The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Cook breaks course record at Fontainebleau
- Watney flawless to win by 2 shots at Aronimink
- No change in prize money for Razak Cup tournament
| Cook breaks course record at Fontainebleau Posted: 03 Jul 2011 04:23 PM PDT BLAINVILLE, Quebec (AP): John Cook shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday and set a tournament course record with a 21-under 195 to win the Montreal Championship by three strokes at the Fontainebleau Golf Club. Cook, the tournament runner-up last year, erased Chien-Soon Lu's one-stroke lead and claimed the $270,000 top prize at the Champions Tour's sole Canadian stop. Cook's third win on the 50-and-over tour this season came one year after Larry Mize, last year's champion, overtook him with a 64 on the final day. Canada's Rod Spittle shot a course one-day record 10-under 62 to finish 15 under. The Ontario native broke the mark of 63 held by four players - including Cook - and finished in a seventh-place tie, up from a tie for 49th place after two rounds. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Watney flawless to win by 2 shots at Aronimink Posted: 03 Jul 2011 04:21 PM PDT NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pennsylvania (AP): Nick Watney capped off an amazing weekend at Aronimink to win the AT&T National on Sunday, moving him to No. 10 in the world and atop the PGA Tour money list for the first time in his career. Watney closed with a 4-under 66 on a steamy afternoon in the Philadelphia suburbs, making three big par saves and three birdies on the front nine to seize control, then holding off a late charge by K.J. Choi for a two-shot victory. And to think that with only 27 holes left in the tournament, Watney was trying to keep from getting left behind. Ten birdies, an eagle and no bogeys later, he was posing with the silver trophy of a Liberty Bell and wondering how much better he could get. "It's a very addictive feeling to be out there and under the gun," said Watney, who had a 62-66 weekend at Aronimink. "To be able to hit good shots and putts is why I play, really." Watney finished on 13-under 267, tying the tournament record by Tiger Woods in 2009 when it was played at Congressional. The tournament is scheduled to return to Congressional next year. Charles Howell III earned quite a consolation prize. He played bogey-free in the final round for a 6-under 66 to tie for third with Adam Scott (68) and Jeff Overton (67). That made him eligible for the British Open in two weeks as the top finisher from the top five who wasn't already exempt. Rickie Fowler, who shared the lead with Watney going into the final round, had another learning experience. He fell out of the hunt early with a double bogey on the second hole and closed with a 74 to tie for 13th. "I just couldn't get anything going today," Fowler said. Watney didn't give anyone much of a chance. He took the outright lead with a wedge into 10 feet for birdie on No. 2, and holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-5 fifth. Despite leaving himself in a tough spot in the bunker on the par-5 ninth, he blasted out to 2 feet for another birdie. Even so, his biggest putts were for par. Watney saved par from bunkers on No. 4 with a 20-foot putt, and from No. 7 with a putt from about 12 feet. His biggest par save might have been the par-3 eighth, which yielded only two birdies in the final round. Overton had reached 9 under and was making a move, and Choi had birdied the previous to also reach 9 under. Watney's shot went over the green, and he putted up the slope to 18 feet. He made the par putt to keep his cushion. "That was big not to drop a shot after hitting a good shot, and keep momentum heading to the back nine," Watney said. The final challenge came from Choi, who trailed by four shots at one point. He slowly made up ground, then closed in on Watney after the turn with a bending, downhill birdie putt on the 11th and a pair of long birdie putts on the 12th and 14th holes, the last one tying for the lead. Momentum was with Choi, only the South Korean knew better. The par-4 15th played at 503 yards into a slight breeze, following by the par-5 16th that was reachable in two. "When I tied him on the 14th hole, I knew that there was still a lot of holes to go, and I knew the remaining holes were more favorable to Nick Watney," Choi said. "I knew the 15th hole would be a turning point. That was a key hole, and I missed it. So I think that was the turning point of the match." Choi pulled his shot into the left rough, then tried to hit 5-wood toward the green. The thick grass shut his club and sent the shot into a bunker, some 60 yards from the pin, and so close to the side that his legs were pressed against the edge of the bunker. Choi hit a solid shot, but it took one more hop into the rough, he chipped out to 12 feet and missed the putt. Watney was just short of the green and lagged his putt from 75 feet to 5 feet, converting yet another important par. On the next hole, Watney used his power to smash a drive that left him only a 7-iron to the green, and he again hit a good lag for a two-putt birdie. His seventh and final par save came from just behind the 17th green, and his chip stopped 2 feet from the cup. Watney earned $1.116 million and became the first player this year to top $4 million on tour. His other win came at the World Golf Championship at Doral, a win defined by his clutch tee shot on the 18th hole of the famed Blue Monster. That experience has served him well. "I'm overjoyed to be in here as the winner," Watney said. "It was a very difficult, long day. K.J. played great golf and he kept coming and coming. And that makes it even more rewarding." Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| No change in prize money for Razak Cup tournament Posted: 03 Jul 2011 04:16 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The total prize money for the Razak Cup hockey competition will remain at a paltry RM32,000 despite the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) securing a sponsor for the next three years. Like the previous year the Division One champions will take home RM10,000 while the runners-up and the third placed teams will receive RM7,000 and RM5,000. For the Division Two champions the winning purse is RM5,000 while the second and third placed teams get RM3,000 and RM2,000 respectively. MHF competitions committee secretary Hashim Mohamed Yusof confirmed that there will be no increase in the prize money structure. This year's meet will be held in Malacca from July 22-28. A total of 16 teams will play in the Finals. The qualifying stage is currently held over five zones and will end on July 9. The MHF will then divide the teams into the two Divisions. The five zones in the qualifying stage are North, Central, South, East and East Malaysia. However, the East Malaysia zone has been scrapped as Labuan and Brunei have withdrawn leaving only Sabah and Sarawak in the fray. Both teams will play in the Finals and their request to be placed in Division Two has been accepted by the competitions committee. Each Division will have eight teams. Meanwhile, more trouble is brewing for the Razak Cup competition over the eligibility of player rules. Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association (KLHA) are crying foul over the release of several players who played in the qualifying stage over the weekend. They claimed that some players who had played for other teams did not get the respective clearance and they want the matches to be declared null and void. KLHA secretary V. Rajamanickam cited the case of Sallehin Ghani who works and plays in the KL League was given clearance by Selangor to play for the city team. "But Sallehin was offered a higher allowance and he went to play for them without getting a release from us. They fielded him over the weekend,'' said Rajamanickam. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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