Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Where are the 2012 PGA Golf Majors?


The 2012 PGA season starts with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions January 6 to 9 in Hawaii, but the action really gets moving with the PGA Major events in the spring.

 As always, the first major of the year is the Masters, from its permanent home in Augusta, Georgia.  Dates for this year’s event are April 5 to 8.  Unfortunately for many fans, the tournament ends this year on Easter Sunday, April 8. 

The second major is, as traditional, the US Open, this year played at, The Olympic Club in Daly City, California, near San Francisco. Dates for the tournament are June 14 to 17.  Expect some chilly weather near the bay.

The Open Championship, more commonly known as The British Open in the States, will be held July 19 to 22 at Lancashire, England.

Finally, the last Major Championship is the PGA, from Kiawah Island in South Carolina, on the Atlantic Ocean near Charleston. 

It should be an exciting year, with a strong variety of courses.  Last year, no player dominated, and prospects are for a wide open season for 2012.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass

The PGA Tour moves to The Players Championship May 12-15, 2011, at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Yes, this is the course with the island green, one of the most famous holes in golf. The Par 3 17th can turn winners into losers. Not a long hole, but requires an accurate shot to hit, and most importantly, to hold the green. Or the ball rolls off into the water.

Tim Clark is the defending champion.

Bubba Watson holds the lead in the Fedex Cup standings, with Luke Donald second.

Friday, February 18, 2011

How Many FedEx Cup Points are Awarded in a PGA Tournament?

The PGA Tour has a playoff system. Seeding in the playoffs depends on the number of FedEx Cup points that players earn in the regular golf season. Players earn points in each tournament event.

The winner in most events earns 500 points, although each World Golf Championships event is worth 550 points. The Major Tournaments

The Masters
U. S. Open
The British Open
The PGA

along with The Players Championship, yield 600 points for the winner.

A few other tour events have a winner’s share of 250. These are tournaments that compete in the same week with invitational PGA events.


Distribution of FedEx Cup Points

In a standard PGA Tournament, the points are distributed in this fashion

1st 500
2nd 300
3rd 190
4th 135
5th 110
6th 100

The points go down in value for each finisher until to zero. How many points are distributed depend on how many pro players finish the event. Amateurs do not earn any points.

In the Farmer’s Insurance Open, Bubba Watson earned 500 points, and 2,948 points were distributed to the other players for a total of 3,484.

Complicated stuff. Information gathered from pgatour.com.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

First Round Results at Rivera for the Northern Trust Open PGA Tournament

The field is tightly packed after the first round at Riviera Country Club. No less than nine players have a share of the lead with an opening 67. A host of other famous players are one shot back, including Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington and Fred Couples.

Phil Mickelson is four shots off the pace at even par, along with current FedExCup leader Mark Wilson. Bubba Watson is withdrawing after an opening round 76.

The winner walks away with 500 FedExCup Points and $1,170,000. Details at PGATour.com

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Northern Trust Open PGA Tour Event February 17 to 20

The California part of the PGA Tour continues in Palisades with the Northern Trust Open this week. The Golf Channel has the coverage on Thursday and Friday with CBS picking up the tournament on the weekend.

Defending Champion Steve Stricker is back to try to repeat and claim the winner’s share of the $6.5 million purse. Tiger Woods is taking the week off, but the rest of field is star studded, with Phil Michelson, Anthony Kim, Freddie Couples and K.J. Choi among the PGA’s best scheduled to tee off on Thursday.

The Northern Trust Open gets 500 Fedex Cup points. It’s early, but the current leaders are not household names, for sure:

  • Mark Wilson - 1,008
  • D. A. Points - 688
  • Jhonattan Vegas - 672
  • Bubba Watson - 584

    Should be a fun week.

All information from pgatour.com

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Sony Open Hawaii in Honolulu

One last PGA tournament in Hawaii before the tour takes off for the mainland. January 13 to 16 the pros take on Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. Another nice purse of $5,500,000 results in a full field taking on the battle for another 500 FedEx Cup points.

Jonathan Byrd, winner or the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, will compete. After one tournament he leads the FedEx cup standings with 500 points.

No Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood or Phil Michelson, but otherwise a strong field, including Defending Champion Ryan Palmer. Why don't these guys want to go to Hawaii?

Find the details at PGATour.com

Thursday, January 6, 2011

2011 PGA Golf Season Starts in Hawaii

The world’s best golfers return to the links January 6-9 for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii.

The limited field event contains some of the biggest names in golf, including Ernie Els, Ian Poulter and Anthony Kim. Missing are most famous names, Tiger Woods, Phil Michelson and World Number 1 Lee Westwood.

The purse is $5.6 million, and 500 FedEx Cup Points are at stake. The winner pulls down a cool $1.12 million.

Source: PGA.com