Friday, August 30, 2013

Woods knows he needs to go low, and fast

PGA.COM August 9, 2013

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“Obviously I"m going to have to put together a really good weekend,” Tiger Woods said Friday evening.(Edward …

By Stan Awtrey, PGA.com Contributor

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - While the rest of the field was making progress, Tiger Woods was marking time.

Playing in the afternoon, when conditions were benign after rain soaked the competitors in the morning wave, Woodswas met by frustration after frustration. Unable to again dial in the proper speed on the greens, he shot an even-par 70. That leaves him at 1-over 141, 10 shots behind leader Jason Dufner.

"Obviously I'm going to have to put together a really good weekend," Woods said. "This golf course is pretty soft. It's definitely gettable. Got to hit the ball in play and keep the ball near the hole so I can be aggressive with my putts."

Woods never found the right pace on the greens Friday. He left two birdie putts on the edge of the cup and wound up needing 32 putts to complete his round, which ranked 126th in the field. He even had a pair of three-putt greens.

"I made my share and missed my share," Woods said. "Just the way it goes."

Woods, who began the day 1 over, bogeyed the second hole when he failed to get up-and-down from the greenside bunker. He drew back to even par for the week with back-to-back birdies at No. 5 and No. 6.

He took a bogey at the par-3 11th hole when he failed to get up-and-down from the thick rough in front of the green. He got the shot back when he birdied the par-3 15th and then finished bogey-birdie-bogey.

"I didn't hit it anywhere near as good as I did yesterday," Woods said. "Consequently I didn't have that many looks. When I did, I missed my share."

Woods isn't ready to surrender just yet. With Oak Hill soft and assailable, Woods believes he is capable of pulling off a big finish. He'll go off early and will have the possible advantage of posting a low number.

"I'm going to have to do my job and shoot a good round," he said. "But then again, I'm so far back that if the leaders go ahead and run off with it and shoot a low one tomorrow, I'm going to be pretty far behind. I have got to post something in the mid-to-low 60s, like some of the guys did today. It definitely can be done."

Oak Hill rugged summit for PGA Professionals

PGA.COM August 9, 2013

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PGA Professional Jeff Sorenson of Blaine, Minn., played well Friday except for a brief stretch in the …

By Bob Denney, The PGA of America

PITTSFORD, N.Y. - Twenty PGA club professionals made their bid to play the weekend in the Season's Final Major, but Oak Hill Country Club was the more formidable opponent Friday.

David Muttitt of Albuquerque, N.M., who was born in Dallas, Texas, but was raised from age 4 in Rugby, England, nearly climbed the Oak Hill summit. The PGA assistant professional at Paa-ko Ridge Golf Club in Sandia Park, N.M., played nearly his entire second round in a constant rain. He posted a solid even-par 70, finishing at 5-over-par 145, two strokes outside the 36-hole cut.

"I think every one of us was capable of making the cut, but there was always one bad swing that can cause you to miss while playing such a tough golf course," said Muttitt, 30, competing in his first major championship. "We played alongside the best players in the world, week in and week out. And, some of them were unable to do it.

"We come into this Championship from a variety of job descriptions - whether it is teaching, merchandising or managing a facility. You have limited time to prepare, but you give it a shot because it is such a great opportunity. I did play well; I just had five bad holes yesterday.

Muttitt collected five birdies at Nos. 1, 8, 10 13 and15, but could not overcome four front-nine bogeys and a bogey on 18. He took only 26 putts.

"Today, it was like the weather you see in the U.K. and what we played in every day in Oregon (at the PGA Professional National Championship)," said Muttitt. "In England, if you can't play in the rain, you don't play golf."

Jeff Sorenson of Blaine, Minn., a PGA teaching professional at Columbia Golf Club in Minneapolis, was runner-up at 148 after a 75 in the "tournament within a tournament" for Low Club Professional honors.

JC Anderson of St. Louis, finished third at 149 after a 76, and David McNabb of Newark, Del., and Ryan Polzin of Houston, Texas, were next at 150. McNabb closed with a 76 and Polzin, runner-up in the 46th PGA Professional National Championship, shot 77.

