Sunday, February 08, 2015

KYLE GODSMAN WINS NORTH ALLIANCE AT LOSSIE

Moray Golf Club member Kyle Godsman from Hopeman won his third North Scottish Golfers' Alliance meeting of the season by one shot over his home course at Lossiemouth with a one-under-par 69.
In halves of 35 and 34, he cancelled out bogeys at the seventh and 14th but then had a purple patch of birdies at the 12th and 13th plus an eagle at the 17th.


At that stage Godsman, pictured, was two under the card but a bogey at the last hole saw him finish with a 69 for a one-stroke victory.

NORTH SCOTTISH GOLFERS' ALLIANCE
Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth

Leading scratch scores:
69 K Godsman (Moray)
70 S Dingwall (Grantown)
71 B Fotheringham (Inverness)
72 M McAllan (Elgin) p, A Rollo (Nairn Dunbar) p, G H Hay (Grantown)
73  B J Thomson (Torvean)
74 K Thomson (Moray), J L Milne (Elgin), L Reid (Fortrose and Rosemarkie), A Cameron (Fortrose and Rosemarkie)
75 N McWilliam (Elgin), A J England (Moray), R McKerron (Forres)
76 D Johnston (Moray), R H Stewart (Torvean), D Joel (Inverness)
77 K Barnett (Torvean), P Masson (Rothes), G Mackenzie (Moray)
78 B Cruickshank (Spey Bay), S Duncan (Moray), D Hector (Elgin), J Wright (Forres)
79 J A Grant (Grantown), J R Ingram (Boat of Garten), D Gordon (Inverness)
80 D F Sharp (Boat of Garten), J Simpson (Forres), R Stewart (Nairn Dunbar), A Waterson (Grantown)
81 C Dixon (Moray), J Shaw (Boat of Garten), S Mullen (Elgin)
82 G Allan (Moray), R Kinnaird (Grantown)
83 G Hamilton (Moray), A Casey (Moray), S Rooney (Boat of Garten), R Harrower (Boat of Garten) p, A Henry (Inverness), A Cowie (Moray), R Innes (Torvean), F Mackellar (Grantown);
84 L Duncan (Elgin), I Macaulay (Elgin), L Stewart (Grantown)
85 C Gaittens (Fortrose and Rosemarkie), I Laing (Grantown)

LEADING HANDICAP
Class 1  (7 and under):
70 D Johnston (Moray) (6)
71 G H Hay (Grantown) (1), P Masson (Rothes) (6), W Weatherall (Muir of Ord) (7)
72 S Duncan (Moray) (6)
Class 2 (8 to 18)
72 S Rooney (Boat of Garten) (11)
73 A Casey (Moray) (10), R J Innes (Torvean) (10)
74 G Hamilton (Moray) (9), D Ross (Boat of Garten) (14)



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ENGAGED COUPLE WIN MEN'S AND WOMEN'S 

VICTORIAN  OPENS ON SAME DAY AT SAME COURSE
 

FROM THE AGE.COM WEBSITE
Australian veteran golfer Richard Green and his Norwegian fiancée Marianne Skarpnord have delivered the "love story" ending promoters were hoping for at this year's Victorian Open, with each player clinching titles in the men's and women's events running concurrently at Thirteenth Beach Golf Club.


