A Star is born as Clark Wins his first Major and his 2nd win on the PGA Tour at the 123rd U.S. Open moving to 13th in Official World Golf Ranking.
News for the 8 Eligible Official World Golf Ranking Tournaments
Major Championship – U.S. Open
The American only won his first professional title at last month's Wells Fargo Championship but just 43 days later he is a Major champion after a one-shot victory at The Los Angeles Country Club. He held his nerve brilliantly in a closing level-par 70 to finish at ten under, one shot clear of McIlroy and three ahead of World Number One Scottie Scheffler.
Clark - a native of Denver - twice won the Colorado State Championship as an amateur before moving into the collegiate game at Oklahoma State. He sadly lost his mother Lise in August 2013, and revealed this week how she instructed him to "play big" before losing her battle with breast cancer.
After transferring to the University of Oregon, he won the Pac-12 Championship in 2017 before turning professional and earned his PGA TOUR card via the Korn Ferry Tour in his debut season.
A fifth-place finish at the Valspar Championship in March saw him enter the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time having been 313th last May but the former World Number 32 moves to his best position held in the rankings now ranked 13th in the Official World Golf Rankings and will now have his eyes on a Ryder Cup debut in September.
"I feel like I belong on this stage and even two, three years ago when people didn't know who I was, I felt like I could still play and compete against the best players in the world," he said. "I felt like I've shown that this year.
"I've come up close, and obviously everyone sees the person that hoists the trophy, but I've been trending in the right direction for a long time now. I've made a lot of cuts. I've had a handful of top 10s and top 20s, and I feel like I've been on a great trajectory to get to this place.
"Obviously it's gone faster than I thought as far as just starting to do some stuff mentally that I've never done before, but I feel like I'm one of the best players in the world. Obviously this just shows what I believe can happen.
For the full story follow the link below:
https://www.usopen.com/2023/articles/a-star-is-born--clark-wins-123rd-u-s--open-at-lacc.html
Points Won - 100.00000
World Number 32 - 13
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Japan Golf Tour & KPGA Korean Tour – Hana Bank Invitational
Yang pips Nakajima to cash in on Hana Bank Invitational In 2012, South Korea's Yang Ji-ho arrived in Japan to spread his wings and he struck at the first time of asking by winning the Novil Cup on the ABEMA Tour. However, he was unable to achieve a further breakthrough on the JGTO despite having played two full seasons in 2012 and 2013.
Little did the 34-year-old, who's now plying his trade solely on KPGA, know that a decade later his moment would finally arrive in a ground-breaking tournament which is jointly sanctioned by the two Tours.
On Sunday, Yang claimed his maiden JGTO title with a dramatic one-shot victory over Keita Nakajima at the Hana Bank Invitational. Despite bogeying late on the 16th, Yang showed nerves of steel to birdie the final two holes to finish on 20-under-par 272 and thwart Nakajima's ambitious bid for back-to-back victories.
Yang also marked his scorecard with an eagle on the par-five 12th and three more birdies to close with a superb six-under-par 67 at the par-73 Chiba Isumi Golf Club.
Yang said the strong rivalry between South Korea and Japan in the sport brought the best in him, more even so knowing that he was facing off an in-form Nakajima, who finished no worse than a runner-up in recent three outings.
"I feel surreal right now. When it comes to the match between Korea and Japan, there is a fire between us. That became my power, and I enjoyed my game today. I am glad to win," said Yang, who had also achieved his KPGA breakthrough just last year by winning the KB Finance Liiv Championship.
"I had not seen Keita until today. I felt pressured when I found out I would play with him because he won last week, and he must have had a good flow.
"I tried not to look into Keita’s eyes this morning to maintain my pace. He is a young player, but his distance is an advantage, and he stays calm all the time. There are many things I can learn from him."
Yang added that he was also pleased to prove his critics wrong, who claimed his victory last year was just a flash in the pan.
"I won almost a year ago and have been greedy since then. When you get too hungry, your performance will not go well. I was struggling even to make the cut for a while," revealed Yang.
"A few people said my last win was fortunate, which was heart-breaking. My wife told me to trust my skills and ability, so I am happy to return to the winner’s circle again."
