Sunday, December 22, 2013

Garcia takes his first title of the year in Thailand

Garcia takes his first title of the year in Thailand

Reuters 
December 15, 2013 7:12 AM
Garcia of Spain tees off on the 17th hole during the third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship golf tournament in Norton, Massachusetts
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Sergio Garcia of Spain tees off on the 17th hole during the third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship …
(Reuters) - Spaniard Sergio Garcia carded a final-round 68 to cruise to a four-stroke win at the Thailand Golf Championship on Sunday for his first title of the year.
Garcia, 33, combined six birdies with two bogeys during the final round at the Amata Spring Country Club for a four-day total of 22-under-par 266 in the $1 million Asian Tour event.
World number three Swede Henrik Stenson also shot a 68 with five birdies and a bogey to finish second but never managed to put Garcia under serious pressure.
"It was great, an amazing week... obviously being the last week of the year and for having Katharina (Boehm) caddie for me," Garcia, who had his girlfriend caddying for him, told reporters.
Stenson, the first man to win the U.S. Tour's lucrative FedExCup series and the European money list double in 2013, had halved Garcia's overnight lead to two on the turn but the Spaniard put paid to his hopes by sinking three consecutive birdies from the 10th.
"I knew Henrik was going to make it difficult for me. He's been playing so amazingly great, and he did," Garcia, 33, said. "He kept hitting good shot after good shot.
"And then when I bogeyed seven, I had to make a good par save on nine after getting a bit unlucky with the approach shot. And then I made three very important birdies on the first three on the back nine and gave myself a little bit of a cushion."
Stenson rued some missed opportunities on Sunday but was not too unhappy with his overall performance during the week.
"I've had a great year but coming here really on the fumes left in the tank, not too much going for me to perform in that sense," the Swede said.
"But I played really nicely yesterday and I was hanging in there today and I was just coming up a couple short."
Frenchman Alexander Levy (69) was four shots behind Stenson at third spot while U.S. Open champion Justin Rose (72), last year's winner Charl Schwartzel (67) of South Africa, India's Anirban Lahiri (73) and Japan's Yuki Kono (69) finished tied for the fourth place.
(Writing by Sudipto Ganguly; editing by Alan Baldwin)
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Sergio Garcia wins Thailand Championship

Sergio Garcia wins Thailand Championship

December 15, 2013 10:19 AMAP - Sports
Sergio Garcia wins Thailand Championship
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Spain's Sergio Garcia tees off the 2nd hole during the third round of the HSBC Champions golf tournament …
CHONBURI, Thailand (AP) -- Sergio Garcia shot a final-round 68 to beat Henrik Stenson by four strokes and win the Thailand Golf Championship at the Amata Spring Country Club on Sunday.
The 33-year-old Spaniard, who held the lead since the second round, turned in a solid final round that featured six birdies and two bogeys to finish on 22-under 266.
The victory is Garcia's first this year with his last win coming at the Johor Open, an Asian Tour event in Malaysia last December.
''It was great, an amazing week,'' said Garcia, who has now won four Asian Tour titles in his career. ''I'm very, very happy and I can't wait to go back home to Switzerland and kind of sleep on it a little bit.
''I knew Henrik was going to make it difficult for me. He's been playing so amazingly great, and he did. I started well, but he also did. He kept hitting good shot after good shot,'' Garcia added.
Garcia raised some eyebrows by playing with his girlfriend, Katharina Boehm, as his caddie this week, but the partnership has proved to be effective.
Sweden's Stenson, who recently made history when he became the first player to win the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup, matched Garcia's 68 in his final round for an 18-under 270 total.
''It was a good week. Especially (because) I've had a great year but coming here really on the fumes left in the tank, not too much going for me to perform this week in that sense. But ... I was hanging in there and I was just coming up a couple short,'' Stenson said.
''I needed something really, really good to happen there. I had a couple of chances to get a little bit close around 8 and 9 but I didn't make those two birdie putts and Sergio was hanging in there, made one or two good saves and then he made three birdies in a row, and then he pulled away, and then really I would need something spectacular to happen the last four or five holes.''
Alexander Levy of France shot a 69 to finish another four shots back for a 274 total and third place. Last year's winner, Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, with a second straight 67, was joint fourth on 275 along with Yuki Kono of Japan, US Open champion Justin Rose, and Anirban Lahiri of India.
American Rickie Fowler endured an up and down round that featured six birdies and four bogeys for a 70 and an 11-under 277 to finish in a share of eighth place with Thailand's Chapchai Nirat.
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Kuchar, English win Shootout, set tourney mark

