Golf Rankings

WORLD RANKING
#	Competitor	Nationality	Points
1	Tiger Woods	USA	12.34
2	Adam Scott	AUS	8.82
3	Henrik Stenson	SWE	8
4	Phil Mickelson	USA	7.91
5	Justin Rose	ENG	7.51
6	Rory McIlroy	NIR	6.77
7	Steve Stricker	USA	6.39
8	Matt Kuchar	USA	6.3
9	Brandt Snedeker	USA	6.06
10	Jason Dufner	USA	5.68
RACE TO DUBAI
#	Competitor	Nationality	Prize Money
1	Henrik Stenson	SWE	2,203,260
2	Graeme McDowell	NIR	2,057,395
3	Justin Rose	ENG	1,878,160
4	Ian Poulter	ENG	1,660,736
5	Gonzalo Fernandez Castano	ESP	1,559,462
6	Richard Sterne	RSA	1,398,888
7	Matteo Manassero	ITA	1,324,323
8	Thongchai Jaidee	THA	1,317,190
9	Thomas Bjorn	DEN	1,289,213
10	Sergio Garcia	ESP	1,280,581
FEDEX CUP
#	Competitor	Nationality	Points
1	Jimmy Walker	USA	684
2	Ryan Moore	USA	594
3	Dustin Johnson	USA	550
3	Webb Simpson	USA	500
4	Vijay Singh	FIJ	346
6	Ian Poulter	ENG	315
5	Gary Woodland	USA	300
8	Ryo Ishikawa	JPN	298
7	Jason Bohn	USA	274
8	Charles Howell III	USA	216
US MONEY LIST
#	Competitor	Nationality	Prize Money
1	Ryan Moore	USA	1,471,000
2	Dustin Johnson	USA	1,400,000
3	Jimmy Walker	USA	1,330,500
3	Webb Simpson	USA	1,080,000
5	Ian Poulter	ENG	850,000
4	Gary Woodland	USA	756,000
7	Ryo Ishikawa	JPN	622,875
5	Vijay Singh	FIJ	593,400
7	Jason Bohn	USA	547,000
10	Sergio Garcia	ESP	526,000
RYDER CUP QUAL (USA)
#	Competitor	Nationality	Points
1	Phil Mickelson	USA	2,353.90
2	Jason Dufner	USA	1,947.20
3	Dustin Johnson	USA	1,813.66
4	Ryan Moore	USA	1,559.15
5	Jimmy Walker	USA	1,330.50
6	Webb Simpson	USA	1,205.08
7	Jim Furyk	USA	921.04
8	Gary Woodland	USA	770.6
9	Tiger Woods	USA	676.623
10	Brandt Snedeker	USA	597.947
RYDER CUP (EUR/WORLD PTS)
#	Competitor	Nationality	Points
1	Henrik Stenson	SWE	141.56
2	Ian Poulter	ENG	56.31
3	Gonzalo Fernandez Castano	ESP	55.3
4	Sergio Garcia	ESP	50.26
5	Thomas Bjorn	DEN	42.51
6	David Lynn	ENG	38.36
4	David Howell	ENG	37.39
9	Gregory Bourdy	FRA	32.78
8	Justin Rose	ENG	36.79
10	Francesco Molinari	ITA	32.73
RYDER CUP QUAL (EUR/EUR PTS)
#	Competitor	Nationality	Points
1	Gonzalo Fernandez Castano	ESP	958,654
2	Ian Poulter	ENG	687,019
3	David Howell	ENG	673,399
4	Thomas Bjorn	DEN	603,523
5	Francesco Molinari	ITA	543,227
6	Gregory Bourdy	FRA	517,950
6	Joost Luiten	NED	453,228
7	Ross Fisher	ENG	415,938
8	Julien Quesne	FRA	408,911
10	David Lynn	ENG	375,262

Read More

DP World Tour Championship: Padraig Harrington preparing for a week off

Padraig Harrington: Irishman unlikely to make it to Dubai

Padraig Harrington insists he will not be upset if he fails to qualify for next week's DP World Tour Championship as he needs a break.

The Irishman began this week's Turkish Airlines Open 67th on the Race to Dubai, and probably needing a top-10 finish to climb into the top 60 to qualify for the European Tour's season-ending showpiece.

