Tuesday, April 24, 2012

This Week in Golf--April 22: PGA, LPGA, European Tours and More

Well, another week is done in the 2012 golf season.  That means another week closer to the summer, another week closer to the next major championships, and some more winners in the world of golf.

At the Valero Texas Open, a mediocre field gathered for the PGA's annual stop in San Antonio.  A course viewed by fans as one of the better courses on tour just cannot draw the big names.  I think the stop at this time of the year just will never draw the likes of a better tournament.  Next year, the Valero moves to the week prior to the Masters, which should improve the field.  This year, Ben Curtis won for the first time in 6 years, earning a tour card for the next two years and a spot in The Masters in 2013.  Matt Every held the lead after round 1 with a course record 63 but could not keep the momentum going and finished in T2 with rookie John Huh, who carded an opening round 77 but rallied to come up one shot short.  Amateur Jordan Spieth finished around 40th after a solid week, proving he can hang with the big boys and maybe will enter Q-School in this final year of PGA Tour exemptions.

In Hawaii, Ai Miyazato won her first LPGA tournament of the year and the 8th of her career at the LOTTE Championship.  Miyazato took the crown by 4 strokes over Meena Lee and Azahara Munoz.  World #1 Yani Tseng struggled with an ankle injury and came in T10, her 7th top 10 in 7 starts this season.

The Champions Tour played their Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf tournament this past week, which pairs up 60 of the top Champions Tour players.  David Frost and Michael Allen took the win by one stroke at 29-under par.  Michael Allen continued his strong play and now has a commanding lead in the Charles Schwab Cup Standings.

Around the world of golf:
Branden Grace won the China Open sanctioned by the European tour.  This was Grace's 3rd win of the year on the European tour, which makes him only the 2nd ever player to win 3 times in his rookie year in Europe. 

Lee Westwood won the Indonesian Masters tournament for his first win of the year.  The field was extremely week, with no other players within the top 150 in the world.

Upcoming Tournaments:
PGA Tour: Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Notables: Bubba Watson (2012 Masters Champion), Luke Donald

Nationwide Tour: South Georgia Classic

European Tour: Ballantines Championship
Notables: Darren Clarke, Ian Poulter, YE Yang, KJ Choi

LPGA Tour: Mobile Bay LPGA Classic

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