E. Yang being the top finishers.  Both were even par for the event placing them tied for 18th place overall.  Other players included Matteo Manassero (T29), Ernie Els (T46, Retief Goosen (T64) and Branden Grace (T71).

Two Canadians made it to the weekend at the Honda Classic.  Graham DeLaet finished with an overall 2-under par to put him in a tie for 9th place.  Brad Fritsch also made the cut, however fell prey to difficult conditions Sunday shooting an overall score of 14-over par and tying for 74th place.

Coming Up:  WGC - Cadillac Championship

The World Golf Championships - Cadillac Championship is set to take place March 7-10th at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral in Miami, FL.

Justin Rose is the defending champion at this event after a 1-stroke victory last year over Bubba Watson.  Rose will be joined by a small field of players vying for the win which include IMG golfers Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Branden Grace, Padraig Harrington, Matteo Manassero, and Alexander Noren.

There are no Canadian players competing in the Cadillac Championship this weekend.

Coming Up:  Puerto Rico Open

The second event to be held this upcoming weekend is the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com.  It is set to take place March 3-7th at the Trump International Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

George McNeil is looking to defend his title after his 2012 victory over Ryo Ishikawa.  With the WGC - Cadillac Championship also taking place, the field will be missing most of the top-50 ranked players.  The field still includes fierce competitors looking to take over the title.  These players include IMG golfers Paul Casey, K.J. Choi, Ryo Ishikawa, Kevin Na, Camilo Villegas and Y.E. Yang.

Canadians in the field at the Puerto Rico Open include Stephen Ames, Graham DeLaet, Brad Fritsch, and David Hearn.

European Tour
Last Week:  Tshwane Open

It was an exciting weekend for Dawie Van Der Walt as he claimed the biggest victory of his career at the Tshwane Open.  Van Der Walt fired a 5-under par round on Sunday to finish at 21-under for the tournament and hold off recent Africa Open winner Darren Fichardt.  Van Der Walt attributed his fine play to solid ball striking and not having to chip very often (one of his weaknesses, according to Van Der Walt).  Another advantage for Van Der Walt was to be one of only four players to eagle the 685 yard fourth hole (the longest hole in European Tour history).

Jorge Campillo was the only IMG golfer to make the cut at the Tshwane Open, tying for 58th with a score of 6-under par.

Coming Up:  WGC - Cadillac Championship

The World Golf Championships - Cadillac Championship is set to take place March 7-10th at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral in Miami, FL.

Justin Rose is the defending champion at this event after a 1-stroke victory last year over Bubba Watson.  Rose will be joined by a small field of players vying for the win which include IMG golfers Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Branden Grace, Padraig Harrington, Matteo Manassero, and Alexander Noren.

There are no Canadian players competing in the Cadillac Championship this weekend.

LPGA Tour
Last Week:  HSBC Women's Champions 2013

2012 Rolex Player of the Year Stacy Lewis claimed victory this past weekend at the HSBC Women's Champions event.  Lewis held on to win the tournament by one with a final score 15-under par over runner up Na Yeon Choi.  This win marks the sixth career victory for Lewis and moves her up one spot to 3rd place in the Rolex Rankings.  Having a strong season to date, Lewis has played in three events so far with two top-10 finishes to go with her win at the HSBC Women's Champions event.

With the exception of Natalie Gulbis who withdrew after the first round of the tournament, IMG players had a good overall weekend.  Paula Creamer took top honours finishing 3rd at 13-under par.  Other notable finishes include Catriona Matthew (T10), Beatriz Recari (T24), Michelle Wie (t45) and Mika Miyazato (T47).

eGolf Professional Tour
Coming Up:  Irish Creek Classic

The Irish Creek Classic will be taking place March 6-9th at The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, NC.  The previous winner David May will be defending his title again in 2013 against a field of players including Canadians Daniel Bowling, Cam Burke, Robbie Greenwell,  and MacKenzie Hughes.

No IMG players are competing in the Irish Creek Classic.

NGA Hooters Tour
Last Week:  Spring Hill Classic

Justin Lower claimed his first NGA Pro Series win this past weekend at Spring Hill Country Club.  Holding off fellow David Toms award recipient Brad Schneider, Lower shot a final round 69 to finish at 8-under for the event.  Lower started off the final round tied for fourth place and going the wrong way when he bogeyed two of the first five holes.  Lower bounced back with two birdies before the turn to remain in contention and eventually go on to win the event.

There were no IMG golfers participating in the Spring Hill Classic.  Canada had a strong presence with ten players competing.  Among those, Marc-Etienne Bussieres took top spot for his fellow Canadians, finishing T3 at 6-under par.  Other notable finishes include Riley Wheeldon (T17), Ben Silverman (T25), Stuart Anderson (T25), Will Mitchell (T31) and Max Gilbert (T66).

Web.com Tour
Last Week:  Colombia Championship

A tournament record total of 18-under par was enough to put California rookie Patrick Cantlay at the top of the leaderboard at the Colombia Championship.  Cantlay held of Jim Renner to claim victory by four strokes at the Country Club de Bogata this past weekend.  With this victory, Cantlay becomes the second youngest winner in Web.com Tour history at the age of 20 years 11 months and 15 days.  En route to his win, Cantlay carded the lowest rounds of the day on both Saturday and Sunday (65 and 66, respectively).

The only IMG player, Todd Hamilton missed the cut in Colombia along with Canadian's Adam Hadwin and Richard Scott.  Roger Sloan was the only Canadian to play over the weekend, finishing T15 with a final score of 7-under par.

Coming Up:  Chile Classic

The Chile Classic will be taking place March 7-10th at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago, Chile.  The previous champion, Paul Haley II will be defending his title against IMG players Matt Hill and Felipe Aguilar.  Canadians in the field will include Adam Hadwin, Roger Sloan and Ryan Yip.

Ladies European Tour (LET)
Coming Up:  World Ladies Championship

The second World Ladies Championship is to be held on the Sandbelt Trails course at Mission Hills Golf Resort in Haikou, Hainan, China.  The event will run from March 7-10th. 

This event is the fourth stop on the LET and will gather 108 of the best female golfers in the world.  Among the field IMG will be represented by Carly Booth and Laura Davies.  There are no Canadian players competing this weekend.