Rob Labritz of Pound Ridge, N.Y., battled back after a disappointing 78 on Thursday, by turning in a 73 for a 151, sharing that spot with Danny Balin of Rockville, Md., Caine Fitzgerald of Parker, Colo., and Bob Gaus of St. Louis.

Four-time PGA Professional National Champion Mike Small of Champaign, Ill., was at 152 after a second straight 76, and reigning PGA Professional National Champion Rod Perry of Port Orange, Fla., had his second consecutive 78 to land at 156.

The journey for the 20 PGA club professionals was sprinkled with disappointment, many of them coming close to turning around their fortunes to play the weekend.

Anderson, 51, a PGA teaching professional at Missouri Bluffs Golf Club in St. Charles, Mo., began play on the back nine. He was 1 under par through his first five holes, before slumping to four consecutive bogeys on the 15th through the 18th holes.

"I think if there was an opportunity to have Oak Hill at its easiest, my tee early/late was it," said Anderson. "We haven't had to play in any rain. The course was soft and it was there for the taking. In the two times I've played the PGA here, during the week, the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday practice rounds, the course was incredibly hard. But this week, the last two days, it got easier and I think you could see in the scoring, I didn't see 63s and 64s here in the practice rounds.

Sorenson, playing in his second PGA Championship, suffered a 4-over-par stretch between the 9th and 11th holes, to derail his chances.

Labritz, who had an uncharacteristic 78 on Thursday, battled back with a 73 that could have been much better had he not lost his approach shot in the water on the seventh hole.

"I never give up. I'm one of those guys that I'm sweet on the inside but on the outside, I want to beat you," said Labritz. "I'm going to fight because you can never tell when something is going to happen. I know that. I may get a little dejected after that shot in the water on No. 7 today, but you know, inside ... make a par, or whatever I can do to scratch it out, because you can never tell when you're going to have to scratch it out under that pressure again. You're always working to get your game better, at least I am."

Mark Sheftic of Blue Bell, Pa., a PGA teaching professional at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., was philosophical about a 78 and 153 total. He competed in his third PGA Championship.

"One thing I don't think the members at our clubs may not understand is how far the guys on Tour hit the ball," said Sheftic. "Including myself, I don't think the comprehension of how good these guys are ... these guys hit the ball that far, and you get soft greens, they are going to go pretty low. The golf course is outstanding.

"You know, in my opinion, it's a true test. If you're not hitting the ball well, there's some big numbers out here. And if you're hitting the fairways, there are some good numbers. It would be interesting to see if it firms up, see how the scores go. But the membership should be very proud of their golf course. It's a true test."

Westwood contends again at a major with 66 at PGA

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RACHEL COHEN (Associated Press) August 9, 2013AP - Sports

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) -- Lee Westwood insists he can't remember the last time golf stressed him out.

He concedes that his focus wavered at his first tournament after his latest near-miss at a major. But he was contending again Thursday, opening with a birdie and shooting a bogey-free, 4-under 66 that put him a stroke behind the leaders after the first round of the PGA Championship.

Westwood and David Hearn were tied for third after Jim Furyk and Adam Scott shot 65.

The 40-year-old Englishman took a two-stroke lead into the final round of the British Open last month, but he went on to shoot a 4-over 75 for a share of third place.

Back on the course at the Bridgestone Invitational last week, Westwood tied for 40th.

''I struggled to get into it,'' he said. ''I managed to get focused again this week, and I felt very calm out there and in control.''

He has finished in the top three at a major eight times in his career. Yet no matter how many times he's pressed about it, Westwood won't call that disappointing.

''Somebody was asking me the other day: 'Does it get you down and do you get stressed when people go on about not winning a major championship?''' he said. ''I said, 'No, you really don't get stressed about golf anymore.' I played golf for 20-odd years out here on the best courses in the world and I get up every day and go and do something that I love. Golf doesn't stress me or disappoint me very often anymore.

''In fact, I can't remember the last time it did. Just get on with it and just realize how lucky you are.''

