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The Monday Mulligan: the week that was in golf …

  • themondaymulligan
  • Mar 24
  • 6 min read

Well, it’s been a while but we are back to cover all things golf. Some additional commitments meant that the blog took a backseat for a year or so, however what a time to get back into it with the Majors just around the corner. Whether you are a golf tragic who follows the scores all week or you just want to capture the highlights to impress your boss at work with some idle chat over the water cooler … this is the blog for you! Let’s get straight into what was a massive week of golf around the globe.

 

The PGA Tour continued its ‘Florida Swing’ with the Valspar Championship held at the Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course where conditions proved tough for a field full of proven winners. The first two rounds saw some unfamiliar names at the top of the leaderboard with the likes of Bridgeman and Echavarria sharing the 54 hole lead with proven winner Hovland. Some familiar names also made their mark through the 2nd and 3rd rounds as the likes of Billy Horschel and Shane Lowry appeared up the pointy end of the table. There were some great highlights through the 3rd round as long-time friends JT and Jordan Spieth were paired together and fed off each other to play some of their better golf for the week. JT made the most of it as he shot rounds of 65 and 66 to light up the weekend. His momentum was halted as he was bitten by ‘the snakepit’ but it was an impressive run from a man who almost didn’t make the weekend. During the final round, Cauley set the clubhouse lead at 8-under as the overnight leaders made the turn, however it quickly became apparent that his score wasn’t going to be enough to hold on. It was Hovland who made some clutch putts down the stretch and played himself back into form as he won his 7th victory on the PGA Tour and first in almot a year. JT took outright second and was closely followed by Bridgeman who played some consistent and impressive golf to set up the rest of his season. Hovland will be happy with the result as the pressure mounts in a Ryder Cup year where some young Europeans are making a statement for their place in the team.

Hovland wins his 7th PGA Tour Victory with the Valspar Championship

(photo courtesy of: www.pgatour.com)

 

Laguna National Golf Resort Club hosted the DP World Tour this week for the Singapore Classic. The course proved to be in excellent condition, even with no play on Thursday due to a torrential downpour. Due to the conditions, the tournament was reduced to 54 holes, however this did not stop the players putting on a show. Englishman Richard Mansell won his maiden DP World Tour Victory with a clean round of 66 on Sunday, including a clutch birdie on the last to secure the win. His two-putt from over 100 feet on the 18th was a deserving finish to an excellent week of golf in Singapore. He was joined at the top of the table down the stretch by Japan’s Keita Nakajima who finished outright second, ahead of a McKibbin and Saddier who shared third place.

Richard Mansell winning his maiden DP World Tour Victory

(Photo courtesy of www.europeantour.com)

 

LIV Golf had a week off where plenty of their contracted players chose to tee it up at the International Series Macau in order to try and maintain their OWGR. The end result was some fantastic golf which was great to watch through the final round, for those who managed to tune in. Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz didn’t have it all his way and had to earn his second win on the International Series and Asian Tour as he held off a strong field of contenders. Ortiz closed with a final round 6-under 64 which was enough to get the win ahead of Patrick Reed and Jason Kokrak. It is the 10th win of Ortiz’s career and one which maintains his momentum after a strong start to the season. All three LIV Golfers will be pleased with the result as it secured their place in The Open to be held at Royal Portrush later this year. Sergio Garcia came up painfully short as he missed a 3-foot putt which would have tied him for third and handed him Kokrak’s place in the starting field for The Open. The Asian Tour and International Series continues to be the beneficiary of the golfing divide, as many LIV Golfers are strengthening these field in an effort to retain their World Golf Ranking and entry into some key events.

Reed, Ortiz and Kokrak secured their starting places for The Open

(Photo courtesy of www.internationalseries.com)

 

No golf this week for the LPGA, which left the spotlight to fall on the Aussie women at the NSW Open in Wollongong. This was a great opportunity for many in the field who had their season tipped on its head with the cancellation of the Australian WPGA Championship a few weeks ago due to Cyclone conditions in Queensland. Mimi Rhodes, an English rookie on the LET, took that opportunity with both hands as she put down a flawless performance on Sunday to win the event by two. The 23-year-old shot a bogey-free 69 in the final round to get herself clear of the field and hold off Australian Kirsten Rudgeley and Italian Alessandra Fanali who ended in a tie for second place. This was only Rhodes 4th event on the LET and is a promising sign after the maturity and poise she displayed down the final stretch.

 

The fellas on the PGA Tour of Australasia went low at The Heritage Golf and Country Club where New South Welshman James Conran birdied the 72nd hole to get it to 22-under par and win the tournament by a single shot. It was an excellent finish to the event with Nathan Page and Jordan Doull keeping the pressure on to the very end. Conran briefly left the door ajar after he bogeyed the 17th, however he maintained his composure down the last to secure his maiden Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title. With one event remaining on this tour, it was a critical result as the field fights for second place on the order of merit, behind Australian Elvis Smylie. T53rd was enough for Smylie to cap off a strong season and secure the Order of Merit which brings a number of benefits and future starts, including one at The Open later this year. 

 

Up Ahead

 

The PGA Tour heads to Houston where the Par-70 Memorial Park Golf Course will host the Texas Children’s Houston Open. The field will welcome some big names back with the likes of McIlroy and Scheffler teeing it up this week and they will be keen to put some solid scores on the board as we approach the Majors. The event carries a purse of $9.5 Million and Stephan Jeager is the defending champion.

 

LIV Golf has another week off before returning on 04 April for their event in Miami at Trump National Doral, colloquially known as ‘The Blue Monster’. This should be a fascinating event as big name players such as Bryson and Brooks prepare for their run at the Majors.

 

Nelly Korda is the defending champion for this weeks LPGA Tour event, The Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass and played at the Whirlwind Golf Club. The event has a purse of $2.25 Million and 500 points on the race to CME Golbe, where Korea’s Lim Kim is currently in the lead.

 

The DP World Tour continues its ‘Asian Swing’ as it heads to the Hero Indian Open in New Delhi. The par-72 DLF Golf and Country Club will host the event which has a purse of $2.25 Million and is worth 3500 points on the Race to Dubai and, just as critical for some of the young guns in the field, it carries 1000 Ryder Cup points. Keita Nakajima is the defending champion and will be confident heading into the event after his second place in last weeks Singapore Classic.

 

The WPGA Tour of Australasia backs up another week where the ladies will tee it up at the World Sand Greens Championship to be played at the Binalong Golf Club for a purse of $175,000. Meanwhile the men on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia will head to The National Tournament at the par-72 National Golf Club (Gunnamatta). The event has a purse of $200,000 and, as the final event on this tour, will be critical in shaping the remaining order of merit positions behind Elvis Smylie.

 

The Asian Tour doesn’t tee it up again until the first weekend of May at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open to be played at the Namseoul Country Club in Korea. The International Series also has an extended break until mid-May when the Caledonian Club in Japan will play host.


Well that’s it for this week, I hope it covered what you are after and if not, feel free to get in touch and offer some suggestions so we can improve the blog here at The Monday Mulligan. We are stoked to be back and covering what we love across the world of golf.

 

That’s it for now, stay safe and play well!

 

Play well,

 

TMM

 

 

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