What was supposed to be the highlight of the Tour Championship — the FedExCup — turned into an afterthought. Singh effectively wrapped up the $10 million prize two weeks ago in St. Louis, so all he had to do was finish 72 holes at East Lake and sign for the correct score to win the FedExCup. Singh locked up the FedExCup and its huge bonus Sunday simply by finishing four rounds at the Tour Championship. He certainly didn’t win it with his play at East Lake, closing with an even-par 70 and a 9-over 289 total that left him in a tie for 22nd place in the 30-player field. He was 16 strokes behind winner Camilo Villegas, who beat Sergio Garcia in a playoff.

Singh closed with a 70 and tied for 22nd in the 30-man field, but none of that mattered. He won the first two playoff events to take the drama out of the FedExCup for the second straight year. It was the second year of the FedExCup, and the second straight year the finale lacked drama. Tiger Woods skipped the opening playoff event in 2007 and still won by such a big margin he could have skipped the Tour Championship.

While the FedExCup suffered another dull finish, the Tour Championship was anything but that. Over the back nine, it turned out to be one of the best regular PGA Tour events of the year. Mickelson, Garcia, Kim and Villegas — four of the hottest commodities on a tour, had at least a share of the lead along the back nine at East Lake. They were in the final two groups. At least one player made birdie or bogey on every hole except the 18th, which yielded only one birdie in the final round.

Singh is not too sure on what he will do with all that money. “I’ll find a million ways to spend it,” Singh said. “There’s a lot out there to do.”

Tags: GENERAL GOLF TOPICS by Jenn
1 Comment »

Anthony Kim carded a 6-under 64 at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola on Thursday and will take a four-shot lead over Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman and Phil Mickelson into Friday’s second round as the PGA TOUR concludes the Playoffs for the FedExCup.This marks the third time in his career that Anthony Kim has held at least a share of an 18-hole lead on the PGA TOUR. He held a share of the lead at this year’s RBC Canadian Open (finished T8) and the 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (finished T18).

Four days after Anthony Kim humbled Sergio Garcia in the Ryder Cup, he beat 29 players just as badly Thursday at the Tour Championship. Showing no effects of a Ryder Cup hangover, Kim fired off eight birdies on his way to a 6-under 64.

Kim and the other nine Americans from the winning team rarely got through a hole without hearing someone in the gallery congratulate them on their five-point victory over Europe on Sunday. Kim was smiling just as wide as he did Thursday. “I feel like when I’m happy, having a good time, I’m going to make some birdies,” he said. “So it was a good vibe out there.”

As well as he played at the Ryder Cup on a Valhalla course with soft greens and minimal rough, Kim was equally spectacular on an East Lake course that was tough as ever.

The real marvel was Kim posting eight birdies in his round of 64 in his Tour Championship debut. He attributes most of that to a simple fix in his putting before he teed off. “It was the most basic thing you can think — keep your eye on the ball,” Kim said. “Now that I’ve got that under control, I’m going to try to make some more putts.”

Kim hit mainly fairways and greens, and he took only 26 putts to match his lowest scores of the year and post his fifth consecutive round in the 60s on the PGA Tour. He played with Mike Weir (70).
Kim hit sand wedge to 2 feet on the third hole and to 3 feet on the fourth. The longest putt he made came from just behind the 11th green when he knocked in a 25-footer to start building a gap between him and the rest of the field that made it to the final event in the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Tags: GENERAL GOLF TOPICS by Jenn
1 Comment »

Michelle turned pro in 2005 and a year later had at least a share of the lead on the back nine of three majors. Plagued afterward by wrist injuries, her game fell off dramatically. Her last victory of any kind was when she was 13 and won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links. Wie wasn’t able to earn her card this season through sponsor exemptions, not having won enough money to finish the equivalent of 80th on the LPGA Tour money list. Michelle Wie breezed through the final round of an LPGA Tour sectional qualifying tournament on a scorching Friday in the desert, shooting a steady 1-under 71 to tie for fourth. Completing the first step toward earning her 2009 LPGA Tour card, she was 8 under after 72 holes. The 18-year-old Stanford student needed only to finish in the top 30 to advance to final qualifying tournament in Florida in December.

Wie has always played well at Mission Hill, finishing ninth in the Kraft Nabisco in 2003, fourth the following year, and 14th in 2005. In 2006, playing the tournament for the first time as a pro, she missed a 10-foot putt on the 72nd hole that would have put her in a playoff with Lorena Ochoa and eventual winner Karrie Webb. This time around, she was just grinding it out along with 163 others hoping to pass the first test toward earning a tour card. The qualifying tournament was not open to the public, and for the final round, there were no huge galleries, no grandstands, no food booths; just a golf course.
Her game was most uneventful over the last 18 holes. She was 4 under for the day through 12, but bogeyed the next two. She then bogeyed the par-3 17th when she hit into the left bunker, hit out to 10 feet of the cup, but couldn’t get her putt to drop.

Tags: WOMEN AND GOLF by Jenn
1 Comment »