So he'll choose to emphasize that he was pleased to lead the British despite not playing his best, instead of his failure to make a birdie on the back nine of the final round at Muirfield.
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Lee Westwood, of England, hits from the fairway on the 13th hole during the first round of the PGA C …

Westwood has won 38 times around the world and toppled Tiger Woods from the No. 1 ranking in 2010. But those accomplishments get viewed through the prism of his major drought.

At the British Open at Turnberry in 2009, he three-putted to miss a playoff. At the 2010 Masters, he held the 54-hole lead.

Now he lurks near the top of the leaderboard at another major. Westwood frequently pulled out his driver Thursday, going right after a soft course.

''I'm just an aggressive player,'' he said. ''I think if you are a straight driver of the golf ball, you have got to take advantage of that. You've got to use it as a plus and try to make the golf course play as short as possible.''

He's still got a long way to go this week at Oak Hill.a

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Dufner beats Furyk at PGA for 1st major title

DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer) August 11, 2013AP - Sports

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) -- Equipped with a two-shot lead at the turn, still carrying a few scars from his PGA Championship collapse two years ago, Jason Dufner never showed signs of cracking.

No one expected anything else from a player whose popularity comes from his flat-line personality.

He merely waved to the gallery when he shot 63 in the second round to tie a major championship record. He didn't show much of a pulse Sunday as he matched scores with Jim Furyk at every hole on the back nine of Oak Hill. Only after Dufner tapped in for a bogey on the 18th hole to win the PGA Championship did he crack a smile, raise both arms and give a slight pump of the fist, saving all that emotion for a grand occasion.

Major champion.

Dufner can't think of any other athlete who plays with so little emotion.

''But those sports are a little more exciting - big plays in basketball, home runs in baseball, big plays in football. That will get you pumped up,'' he said. ''For me, golf is a little bit more boring. I hit it in the fairway or I didn't. Usually I'm struggling with the putter, so there's not too much to get excited about with that.''

His name on the Wanamaker Trophy?

That was worth a smile.

''Nobody can take that away from me,'' Dufner said after he closed with a 2-under 68 for a two-shot win over Furyk. ''It's a great accomplishment for me, and I'm really excited about it.''

Dufner wasn't sure he would get another chance after the PGA Championship two years ago in Atlanta, where he blew a four-shot lead with four holes to play and lost in a playoff to Keegan Bradley. But he wasn't about to let this one get away. Dufner won by playing a brand of golf that matches the bland expression on his face.

It wasn't exciting. It didn't need to be.

Dufner finished the front nine with six straight one-putt greens, and then delivered a steady diet of fairways and greens. He putted for birdie on every hole on the back nine until the last hole. He calmly rolled a 10-foot par putt toward the cup and tapped it in.

''There's not much to celebrate from 6 inches or less, but it was nice to have that short of a putt,'' he said. ''It was a perfect ending for me.''

The turning point at Oak Hill was the final two holes - on the front nine.

Dufner made a short birdie on the eighth hole to take a one-shot lead, and Furyk made bogey on the ninth hole to fall two shots behind. Furyk, a 54-hole leader for the second time in as many years in a major, couldn't make up any ground with a procession of pars along the back nine. He finally made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 16th, but only after Dufner spun back a wedge to 18 inches for a sure birdie.

Furyk also made bogey on the last two holes, taking two chips to reach the 17th green and coming up short into mangled rough short of the 18th green, where all he could do was hack it onto the green. Furyk closed with a 71 to finish two shots behind.

''I have a lot of respect for him and the way he played today,'' Furyk said. ''I don't know if it makes anything easy, or less easy. But I don't look at it as I lost the golf tournament. I look at it as I got beat by somebody that played better today.''

Dufner finished at 10-under 270, four shots better than the lowest score in the five previous majors at Oak Hill. Jack Nicklaus won the 1980 PGA Championship at 274.

Henrik Stenson, trying to become the first Swede to win a men's major title, pulled within two shots on the 13th hole and was poised to make a run until his tee shot settled on a divot hole in the 14th fairway. He chunked that flip wedge into a bunker and made bogey and closed with a 70 to finish alone in third. In his last three tournaments - two majors and a World Golf Championship - Stenson has two runner-ups and a third.

