NBC DROP BRAD FAXON IN FAVOUR OF PETER JACOBSEN

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By Jim McCabe
Given the pieces to the puzzle at work – he turns 50 in August and will turn his focus to the Champions Tour, his limited status on the US PGA Tour, the association with NBC – Brad Faxon was having a tough time planning out a playing schedule for 2011.
But that task has become easier – much to his chagrin. That’s because Faxon won’t be part of the NBC golf team this year. Instead, NBC has pulled a bit of a surprise and inked Peter Jacobsen to an increased role.
“Brad Faxon had a one-year contract and it was not renewed,” Chris McCloskey, vice president of communications for NBC Sports, told Golfweek’s Alex Miceli.
Faxon, who worked seven tournaments for NBC last year, had been trying to map out his playing opportunities around possible TV gigs when he got the news. He said he thoroughly enjoyed the NBC experience and wouldn’t rule out future TV endeavoUrs, but for now he’ll focus on a return to form on the course.
Having kept his full status on tour for 22 consecutive years, Faxon has been plagued by a series of injuries and inconsistent play the past five seasons. To keep in the game he has already used his one-time exemptions for being top 25 and top 50 in career money, so he knew going into 2011 that he’d have to rely upon sponsor’s exemptions, Monday qualifiers and the past champion’s category.
As it stands, Faxon, who will turn 50 on August 1, figures he’ll play three of the first eight weeks (Bob Hope Classic, AT and T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Mayakoba Golf Classic). After that, he can’t say for sure.
Jacobsen will work eight tournaments for NBC – the Accenture Match Play Championship, the Cadillac Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players Championship, the U.S. Open, and three FedEx Cup events.
Alex Miceli contributed to this report.

E-Mail/Share Share this item
Send this to a friend
Grab the link
Copy and paste the link:
Close Comment Print

GEOFF OGILVY PULLS OUT OF HAWAII TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
KAPALUA, Hawaii – Hey, these trips to paradise might be warm and cozy, but they can sometimes be painful.
Just ask Geoff Ogilvy, who definitely won’t win a third straight tournament here at the Plantation Course. That’s because he has withdrawn from the Hyundai Tournament of Champions thanks to an injury from . . . are you ready? Swimming.
Ogilvy late Monday said he tripped in shallow water and “I grazed my finger on some reef.” The gash to his right index finger required 12 stitches and “it causes discomfort to bend or place any pressure on it.”
Not that Ogilvy is alone in this island mishaps. Another member of the select field, Zach Johnson, said he will give it a go despite a toe injury that he suffered last weekend during a family vacation to the Grand Cayman Island.
Johnson said he was wearing sandals when he went running to put out a small fire caused by sparklers. He jammed his right toe into a step on stairs, and while he insisted it’s not a big deal, it does cause some
discomfort. To alleviate that, Johnson had a friend, Marc Wahl, cut out a hole in the toe of his right golf shoe.
“I’m going to try. We’ll see how it goes,” Johnson said.
Ogilvy, who was attempting to become the second Aussie to win three straight times in this season opener (Stuart Appleby being the other), did not say whether he would play next week at the Sony Open.
His withdrawal leaves 33 players in the winners-only field.

SALTMANS SCINTILLATE IN AFRICA OPEN FIRST ROUND

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Brandon Pieters put together a run of five consecutive birdies to establish a one-shot lead after round one of the Africa Open today.
The four-time Sunshine Tour winner carded a seven-under-par 66 at East London Golf Club to lead compatriots Branden Grace and Jaco Van Zyl, France's Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, England's Miles Tunnicliff and Elliot Saltman from the Lothians - one shot ahead of brother Lloyd on the 68 mark.

Starting at the ninth, Pieters eagled his third hole of the day - the par five 11th - after hitting his approach to four feet.
Three birdies and three bogeys followed in the next seven holes, before Pieters launched his birdie blitz - starting at the third and culminating with a six footer on the seventh which gripped the lip before dropping.
Four of the five leading players took advantage of the best of the morning conditions following a 90min fog delay, and before the wind picked up in the afternoon.
Pieters said: "It's always all about putting, and I didn't really miss anything from inside ten feet today. All good putting, that's all."                                                         

Tunnicliff - playing on a sponsor's invite after losing his European Tour card - and Gonnet both bogeyed the 14th, but the Englishman did not drop another shot as he carded five birdies and an eagle.

