Jimmy Walker Wins the 2015 Valero Texas Open

In such a contrast to the tournaments we've seen over the past several weeks, Jimmy Walker dominated much of the weekend to secure a win at this years Valero Texas Open. He finished at 11-under par and with a four shot lead over Jordan Spieth. This is Jimmy's second win this year and and it keeps him comfortably atop the FedEx Cup Points list. It's also his 5th win in just two years on the PGA Tour.

The Texas native held a large lead going into the final round and it grew as the round progressed. At one point, he was ahead by more than five shots over Spieth, who was always trailing him in second. By the end, Speith, who was playing a good final round as well, managed to take Walker's lead down to four. For most of the weekend, the attention was on Walker and Spieth, given the large separation between them and the rest of the field. For example, Billy Horshell finished solo third at 4-under and the players at T4 finished at 3-under. Walker's putter also did him well this week, especially today, having earned him a few crucial pars and birdies (looks like that putter change paid off). And being a Texas native, he was able to play in front of much of his family and friends this week, which makes the win just a bit more special.

Despite his second place finish, Spieth (a Texas native as well) again showed the golfing world that he is still on fire with respect to his golf game. He's no doubt a favourite going into next week's Shell Houston Open and the Masters, where he nearly won it last year after a battle against Bubba Watson.

TPC San Antonio again played tough on the weekend, Saturday more than Sunday. A round in the low 70's was considered good for both days at the course that's considered one of the toughest courses to break par at on tour (excluding major venues). Sunday's round saw a few more scores in the high 60's as well.

As we mentioned on our Weekend Update post, lefty golfer Phil Mickelson was also in the mix. He unfortunately finished at T30 after weekend rounds that were full of ups and downs, ranging from a near albatross on Saturday, to shooting 42 on the front nine on Sunday. Better luck next week for him.

Finally, here's how our picks finished:

1) Jim Furyk: T58 at 10-over (+10)
2) Jordan Spieth: 2nd at 7-under (-7)

Not the best finish for Furyk, but excellent results from Spieth as we mentioned. Next week, the PGA Tour heads to Houston for the Shell Houston Open. Be sure to check out our picks for that tournaments later on this week,




-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jimmy Walker wins for the second time this year at the Valero Texas Open  

(Darren Abate / The Associated Press)

2015 Valero Texas Open - Weekend Update

We're halfway through this year's edition of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio. The leader going into the weekend is Texas native Jimmy Walker, at 6-under, with a one shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Charlie Hoffman. The cut has also been set at 6-over par, which is very high, compared to other events.

Jimmy's putter was hot throughout his second round today and in front of a home crowd. In total, he shot a 67 on the day, which consisted of 6 birdies and a single bogey. He's recently been through a putter change earlier this year, in which he returned to an older model of putter that he had success with in the past. It's doing him well this week, as he's also leading the event in strokes gained via putting (-6.536). And let's not forget that Jimmy is also the current FedEx Cup Points leader and a winner this year already (Sony Open), probably due to that putter change too. 

Monday's rounds saw TPC San Antonio playing very tough, due to 30+ mph winds. This resulted in a scoring average of 76.69, which is probably why the cut this week was so high this week. The high round of the day was an 89, shot by amateur Sam Burns. There were better conditions today and many players took advantage of this.

Also in the mix (and in the headlines) is tour veteran Phil Mickelson, who's at 2-under (T6). During his opening round, one of Phil's clubs broke as he hit a bunker shot. As he swung, the clubhead snapped right where it connects to the shaft, sending the head flying out of the bunker, as well as the ball. Earlier today, Lefty chipped in for a birdie, which aided in a score of 72 today. As you probably know, Phil always seems to play better in the weeks prior to a major, especially the Masters. He's won the Shell Houston Open (before the Masters) and the Scottish Open (before the British Open). We haven't seen too much of Phil this year, but maybe that might change this week?

In other news, TGR favourite Graeme McDowell has withdraw from the tournament, due to an injury he sustained during a practice round earlier this week. This is the first year that GMac is playing the Valero Texas Open and he stated afterwards that, due to the upcoming Masters, he didn't want to risk playing with the injury. He also planned on playing the Shell Houston Open next week, but that's now injury pending. Let's hope GMac can get better as soon as possible.

