PGA TOUR
Marquee groupings and starting times (FedExCup standing) – 2012 AT&T National
Thursday, 12:50 p.m. ET No. 1 tee (Friday - 7:50 a.m. ET No. 10 tee)
Tiger Woods (4), Nick Watney (70), K.J. Choi (80)
Thursday, 1:02 p.m. ET No. 1 tee (Friday – 8:02 a.m. ET No. 10 tee)
Jim Furyk (18), Robert Garrigus (32), Jason Day (115)
Friday, 12:50 p.m. ET No. 1 tee (Thursday - 7:50 a.m. ET No. 10 tee)
Hunter Mahan (3), Dustin Johnson (22), Davis Love III (107)
Friday, 1:02 p.m. ET No. 1 tee (Thursday – 8:02 a.m. ET No. 10 tee)
Marc Leishman (23), Ben Curtis (25), Adam Scott (98)
Marc Leishman’s victory at the Travelers Championship marked just the third PGA TOUR victory by an Australian since the beginning of the 2011 season. There were seven Aussie victories in 2009-10, including three by Geoff Ogilvy.
The AT&T National returns to Congressional Country Club after a two-year hiatus, with the course being set up with the same par and yardage (36-35—71/7,569 yards) as the 2011 U.S. Open. The sixth hole played as a par-4 measuring 515 yards for the AT&T National from 2007-09, and for the 2011 U.S. Open, the hole was lengthened to 555 yards and plays as a par-5. As host of the 2011 U.S. Open, Congressional CC ranked as the sixth-toughest course on the PGA TOUR with a scoring average of 72.99.
In 2012, winners on the PGA TOUR have come back from deficits of:
8 Kyle Stanley/Waste Management Phoenix Open
7 Brandt Snedeker/Farmers Insurance Open
7 John Huh/Mayakoba Golf Classic
6 Phil Mickelson/AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
6 Marc Leishman/Travelers Championship
Bubba Watson leads the PGA TOUR in Driving Distance (316.3 yards) and Greens in Regulation (72.36 percent). Since the TOUR began tracking these statistics in 1980, no player has led both categories in the same season.
Robert Allenby had a hole-in-one during the final round of the 2011 AT&T National, the eighth of his PGA TOUR career. Dating to 1971, only Hal Sutton (10) has more. Hubert Green also has eight.
The top two players, not previously eligible, from a cumulative money list taken from THE PLAYERS and five TOUR events (THE PLAYERS, FedEx St. Jude Classic, U.S. Open, Travelers Championship, AT&T National and The Greenbrier Classic), will gain entry into the 2012 British Open. Last year, Travelers Championship winner Fredrik Jacobson ($1,260,264) and FedEx St. Jude Classic champion Harrison Frazar ($1,058,436) gained entry into the British Open. Below are the current standings through the U.S. Open.
Rank Player Earnings
1 Marc Leishman $1,111,350
2 Michael Thompson $718,412
3 John Merrick $616,440
4 Charley Hoffman $528,000
5 Brendon de Jonge $341,528
CHAMPIONS TOUR
With his four-stroke victory at the Montreal Championship, Mark Calcavecchia won for the third time as a pro in Canada.
Calcavecchia’s Montreal Championship victory marked the 21st consecutive Champions Tour event in which the winner has come from the final group.
Brad Bryant finished 2nd and posted his eighth top-10 finish of the season at the Montreal Championship, three more than he had in all of 2011.
Craig Stadler finished seventh, his best showing since he was sixth at the 2009 Boeing Classic. Stadler’s finish helped him jump from 90th on the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship money list to 64th and a spot in this week’s field for the top 81 players on that money list.
Canadian Claude Tremblay made the first hole-in-one in tournament history when he aced No. 13 with a 19 degree hybrid from 224 yards in the opening round of the Montreal Championship. It was the third hole-in-one on the Champions Tour this season. J.L. Lewis and Graham Marsh have also made aces this year.
Bob Tway’s run of six consecutive birdies (Nos. 7-12) during round two of the Montreal Championship matched the best streak on the Champions Tour this year.
Champions Tour professional Bernhard Langer finished T23 at the BMW International Open playing against the youngsters on the European Tour in Germany. He was one of 10 players to shoot four rounds of par or better in the tournament.
This week’s Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship is the fourth-oldest event on the Champions Tour, being contested for the 30th consecutive season. Only the Senior PGA Championship (73 years), Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (35 years) and the U.S. Senior Open (33 years) are older.
This week’s Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship marks Greg Norman’s his first start on the Champions Tour since September 2009 at the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, where he finished T46.
Norman has made 11 starts on the Champions Tour, including eight major championships. In those eight majors, Norman has finished T6 or better in all but one.
Year Tournament Finish
2005 Senior British Open 3
2005 US Senior Open 4
2008 Senior British Open T5
2008 US Senior Open 4
2008 Senior PGA T6
2009 Senior British Open T6
2009 US Senior Open T4
2009 Senior PGA T49
Larry Nelson has found success in Pittsburgh. The World Golf Hall of Fame member won the 1983 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Nelson also posted a win on the Champions Tour in the area, claiming the 1998 Pittsburgh Senior Classic at Sewickley Heights GC.
Michael Allen currently leads the Tour’s money list, with $1,150,032, and has nearly duplicated his entire earnings from 2011 ($1,161,306). And with 1,120, Allen also leads the Charles Schwab Cup race, by just five points over Bernhard Langer.
The Montreal Championship was the 12th of 24 events this season. As a comparison, Tom Lehman led Nick Price by 441 points at the halfway stage last year (through Dick’s Sporting Goods Open).
The Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS field includes eight World Golf Hall of Fame members (Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Tony Jacklin, Sandy Lyle and Larry Nelson).
Tony Jacklin’s appearance at the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship will be his first on the Champions Tour since the 2007 Senior British Open.
Bob Gilder will be playing in his 56th consecutive major championship on the Champions Tour when he plays at the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, extending his all-time record for consecutive starts in majors on the Champions Tour.
Bobby Wadkins won the 2006 Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship and became the first player to win the title and receive an exemption into THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course. Wadkins missed the cut at THE PLAYERS in 2007. Only three players – Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd and Fred Couples – have won both THE PLAYERS and the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS titles.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
With his win on Sunday at the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, Casey Wittenberg is only one win away from a promotion to the PGA TOUR this year. The Memphis native won his first Nationwide Tour event in Louisiana in March.
Marc Leishman, 2008 Tour alum, won for the first time on the PGA TOUR on Sunday at the Travelers Championship. It was the 334th alumni win on TOUR.
U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson on his Nationwide Tour experience: “I found out quickly those guys on the Nationwide Tour were really, really good. I’m thankful I was able to play the Nationwide Tour.”
The Tour travels to Evansville, Ind., this week for the inaugural United Leasing Championship at Victoria National Golf Club, one of Indiana’s top-ranked courses. Ninety-one of the top 100 are entered. Golf Channel will be televising all four rounds.
Matt Davidson made his first start since being sidelined in December with a knee injury suffered while playing basketball. He finished T48 in Wichita.
NASCAR’s Clint Bowyer played in last Wednesday’s Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open pro-am and on Sunday won the Sprint Cup Toyota/Save Mart 350 in Sonoma, Calif., the sixth Cup victory for the Emporia, Kan., native.
