Bubba Watson held a two shot lead over Harris English on Saturday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Known for his erratic tee shots but ability to scramble, Bubba found himself in a familiar situation on the 13th hole of TPC Scottsdale.
Bubba hit an errant tee shot into the desert where his ball found its way into a desert bush. It appeared he only had two options, an extremely difficult punch out from the bush or taking an unplayable under Rule 28. This situation was unique as Bubba found a way to use the rules to his advantage. Bubba called over long time PGA TOUR rules official, John Brendel, to request relief from a burrowing animal hole.
The burrowing animal hole was situated such that it would interfere with the area of Bubba’s intended swing. With Bubba’s ball lying close to the edge of a bush, John asked Bubba if he was going to have a shot. It is crucial that Bubba is able to make a reasonable stroke at the ball in order to receive relief under Rule 25 (Abnormal Ground Conditions). Under the exception in Rule 25-1 it states, “A Player may not take relief under this Rule if (a) interference by anything other than an abnormal ground condition makes the stroke clearly impracticable or (b) interference by an abnormal ground condition would occur only through use of a clearly unreasonable stoke or an unnecessarily abnormal stance, swing or direction of play.”
As Bubba is a professional and accustomed to making incredible recovery shots, he was confident he could play the ball even though it was lying in the bush. As such, John granted him relief from the burrowing animal hole and Bubba was able to get a free drop from the bush. He then hit a wedge into the fairway where he was able to make par.
Knowing the rules played to Bubba’s advantage, saving him at least a stroke.
Watch Bubba’s ruling below:
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As always, our ‘Ask an Expert’ tool can be utilized and accessed via our website, where we would be happy to answer your Rules-related inquiries.
Graham DeLaet finishes second at the Waste Management Phoenix Open
Graham DeLaet (Golf Canada/Bernard Brault)
Kevin Stadler won the Phoenix Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title when playing partner Bubba Watson missed a 5-footer for par on the final hole.
Stadler, the 33-year-old son of PGA Tour winner Craig Stadler, closed with a 3-under 68 for a one-stroke victory over Watson and Canadian Graham DeLaet.
Stadler won in his 239th PGA Tour start, earning a spot in the Masters — a tournament his father won in 1982. The Stadlers are the ninth father-son winners in tour history.
Stadler finished at 16-under 268 at TPC Scottsdale, his home course. Raised in Colorado, he played in Denver Broncos colours, wearing an orange shirt and blue pants and hat.
Watson finished with a 71, while DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask. carded a 65. After hitting it into the water on the 15th, DeLaet rallied with birdies on the final two holes. He also tied for second last week at Torrey Pines.
DeLaet gains momentum after back-to-back second place finishes
On the heels of a second place finish last week at the Farmers Insurance Open, Graham DeLaet fired a pair of 65’s over the weekend at TPC Scottsdale to record his fourth top 10 finish of the season.
“I have been playing well for the last few months, I really feel like I worked super hard in the off-season. It’s nice to see it paying off,” DeLaet said. “Disappointing here to be within one, I think this is the fourth time now, but I’ll be back I hope.”
After dunking his tee shot into the pond on the par-5 15th hole, DeLaet rebounded with a birdie on the short par-4 17th and rolled in a second birdie on his closing hole to grab a share of the lead.
“I knew that I needed probably to birdie the last two, that back pin on 17 is really, really tough, and I hit what I thought was a pretty good shot there, but I still had 12, 15 feet,” he said. “To birdie the last, I knew that I had to, I was trying to hole it, but, you know, birdie is second best.”
The second place finish earned DeLaet $545,000 and moved him into 11th place in the FedEx Cup standings. He’s currently the highest ranked Canadian in world at No. 26.
The Waste Management Phoenix Open drew an estimated 563,008 fans, breaking the seven-day record of record of 538,356 set in 2008. The tournament set records the last five days, drawing agolf-record 189,722 on Saturday and 60,232 on Sunday.
SEA ISLAND, Georgia – Listowel, Ont. native Corey Conners captured the Jones Cup after besting Austin Connelly of Irving, Texas on the first playoff on Sunday at the Ocean Forest Golf Club.
Conners, 21, was 1-stroke back in a tie for fourth heading into the final round. He gained the outright lead earlier in the day before losing a stroke with a bogey on 18 to force the playoff. The Kent State senior collected himself and went on to defeat Connelly with a par on the first playoff hole. Conners finished at 2-over par for the championship after carding rounds of 72-73-73.
