The LPGA Tour Championship closes the LPGA 2010 season this week

This week will be the final LPGA Tournament, to be held at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.

Anna Nordqvist is the defending champion. Tune in to see if she can capture back to back wins at this prestigious event.

She has played 20 tournaments thus far and has finished 2nd, letting the elusive win slip by her. She's had 4 top ten finishes and has 2 career victories, which came in 2009.
She is tied for 40th in her driving accuracy at .694, tied for 7th in putts per green at 1.77 and has a driving average of 248.4 this season. Anna has had 34 of 66 rounds under par, which leave her in a tie for 20th.

This weeks tournament is not simply the final of the season, it will decide the Rolex Rankings No. 1 Player! The top four in the run  are; Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr and Yani Tseng. Na Yeon Choi and Ai Miyazato are 5th & 6th in the rankings.

It would be quite surprising if Suzann Pettersen takes the honors without winning a single tournament this season. I have tagged Suzann as the Susan Lucci of Golf, with her 6 runner up finishes this year! She is the current leader in greens hit in regulation, at 77%. She's had 44 out of 62 rounds under par, ranks 3rd in top ten finishes, with 12 out of 18. She is also 3rd best in scoring average. Can she make it happen at the final event?

The tournament runs from Dec. 2nd - Dec. 5th with Golf Channel televised coverage as follows; Thursday & Friday 1:30 - 3:30 PM ET and Saturday  Sunday 7:30 - 9:30 PM ET

Poulter in the lead after 3 rds, will he get back to back wins?

Ian Poulter is in the lead again, going into the final round of the Dubai World Championship. Ranked #11 in world rankings, he is 2 strokes ahead of the pack at 12 under.

His rounds of 69, 66 & 69 are reminiscent of one week ago when he shot all four rounds in the 60's to win the trophy at the UBS Hong Kong Open.

Ian had a first round 69, bogey free with 3 birdies. His 2nd round of 66 consisted of 6 birdies. The 3rd round of 69 had 5 birdies and 2 bogeys.

While Ross Fisher made a run yesterday up the leaderboard to tie Ian, he is currently in a 3 way tie for 2nd place at -10 alongside Fransesco Molinari, and Thongchai Jaidee. It appears that Lee Westwood could be strenghthening his hold on the #1 ranking, if he continues to play well and finish in the top 10 at this final tournament of the season. The only way he could lose that ranking is if Martin Kaymer finishes in the top 2. Westwood could finish 2nd in the Race to Dubai, with a strong finish in tomorrow final round. Westwood has had 32 career wins in his 24 yrs on Tour, as well as 7 Ryder Cup appearances.

Kaymer, who had a struggle in Singapore and skipped last week's UBS Hong Kong Open, will be pouring on the steam in an effort to win the European Tour Money Title. In that Title, he currently leads Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood.

Graeme could capture the title with a win in Dubai this week or a sole spot in 2nd place as long as Kaymer doesn't finish any higher than 3rd. Kaymer had skipped last week's UBS Hong Kong Open so that he could rest up for this week's final in Dubai, United Arab of Emirates. Graeme currently sits at -2 in a tie for 30th place after 3 rounds, so it doesn't appear he can have any chance of catching Kaymer with only the final round to go. Kaymer has stated that a win in Dubai would be the clinching of 3 goals he set for himself; to win a major, win the Ryder Cup, and become the #1 golfer in Europe.

Meanwhile, the 3 gents (Louis Oosthuizen, Graeme McDowell & Martin Kaymer) were awarded Honorary Life Memberships of The European Tour, Europe's highest award. All 3 have won Majors this year; Kaymer, the US PGA Champion, McDowell,the US Open and  Oosthuizen, the Open Champion. They received their Silver Life Membership cards and Money Clips by the Chief Executive of The European Tour by George O'Grady. This special presentation was in the Jumeirah Golf Estates Clubhouse, prior to the start of the Dubai World Championship. Congrats Gents!