Gonnet, still searching for a maiden European Tour title in his fifth season at this level, also dropped a shot at the ninth but six birdies and an eagle at the 11th put him firmly in contention.

Qualifying School graduate Van Zyl was the only member of the leading players not to drop a shot, as last season's four-time Sunshine Tour winner picked up six birdies.
"I only missed one fairway all day," he said, "and that was only just."                                                                       
Grace was the only player in the top five to tee off in the afternoon, and he left it late to make his move as holed his approach to the 18th for an eagle which completed an inward 31.
English pair Ross McGowan and Robert Rock were joined on five under by South Africans Thabang Simon, Jbe Kruger, Doug McGuigan and Lloyd Saltman.
Elliot Saltman (top picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency) had an eagle 3 at the long third and birdies at the sixth and nine to be out in four-under-par 33. He birdied the long 11th and also the 13th before dropping his only shot of the day, at the 14th. But he promptly birdied the 15th on his way to an inward half of 34 and a six-under-par 67.
Lloyd Saltman (lower picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency) bogeyed the first and second but got into his stride with birdies at the third and fifth to match the outward par of 37. Then he birdied the 12th, 14th, grabbed an eagle 3 at the long 15th and birdied the 18th for a scintillating five-under-par inward half of 31.
LEADERBOARD
Par 73. Yardage 6,847.
Players from S Africa unless stated
66 Brandon Pieters.
67 Mile Tunnicliff (England), Jaco Van Zyl, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (France), Branden Grace, Elliot Saltman (Scotland).

 OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
68 Lloyd Saltman.
70 Alastair Forsyth, David Drysdale.
71 Scott Jamieson, Marc Warren.
72 Steven O'Hara.
78 Scott Drummond.
81 George Murray.

TO READ THE COMPLETE EUROPEAN TOUR SCOREBOARD

CLICK HERE

SIX SCOTS ENTER ASIAN TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL

Players from Scotland who have so far entered this month's Asian Tour Qualifying School are:

Stephen Clark (Stage 1, Imperial Lakeview)
Sandy Mitchell (Stage 1, Springfield Royal Country Club)
Clarke Lutton (Stage 1, Majestic Creek Golf Club)
Lee Harper (Stage 1, Majestic Creek GC)
Simon Dunn and Ross Bain (Final Stage)

FROM THE ASIAN TOUR
The Q School has attracted 433 entries which has led to the opening of a third venue for the First Stage which starts next week.
Up to today, a total of 316 players from over 30 different nationalities have signed up for the First Stage at the Imperial Lakeview Golf Club, Majestic Creek Golf Resort and Springfield Royal Country Club in Hua Hin , Thailand from January 12-15.
Springfield Royal is the new addition for Stage One following the strong response and entries for this venue will close on January 7, Friday, 5pm Malaysian/Singapore time (GMT +8 hours).
The top 20% players from the First Stage will qualify for the all-important Final Stage presented by Sports Authority of Thailand from January 19-22.
Currently, a total of 117 players are exempt into The Final Stage which will be held at Imperial Lakeview and Springfield Royal where the top-40 finishers will then playing rights for the 2011 season.
Players who compete in the Qualifying School will also be eligible for membership on the Asian Development Tour where a minimum of five tournaments will be held in the new season.
This year’s total entries by far exceed last year’s turn-out of 376 players at the Qualifying School.
Japan leads the highest number of entries with 85 participants where nine players, led by seven-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, Hirofumi Miyase and Azuma Yano are exempt into the final stage.