It took two play-off holes for the men's title to be decided on Sunday - the second year in a row that event has gone to extra holes - but the 43-year-old Green finally outlasted reigning Australian Masters champion Nick Cullen by rolling in a 4ft birdie putt in his third time down the 18th hole.
About an hour earlier, Green's fiancee Skarpnord played her part by clinching her seventh title as a professional, winning the women's event by three shots ahead of rising Australian teenage prodigy Su Oh.
"I really think it's fascinating that we've both done it (win)," said Green, who with Skarpnord has just bought a house at Thirteenth Beach. "It's great for the tournament.
"The format of this tournament is amazing and I really hope it kicks off some interest in other tournaments around the world because it's a great atmosphere. Having the girls around, they're great players and they create just as good an environment."
Green said that being a part of Skarpnord's win had been something very different.
"Experiencing her thoughts and feelings at night and talking to each other about it has been very different and I can't say I have experienced it.
"Most of the time I'm away on my own, somewhere around the world and trying to deal with the pressures of golf."
It came down to a one-on-one duel between Victorian-bred Oh and Skarpnord, however, the Norwegian's experience proved decisive as she navigated her way through a roller-coaster final round to finish at even par for the day and -13 overall, three better than Oh at -10 playing in her first event as a professional.
The drama in the men's event began on the 18th hole, with European Tour professional Green in the clubhouse at -16, leading by one shot after showing his class with a birdie under pressure on the final hole.
But that was nothing compared to Cullen who, at -15, lobbed in a clutch chip to within a couple of feet to set up his own birdie on the par five and the extra holes.
In front of big galleries at Barwon Heads, just outside Geelong, Green and Cullen then both held their nerve to par the first playoff hole.
The critical moment in the second play-off hole came when Cullen clipped his approach shot through the green, leaving himself with a difficult chip to make for birdie.
He did his best, rolling it close, but it wasn't enough as Green dropped in the winning putt to make his birdie and punched the air with relief.
Ryan Ruffels, the teenage sensation with the golfing world at his feet, earned more admirers of his enormous talent by backing up his stellar six-under round of 66 on Saturday with a two-under par round of 70 on Sunday. He finished at -14 overall and equal third with 2012 Victorian Open winner Scott Arnold, and local favourite Ben Eccles, a member at Thirteenth Beach and Torquay golf clubs.


READ MORE ABOUT MARIANNE SKARPNORD'S WIN ON www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk

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DRUMMOND TOP SCOT IN 10th PLACE ON ALGARVE
 
Former PGA champion Scott Drummond finished as the top Scot, in joint 10th place in a field of 70, at this weekend's Algarve Pro Tour 36-hole event, the Mogado Classic at Mogado Golf Club.
Drummond had rounds of 74 and 71 for one-under-par 145.
He finished 10 strokes behind the winner by four, Portuguese player Ricardo Melo Gouveia who had rounds of 70 and 65 for an 11-under-par aggregate of 135.
Englishmen Marcus Armitage (71-68) and Mathew Southgate (73-66) tied for second place on 139.
Jay Taylor was the second best Scot in jt 20th place with a total of 147 (73-74).
Paul Lawrie's elder son Craig had scores of 78 and 71 for 150 and a share of 33rd place.
Another son of a pro, Ben Craggs finished joint 37th on 152 (77-75)
while Conor O'Neil had a tournament he will want to forget, shooting 80-77 for 11-over 157 and joint 56th place.

MOGADO CLASSIC 
Mogado Golf Club, Algarve, Portugal.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 146 (2x73)
135 Ricardo Melo Gouveia (Por) 70 65
139 Marcus Armitage (Eng) 71 68, Mathew Southgate (Eng) 73 66
140 Tiago Cruz (Por) 72 68, Goncalo Pinto (Por) 72 68.
SCOTS' SCORES
145 Scott Drummond 74 71 (T10)
147 Jay Taylor 73 74.
150 Craig Lawrie 78 72 (T33)
152 Ben Craggs 77 75 (T37_
157 Conor O'Neil 80 77 (T56)

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

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CRAIG JACKMAN BEST IN SJGT EVENT AT GULLANE

FROM WALTER BURNS
Scottish Junior Golf Tour
Here are the results from yesterday's Scottish Junior Golf Tour event at the Gullane No. 3 course. Turned out a great day after a cold start. The greens were in fantastic condition and very fast for this time of year.
Craig Jackman (Dunblane) came in with the best score of the day - a one over par 69.

LEADING SCORES
Under-18yrs
75           John McGowan (Shotts)
76           Callum Elliott (Haggs Castle), Kyle Goldie (Shotts)

Under-16yrs          
69           Craig Jackman (Dunblane)
75           Jack Williams (Sandyhills)
79           Ibrahim Hussain (Eastwood)

Under-14yrs
75           Ewan Wheat (Royal Montrose)
78           Roddy McCauley (Fereneze)
80           Jonathan Murphy (Erskine
 

Under-12yrs
76           Cameron Johnstone (Troon Welbeck)
84           Sebastian Sandin (Dunblane)
85           Aamar Saleem (Ladybank)        

Joshua Grahame (Colville Park) won the handicap prize with nett 62.


Next event “Three Way Matchplay” at Elmwood.



