HORCHEL'S BMW WIN TAKES HIM TO WORLD NO. 23
Week 36

Billy Horschel won the BMW Championship by two shots to move up to World No 23 and second place in the FedEx Cup standings heading into the closing Tour Championship next week. David Lipsky earned his maiden European Tour win by beating Graeme Storm in the first hole of a play-off at the Omega European Masters.

Hiroshi Iwata fired a final-round, 5-under 66 on Sunday and he came from behind to win the Fujisankei Classic by one shot. Benjamin Hebert secured his second challenge Tour title of the year and Sattaya Supupramai of Thailand posted a three-under-par 69 to complete a wire-to-wire victory at the PGM Sabah Championship for his second Asian Development Tour.

8TH SEPTEMBER 2014 | 05:50 AM

PGA Tour - BMW Championship

Billy Horschel won the BMW Championship by two shots to move up to World No 23 and second place in the FedEx Cup standings heading into the closing Tour Championship next week.

Horschel had a great chance to win last week but a bad shot at the last cost him and he finished tied for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship, but he maintained his good form as he finished with a one-under round of 69 to close on 14-under for the week at Cherry Hills.

That solid round, which saw Horschel close with 11 straight pars in his final round, was enough to secure a two-shot win and hold off some storming finishers behind him.

Bubba Watson shot a four-under 66 to finish in second on 12-under, while Morgan Hoffman hit a blazing 63, seven-under, to pinch third place on 11-under, two shots ahead of Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia and Ryan Palmer.

Hoffman’s round followed up on his 62 on Saturday to make sure he moved up into the top 30 in the FedEx Cup to qualify him for next week in Atlanta – and made some history as the first man to move up inside the cut line in every event in the playoff series having started down in 124th.

European / Asian Tour – Omega European Masters

David Lipsky earned his maiden European Tour win by beating Graeme Storm in the first hole of a play-off at the Omega European Masters.

Playing the last again, the 26 year old from Los Angeles stayed safe for a par four while overnight leader Storm was unable to recover from a wayward tee shot that missed the fairway and came to rest against a wall.

Storm, 36, whose sole European Tour triumph was in 2007 at Open de France ALSTOM, had no option but to chip out on to the fairway.

However, Lipsky, who had just 86 yards to the hole from a bunker with his second shot, took no risks by laying up short of the green.

His decision proved justified when he chipped close to the pin and, after Storm had made a five, was left with a simple putt for victory on another stunning day at the scenic Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.

Speaking about the play-off hole, Lipsky said: “It’s a tough tee shot anyway, but when there’s the title on the line it’s very tough.

“You have to draw your tee shot from right to left to hold it against the hill, and I thought I’d hit a great shot but it ended up going in the bunker.

“It was a tough shot out of the bunker and, with Graeme only going to make par at best, I decided not to risk going in the water. In the end it was the right play, and I’m so pleased to get the job done.”

Japan Golf Tour – Fujisankei Classic

Hiroshi Iwata fired a final-round, 5-under 66 on Sunday and he came from behind to win the Fujisankei Classic by one shot.

Iwata, who's 66 was tied for the lowest round of the day, finished the week at 10-under 274 at Fujizakura Country Club. The win is Iwata's first on tour.

Beginning the day tied for third, Iwata started his round with a par before making his first birdie on the par-3 second hole. Following four more pars, Iwata made birdie on two of his next three holes at seven and nine, making the turn at minus-3.

Iwata's first and only bogey of the round came on No. 10, but he responded quickly with another gain on 11. After a pair of pars, Iwata poured in his fifth birdie. Iwata closed his round with three pars and a birdie on the last, which proved to be the deciding stroke as he claimed a 1-shot victory.

Web.com – Chiquita Classic

After opening the Chiquita Classic with a course record-tying, 9-under 63, Adam Hadwin struggled a bit in the second round. His even-par 72 included three birdies and three bogeys, and his two-shot lead had turned into a three-stroke deficit.

But after Friday's round, Hadwin was upbeat about his chances for the weekend. He was particularly pleased by a short-iron approach he hit to three feet for birdie on his final hole of the day, the par-4 ninth.

If even par was his bad round for the week, he knew he would be okay. Sure enough, Hadwin rebounded with weekend rounds of 67 and 68, outlasting John Peterson by two shots for his second Web.com Tour victory of 2014.

“It’s very rare to play a tournament where you play great, or well, all four days,” Hadwin said. “Usually you have 18, maybe 27, holes where it’s not perfect golf and you’ve got to grind it out. You’ve got to get to the clubhouse as best you can. That birdie on the last hole of my second round, I hit two really good golf shots, and that boosted me for the weekend.”

Second-round leader Derek Fathauer struggled to weekend rounds of 75 and 72, ultimately finishing T16. Third-round leader Greg Chalmers got off to a rough start on Sunday, playing his first six holes in 3-over, and his final-round 75 led to a T8 finish.

Hadwin, on the other hand, limited the damage in a second round where he struggled to find a rhythm off the tee. His short game kept his score at level par, and he stayed in position to make a charge on the weekend.


Challenge Tour – Open Blue Green Cotes d`Armor Bretagne

An incredible start to his final round effectively sealed Benjamin Hebert’s second challenge Tour title of the year and a return to The European Tour at the Open Blue Green Cotes d`Armor Bretagne.

The Frenchman exploded out of the blocks with four birdies in his opening five holes as many of his fellow-contenders faltered at the same time to hand the 27 year old an early five stroke lead that he never looked likely to relinquish as he strolled to a three-stroke victory stroll at the Golf Blue Green de Pléneuf Val André.