Lastly,  here's how our picks are doing :

1) Jim Furyk: T66 at 6-over (+6)
2) Jordan Spieth: T4 at 4-under (-4)
3) Sean O'Hair: CUT

It's almost a weekly this to see Speith near the top of the leaderboard; he really is on fire at the moment. Furyk and O'Hair struggled this week and weren't able to capitalize on the favourable conditions today.

With Moving Day tomorrow and the final round on Sunday, there's still lots of golf to be played. But be sure to check out our results post Sunday evening to see who's won.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Jimmy Walker's already won this year but can he win again this week? 

(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

2015 Valero Texas Open Picks

This week, the PGA Tour heads west to Texas, for the Valero Texas Open, played at the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio. The Oaks Course is a Greg-Norman design, with input from none other than Sergio Garcia (who is not in the field this week). This is one of the older events on tour, with the first edition being played in 1922. Since then, many notable players have won the tournament, such as Ben Hogan (1946) and Arnold Palmer (1960-1963). And for fans who remember, this was the tournament where (back in 2011) Kevin Na carded a 16 on the par 4 9th hole.

This tournament has historically been played the week after the Masters. Due to it's new date, it's a tournament that players now play to get their game ready for Augusta, hence there are a few more notable players in the field this week, as well as some European Tour players.

There are many names being tossed around, as for who's going to win, some local favourites, some sleepers, and some players who are white hot at the moment. Given that, here's who we picked to win this week:

1) Jim Furyk
2) Jordan Spieth
3) Sean O'Hair

Furyk may not have won since 2010, but it always seems like he's in the mix week after week. This, and the fact that he is one of the most consistent players on tour, is why he's always a great pick week after week. Spieth, a Texas (who is also fresh off buying a new house) is a local favourite and on fire at the moment. So is O'Hair.

The first tee times are early tomorrow morning. Be sure to check out our Weekend Update post to see who's winning going into the weekend and how our picks are doing.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

The 16th Hole at TPC San Antonio

Matt Every Defends at the 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational

In just his second win on tour, his other being last year's rendition of the tournament, Matt Every has won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill again, successfully defending the title from the likes of Henrik Stenson, Matt Jones, and Morgan Hoffman. He won with a final score of 19-under (-19) with 66 on today's round, good enough for a one shot lead over Stenson. This win gets Every into the Masters in a couple of weeks, as well as putting into the Top 40 for the World Golf Rankings.

The leaderboard was looking slightly different with just a few holes to play. Stenson, who was in the final group, was at 19-under until a bogey on the 15th. Every, on the other hand, was putting for birdie on the 18th hole. He holed a downhill 18-foot putt that was barely on the green, which ended up just being enough. Stenson needed a birdie on his last hole to force a playoff, but was unable to. This is a huge contrast to Every's win last year, where he bogeyed the 18th hole after missing a four foot putt and had to hope no one would catch up to him.

The Florida native is just the fourth winner of the AP Invitational since 2008. Since then, Tiger's won four times, Every twice, and Martin Laird and Ernie Els once. This tournament also marks the ninth tournament in a row in which the 54-hole leader has failed to win the tournament.

In other news, two players each made an albatross this week, Daniel Berger and Zack Johnson. Berger's came during yesterday's round, where he holed out on the 6th hole (par 5) to mark the first albatross in the history of the AP Invitational. Just a day later, Johnson would hole out from about 200-yards away on the 16th hole. Johnson was 8-under on his round at that point, but finished off with a 66. Incidentally, 1979 marks the last time an albatross was carded at Bay Hill.

Finally, here is how our picks finished off:

1) Billy Horschel: T43 at 5-under (-5)
2) Henrik Stenson: 2 at 18-under (-18)

Like I said, it's only a matter of time before Stenson wins again. Horschel finished okay also.

And that's the end of another tournament as well as the end of the Florida Swing. Be sure to join us next week for the Valero Texas Open.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Matt Every after holing the putt that would win him the tournament on the 18th hole 

(Michael Cohen/Getty Images))

2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational Weekend Update

We're halfway through this year's edition of the Arnold Palmer Invitational from Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida. It's been an interesting few rounds with some pretty low scores all around. The leader going into the weekend is Morgan Hoffman at 13-under (-13), with a three shot lead over Harris English, Henrik Stenson, and 2014 winner Matt Every. The cut has also been set at 2-under (-2), which is the lowest cut in the tournament's history

Bay Hill has been playing perfect scoring-wise, especially this morning, where the greens were soft and vulnerable with no wind at all. Many players took advantage of this, including Morgan Hoffman, who make nine birdies (6 alone on the front nine) which aided in a 65 on the day. The low round of the day however was a 64, shot by Australian Danny Lee (T6).