Walter Burns
Scottish Junior Golf Tour
Mob: 07951 103 827
Email: walter@scottishjuniorgolftour.co.uk
Web: www.scottishjuniorgolftour.co.uk

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THE NAME IS BOND, LIAM BOND - AND HE'S A 

WINNER IN TURKEY OF 4, €4,000FIRST PRIZE
 
NEWS RELEASE
The 2015 Kempinski “The Dome” Pro-Am culminated with a steady and consistent level-par final round from seasoned PGA of Great Britain and Ireland professional, Liam Bond, as he ended a wire-to-wire leading performance at six under par, taking home the €4,000 first prize.
Bond began the final round two shots ahead of the field, requiring a strong defence against his chasers, but two bogeys in the first two holes on Antalya Golf Club’s PGA Sultan Course were not perhaps the ideal start.
However, birdies at holes three, five, seven and eight swiftly dealt with the early deficit taking the Englishman to eight-under par.
His back nine was less eventful and two bogeys at 11 and 16 brought Bond back to six-under (208), enough to win the event by two shots.
“Today was good,” explained Bond. 
 “I dropped a couple early on in the first two holes, but managed to scramble them back, and then dropped a few towards the end again.
“But I’ve played steady all week and not made many mistakes – I think that’s what you’ve got to do with the course and, as we’ve seen with the Turkish tournament on the European Tour, it’s a tough test of golf and you’ve just got to keep your ball in play.”
In second place was the PGA of Italy’s Gregory Molteni who began the day four shots off the pace and his quick start with three birdies and two bogeys to go out in one-under gave him momentum to move in the right direction.
The Italian’s 12th hole proved to be a high point as he holed a second shot five-iron for eagle on the 433m par four, but an immediate bogey at the next took him to back to four-under and a birdie at 16 and bogey at 18 kept him there finishing with a two-under 69 for an overall four-under par total (210).
“I’m quite happy with today’s round,” said Molteni.  “I knew that with Mr Bond there I would have to play well from the beginning.  I am here with my Italian team and I must thank them for giving me the opportunity to train…here on the fantastic facilities.”

For Full Final Results Visit 

http://eur.pe/2015Kempinski
 
Third place went to the PGA of Israel’s Itamar Cohen who fell away relatively early in his final round after three bogeys and a double-bogey in his front nine.  Two birdies late in the back nine were useful in pulling him back up the leaderboard to be stand-alone third with a final round one-over par 72 and an overall total of one-under (213).
The two round Team Pro-Am event was won by Lukasz Szadny (PGA of Poland), and amateurs Krysztof Burdalski, Mariusz Konieczny and Waldemar Kowalczykowski, having carded 91 points in Round 2 added to their previous total of 86 points for a 177 points total (-33).
In second place was the PGA of Czech Republic’s Alan Babicky and amateurs Peter Stranak, Alzbeta Fulopova and Imed Abdellaqui, after a second round 91 points bettered their first round effort by 10 points for a total of 172 points (-28).

For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page (http://eur.pe/168U6wq) follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter (http://bit.ly/Pojrwy) and search the hashtag '#KempinskiDome' (http://eur.pe/1f4G48e) or like the PGAs of Europe Facebook Page (http://on.fb.me/RnDfEc).

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MONTY AND LYLE DOWN THE FIELD IN US 

CHAMPIONS  TOUR EVENT

Colin Montgomerie normally finishes well ahead of compatriot Sandy Lyle in US Champions Tour events.
But not this weekend in the Allianz Championship at the Old Course, Broken Sound.
They are both on 145, Lyle 72-73, Montry 73-72, tied 52nd in a field of 80 players who are headed by Bart Bryant (66-69), Paul Goydoes (66-69), Tom Pernice junior (66-69) and Rod Spittle (69-66), joint leaders on nine-under-par 135.
Bernhard Langer is T5 on137 and Englishman Roger Chapman is T45 on 144 with rounds of 68 and 76.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

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MARTIN LAIRD SLUMPS IN THIRD ROUND WITH A 76
 
FROM GOLF.COM 
By DOUG FERGUSON
SAN DIEGO – J B Holmes birdied all but one of the par 5s at Torrey Pines and escaped with bogey on his one big miss Saturday, giving him a 4-under 68 to join Harris English at the top of a crowded leaderboard in the Farmers Insurance Open.
Given this is the South Course at Torrey Pines, Sunday might be more about survival than shoot-out.
''This is a U.S. Open golf course,'' English said. ''And you've got to treat it like that.''
English led by as many as three shots early in the third round until his streak of 39 holes at par or better ended with a double bogey on No. 4. He lost the lead again late in his round with a poor chip on the 16th and had to settle for a 1-over 73.
They were at 9-under 207 with a host of contenders behind them. Of the 12 players separated by only two shots going into the final round, all but three have won on the US PGA Tour and two them –Jimmy Walker and Bill Haas – have won in the last month.