Kuchar, English win Shootout, set tourney mark

December 15, 2013 4:40 PMAP - Sports
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record.
Kuchar and English finished at 34-under 182, playing their last 28 holes at Tiburon in 25 under. They opened with a 64 on Friday in modified alternate-shot play and had a 60 on Saturday in better ball.
The duo beat Retief Goosen and Fredrik Jacobsen by seven strokes, matching the tournament record for margin of victory set by Curtis Strange and Mark O'Meara in 1989 in the inaugural event.
''It was a fun week,'' Kuchar said. ''This is one of my favorite events of the year. I wish we could more team events. I realize during the year, that's difficult but to mix up the formats and have a partner here is just a lot of fun. It's nice to perform well.''
Kuchar and English, who replaced the injured Brandt Snedeker in the field, each earned $385,000.
''It's such a relaxing event,'' Harris said. ''It's really cool being part of this event.''
Goosen and Jacobsen closed with a 61, but had little chance to catch the winners.
''It was unbelievable, quite an exhibition,'' Jacobson said. ''Both guys were putting well and they're solid ball-strikers, so we knew we had to pick up the pace. But they played so well, there's not much you can do about it.''
Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter had a 59 to finish third at 26, and Chris DiMarco and Billy Horschel were fourth at 24 under after a 60.
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Kuchar and English romp to Shootout win

Kuchar and English romp to Shootout win

AFP 
December 15, 2013 5:20 PM
Matt Kuchar hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club on December 8, 2013 in Thousand Oaks, California
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Matt Kuchar hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club on December 8, 2013 in Thousand Oaks, California (AFP Photo/Stephen Dunn)
Naples (United States) (AFP) - Matt Kuchar and Harris English combined to shoot 14-under-par 58 on Sunday for a record-setting victory in the Franklin Templeton Shootout.
Kuchar and English went into Sunday's final round of the unofficial event for two-man teams with a four-stroke lead and finished on 34-under-par 182.
Their 54-hole scored matched the 34-under-par 182 tournament record set in 1990 by Fred Couples and Raymond Floyd when the event was staged at Sherwood Country Club in California.
It improved the low 54-hole score since the event moved to Tiburon Golf Club, which was a 33-under-par 183 by Brad Faxon and Scott McCarron in 2001.
The seven-stroke margin of victory also broke the tournament record of six strokes set in 1989 by David Duval and Fred Couples.
"It was nice to come here and perform well," said Kuchar. "We made a boatload of birdies. It was a fun three days for sure."
South Africa's Retief Goosen and teammate Freddie Jacobson of Sweden shot 61 on Tiburon Golf Club's Gold Course to take second place on 27-under 189.
The english duo of Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood fired a 59 and grabbed third at 26-under.
Chris DiMarco and Billy Horschel placed fourth at 24-under, one stroke ahead of last year's champions Kenny Perry and Sean O'Hair, who had led after Friday's opening round.
Kuchar and English took charge in Saturday's better-ball format and never wavered in Sunday's scramble.
In addition to their 12 birdies, the duo highlighted their round with an eagle at the par-five 17th.
English split the fairway off the tee and Kuchar landed the second shot within 10 feet of the pin, with English converting the eagle putt.
"Harris hit a great drive, only had 200 to the front, I think it was 217 to the hole into a little bit of wind," Kuchar said. "I had a hybrid club that in those conditions needs to be hit well. I hit it perfectly and knew that when I hit it was going to turn out good, went to probably eight feet for eagle.
"Again, it was another hole I didn't have to putt. Harris poured another one right in the middle."
English said he was looking forward to a short Christmas vacation with his family, before the US PGA Tour's 2013-14 season resumes in Hawaii in January.
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