Probably one of the most common picks this week was Henrik Stenson and for good reason. He's probably playing the best golf of his career right now and always seems to be in contention. I'm confident he'll get another win in no time. He shot a solid 68 66, which included 4 hole birdie streak on the last few holes today. This is really good considering that the back nine at Bay Hill has seen less scoring than the front nine so far.

A less common pick this week was Rory McIlroy, who is 8-under T6. Rory shot a 66 today, which was his first sub-70 round for him in 8 rounds on the PGA Tour. He also had a nice 5 hole birdie streak on the front nine today. This is Rory's last event before the Master's, which is the major that he's yet to win.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Billy Horschel: T23 at 5-under (-5)
2) Henrik Stenson: T2 at 10-under (-10)
3) Graeme McDowell: CUT

Good work from Billy and Stenson. It looks like GMac might be in a little slump as of now, considering how he's playing. Hopefully it's just a temporary thing!

Be sure to check our Results post Sunday evening to see who won,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Can Hoffman hold on to the lead for his 1st PGA Tour win? (Charles King/Orlando Sentinel)

2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational Picks

This week the PGA Tour stops off in Orlando, Florida at Bay Hill Club and Lodge for the 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational. As the name says, this is an invitation-only tournament, with the top 70 players on last year's FedEx Cup rankings being guaranteed an invite and only a 120-132-man field. Due to this, we're seeing some of the best golfers on tour playing this week. This also makes the AP Invitational one of the more prestigious events on tour, due to it's "invitation" status.

This tournament is probably best known for being won by Tiger Woods eight times; the first four of those wins coming in 2000-2003. He also won this tournament in 2012 and 2013. This year, however, marks the 2nd year that Tiger won't be playing in the tournament. In 2013, he withdrew shortly before the start of the tournament, due to back issues. This year, it's due to swing issues.

Bay Hill itself is one of the longer courses played on tour, stretching to about 7,400 yards. It also takes water into play on a few holes, which always makes for interesting golf. It's also been reported that the greens are not "100 percent healthy" due to the tough winter that Florida faced. Who knows how this will affect the tournament. The greens at Bay Hill are set to be replaced sometime after the AP invitational, however. The course itself is also owned by tournament namesake and golfing legend Arnold Palmer.

As I said before, there's a few more elite players in the field. Based on this, here are our picks for this week:

1) Billy Horschel
2) Henrik Stenson
3) Graeme McDowell

Stay tuned for our Weekend Update post to see who's leading going into the weekend,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

2015 Valspar Championship Weekend Update

Sorry for the slight delay, but the first two rounds of this year's Valspar Championship are currently over. It's been an interesting week thus far that consisted of a tough playing Copperhead course and some tough weather conditions. The leader as of this morning is Zimbabwean Brenden de Jonge at 6-under, with a one shot lead over a bunch of players. This is only a 7-shot difference between people who didn't make to cut (+1), which translates into many players still being able to make a run at 1st place.

Both Thursday and Friday played pretty tough, with the best scores being in the high 60's. Friday saw some higher scores due to some strong wings. Everyone was affected by it, but on the positive side, an okay round still resulted in a good position on the leaderboard. As for de Jonge, it's worth pointing out that he is one of the more accurate players on tour, but has also yet to win. That could change this week if he keeps up his good play.

In other news, Jonathan Byrd made an ace during his Friday round. He hit a nice 4-iron at the 211-yard par 3 15th hole that had an even better result. Unfortunately, Byrd just missed the cut by one shot, however this is also the Tour's third ace in just two events.

Finally, here is how our picks are doing so far:

1) Jim Furyk: T48 at even par (E)
2) Martin Laird: T27 at 1-under (-1)
3) David Toms: CUT


Some good rounds all around. Notice again the number of players at even par and 1-under. It looks like it could still be anyone's game at this point.