Martin Laird's wheels fell off after a pair of 68s raised his hopes of a quick atonement for last weekend's late collapse. This time he had a 76 in the third round and, at 212, is five shots behind the joint leaders.
In the previous four events this year, two in Hawaii and two in the desert, a score like 73 would be enough to send someone out of contention. The South Course at Torrey Pines, host of the 2008 U.S. Open, is different with its length and its thick rough. Jhonattan Vegas, two shots behind, hit one tee shot on the 14th hole that missed the fairway by a few feet and he had to stoop over just to see his golf ball.
''It's a battle out there,'' English said. ''I had a tough stretch on 4 ... I had a tough go on 16. But you've got to grind.''
Farmers Insurance Open : Articles, videos and photos
The 68 by Holmes, Carlos Ortiz and defending champion Scott Stallings, who was three shots behind, was the low score in the third round.
''Guys are getting bunched,'' Walker said. ''You've got par 5s that are tough, and a lot of them are unreachable.''
Walker did his part. Standing in the 18th fairway, 261 yards from the hole and a slight breeze in his face, he decided at the last minute to go up one club with a 3-wood, choked up slightly and hit a cut. It wound up about 12 feet by the hole, and his eagle putt to share the lead touched the right side of the cup. He tapped in for a 70.
Holmes is on the A-list of power players, and while his length helped, his short game led to birdies. He got up-and-down from a bunker on No. 6, reached the greenside bunker in two shots on the 603-yard 13th hole and had to lay up on the 18th after driving into the rough. He holed a 12-footer for birdie.
He was tied for the lead until pulling his tee shot into a hazard left of the 17th fairway, and then putting the next shot into a bunker. But he got up-and-down to escape with bogey and had a share of the lead when English made his late bogey.
''This golf course is a big, ball-striking course,'' Holmes said. ''So you've got to hit it in the fairway, you've got to hit some good shots and give yourself a chance for some birdies. ... The rough, it probably plays worse than it did at the U.S. Open when they had it here in 2008.''
Lucas Glover, emerging from a tough stretch of poor putting, had a 70 and will be in the final group with Holmes and English, a close friend.
No shot was more memorable for Chad Campbell than his hole-in-one on the picturesque third hole with a pitching wedge. He played well the other 17 holes for a 70 and is in the hunt for his first victory in more than seven years.
Others at 8-under 208 were Spencer Levin (70) and Nick Watney, who made all pars on the back nine for a 72.
Day, at No. 8 in the world the only player from the top 10 to make cut, holed out on the 17th for eagle to salvage a mediocre day and shot 71. He was only two shots behind.
English, a two-time winner on Tour, figured anything under par on Sunday might be good enough to win. Or maybe not. He later said anyone within five shots of the lead could not be counted out in the final round at Torrey Pines. If that's the case, 31 players are still in the picture.


THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
par 216 (3x72)
207 Harris English 68 66 71, J B Holmes 69 70 68
208 Nick Watney 71 65 72, Chad Campbell 67 71 70, spencer Levin 68 70 70, Jimmy Walker 72 68 70, Lucas Glover 70 68 70
SELECTED SCORES
212 Martin Laird (Scotland) 68 68 76, Greg Owen (England) 70 70 72. 

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

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INDIA'S LAHIRI COMES FROM FIVE BEHIND TO WIN 

MALAYSIAN OPEN - HIS FIRST ON EUROPEAN TOUR
 
EUROPEAN TOUR  COMMUNICATIONS
India’s Anirban Lahiri overcame a five-shot deficit in the final round to claim his first European Tour title at the Maybank Malaysian Open at Kuala Lumpur today.
Picture of Lahiri with the trophy by courtesy of Getty Images(c)
A ten-under-par 62 on Saturday provided the foundation for Lahiri’s brilliant victory, and he followed it with a four-under 68 – which included a 40ft putt for birdie at the 17th – to deny overnight leader Bernd Wiesberger, who closed with a 74.
Austrian Wiesberger birdied the first two holes to open up a five-stroke advantage, but he double-bogeyed the par five fifth and played the back nine in two over, missing a birdie attempt from 20 feet at the par five 18th which would have forced a play-off.
Englishman Paul Waring and Spain’s Alejandro Cañizares shared third place after rounds of 73 and 74 respectively, while defending champion Lee Westwood had a disappointing 75 to finish tied fifth.

