RUSSELL KNOX EARNS $45,880 FOR LEVEL PAR JT 26TH FINISH
AUSSIE STEVEN BOWDITCH WINS
TEXAS OPEN - FIRST WIN ON US TOUR
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
RUSH HOUR: Matt Kuchar was tied with Bowditch for the lead with nine holes remaining. They were at 9 under and three clear of the field. Kuchar has won six times on TOUR; Bowditch was seeking his first TOUR victory. It was No. 11 in the Official World Golf Ranking vs. No. 339.
In the spirit of March Madness, Bowditch pulled off the upset. Kuchar made bogey on three of the back nine’s first five holes and eventually finished fourth, three shots back. He three-putted Nos. 10 and 14.
“I felt rushed, I felt like it led to a couple mistakes: the three-putt on 10, rushing a little bit, the wedge shot on 11, the wind was kind of up and down and I felt like I just had to pull the trigger,” Kuchar said.
“Being on the clock is just stressful. It’s not something you’re used to, so I felt a little more rushed, a little more stressed. Particularly with windy, difficult conditions like today, you just need to think things through more than normal.”
Kuchar’s fourth-place finish was his fifth top-10 in eight starts this season.
CARD-CARRYING MEMBER: Daniel Summerhays’ runner-up finish at the Valero Texas Open matched his career-best finish. He didn’t win, but there was one big bonus to his good play. He secured his playing privileges for next season.
“It’s always a relief once you’ve made enough to keep your card, keep your job for next year. That is a big relief,” Summerhays said.
“A lot of these guys are out here trying to win every week. I do want to win, but I’m in a position now where I keep my card for another year. That’s a big deal for me. It’s a blessing. I feel really grateful.”
ON THE RISE: Will MacKenzie had to regain his PGA TOUR card at the Web.com Tour Finals. Now he’s in contention for the FedExCup. MacKenzie’s second-place finish was his third top-6 finish in his past four starts. He’s now 11th in the FedExCup standings.
“I got nervous a couple times. When I got to 6 under, I thought, ‘Man, here I come. I’m back in this a little bit.’ I got really excited. It’s awesome. It’s a great feeling,” MacKenzie said.
MacKenzie was second in strokes gained-putting this week.
Russell Knox finished T26 on level par 288 with scores of 74, 70, 71 and 73. He earned $45,880 to put towards his forthcoming wedding!
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72) Players from USA unless stated
280 Steven Bowditch (Australia) 69 67 68 76 ($1,116,000)
281 Will MacKenzie 69 72 70 70, Daniel Summerhays 72 68 70 71 ($545,600 each).
282 Matt Kuchar 70 72 65 75, Andrew Loupe 67 70 70 75 ($272,800 each).
283 Jim Furyk 70 74 68 71, Zach Johnson 70 71 70 72, Jerry Kelly 71 71 70 71, Brendon Todd 71 76 78 68 ($200,725 each).
SELECTED TOTALS
284 Jordan Spieth 75 70 68 71 (T10) ($167,400
288 Russell Knox (Scotland) 74 70 71 73 (26) ($45,880)
292 Brian Davis (England) 71 72 76 73 (T46) ($15,934)
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES, PRIZE MONEY
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TEXAS OPEN - FIRST WIN ON US TOUR
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
SAN ANTONIO -- Aussie Steven Bowditch won his first US PGA Tour title Sunday at
the Valero Texas Open, finishing one shot ahead of Will MacKenzie and
Daniel Summerhays to lift the $1,116,000 top prize.
Bowditch finished at 8-under 280 after a final-round 76 to earn a trip to the Masters.
Bowditch's final-round score was the highest by a winner since Vijay Singh at the 2004 US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. The field averaged was 73.8 on a windy day at TPC San Antonio.
“I was able to stay pretty positive, to be honest,” Bowditch said. “After a period of time out there, with the way I was playing, I kind of just accepted the fact that I was going to be playing from cactuses, moving rocks, missing putts and just had to deal with it every time.
"It happened so frequently that it never really surprised me. I was just lucky enough that the wind was up enough today that no one else could squeeze in there and shoot a good score.”
Bowditch started the final round with a three-shot lead over Matt Kuchar and Andrew Loupe, but was 3 over on the first four holes and made the turn in 3-over 39 to fall into a tie for the lead with Kuchar.
Kuchar made bogey on three of the back nine’s first five holes, though, and shot a 39 of his own on the back side. Kuchar and Loupe tied for fourth at 6 under after both shooting 75 on Sunday.
Bowditch rose from 155th to 26th in the FedExCup after his 500-point win. He also earned his first Masters invitation; the Aussie will make his Masters debut the same year that Adam Scott defends the country's first Masters victory.
A trio of Australians -- John Senden, Aaron Baddeley and Scott Gardiner -- greeted Bowditch near the 18th green to congratulate him on his victory.
Senden, winner of the recent Valspar Championship, was fittingly wearing a white Masters T-shirt.
Bowditch’s lead was down to one shot after a bogey at the par-3 13th, but he birdied the next hole to regain a two-shot lead.
Bowditch, who ranked 64th in strokes gained-putting this week, switched putters after the first round, but said that is something he does on an almost weekly basis.
“After I played well on Thursday, with my ballstriking, I thought, ‘Hang on a moment, I might be able to get in contention this week with the way I was hitting the ball.’ I just wanted to go back to a putter that I was completely comfortable with,” he said.