Stay tuned for Sunday's post to see who ended up winning,




-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

  There will be quite a few players chasing de Jonge over the weekend (Douglas R. Clifford / The Associated Press )

2015 Valspar Championship Picks

We're well into the Florida Swing at this point in the season. This week the Tour hits up the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club for the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida. This is a relatively new tournament (compared to other tournaments on the PGA Tour), in this being just it's 15th year as a tour event. Despite this, this tournament will be putting players up for a test this week due to one reason.

The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook is a tough course that requires good ball-striking skills, a skill that's probably most valuable on tour. It's smaller than normal greens combined with elevation changes and tight doglegs demands that shot-making and shot placement skills be up to par. All in all, last year, this added up to make the Copperhead Course the 6th toughest course on tour.

The winner this week will probably not be the longest player on tour, but definitely one of the most accurate. It'll be the player who can envision the shots they hit and the player who succeeds in placing the ball exactly where they want. You'll notice that my picks this week rank high in various "ball striking" stats, such as GIR perentage, fairways hit, proximity to the hole. Players who rank high in these categories probably have the best chance of winning this week. My picks are:

1) Jim Furyk
2) Martin Laird
3) David Toms

Again, all rank pretty high in at least one of the categories above. Hopefully one of them will win. Stay tuned for our weekend update post on Friday to see who's leading.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook

Dustin Johnson Wins the 2015 WGC Cadillac Championship

In just his fifth start on the PGA Tour after a 6 month haitus, Dustin Johnson has won the 2015 WGC Cadillac Championship at the Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral with a score of 9-under and a one shot lead over JB Holmes. This is Dustin's first win of the year and last win since the 2013 WGC HSBC Champions. 

With just several holes left in their final round, both Dustin Johnson and JB Holmes were tied at 8-under. You could say that this week, these two were some of the most identical players on tour. Both were in the final group today, both are some of the Tour's longest drives, and by some lucky feat both managed to make hole-in-ones yesterday on the same hole within twenty minutes of each other. (that's a story in itself) It's safe to say that one of these two had to win this week.

And that's just what happened. On the par 3 15th hole, Dustin made a birdie that would, at that time, put him two shots ahead of JB, who would then go on to birdie the next hole, closing Dustin's lead to put one shot. Two pars from either of them on the 17th and 18th were enough for Dustin to win with a final round of 69. Like I said before, many people speculated that it would take later than sooner for Johnson to win again after his absence, but he proved them all wrong this week. And it looks like that near-last place finish last week at the Honda Classic didn't affect him too badly.

Despite shocking the golfing world with a stunning 62 on Thursday, JB Holmes proved he was a little human throughout the rest of the week. He went on to shoot 73, 70, 75 the rest of the week, but going into today's round he did have a five shot lead. With four bogeys already carded, his only birdie today was his one on the 16th. He almost made a few more in the last couple of holes that would have forced a playoff.

Bubba Watson was in the mix towards the end of the final round as well. He started off the front nine with four birdies, but followed that up with three bogeys on the back nine. He finished solo 3rd after failing to convert some birdies on the final holes that could have forced a playoff as well.

The weekend was especially tough all around though. From the looks of it, more rounds were shot in the 70's on the weekend than during the week. Course owner Donald Trump stated that he wanted this tournament to play like a major, scoringwise, Gil Hanse's renovation of the Blue Monster course made that happen this week.

Finally, in his post round interview, Dustin Johnson said that his hiatus from golf has done him well and he's returned a new person, for the better. He walks away with a nice cheque, another PGA Tour win, a hole-in-one to his name, and maybe a little something more.

And just like that another week's gone on the PGA Tour. Stay tuned for our coverage of the Valspar Championship next week from Tampa Bay.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Dustin Johnson proved to us this week he's a changed person (Photo:Wilfredo Lee / AP)

JB Holmes Goes Low at WGC Cadillac Championship

This week's PGA Tour event is the WGC Cadillac Championship which is being played at the Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida. Being a WGC event, it's hosts the top players in the world, specifically the Top 50 in the World Golf Rankings, as well as top players on respective tours. The tournament boasts a nearly $10-million purse with over $1.5 million going to the winner.

