Top 100 Golf Courses – Gleneagles

The King’s Course at Gleneagles has been ranked as the77th best golf course in the world by Golf World. There are more than 30,000 golf courses worldwide with spectacular new venues opening every year, which makes the King’s Course’s position of 77 in the world all the more impressive. This Perthshire stunner beat some outstanding courses in the biennial rankings including Spyglass Hill, Doonbeg, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass and the Majilis Course at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai. Read more

Golf Picture of the Week – Palheiro

Bjorn triumphs in Johnnie Walker Championship following monster play-off

Thomas Bjorn was the last man standing following a nerve-shredding five man playoff for the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

The Dane’s final round 69 saw him set the clubhouse lead at 11-under par, and he was matched by South African George Coetzee, Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal – chasing his second European Tour of the season  - and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger. The fifth spot in the play-off was claimed by Englishman Mark Foster, who spurned a chance to wrap up first win with a bogey when a par would have been good enough to win.

Heading down the 18^th for the first extra hole, Weisberger was the first player to be eliminated after taking six to get down. Bjorn almost made birdie with his chip from off the green, but Coetzee, Foster and Larrazabal each missed putts from similar distances to one another for the win.

On the second extra hole, Coetzee found trouble off the tee, while Larrazabal found his ball in prime position. Coetzee, Bjorn and Foster each found the green in three, while Larrazabal ended up in the thick stuff on the bank; the Spaniard’s chip shot clipping the hole but speeding some five feet past the hole. With Coetzee’s putt coming up short, Foster’s putt was never threatening the hole, while Bjorn’s attempt also failed to frighten the hole. Larrazabal missed his par putt to drop out of the playoff.

Playing the 18^th again – it was the only hole used in the play-off – all three remaining players found the fairway from the tee, and each laid up short of the green. With their third shots into the pin, all three peppered the target area with Coetzee being the furthest out at just four feet from the cup. Unsurprisingly, each player holed out for birdies and it was back to the tee once more and the fourth extra hole.

Foster and Coetzee both found the rough from the tee, while Bjorn kept his ball on the fairway. Foster’s lie was borderline unplayable and the Englishman could only hack out back onto the fairway. Coetzee was able to advance up the fairway, while Bjorn laid up some 80 yards short of the green in two. Sensing he needed something special, Foster went for the green with his third, but his shot drifted to the right of the green and into more thick rough short of the putting surface, while Coetzee’s third stopped 12 feet from the hole. Bjorn again peppered the flag, putting his third shot to within 3 feet and he holed out for birdie. Not to go down without a fight, Coetzee also holed his 12-footer for birdie, but Foster became the latest casualty as his fourth shot sped 10 feet past the hole. Missing the return, Foster could do no better than a six.

The fifth – and final playoff hole – saw both Coetzee and Bjorn find the rough from the tee. Bjorn had the better lie and moved his ball up the fairway, but Coetzee couldn’t match the Dane and his third landed some 40 feet from the flag. Bjorn once again was magnetic when it came to his approach, again putting his ball inside 3 feet. Coetzee’s putt raced past the hole, leaving Bjorn to putt out for the win.

Scot Stephen Gallacher just missed out on the play-off, finishing with a 69 to close on 10-under par, a shot back off the lead while Swede Joel Sjoholm joined Gallacher in a share of 6^th place.

Frenchman Victor Dubuissonm England’s Kenneth Ferrie and Spaniard Ignacio Garrido all finished 9-under par in a share of eighth place, while defending champion Edoardo Molinari – in the tournament that sealed his Ryder Cup place in 2010 – finished a well beaten tied-22^nd on 4-under par.

Dustin Johnson wins weather-shortened The Barclays

Dustin Johnson took the opening event of this season’s FedEx Cup with a blistering 19-under par total in the 54 hole weather-shortened The Barclays event at Plainfield Country Club, New Jersey.

Despite the elements brought on by Hurricane Irene, Johnson carded rounds of 66-63-65 to beat off Matt Kuchar by two shots. Johnson now tops the FedEx Cup standings after lifting the $1.3million first prize.

Heavy rain throughout the first two days forced officials to curtail the 72-hole event to 54 holes, and there was even the possibility of further reducing the tournament to just 36 holes if the weather on Saturday deteriorated enough to cause the third round to be abandoned. Had that happened, then Matt Kuchar would have been crowned the victory.

But the rains on Saturday held off enough for Johnson to overhaul his Ryder Cup team-mate and record his first win of the season; shooting 29 on the front nine for the second day in succession. On day one, he shot 30 over the opening nine holes.

Brandt Snedeker took a share of third place, one behind Kuchar, but might have finished closer but for a bogey on the 13th hole which halted an attempt at 59. Snedeker opened his round with a run of five successive birdies and added three more by the 12th hole before the 13th hole proved unlucky. Despite closing with three more birdies in his closing four holes, that dropped shot proved costly as he signed for a 61.

Snedeker was joined in the tie by veteran Fijian Vijay Singh, who closed with a 68, while Jonathan Byrd signed for a 67 to take fifth.

The top-100 players in the rankings now move onto the second event in the four-event series, the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston. Among those to make the 100 were Ian Poulter, who birdied four of his last five holes and Padraig Harrington, who climed from his opening ranking of 124 to 80 with a tie for 13th place. Ernie Elso would have been eliminated from the series had the event been cut to 36-holes, but shot a third round 67 to squeeze in at no.99.

The FedEx Cup – How It Works

You may think that the PGA Championship signalled the end of the golf season for this year but the FedEx Cup playoffs still leave plenty for the guys on tour to play for which means there is plenty more drama for us golf fans to witness before 2012.

If like many golf fans don’t know what the FedEx Cup is and how it works the here is our guide to the end of season playoffs that will see someone walk away with a whopping $10,000,000! Read more

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