With the win, Conners will move up in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) from his current position at 41st. The Jones Cup is a premier amateur event that is highly ranked and features some of the best amateurs in the world.
Team Canada member and Kent State teammate Taylor Pendrith was the next highest Canadian on the leaderboard. The Richmond Hill, Ont. native finished T26 at 10-over par (75-75-76).
Stephen Gallacher wins Dubai Desert Classic by one stroke
Stephen Gallacher (Getty Images/Francois Nel)
Stephen Gallacher of Scotland shot a final round 72 Sunday to become the first player to successfully defend the Dubai Desert Classic title, beating Emiliano Grillo of Argentina by 1 stroke.
Gallacher fought back after four bogeys over his opening eight left him in a five-way tie for the lead after 11 holes.
He won the 25-year-old tournament with an overall 16-under 272. It’s only his third victory in 18 years and 431 events on the European Tour.
Grillo secured his best Tour finish with an overall 15-under 273 when he eagled the last hole for a round of 66. Frenchman Romain Wattel also shot a 66 to finish tied in third on 14-under 274 with Brooks Koepka (70) of the United States.
Rory McIlroy struggled with a 74 to finish tied for ninth while top-ranked Tiger Woods (71) birdied his closing three holes for a share of 41st with a 6-under 282.
CORAL GABLES, Florida – Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson saved her best round for last at the Junior Orange Bowl, firing a final round 4-under 67 in Coral Gables, Fla., on Monday to take home individual honours.
The Smiths Falls, Ont., native’s final round on the Biltmore Hotel course was highlighted by six birdies and a closing 2-under 34 back nine. Her 4-under 280 total (68-72-73-67) left her five strokes ahead of Megan Khang of the USA who finished at 1-over for the championship after a 3-under 68 final round.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Henderson said about her win to media in Florida. “I came here with this in mind and I’m really pleased. Today I was finally able to get my putting working, compared to the first three days. I felt very comfortable on the greens all day.”
The victory marks the 16-year-old’s fifth title of 2013 after she captured the South American Amateur, CN Future Links Pacific Championship, Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship and Spirit International medalist honours earlier in the year.
In the junior boys division, Team Canada Development Squad member Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont., finished in 26th place at 12-over par. Italy’s Renato Paratore took home individual honours at 9-under 275.
For complete scoring from the Junior Orange Bowl click here
Teenage golf star Lydia Ko splits with coach of 11 years, shortly after turning pro
Lydia Ko (Bernard Brault/Golf Canada)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand –Teenage golf star Lydia Ko has split with the only coach she has had since she took up the sport as a 5-year-old.
Ko told Television New Zealand on Monday that she was sad to have ended her partnership with Guy Wilson, whom she called a great coach and friend. But she said she and her family had decided it would be impossible to continue the relationship because she will be based in the United States and he in New Zealand.
“It doesn’t really work, him being here and him coming on the weeks that I’m not playing a tournament means I’ll only see him like 10 times a year, and to me that kind of situation didn’t work out,” Ko said.
Wilson, who worked with the 16-year-old Ko for 11 years, issued a statement saying he was “incredibly disappointed” the partnership is over.
Michael Yim, her agent at IMG, said Monday that Ko worked with various teachers at the Leadbetter Academy in Florida before going to Taiwan for the Swinging Skirts tournament, an event she won two weeks ago in her second start as a professional. Kim said Ko plans to meet with other teachers before deciding on a full-time coach.
Ko has won five professional tournaments –four as an amateur — while coached by Wilson, who said it had “been an honour to help develop Lydia into the No. 4 golfer in the world.”
“When I first met her the golf clubs were taller than she was and she didn’t know the first thing about a driver or a putter, but now she has one of the most envied swings in the women’s golf world,” Wilson said.
Born in South Korea and raised in New Zealand, Ko won the Women’s Canadian Open at 15 last year to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history and successfully defended the title this year.
Garrett Rank and Nicholas Ross crack top 10 at Dixie Amateur
Golf Canada/Kenzie Mucciarone
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., and Nicholas Ross of Dundas, Ont., finished T7 and T9 respectively at the 83rd Dixie Amateur Championship at Heron Bay Golf Club in Coral Springs, Fla.
Rank, a member of Team Canada’s National Amateur team, fired four consecutive rounds in the red (69-71-71-70—281) on his way to a tie for seventh at 7-under par. Ross, 18, finished one stroke behind Rank at 6-under (70-74-69-69—282) boosted by his strong final rounds to close out the tournament.