On whether he would make use of the two-year exemption on JGTO, he said: "I want to focus on playing in the Korean tour for the rest of this season, but the JGTO has been my dream stage growing up.
"I am glad to have a second chance to play in Japan. If the schedule fits, I will play in both tours.
For the full story follow the link below:
https://www.jgto.org/en/news/31615
Points Won - 7.32621
World Number 596 - 370
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Challenge Tour – Kaskáda Golf Challenge
Lorenzo Scalise capped an outstanding week by securing a maiden Challenge Tour win in the Kaskada Golf Challenge at Kaskada Golf Resort in the Czech Republic. The Italian, who led by two overnight, looked in complete control as he carded a one under par round of 70 to reach 12 under par for the week and ease to a three shot win ahead of Manuel Elvira from Spain in second place.
The 27-year-old, who finished in tied second on the same course two years ago, went one better following rounds of 64-68-70-70, and he was delighted to secure a first win having come close on several occasions.
“It feels amazing to be honest,” he said. “I’ve come close many times. I’ve had two seconds and two thirds so far in my career, so it just feels good to finally have that Challenge Tour win.
“I think this course suits my eye. I like the way it plays. In three events here I think I’m close to 40 under par and it’s a tough course.
“The hard work doesn’t stop. If anything, it gives me an incentive to work even harder because it shows that I am on the right path. This win gives me more energy to put in the work.”
Scalise continues a period of Italian dominance on the Road to Mallorca, joining countrymen Matteo Manassero and Andrea Pavan in the winner’s circle, making it three wins from four events for players from the nation.
The Italian jumps from 580th in the Official World Golf Rankings to 469th, and with the top 20 at the end of the season earning promotion to the DP World Tour, he’s glad to have put himself in a strong position for the remainder of 2023 but ensures there is more work to do.
For the full story follow the link below:
Points Won - 4.48139
World Number 580 - 469
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Korn Ferry Tour – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open
Ricky Castillo wins professional debut at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open. For a second consecutive week, a PGA TOUR University Class of 2023 alum won their professional and Korn Ferry Tour debut. Ricky Castillo defeated Korn Ferry Tour winners Kyle Jones and Adrien Dumont de Chassart – who also won his professional and Korn Ferry Tour debut last week – on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics, becoming the 19th player in Korn Ferry Tour history to win their debut start.
Just 18 days ago, Castillo (pronounced cuh-STILL-ee-oh) went undefeated in match play at the 2023 NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona as University of Florida won the team national title.
Shortly thereafter, Castillo turned professional and accepted Korn Ferry Tour membership (as well as fully exempt status on PGA TOUR Canada) as the No. 9 finisher in the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking.
With only five members of the PGA TOUR University Class of 2023 guaranteed starts each week, though, Castillo figured he would play Monday qualifiers until he earned enough points to gain entry to events via the Korn Ferry Tour Priority Ranking. Last Friday, the Wichita Open offered Castillo a restricted sponsor exemption. Castillo accepted, packed his bags, and split the 18-hour drive from Gainesville, Florida to Wichita, Kansas across multiple days, stopping briefly in Tennessee.
Oddly enough, Castillo got into this week’s field via the PGA TOUR University category following a top-25 by Ryan Burnett, the No. 7 finisher in the Class of 2023, and Dumont de Chassart’s victory at last week’s BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX.
“Just really grateful for the opportunity just to be able to play in this event, and to be able to win is just an awesome feeling,” said the 22-year-old Castillo, the youngest Korn Ferry Tour winner this season. “Just grateful, that's the only feeling I'm feeling right now.”
For the full story follow the link below:
Points Won - 10.79886
World Number - 510
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Nordic Golf League – Greatdays Trophy
Björn Jörnkesson claimed his second win at the Greatdays Trophy with a total score of 14 under par (70,64,62) Jörnkesson now only needs one more victory for direct qualification to the Challenge Tour next season. The Win moves him to 772nd in the Official World Golf Ranking.