McDOWELL WINS 2010 EUROPEAN TOUR SHOT OF THE YEAR

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR
Graeme McDowell’s crucial birdie putt on the 16th hole on the final day of The Ryder Cup has been voted The European Tour Shot of the Year for 2010, adding to the Northern Irishman’s remarkable haul of awards following his career-defining season.
The 31 year old’s achievements throughout 2010 have been recognised around the world with a host of deserved awards and accolades, and among the many great shots he played in a phenomenal season it was the 15 foot putt on the 16th green at The Celtic Manor Resort during his singles tie against Hunter Mahan which stood head and shoulders above the rest.
Knowing that the outcome of The Ryder Cup rested firmly on his shoulders, McDowell held his nerve in front of the tens of thousands of spectators gathered around the green – and millions glued to television sets - to stroke the ball home. For many observers it was the sporting moment of the year, and for the judging panel of golf commentators it was certainly The European Tour Shot of the Year.
McDowell went on to beat Mahan at the next hole to secure the winning point in Europe’s 14 ½ - 13 ½ victory over the United States, the narrowest margin of victory since 1991.
McDowell said: “That putt on the 16th was the best I’ve hit in my life. It was just 15 feet but it was above the hole and very fast. I knew I just had to get the ball going and thankfully it caught an edge and dropped in because I wouldn’t have fancied the one back if it had missed!
“In the context of The Ryder Cup, that 16th hole was massive as I was aware that everything was riding on the outcome of my singles match with Hunter. I knew that a half point was still not good enough to regain the cup.
“However everything went according to plan at the 16th and the rest is history. I will never forget the feeling standing over that putt and appreciating its importance. It was as important as any stroke I will ever play in my career and I am delighted it has been voted as The European Tour Shot of the Year.”
The Shot of the Year award gives McDowell a famous double, as he was also named the joint recipient of The 2010 Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year award along with Germany’s Martin Kaymer, as well as the winner of the annual awards from the Association of Golf Writers, the Golf Writers’ Association of America and the Irish Golf Writers while he was also named RTE Sportsperson of the Year.
McDowell, who in addition to securing the winning point in The Ryder Cup became the first European to win The US Open in 40 years and won three other titles during the year, was also named RTE Sportsperson of the Year in Ireland and received an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List.
The European Tour Shot of the Year competition ran on europeantour.com over the festive period with one lucky entrant winning a fantastic golf break to the outstanding London Golf Club, the first European Tour Destination in the European Tour Properties portfolio.
Second place in the Shot of the Year competition went to Kaymer, The 2010 Race to Dubai winner, for his fearless putt on the 18th green at Whistling Straits to force a play-off with American Bubba Watson in the US PGA Championship, which the German went on to win.
In third place was Ian Poulter’s superb chip on the 15th green in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship against fellow Englishman Paul Casey.
The European Tour Shot of the Month Award is presented to the Tour Member for the shot judged to be the most outstanding played during each calendar month on The European Tour International Schedule. The winning shots from each month are entered into The European Tour Shot of the Year Award.
The full list of monthly winners in 2010 was: Martin Kaymer (January and August) Ian Poulter (February), Noh Seung-yul (March), Lee Westwood (April), Luke Donald (May), Graeme McDowell (June and October), Miguel Angel Jiménez (July), Edoardo Molinari (September), Robert Karlsson (November).

GEOFF OGILVY FINGER INJURY NEEDS 12 STITCHES

Geoff Ogilvy's preparations for his title defence at this week's Tournament of Champions suffered a setback when he withdrew from the pro-am competition on Wednesday due to a finger injury.
The 33-year-old Australian needed 12 stitches after hurting his right index finger while coming out of the ocean on the Hawaiian island of Maui but he is still scheduled to tee off in Thursday's opening round.
"It was a freak thing," Ogilvy's manager Paul Galli said. "He was paddling away, getting out of the water, and he slipped and tripped up in some shallow water on the reefs.
"He didn't think anything had happened at the time but then he noticed the finger was bleeding."
Galli said Ogilvy would warm up on Thursday morning before deciding whether to launch his bid for a record-equalling third consecutive victory in the US Tour's season-opening event at the Kapalua Resort.
"If he can make a proper swing without any compromises he will play, but he's not going to make any compensation," Galli added.
"He doesn't want to do that. Guys who've done that before have had long-term issues."
Ogilvy, a seven-times winner on the US Tour, is scheduled to tee off at 1300 local (2300 GMT) on Thursday in the company of 2001 champion Jim Furyk.
Finger injury permitting, the Australian will be seeking to emulate compatriot Stuart Appleby and American Gene Littler with a third successive victory in the elite, winners-only event.
Appleby triumphed on Kapalua's hilly Plantation Course from 2004 to 2006 while Littler won the tournament from 1955 to 1957 when it was staged at Desert Inn Country Club in Nevada.
"Winning the last two years, it's a place you always want to come back to," Ogilvy said earlier this week.
"It's just nice to be back here defending. It was the first time I ever (successfully) defended anything so that was kind of fun last year. To go three in a row would be a bonus."
Reuters