Given the intense level of competition on the Challenge Tour, Hebert’s win was a rare victory march which the man himself enjoyed very much in front of a delighted home crowd as he carded a final round 66 for a 15 under total and a three shot win over Andrew McArthur, with Englishman Paul Dwyer a further two strokes back.

Hebert began the final round in a four way tie for the 11 under lead with McArthur, Alessandro Tadini and Ross McGowan, but the Frenchman must have been thanking his lucky stars as his closest challengers compounded his electric start by dropping shots of their own.

It gave the final round something of a surreal feeling, given the level of control Hebert was exerting over his golf ball.

Time after time the Frenchman played the right shots, dropping just one back to the field on the 14th but by that point the tournament had been reduced to a battle for second place.

Hebert’s victory, and first prize of €32,000 propelled him to third in the Challenge Tour Rankings with total earnings of €104,869, guaranteeing him a return to The European Tour next year as one of this season’s top 15 Challenge Tour stars.

Sunshine Tour – Vodacom Origins of Golf presented by Samsung

Defending a five-shot lead at the shortest course on the Sunshine Tour’s rotation is not an easy task when the wind gusts up to 45 kilometres per hour. Such was the task of Louis de Jager during the final round of the Vodacom Origins of Golf presented by Samsung and he relinquished his five-stroke cushion during regulation play.


The 27-year-old finished the 54-hole tournament on two-under-par and tied for first place with Jaco Ahlers and Haydn Porteous, which meant a sudden-death playoff on the 18th.


De Jager passed the test and made par on the first extra hole to clinch victory. The second win of his career was worth 130 Investec Cup points and boosted the Centurion local up to 16th in the Chase to the Investec Cup.


“I had a good look at the standings before this event. I missed out last year and it was big, so I’m very pleased that I jumped up a few spots,” he said.


The 54-hole events of the winter season provide the Sunshine Tour regulars a good chance to earn big points and this week the Vodacom Origins of Golf presented by Samsung tournament offered up a total of 1000 points.


“These events of the winter are keeping us sharp and helping to give us a good chance of making it to the Investec Cup. The more points you can make, the better, so I’m looking forward to the next few events,” De Jager said.

Asian Development Tour – the PGM Sabah Championship

Sattaya Supupramai of Thailand posted a three-under-par 69 to complete a wire-to-wire victory at the PGM Sabah Championship for his second Asian Development Tour (ADT) title on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Sattaya sealed the deal with a 10-foot birdie on the last and was congratulated by the Thai players including his brother, Poosit, on the 18th green when he returned with a winning total of 14-under-par 274 in the RM250,000 (approximately US$80,000) ADT event.

Niall Turner of Ireland settled for second after shooting a 69 while Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand finished third following a 71. Arie Irawan was the best placed Malaysian in fourth after posting a 73 for a 282 total at the Sabah Golf and Country Club.

Sattaya won his first ADT title in August last year and has been knocking on the door for a second win on several occasions only to fall short because of pressure. It was not the case this time as he kept his emotions in check and stayed focus until the trophy was safely in his hands.

“I was under pressure but I told myself to stay focus on the shot which I’m about to hit. I didn’t think about the last or next shot. I’m proud of myself. There were a lot of times when I couldn’t overcome the pressure but I did it today,” said a delighted Sattaya.

“I didn’t think about the win until I finished the last hole. It was such a nice feeling when my brother and the Thai players waited to congratulate me on the 18th green,” said the Thai, who won US$13,825 and earned six Official World Golf Ranking points.

Sattaya made four birdies in his opening six holes but slipped back with a bogey on nine and a double bogey on 10. The dropped shots were swiftly erased as he crossed the finishing line with birdies on 14 and 18.

PGA Tour China – Chateau Junding Penglai Open



everal players had lower rounds than Todd Baek at the Chateau Junding Penglai Open, but none were more consistent over the 72 holes. Baek shot a final-round 69 to go with his previous three-under-par rounds to coast to a five-shot victory over Australia’s Ray Beaufils and Taiwan’s Wei Tze Yeh. The win was worth ¥216,000 and moved Baek to second on the earnings’ list, with ¥361,320.



“I can’t explain how I feel right now. I just signed up for the Web.com Tour q-school last week, hoping I would play well in the upcoming weeks, and now I’ve won on a great golf course,” said Baek after his victory that he hopes will propel him to the Web.com Tour without going to q-school.



The top five PGA TOUR China Series’ money leaders at the end of the season earn 2015 Web.com Tour playing privileges.



PGA Tour Canada – Cape Breton Celtic Classic presented by PC Financial



Georgia’s Mark Silvers defeated Grand Rapids, Michigan’s Matt Harmon in a playoff to win the Cape Breton Celtic Classic presented by PC Financial, securing his first PGA TOUR Canada victory.



Silvers, who began the week 89th on the Order of Merit, turned his season around with the win, carding a final round 6-under 66 at The Lakes Golf Club to reach 15-under par for the week and move all the way to the 10th spot on the season-long money list with one event to go.



“I can hardly put it into words. Coming into the end of the year, I wasn’t going to have Web.com Tour status for next year and had I not played well, I wouldn’t have had PGA TOUR Canada status for next year,” said Silvers, who was previously most well-known for his Big Break Greenbrier win. “To come in and play well when I had to, and to now have a chance to skip some stages and definitely have status up here for next year is so big.”



Silvers began the day three shots behind 54-hole co-leaders Michael Gligic and Dan McCarthy, but moved up the leaderboard quickly with a 3-under 33 on his opening nine. Silvers, who was bogey-free on Sunday, carded three more birdies at 10, 13 and 14 to reach 15-under, then needed to convert a tricky 6-foot par putt at 18 to post the clubhouse lead at 15-under par.


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