For the full Leader board follow the link below:
https://eccotour.org/scores/#/competition/3722318/results
Points Won - 0.90061
World Number 846 - 772
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PGA Tour Canada – Royal Beach Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist
Canadian Étienne Papineau emerged from the pack to shoot a final-round 6-under 64 on Sunday to decisively win the Royal Beach Victoria Open and claim his first career PGA TOUR Canada victory.
Papineau, one of four tied for the lead after 54 holes, finished at 18-under 262 on the Uplands Golf Club. The victory vaulted Papineau into the early lead of the season-long Fortinet Cup standings. Papineau won by five strokes over George Kneiser and Chris Korte, who finished tied for second, at 13-under 267, and by six shots over Jared du Toit, Chris Francoeur, Sam Choi and Jason Hong.
“It’s been a crazy week, an amazing week for me,” Papineau said. “I’m extremely excited, extremely pumped, and it’s a good start of the season for sure.”
Papineau, a native of Mercier, Quebec, was the favourite of the gallery all day. He finished with six birdies and no bogeys and matched his first-round 64. He became the first Quebec-born winner on PGA TOUR Canada since 2013.
Papineau took a two-shot lead when he made an eight-foot birdie on the 403-yard par-4 fifth hole to go to 12-under. A near chip-in on the seventh led to another birdie and was followed by birdies at No. 8 and No. 9. That flurry allowed him to make the turn in 30 and expand his lead to four shots. No one got closer than two shots the rest of the afternoon.
“I stuck to my gameplan all week,” Papineau said. “I shot 5-under on the front (nine), and it was a really good start. I had some really good tee shots, really good approach shots. As I said [Saturday], the putter was a little cold, but I said hopefully they will fall tomorrow and that’s what happened on the front nine.”
For the full story follow the link below:
Points Won - 3.13953
World Number 1231 - 806
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Abema TV Tour – Japan Create Challenge in FukuokaRaizan
Tatsunori Shogenji on the first victory with a comeback victory to win the playoffs on the final day after a huge battle! There was a 3 man play off between Tatsunori Shogenji, Sejung Hiramoto & Masaya Hattori after they all finished with a score of 13 under after 54 holes. Fortunately for Tatsunori Shogenji he claimed the victory after making a birdie on the 1st play off hole played on the par 5 18th. Beating Hiramoto’s par and Hattori.
"We finally won, I'm really happy, and I'll do my best to win two, three wins and be active in the tour tournament!" said Tatsunori Shogenji.
Tatsunori Shogenji has climbed from 7th to 2nd in the ABEMA Tour Prize Rankings with the current tournament championship. Also moving to his best position held in the Official World Golf Ranking now ranked 872nd.
For the full story follow the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/japangolftour
Points Won - 2.05922
World Number 1153 - 872
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Alps Tour Golf – Alps de Andalucia
Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez wins the 2023 Alps de Andalucía. Spain’s Jose Manuel Pardo Benitez only 24 years old representing Golf La Moraleja, captures the 2023 Alps de Andalucía title with a birdie on the 2nd sudden-death playoff hole. He shot an impressive 8 under-par, 64 in today’s final round to conclude with a three-day total of 18 under-par. During today’s final round, he had a tough start with 2 bogeys in his first 3 holes but then went on to make 5 birdies on his front nine and 5 birdies on the back nine to finish his final round.
After his win, Pardo’s first reactions were, “I can’t believe it, I’m so happy. I had a very tough start, with two bogeys that I said, ‘wow, it’s going to be great’, but then I made 3 birdies in a row (holes 4, 5 and 6) and then I started with a very good dynamic and a lot of confidence. I hit the ball really well, I holed everything. I was playing with two lifelong friends, Enrique Marín and Víctor García Broto and we had a great time, I felt very comfortable with them.” When he was about to conclude his round, he “had no feeling that I could win but with the illusion of catching Benjamin. When I went out in the play-off I knew I could win, that my game was there but I stayed super calm, zero nerves because losing was not a defeat. It was very exciting. This victory changes all my plans, from fighting to keeping my Alps Tour card to actually fight to reach the Challenge Tour next year. I’m really happy.”
For the full story follow the link below:
https://alpstourgolf.com/#/news/10405
Points Won - 0.69993
World Number 2087 - 1584
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