You can catch the final round on Golf Channel live from 3:00 am - 8:00 am, or a repeat at 10:00 am, 2:00 pm or 6:30 pm. This is going to be a great final round. Can Ian Poulter have back to back wins? Will Westwood hold on to the #1 World Ranking? Will Martin Kaymer win the European Money Title? Don't miss this European Tour final event!

Now, Go Hit Some Balls..................

Michelle Wie skipping the LPGA Championship & will play in Dubai

Michelle Wie thus far, has plans to play in the Omega Dubai Ladies Master's. She will be missing the LPGA Championship in Orlando, Florida. After withdrawing from the Lorena Ochoa Invitational 2 weeks ago, she has been seeking medical attention for a back injury.

The committment to play the LPGA Championship was in question, even prior to her back injury. Michelle is the defending champion of the Omega Dubai Ladies Master's and that has been her priority to play as long as her back is well enough to do so. Also part of the equation was the fact that the LPGA Championship moved the dates of the tourney to Dec., which is not only too close to the Dubai event but also interferes with final exams at Stanford University where Michelle is a senior.

If some do not like the fact that she will be missing the LPGA Championship, then that's just too bad. Hat's off to Michelle for trying to rehab her back and get ready to play and defend her title in Dubai! And good luck during your finals too, as there will always be more golf to play in your future!

Now, Go Hit Some Balls.........

Duel to the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters on the LET Tour

While Leanne Pace & Laura Davies both have 5 wins on Tour this season, Pace leads the Hendersen Money List. Laura Davies tightened that reign with her recent win at the Hero Honda's Women's Indian Open. The possibilities for taking that title are: if Davies wins and Pace is 2nd, Pace will still claim the top of the List. So, Laura will be hoping for the win and at least a 3rd place spot for Pace.

There's a strong field lining up for the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, with Defending Champion In-Kyung Kim returning with hopes to match Annika's victory feat of winning back to back titles. In-Kyung Kim had to battle with Michelle Wie to take the title last year. She will however, be secured the title of Ryder Cup Wales Rookie of the Year award, when she surpassed Maria Hernandez of Spain in the Tour Order of Merit for this season. As it stands now, Diana D'Alessio, Christina Kim & Kim Welch of the USA will be in the field. Also competing are Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, Carin Koch and Louise Freeburg and Julieta Granada. All of these players I've named, will be playing by exemption status. 

Also heading to the final event for the LET Tour is last year's Big Break winner Carling Coffing, who will be making her innaugural appearance at the Emirates Golf Club for the tourney that runs from Dec. 6-Dec. 11th. You can follow live scoring on the LET Tour home page via this link LET Tour and click on "Live Scoring". As most of you know from Carling's  time on the Big Break, she has learnt to have a "never give up attitude" which came from being diagnosed with diabetes at just 5 years of age. 

The tournament is the 4th richest on the tour, behind the Evian Masters, the Women's British Open and the Women's World Cup of Golf. The prize is 500,000 euro, broken down as such; Winner receives 75,000, 2nd place 50,750 , 3rd place 35,000  , 4th place 27,000 and 5th place 21,200.

Now, Go Hit Some Balls...................

Congrats to Ian J. Poulter on his win in Hong Kong!

Ian Poulter has won on the European Tour, with the 2010 UBS Hong Kong Open! After shooting a phenomenal 2nd round of 60 (yes 60!), he took the lead. He had an opening round of 67 and then finished rounds 3 & 4 with a 64 and 67 respectively. While notably one of the most stylish gents on Tour, he remained humble in his win on Sunday.

He played a stellar tournament with the first 3 rounds completely bogey free! His second round of 60, included 10 birdies! He only had 2 bogeys the entire tournament, which came in the final round. Ian also sank 2 eagles, with one in the 3rd round and one in the final round on Sunday. Saturday's eagle came at the par 5, #3 hole and Sunday's came at the par 5, #13. Perhaps a (3) is his new lucky number?!

While Ian started the final round 2 strokes ahead of Simon Dyson and the rest of the field, he was unlucky when his tee shot off the #3 par 5, found the lake. That only inspired him more and he followed that blunder with 3 birdies! Dyson was able to move into a co-leadership with Poulter until he got to the 8th hole and carded a bogey to drop him to -20 overall. Graeme McDowell had looked to be Ian's closest competitor at the start of the final round, he dropped 2 shots and took par on the rest to place him 6 strokes back.