Jonas Blixt, another Swede, also had a 70 and finished fourth. Masters champion Adam Scott never made a serious of move and shot 70 to tie for fifth. Defending champion Rory McIlroy made triple bogey on the fifth hole to lose hope, those he still closed with a 70 and tied for eighth, his first top 10 in a major this year.

Dufner two-putted for bogey on the 18th from about 10 feet and shook hands with Furyk as if he had just completed a business deal. He hugged his wife, Amanda, and gave her a love tap on the tush with the cameras rolling.

Asked if he had ever been nervous, she replied, ''If he has been, he's never told me.''

That's what gives Dufner is own personality on the PGA Tour. He didn't look any differently on the opening tee shot than when he stood on the 18th hole.

''I would say I was pretty flat-lined for most of the day,'' he said.

Among the first to greet Dufner was Bradley, who beat him in the PGA playoff at Atlanta and was behind the ''Dufnering'' craze from earlier this year.

Dufner went to an elementary school in Dallas as part of a charity day as defending champion in the Byron Nelson Classic. A photo showed him slumped against the wall in the classroom next to the children, his eyes glazed over, as the teacher taught them about relaxation and concentration techniques. The pose was mimicked all over the country, giving Dufner some celebrity for his zombie appearance.

Now he's known for something far more important.

Dufner became the sixth player to win a major with a round of 63, joining Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Raymond Floyd, Nicklaus and Johnny Miller.

He is the third first-time major champion of the year, and the 15th champion in the last 19 majors who had never won the big one. Woods is responsible for the latest trend, mainly because he's not winning them at the rate he once was.

Woods extended his drought to 18 majors without winning, and this time he wasn't even in the hunt. For the second straight round, Woods finished before the leaders even teed off. He closed with a 70 to tie for 40th, 14 shots out of the lead.

''I didn't give myself many looks and certainly didn't hit the ball good enough to be in it,'' Woods said.

Furyk wasn't about to beat himself up for another major opportunity that got away. He had a share of the lead at the U.S. Open last year until taking bogey on the par-5 16th hole with a poor tee shot. His only regret was not making par on the last two holes - the toughest on the back nine at Oak Hill- to put pressure on Dufner.

Not that anyone would have noticed.

''It probably hasn't hit me yet. I can't believe this is happening to me,'' Dufner said. ''To come back from a couple of years ago in this championship when I lost to Keegan in a playoff, to win feels really, really good.''

Golf-Scott finds way to peak on game's biggest stages

August 11, 2013

By Frank Pingue

ROCHESTER, New York, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Adam Scotthas enjoyed top-five finishes in three of the year's four major championships, including his breakthrough Masters win in April, but the Australian feels his best is yet to come.

After becoming the first golfer from his country to triumph at Augusta National, Scott went on to finish in a tie for third at last month's British Open at Muirfield and on Sunday earned a share of fifth at the PGA Championship.

"Obviously I'm peaking at the right times," Scott, who ended the year's final major five shots behind winner Jason Dufner, told reporters.

"It's hard to stay there for four days and have the lead the whole time, but I feel like I'm improving still. So it's something to build on for next year's season."

Fellow Australians Jason Day finished a further two shots back in a tie for eighth place after firing a three-under 67 in Sunday's final round while Marc Leishman closed with a two-under 68 to grab a share of 12th.

Not including the Americans, no other country was as well represented among the top-12 finishers at the PGA Championship, which to Scott is a sign of things to come.

"We've got a whole host of guys with the experience. It's just a matter of form," said Scott. "We have got the guys with the talent. That never goes away; it's just their form.

"When that comes back, we're going to be really strong. It wouldn't surprise me, you know, seeing Jason or myself or Leish do well to get right back in the mix."

Scott, who led the British Open by one shot with seven holes to play, had a fighting chance of winning at Oak Hill, or at least forcing a playoff, though he needed to navigate the East Course's challenging closing holes better with the leaders faltering.

Two under for the day when he arrived at the 16th tee, Scott was unable to find a fairway or hit a green in regulation the rest of the way.