Curtis Thompson, a native of the host city, Coral Springs, Fla., defeated Jack Maguire with a birdie on the second extra hole of a sudden death playoff. They were deadlocked at 15-under par heading into the playoff before Thompson pulled away to earn his second title at the Dixie Amateur, he also won it back in 2011.
The story was very similar on the women’s side with Shannon Aubert of Reunion, Fla., defeating Simin Feng of Windermere, Fla. in a one-hole playoff. They were tied at 8-under par heading into extra play.
Alexis Gemme-Piacente, Montreal, Que. – T36
Nicholas Powell, Toronto, Ont. – 77th
Paolo Addona, Montreal, Que. – T78
Jordan Bakhsh, New Market, Ont. – MC
Mario Vachon, Ste-Claire, Que. – MC
Carl Pelletier, Pont-Rouge, Que.— MC
Claude Pelletier, Donnacona, Que. – MC
Tyler Pope-Ferguson, Amherstbury, Ont. – MC
Women:
Jenna Hague, Burlington, Ont. – T35
Claire Hernandez, Palgrave, Ont. – MC
Kate Alty, Edmonton, Alta. – MC
Brooke Henderson and Tony Gil set to play in Orange Bowl
Tony Gil (Golf Canada)
Brooke Henderson and Tony Gil to tee-it-up at the Junior Orange Bowl Championship
Brooke Henderson and Tony Gil will be representing Canada this week at the upcoming Junior Orange Bowl Championship from Dec. 26-30 at The Biltmore Golf Course in Coral Gables, Fla.
Henderson, a member of the National Amateur team, will be representing the girls side whereas Gil, 15, will be participating in one of his first events as a new member of the Development Squad for the boys.
The Orange Bowl is an international invitational for the top amateur golfers from around the world. Past champions include Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson and former Team Canada athlete Maude-Aimee Leblanc.
For more information on the upcoming tournament, click here
Get to know Augusta James of the National Amateur Team
Hometown: Bath, Ont.
Age: 20
Q: What are some of your nicknames?
A: “Gus”, “AJ”
Q: What is your best golfing moment? (i.e. Tournament finishes, first eagle, hole in one etc..)
A: My two hole-in-ones and playing at the World Amateur in Turkey
Q: What is your worst golfing moment, and the lesson you learned from it?
A: Bogeying the last six holes of Regionals to miss Nationals by one. I learned how to breath better and pull myself aside to realize what’s happening so I can control/stop it
Q: Who is in your dream foursome?
A: Stacey Lewis, Annika Sorenstam, Tiger Woods
Q: What is something most people don’t know about you?
A: I am born on the opening Monday of the Masters tournament!
Q: Do you have a favourite athlete?
A: Tiger Woods
Q: What is the best thing about your hometown?
A: The support from everyone and the beautiful views of downtown as well as the lake
Q: Favourite type of shot to hit?
A: 2-yard draws and low hooks under trees
Q: What is the most surprising thing in your golf bag?
A: A warmup schedule
Three alumni capture Web.com Tour cards
Three graduates of the Team Canada program finished inside the top 45 at last week’s Web.com Q School at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.
Albin Choi of Toronto (2009-2012), Nick Taylor of Abbottsford, B.C. (2010, 2009, 2008, 2006), and Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ont. (2010), all earned full playing status through to the second periodic re-order of the Web.com Tour’s 2014 season.
Read the full story and see how other Canadians fared here
Meet Carter Simon of the Development Squad
Hometown: Sutton, Ont.
Age: 17
Q: What is your best golfing moment? (i.e. Tournament finishes, first eagle, hole in one etc..)
A: Making eagle in a playoff to win the CN Future Links Ontario Championship
Q: What is your worst golfing moment, and the lesson you learned from it?
A: Making a 10 on the 8th hole of the final round of a tournament I was leading. Quickly learned how to hit it in the fairway after that.
Q: Who is in your dream foursome?
A: My grandfather, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer
Q: Do you have a favourite athlete?
A: Joe Sakic (former NHL player)
Q: What is the best thing about your hometown?
A: No traffic and very few people!
Q: Favourite type of shot to hit?
A: Has to be the high cut, I hate the high draw.
Q: What is the most surprising thing in your golf bag?
A: My White Teddy Bear (pocket sized)!
Q: If you could have a walk-up song on the first tee box, what would it be?
A: “Hells Bells” by AC/DC
TaylorMade Golf Company announced this week the release of the SLDR 430 – a more compact version of the SLDR 460, currently the No. 1 driver on the PGA Tour. Packaged in a stunning 430cc club head with a modern-classic shape and rich charcoal-gray crown, the company expects better players to flock to the 430 version, which features a smaller tour-inspired head to promote improved workability.