The change worked, and it helped change his life.
Bowditch finished at 8-under 280 after a final-round 76 to earn a trip to the Masters.
Bowditch's final-round score was the highest by a winner since Vijay Singh at the 2004 US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. The field averaged was 73.8 on a windy day at TPC San Antonio.
“I was able to stay pretty positive, to be honest,” Bowditch said. “After a period of time out there, with the way I was playing, I kind of just accepted the fact that I was going to be playing from cactuses, moving rocks, missing putts and just had to deal with it every time.
"It happened so frequently that it never really surprised me. I was just lucky enough that the wind was up enough today that no one else could squeeze in there and shoot a good score.”
Bowditch started the final round with a three-shot lead over Matt Kuchar and Andrew Loupe, but was 3 over on the first four holes and made the turn in 3-over 39 to fall into a tie for the lead with Kuchar.
Kuchar made bogey on three of the back nine’s first five holes, though, and shot a 39 of his own on the back side. Kuchar and Loupe tied for fourth at 6 under after both shooting 75 on Sunday.
Bowditch rose from 155th to 26th in the FedExCup after his 500-point win. He also earned his first Masters invitation; the Aussie will make his Masters debut the same year that Adam Scott defends the country's first Masters victory.
A trio of Australians -- John Senden, Aaron Baddeley and Scott Gardiner -- greeted Bowditch near the 18th green to congratulate him on his victory.
Senden, winner of the recent Valspar Championship, was fittingly wearing a white Masters T-shirt.
Bowditch’s lead was down to one shot after a bogey at the par-3 13th, but he birdied the next hole to regain a two-shot lead.
Bowditch, who ranked 64th in strokes gained-putting this week, switched putters after the first round, but said that is something he does on an almost weekly basis.
“After I played well on Thursday, with my ballstriking, I thought, ‘Hang on a moment, I might be able to get in contention this week with the way I was hitting the ball.’ I just wanted to go back to a putter that I was completely comfortable with,” he said.
The change worked, and it helped change his life.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: When asked how he was going to prepare for his upcoming Masters debut, Bowditch joked, “I don’t even know how to get there.”
He’s not completely unfamiliar with the course, though. He’s played it on PlayStation. “So I guess I know some of the breaks,” he said.
He’s not completely unfamiliar with the course, though. He’s played it on PlayStation. “So I guess I know some of the breaks,” he said.
- Steve Bowditch ... first US PGA Tour win
RUSH HOUR: Matt Kuchar was tied with Bowditch for the lead with nine holes remaining. They were at 9 under and three clear of the field. Kuchar has won six times on TOUR; Bowditch was seeking his first TOUR victory. It was No. 11 in the Official World Golf Ranking vs. No. 339.
In the spirit of March Madness, Bowditch pulled off the upset. Kuchar made bogey on three of the back nine’s first five holes and eventually finished fourth, three shots back. He three-putted Nos. 10 and 14.
“I felt rushed, I felt like it led to a couple mistakes: the three-putt on 10, rushing a little bit, the wedge shot on 11, the wind was kind of up and down and I felt like I just had to pull the trigger,” Kuchar said.
“Being on the clock is just stressful. It’s not something you’re used to, so I felt a little more rushed, a little more stressed. Particularly with windy, difficult conditions like today, you just need to think things through more than normal.”
Kuchar’s fourth-place finish was his fifth top-10 in eight starts this season.
CARD-CARRYING MEMBER: Daniel Summerhays’ runner-up finish at the Valero Texas Open matched his career-best finish. He didn’t win, but there was one big bonus to his good play. He secured his playing privileges for next season.
“It’s always a relief once you’ve made enough to keep your card, keep your job for next year. That is a big relief,” Summerhays said.
“A lot of these guys are out here trying to win every week. I do want to win, but I’m in a position now where I keep my card for another year. That’s a big deal for me. It’s a blessing. I feel really grateful.”
ON THE RISE: Will MacKenzie had to regain his PGA TOUR card at the Web.com Tour Finals. Now he’s in contention for the FedExCup. MacKenzie’s second-place finish was his third top-6 finish in his past four starts. He’s now 11th in the FedExCup standings.
“I got nervous a couple times. When I got to 6 under, I thought, ‘Man, here I come. I’m back in this a little bit.’ I got really excited. It’s awesome. It’s a great feeling,” MacKenzie said.
MacKenzie was second in strokes gained-putting this week.
Russell Knox finished T26 on level par 288 with scores of 74, 70, 71 and 73. He earned $45,880 to put towards his forthcoming wedding!
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72) Players from USA unless stated
280 Steven Bowditch (Australia) 69 67 68 76 ($1,116,000)
281 Will MacKenzie 69 72 70 70, Daniel Summerhays 72 68 70 71 ($545,600 each).
282 Matt Kuchar 70 72 65 75, Andrew Loupe 67 70 70 75 ($272,800 each).
283 Jim Furyk 70 74 68 71, Zach Johnson 70 71 70 72, Jerry Kelly 71 71 70 71, Brendon Todd 71 76 78 68 ($200,725 each).
SELECTED TOTALS
284 Jordan Spieth 75 70 68 71 (T10) ($167,400
288 Russell Knox (Scotland) 74 70 71 73 (26) ($45,880)
292 Brian Davis (England) 71 72 76 73 (T46) ($15,934)
CLICK HERE
Labels: US PGA TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Sunday, March 30, 2014
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