Oliver Bekker shot a 6-under 66 to take a share of the first-round lead at the Catalunya Championship on Thursday.
Click here to read the full article…
| Having problems finding out how match bonuses work? Check this guide on match deposit bonuses at our partner site Hypercasinos.com! |
Watson’s win at the Travelers was his third of the year. At 39, he’s showing no signs of slowing down and is making his case as an all-time great.
Thursday Night Stat Report It was a difficult day for scoring in the opening round at the Valero Texas Open, with only 4 holes playing under par on the day. Here is a graphic detailing hole-by-hole scoring from Thursday’s round: Currently, there are 86 players at 1 over par or better (T64th position). Our model is projecting Friday’s cutline as follows (as usual, assuming that the course plays to a scoring average similar to Thursday’s): 2 over par: 74.2 percent 3 over par: 24.8 percent 1 over par: 1.0 percent This week’s field at the Valero Texas Open is as big as they come on the PGA TOUR (156 players) and, due to a relative lack of starpower, one of the more evenly-matched fields as well. As a consequence, our model’s highest cut projection at the start of the tournament was just 74 percent, belonging to Matt Kuchar (in a typical week, the highest cut projection will usually be 80 to 90 percent). After shooting 1 under par today, Kuchar’s cut probability now sits at 91 percent. One of the biggest movers on the day was Grayson Murray, whose probability of making the cut rose from 54 percent at the start of Thursday to 99 percent, thanks to his 5 under par round of 67. This implies that the model is giving Murray about a 1 percent chance of shooting 7 over par or worse tomorrow, given how the cutline is being projected above (nobody tell Grayson!). Some other notable cut probabilities heading into Friday’s round are Kevin Chappell (Even par; 80 percent), Brendan Steele (2 under par; 95 percent), Adam Scott (3 over par; 43 percent), and Sergio Garcia (2 over par; 59 percent). NOTE: These reports are based off the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live “Make Cutâ€�, “Top 20â€�, “Top 5â€�, and “Winâ€� probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 10K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the Valero Texas Open, or to see how each golfer’s probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model’s home page. Â
ORLANDO, Fla. — The long ball helped Bryson DeChambeau outlast Lee Westwood on Sunday to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, only the key shots were as much with his putter as his driver. RELATED: Leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Bryson DeChambeau DeChambeau holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the front nine and a 50-foot par putt early on the back nine. He closed it out with a nervy 5-foot par putt for a 1-under 71 and a one-shot victory over the 47-year-old Westwood. It matched the low score of the day, one of only three rounds under par in the toughest final round at Bay Hill in 41 years. DeChambeau and Westwood were never separated by more than one shot over the final 15 holes, a fascinating duel of generations that came down to the last shot. For the second straight day, DeChambeau revved up thousands of fans on the par-5 sixth hole by smashing driver over the lake and leaving himself 88 yards away on the 565-yard sixth hole. Westwood was 168 yards behind him, and raised both arms to jokingly mimic DeChambeau’s reaction from the day before. They both made birdie. DeChambeau appeared to be in trouble on the 11th when he narrowly missed going in the water off the tee, caught a plugged lie in the front bunker and gouged it out to 50 feet. He made that for par to stay ahead by one. Westwood tied him with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-5 12th, only to give it back with a three-putt on the 14th. The tournament turned on the par-5 16th, where it was Westwood who had the advantage. DeChambeau’s drive went up against the lip of a bunker and he had to lay up short of the water. Westwood had 158 yards and hit a poor short iron that came up short of the green. He chipped nicely, except that it rolled out 6 feet by the hole on the lightning-quick greens and he missed the birdie for a chance to tie. DeChambeau was one ahead going to the 18th when he hit his most important drive of the day — in the fairway. Westwood’s tee shot settled in a divot, and he did well to get it on the green and two-putt from 65 feet. DeChambeau’s birdie putt slid by some 5 feet and he shook his arms in celebration when the par putt dropped. Westwood closed with a 73, not a bad score considering the average of 75.49 was the highest for a final round since 1980. Corey Conners stayed in the mix until the very end. The Canadian holed a 15-foot eagle putt on the 16th to get within one shot, only to find a bunker on the par-3 17th and miss a 6-foot par putt. With a bogey on the final hole, he shot 74 to finish alone in third. Jordan Spieth was part of a four-man race on the front nine and briefly tied for the lead with a birdie on the par-5 sixth. That turned out to be his last birdie of the day. He took bogey on three of his last four holes for a 75, dropping him into a three-way tie for fourth with Andrew Putnam (71) and Ricky Werenski (73). For Spieth, it was his third top-five finish in his last four events. DeChambeau said he received a text Sunday morning from Tiger Woods, who is recovering from serious leg injuries from his car crash in Los Angeles. He said Woods, an eight-time Bay Hill winner, told him to “keep fighting.” He also considered the words from Arnold Palmer to “play boldly.” He needed all of that with the fight Westwood gave him, and the test Bay Hill provided. “It’s been quite a battle this whole entire time,” DeChambeau said. DeChambeau rose to No. 1 in the FedExCup rankings with his ninth PGA TOUR victory, and he became the first player this season with multiple victories, to go along with his U.S. Open title in September. It matched the longest it took for a multiple winner on the PGA TOUR since 1969. Nick Price won his second title in the 21st week of the season in 1994. Rory McIlroy, who started four shots out of the lead, was never in the mix. He came undone on the par-5 sixth, where he hit two tee shots into the water and then hit the fairway, green and made the putt to salvage double bogey. He shot 76.