The Blue Monster course has historically been one of the tougher courses played on the PGA Tour. Just last year though, it was made even tougher by golf architect Gil Hanse, who brought water in play on a lot more holes and near some fairways. Just last year, the final (winning) score was a 4-under, albeit due to some poor weather conditions.

You can imagine then how shocked the golfing world was when none other than JB Holmes posted a 10-under (62) during the opening round of the tournament, good enough for a four shot lead. His rounded consisted of eight birdies and an eagle; he only came close to a bogey on the last hole, where he made an 8-foot putt to save par. In an interview afterwards, JB credited his low score to being able to hit the shots he had in mind as well as a hot putter, all of which result in a good round. Holmes is on record saying that he didn't like the old Blue Monster course because it was too easy.

To justify his 62, that's over 11 shots lower than the scoring average of the field, which was a 73.4. Combine that with the fact that he's up against the world's best golfers had said golfers stunned. Many of his fellow players, such as Luke Donald and Shane Lowry, jokingly wondered if they were even playing the same course. He also received much praise from fellow competitors

JB leads over Ryan Moore, who shot a 66; an excellent score in it's own right, but diminished by JB's round. He stated that the course was tough, but birdies were possible. Some notable rounds were Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell (+1, T27), Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler (-4, T3), Patrick Reed (-1, T13).

Unfortunately we weren't able to make any picks this week, but we'll still be providing updates of the tournament. Remember that there is no cut this week too since its a WGC event.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

How will JB Holmes play the rest of the WGC Cadillac Championship?

Padraig Harrington Wins The 2015 Honda Classic

We said earlier last week that a win at the Honda Classic at PGA National wasn't going to be easy and boy it sure wasn't...

After several weather delays, postponed tee times, a Monday finish, and two holes of sudden death, a winner has finally emerged; Irishman Padraig Harrington. Both him and PGA Tour newcomer Daniel Berger were tied at 6 under after 72 holes and had to replay the 18th and 17th; the former saw Berger place his tee shot in the water and a solid par from Harrington. The two finish with a one shot lead over Paul Casey, Russell Knox, and Ian Poulter, who was the 54 hole leader, but shot a 74 on Monday which included several balls landing in the water. The cut was set at +4.

For Padraig, this win was huge. This is the 43-year old's first PGA tour win since his win of the 2008 PGA Tour Championship; almost 2,400 days! To put things in perspective, Padraig's last three wins were the 2007, 2008 British Open and the 2008 PGA Championship. 2008 was the pinnacle of the Irishman's career and after winning back to back majors and the same major in consecutive years, we all expected him to keep on winning.

Unfortunately this didn't happen. A few swing changes and a case of the yips saw his game fall dramatically, as well as his earnings. At his lowest, he was ranked 353rd on the World Golf Rankings (late 2014) and things weren't looking good for him. But with some perseverance and hard work, he managed to pull of the win this week, which changes everything for him now. He doesn't have to rely on sponsor exemptions for a few years, gets to play in this year's Masters, and is currently ranked 82nd on the rankings now.

With some similar perseverance, Daniel Berger was en-route to making a some history. The 2014 Web.com Tour graduate started his final round nine shots behind the leader, but shot an excellent 64 to get himself into the playoff. If he won the playoff, it would have been one of the biggest comebacks in PGA Tour history. This is Berger's 4th top-10 finish this season; very impressive!

Probably just as big a story was that of Ian Poulter's meltdown during his final round. Poulter lead by three shots going into his final round. On a few holes, he shanked a few balls into the water, which resulted in a bogey, two double bogeys, and a very bad triple (which was on the verge of a +4 if it wasn't for a good putt by Ian). However, two late birdies were not enough to put him in the playoff, as he ended up one shot short of it, shooting a 74 on the day.

Finally, here is how our picks finished the tournament:

1) Rory McIlroy: CUT
2) Dustin Johnson: CUT
3) Graeme McDowell: CUT

Wow, a very bad week for my picks all of which who had pretty bad rounds in tough weather conditions. That's too bad, better luck next week!

And that wraps up a hectic week! The Honda Classic is a tournament that will never be dull; there will always be several story-lines and some exciting golf, as we saw this week. Stay tuned for coverage of the WGC Cadillac Championship from Doral, Florida.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Padraig Harrington Wins the 2015 Honda Classic