Quotes:

Anirban Lahiri
“I was just trying to focus on getting off to a good start. That was the key yesterday to a low round. There are a lot of birdie opportunities early in the round and then you have some more towards the end – it’s the middle part of the golf course that’s hard to navigate.

" Luckily for me I made some good putts early in the round and I knew that if I played consistently and put some pressure on, maybe I would have a chance on the back nine. As it turned out, that’s what happened.
“The 17th was a big boost for me. I missed some good opportunities on 15 and 16, so it was a very important putt and the shot of the day for me.”

Bernd Wiesberger

“It hasn’t quite finished the way I intended to. That’s what golf is. After the hiccup on the fifth, I didn’t hit it anywhere near as well as the last 15 rounds. It’s tough to say but it is what it is and unfortunately I beat myself out of it today. Still, it’s a good week. Congratulations to Anirban, who played a lovely round today. I will try again.”

Paul Waring

“I’d obviously have taken third place at the start of the week. I only got into the tournament late on Sunday after Dubai, so to walk away with third I’m very happy. I’m a little disappointed not to challenge a bit more today. But the more times I put myself in this position, hopefully I’ll get to a point where I can polish one off and take a victory. 

"Hats off to the winner today – ten under par yesterday and 68 today is a great weekend. It’s a great start to 2015 and I think this is my biggest pay cheque, so I’m very happy.”

Alejandro Cañizares
It was a very fun week overall. I played really well the first three days and putted really well, but today just wasn’t my day. It felt like nothing was happening, I was missing shots, I chunked a hybrid on the tenth and I missed every putt I had until the 12th, where I made a good birdie. 

"So it was a negative day until then, but I picked it up and started making birdies and I came back a little bit, so that’s the positive side and I’m going to leave with that and try my best again in the next tournament. I’m playing well, I’m putting well and I’m confident, so I don’t see why I can’t win soon.”

Lee Westwood
“It’s been a good week, I’ve really enjoyed it. I always enjoy coming to Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur is a great city and the golf course was very good. I didn’t quite have my swing where I wanted it to be, but I know what I’ve got to work on and the good points were on the greens. I putted really well all week. A top five is a good defence, but I had a chance to win so I’m disappointed I didn’t.”

FINAL TOTALS

Par 288 (4x72)
272 A Lahiri (Ind) 70 72 62 68
273 B Wiesberger  (Aut) 70 66 63 74
275 A Cañizares  (Esp) 68 65 68 74, P Waring  (Eng) 69 68 65 73
277 P Peterson (USA) 72 69 64 72, L Westwood (Eng) 66 67 69 75, R Lee (Can) 69 69 68 71, G Bourdy (Fra) 70 70 68 69
278 M Warren (Sco) 70 71 69 68
279 S Chawrasia (Ind) 76 67 68 68
280 N Holman  (Aus) 72 71 71 66, W Ormsby (Aus) 73 69 71 67, R Bland (Eng) 68 70 73 69
281 S Hend (Aus) 73 72 66 70, J Wang (SKor) 77 66 67 71,
282 P Lawrie (Irl) 71 66 75 70, R Rock (Eng) 70 70 74 68, T Pieters  (Bel) 73 73 70 66, P Uihlein  (USA) 72 72 65 73
283 T Jaidee (Tha) 72 73 67 71, J Higginbottom (Aus) 69 71 67 76, P Larrazábal (Esp) 73 69 67 74, A Quiros  (Esp) 70 70 67 76, T Khrongpha (Tha) 74 69 70 70
284 J Pagunsan (Phi) 71 69 74 70, M Madsen  (Den) 72 70 70 72, M Fraser (Aus) 72 69 72 71, R Jacquelin (Fra) 71 72 70 71, D Chia (Mas) 67 74 69 74, P Meesawat  (Tha) 68 72 70 74, G Green (am) (Mas) 74 68 73 69
285 G Havret  (Fra) 72 72 69 72, L Wen-Chong (Chn) 74 72 67 72, J Quesne  (Fra) 71 72 71 71, A Hansen (Den) 68 76 69 72,
286 R Khan  (Ind) 73 73 73 67, A Dodt (Aus) 69 73 73 71, G McDowell  (NIr) 66 73 72 75, E Grillo (Arg) 70 73 71 72, J Carlsson (Swe) 74 69 68 75, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 72 70 73,
287 S Kang (Kor) 67 74 69 77, D Lipsky (USA) 72 73 70 72, C Pigem (Esp) 73 71 69 74, M Jiménez (Esp) 72 71 71 73,
288 S Kapur (Ind) 72 71 74 71
289 J Janewattananond (Tha) 77 69 69 74, R Karlsson (Swe) 70 76 72 71, A Sullivan (Eng) 70 70 72 77, N Colsaerts  (Bel) 70 74 67 78, E Molinari  (Ita) 72 73 73 71
290 H Chien-Yao (Tpe) 75 70 73 72, F Aguilar (Chi) 70 74 70 76, S Othman  (Mas) 73 71 70 76, M Hoey  (NIr) 75 70 68 77, M Foster (Eng) 71 73 74 72, C Plaphol (Tha) 76 68 72 74
291 A Que (Phi) 72 72 74 73, S Jamieson  (Sco) 73 72 72 74,
292 R Wattel  (Fra) 70 73 71 78, A Lascuna (Phi) 74 72 73 73, S Gallacher (Sco) 69 77 71 75, O Fisher  (Eng) 73 73 73 73
293 L Wei-Chih (Tpe) 77 67 74 75, M Tabuena (Phi) 74 72 76 71, S Brazel (Aus) 73 71 78 71, H Otto (RSA) 73 69 76 75
294 R Finch  (Eng) 73 73 75 73
295 S Dyson  (Eng) 72 73 72 78, N Fung (Mas) 71 71 76 77, M Lundberg (Swe) 71 74 72 78
297 R Nachimuthu  (Mas) 73 72 75 77
299 T Fleetwood  (Eng) 67 79 73 80, P McGinley (Irl) 69 76 77 77




EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

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 THREE TIME MAJOR WINNER CASPER DIES AT 83

FROM SKYSPORTS.COM
Three-time major champion Billy Casper has died at the age of 83, the US PGA Tour has announced.
Casper, who won the US Open in 1959 and 1966 and the Masters in 1970, claimed 51 PGA Tour titles in total between 1956 and 1975 to sit seventh on the Tour's all-time victories list.


He also appeared on eight US Ryder Cup teams and was victorious in all eight, captaining the team to victory in 1979.
Casper returned to Augusta in 2005 to play in one final Masters, and struggled round in 105 which would have been the highest score in the tournament's history, but he officially withdrew without signing his card.
The US PGA Tour said on its website: "Billy Casper, one of the most prolific PGA TOUR winners in history and long considered among the sport's finest putters, suffered a heart attack and died Saturday at his home in Springview, Utah. He was 83."



Here's the stat that truly should put Casper's greatness in perspective: From 1964 to 1970, he won 27 US PGA Tour events -- eight more than Palmer and Player combined and two more than Nicklaus.
"I think [the media] have made it a very enjoyable time for me as I've got older," Casper said in a 2006 interview around the time that Woods was becoming the seventh player to surpass 50 wins. 
"I've received more recognition than when it was going on. I probably appreciate it a lot more now than when I was doing it."

Tributes
Jack Nicklaus was among those to pay their tributes to San Diego native Casper.
The 75-year-old Nicklaus, who won a record 18 major golf titles in his career, said on his Facebook page: "I have said many times that during my career, when I looked up at a leaderboard, I wasn't just looking to see where a (Arnold) Palmer or a (Gary) Player ora (Lee) Trevino was.
"I was also checking to see where Billy Casper was. Billy had tremendous confidence. He just believed in himself. You knew when you played against Billy Casper, Billy would not beat himself.
"You want to talk about someone who could perform under pressure, if you wanted someone to get up and-down for you, Billy Casper was your man. I think it is fair to say that Billy was probably under-rated by those who didn't play against him. Those who did compete against him, knew how special he was."
And Gary Player said: "I played a lot with Billy, and I always thought Billy had a wonderful short game. The way he managed the golf course - he had tremendous course management, which not a lot of people talk about.
"They talk about elongating, but that's not what wins golf tournaments; it's a great short game, the kinds of games we see with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. They are not good drivers of the ball and yet, they've been No. 1 and No. 2.

"Billy had a great short game, managed the course well and he was always a thorough gentleman."

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