And then there was Rory McIllroy who started the tourney quite strong with a first round 63. He continued to shoot all 4 rounds in the 60's however, it wasn't enough to contend with Poulter or Dyson. McIllroy finished in 6th place at -18. Defending Champion Gregory Bouhdry finished in a tie for 11th place with -15.

Ian joined the tour in 1994 at the young age of 18. For his 2010 season, he has played in 24 events and carded 2 WINS! His prior win was in February, at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship. He's made 19 cuts and only missed 3. He had one withdraw this year. Ian has also had 6 top ten finishes during his 2010 season. His season earnings are just under $2 million.

While Ian has recently said that he is giving thought to being able to play on the PGA Tour along with the European Tour, no firm decision has yet been made. The difficulty came into play, when the European Tour increased the number of tournaments from 11 to 13. Add that to the required number of 15 minimum events on the PGA Tour, and there's a recipe for "time squash". Most PGA Tour members play anywhere from 20-30 tournaments per season.

Now, Go Hit Some Balls......................

Young McIllroy holds after round 1 at the 2010 UBS Hong Kong Open

Rory McIllroy finished the first round at -7, just one stroke behind the leader Mark Brown (in photo to the left), in the 2010 UBS Hong Kong Open. 8 birdies and just one bogey will look good on the card anytime! Current leader Mark Brown sits at -8, 62.

This week's tourney is being played at the Hong Kong Golf Club in New Territories, Hong Kong. Greg Bourdy' the defending champion, sits in a tie for 12th place after round one with a -4  66 on his card.

Graeme McDowel playing against his Ryder Cup teammate McIllroy, sits in a tie for 6th place with a -5  65 carded for the opening round. Jeev Milkha Singh is tied with McIllroy in 2nd place, followed by Simon Dyson and Soren Hansen in 4th.

And then there's Big John, as in John Daly! As most notice him now as much thinner and always with bright loud golf slacks on; he continues to have difficulty in his game. He's had an year that's been hampered with a bad shoulder that has required him to have it "popped back" into place at least 5 times! Big John feels he's made more cuts this year than possibly ever before, but he's been unable to bring his game on the weekend when it matters. After dropping the 100 lbs, he currently weighs in at approx 195. And he'll be the first to state that it's been a hard adjustement, to learn to play with a much smaller physique. He blames his putting on the fact that he can no longer rest his elbows on his "love handles". Come on John, Really?

With only 3 tourneys left on the European Tour, it will end with the South African Open Dec. 16-19th. After this week's Open in Hong Kong, the men will head to the Dubai World Championship Presented by DP World and then onto the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek County Club.

I'm going to say there are a couple of guys to watch that may take the last 3 wins of the 2010 season on the European Tour; Rory McIllroy can capture the trophy this week if he can remain consistent and not let the weekend nerves affect him. He's had 2  career wins, with this years Quail Hollow Championship. He's had 4 missed cuts out of the 24 events he's played thus far. While Rory has recently said he would forego his 2011 PGA Tour Card, he will remain strong on the European Tour while staying closer to home. This kid is going to break through and stay a tough contender, it's just a matter of when.

I then feel that Ian Poulter is going to make a charge in Dubai and Anders Hansen will capture one. Ian has had 10 career wins between the tours including just one in 2010.
Anders has had 3 career wins, with the last being in 2009 at the Joburg Open on the European Tour. He's had 2 top ten finishes and 5 missed cuts out of the 26 events played.



Whether my predictions will hold true, only time will tell.

Televised times are 12:00 am - 4:00 am ET throughout the tourney. So, set your DVR's or watch for replays on the Golf Channel.

Now, Go Hit Some Balls...............

Stay tuned for a couple of product reviews coming soon!

I will be reviewing a couple of products in the near future and providing links to them as well. Just some fun & exciting things to do when the off season is nearing! Please feel free to comment on them as well as any posting here on the blog as well.

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Now, Go Hit Some Balls.........................