He would go on to make bogeys at 16 and 18 which left him with no chance of catching Dufner, who was playing in the final group and went on to finish at 10 under.

"It was a bit of fun, the last glimmer of hope, you know. But then I had three poor drives to finish with," said Scott.

"I don't know what happened the last few holes, but I felt like I may as well have a go at it down 16.

"If I drive it in the fairway, it's just a wedge. If I could birdie them all, I would have finished 10 under and you never know." (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

'Dufnering' has new meaning after PGA Championship win

Steve Keating August 11, 2013

Jason Dufner of the U.S. poses with the Wanamaker trophy after winning the 2013 PGA Championship golf …

By Steve Keating

ROCHESTER, New York (Reuters) - 'Dufnering' took on a whole new meaning on Sunday when laid-back Jason Dufner claimed the PGA Championship, transforming the 36-year-old cult figure into a major winner.

Dufner, who is not prone to displays of emotion, allowed himself a sheepish smile and a hesitant double fist bump following a two-shot victory over Jim Furyk.

But he left the real celebrations to the galleries packed around Oak Hill Country Club's 18th green that watched him clinch the season's final major two days after he shot a 63, matching the lowest round in any major.

Until Dufner planted a shy kiss on the shiny Wanamaker trophy in the fading sunlight, he was best known as a social media sensation - the inspiration behind the 'Dufnering' craze which went viral.

Despite being a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, it was not until last April when golf fans began to take notice of Dufner when he was photographed apparently nodding off as he lay with his back to a wall, arms by his sides and legs stretched out in front of him while visiting grade schoolers to help promote a tournament in Dallas.

Since then, multiple versions of 'Dufnering' have been posted by golfers, golf fans and the general public on social media.

"Got some notoriety for maybe something that was probably trying to hurt me a little bit and ran with it and it helped me a lot," said Dufner. "I got a lot of fans because of it and people identified me through it and that was good."

Until 'Dufnering', the only notoriety Dufner had was for spectacularly blowing a five-shot lead with four holes to play at the 2011 PGA Championship and eventually losing to Keegan Bradley in a playoff.

There would be no repeat of the Atlanta Athletic Club meltdown on a sunny, Sunday at Oak Hill.

Playing with cool consistency, Dufner seized the outright lead from Furyk with a birdie on the fifth hole and never faltered, opening up a two-shot cushion at the ninth and holding it through to the finish.

Furyk, bidding to add a PGA Championship to the U.S. Open title he won a decade earlier, was unable to put any pressure on the unflappable Dufner, who went 26 consecutive holes without a bogey before dropping a shot at the 17th.

But Furyk also dropped a shot on the penultimate hole to remain two behind.

It was a remarkable display of composure for a man that must surely have lived with the haunting memories, of two years ago when the Wanamaker trophy was within his grasp, only to let slip through his fingers.

"You always carry those scars with you, he (Bradley) always jabbed at me a little bit about having one of these in his house, and thanks for giving it to him and all that stuff," said Dufner. "And now I've got one, too.

"It's pretty neat to come back and win a PGA to be honest with you.

"My name will always be on this trophy and nobody can take that away from me, so it's a great accomplishment for me and I'm really excited about it."

Whether hitting a tee shot into the water, or carding a hole-in-one, Dufner's demeanor rarely changes.

The biggest victory of Dufner's career did not send him flying into the air like Phil Mickelson after his first Masters win or a violent fist-pump and scream like Tiger Woods.

While there was no hiding Dufner's delight at becoming a major winner, he explained his low-key approach is simply because there is not that much to get excited about.

"Big plays in basketball, home runs in baseball, big plays in football; those will get you pumped up," explained Dufner. "For me, golf is a little bit more boring I think.

"It's pretty matter of fact. I hit it in the fairway or I didn't; I hit the green or I didn't.

"Usually I'm struggling with the putter, so there's not too much to get excited about with that. I made that putt on the first hole, I would say I was pretty flat-lined for most of the day.

"I come across as a pretty cool customer I guess, but there are definitely some nerves out there, especially when you're trying to win a major championship."

(Editing by Julian Linden)