“We put low forward CG in a smaller head to make a driver that tour pros love,” said Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade’s Senior Director of Product Creation for Metalwoods. “SLDR 430 makes it easier to shape shots without sacrificing distance.”
The 430 model features the same distance-producing technology found in its big brother: low and forward center of gravity placement that promotes a hotter launch, lower spin and faster ball speed.
In addition to the low-forward CG benefits, SLDR 430 also incorporates the same innovative sliding weight mechanism TaylorMade introduced with the SLDR 460. A blue 20-gram weight slides on a track located on the front of the sole. Movable weight shifts the clubhead’s CG horizontally toward either the heel, to promote a draw, or toward the toe, to promote a fade.
SLDR delivers six millimeters of movement – that’s 50% more than R1 – promoting a shot-dispersion range of up to 30 yards. The SLDR weight slides on a 21-point track system and never comes loose from the clubhead. To position the weight in any one of them simply loosen the screw, slide the weight to the point selected, then tighten the screw. Golfers can adjust for a “draw” or “fade” by sliding the weight across the slider track into the appropriate position in as little as 10 seconds.
Nearly 10 years ago, TaylorMade brought to market its first movable weight driver, the r7 quad –which featured four small weight cartridges that could be used to change the head’s CG location and influence ball flight. Since that release, TaylorMade’s R&D team has been searching for a way to improve and simplify MWT. The company believes SLDR’s new sliding system is a significant leap forward in its quest to engineer a driver that offers outstanding performance with simple and intuitive technology.
SLDR also incorporates TaylorMade’s Loft-sleeve Technology, which allows the golfer to easily adjust the loft. Golfers can choose from 12 positions within a range of plus-or-minus 1.5 degrees of loft change. The more loft added, the more the face closes and vice-versa.
Four Canadians clinch Web.com Tour cards
Nick Taylor (Golf Canada/ Claus Andersen)
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Four Canadians secured their place on the Web.com Tour for the 2014 season after 108 holes of play at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., on Tuesday.
Nick Taylor of Abbottsford, B.C., Albin Choi of Toronto, Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ont., all finished inside the top 45 to ensure full playing status through to the second periodic re-order of the Web.com Tour’s 2014 season.
Former world amateur No. 1, Nick Taylor, finished as low Canadian in a tie for 11th after a 5-under 67 final round Tuesday. Taylor finished the 108 marathon at 19-under par and will be a rookie on the Web.com Tour in 2014 after finishing in seventh place on PGA TOUR Canada’s Order of Merit in 2013.
Roger Sloan will make a return back to the Tour after matching the low round of qualifying school with a 9-under 63. Sloan finished in a tie for 15th at 17-under par and will look to improve on last year’s rookie season.
Albin Choi and Cam Burke – both former Team Canada members – also punched their tickets to the Tour. Choi who started 2013 with no playing status on any professional circuit finished in a tie for 15th alongside Sloan after 2-under 70, while Burke carded an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for 22nd.
All four players will earn playing status as Category 4a members for the 2014 season. Each player will be exempt until the second periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, B.C., Devin Carrey of Surrey, B.C, Derek Gillespie of Oshawa, Ont., and Montreal’s Yohann Benson will each receive conditional status as Category 18 members for finishing inside the top 100. Riley Wheeldon will also play on the Web.com Tour in 2014 after finishing No. 2 on PGA TOUR Canada’s Order of Merit.
Zack Fisher of Texas claimed medalist honours after firing a 8-under 64 to finish at 31-under for the tournament. Fisher will be fully exempt for the entire 2014 season.
Full scores for the 11 Canadians in the field this week are below. For more information on the qualifying breakdown, click here.
Final Canadian Scores at Web.com Final Qualifying
Category 4a: Players finishing after the tenth and ties position through forty-fifth and ties position – exempt until the second periodic re-order of the 2014 season.
T11. Nick Taylor, Abbottsford, B.C. (-19) 69-70–72-67-68-67–413 T15. Albin Choi, Toronto, Ont. (-17) 69-71–67-69-69-70–415 T15. Roger Sloan, Merritt, B.C. (-17) 68-70–72-70-72-63–415 T22. Cam Burke, New Hamburg, Ont. (-16) 67-72–67-69-69-72–416
Category 18: Players after the forty-fifth and ties position – conditional status for the 2014 season, alternating with seventy-sixth through one hundredth (76-100) positions from the Web.com Tour Regular Season.