A third-round 71, however, left him languishing in a tie for 40th at seven under par and in need of something special from his final round at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal.

Asked how big a blow it would be were he to not qualify on Sunday, given his status as a former European No 1 and three-time major winner, Harrington responded: "Sorry to say not at all. I need the week and I need a break.

"I'm trying to make it and I'd love to be there, but bear in mind anybody who just scrambles in gets an early tee time the first day and it's nearly impossible to come out of the early tee times next week.

"Every hole will play about 30 yards longer than it will in the afternoon - it's a tough task to win from the early tee times next week."

Harrington revealed a loss of patience early on had been responsible for his mediocre third round which he started with a bogey at the opening hole.

"It's a tough day," he said. "On the greens I didn't hole anything and got off to a bad start.

"If I could get a good start it would be fine, but I'm sure everyone who's not scoring on this course is saying the same thing.

"I definitely lost my patience early on today so that's maybe something - when you're not making birdies out there you feel like you're going backwards.

"I think I need to get to 16 [under par, to qualify for Dubai], but if you offered me 15 now I'd sit in the clubhouse and hope to get lucky."

Read More

Turkish Airlines Open: Tiger Woods shot 63 to sit one behind the leading group

Tiger Woods: Closing on leaders

Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson are among four players sharing the lead at the halfway stage of the Turkish Airlines Open.

However, they are closely pursued by Tiger Woods, who returned to form with a sparkling 63 to lie just a shot off the pace.

Putting Thursday's poor start behind him, the American completed an opening round of 70 after lightning and heavy rain had curtailed the round by three hours.

Second round leaderboard

GB&Ire unless stated:

-12 J Walters (SA)

-12 I Poulter

-12 H Stenson (Swe)

-12 V Dubuisson (Fra)

-11 T Woods (US)

-10 R Sterne (SA)

That left him six behind Stenson's 64 and in glorious conditions Woods struck an iron close at the par-three second on his swift return to the the course, holed from 12 feet at the third, then reached the green in two at the long fourth and two-putted to complete a hat-trick of birdies.

A 15-foot putt at the sixth followed, before sticking his approach to five feet at the ninth to complete a brilliant outward 30.

Woods converted from 18 feet at the 10th, but missed three birdie chances from inside 10 feet over the next four holes.

His response was to hit it even closer; a wonderful approach to three feet at the 15th remarkably bettered two holes later as the ball finished within inches of the cup, with a birdie at the last completing his scoring.

Stenson had birdied four of the last eight holes of his first round upon resuming on Friday morning to surge into a share of the lead, and a second-round 68 was enough to keep the Swede there alongside Poulter, France's Victor Dubuisson and South African Justin Walters.

Stenson and Poulter are first and fourth in The Race to Dubai with only next week's DP Tour World Championship remaining in the European Tour's inaugural final series after this event.

Poulter chipped in at the 14th and holed a curling 30-footer at the 16th as he birdied four of his last six holes for a 12 under halfway total.

Read More

Tiger Woods happy with his game as he moves into contention in Turkey

Tiger Woods: 63 moves the world No 1 into contention in Turkey

Tiger Woods is looking forward to making a weekend charge after closing on the lead halfway through the Turkish Airlines Open.

Woods produced one of his best rounds of an excellent 2013 season with nine birdies in a bogey-free 63 to finish on 11-under.

That was enough to see him move within a shot of leading quartet Justin Walters, Victor Dubuisson, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson, but Woods knows he will need plenty more birdies if he is to win the 850,000 euro first prize.

"I played a lot better and made some putts," said the world No 1, who lay in a lowly 52nd place after an opening 70.

"I missed some too, so it was a round that could have been really special but I'm right there.

"We're going to have to continue going low here given the way the course is set up. The greens are slow, the greens are soft and I expect guys to make a lot of birdies - it's so bunched up there. I've just got to go get it."

Stenson and Poulter being at the top of the leaderboard added a little more interest, given their bet about who would finish higher on the end of season European Tour standings.

The Swede offered Poulter odds of 10/1 and the affable Englishman said: "I told him I was going to chase him down. He was so far in front, he said he'd like to put a little bet on it, but I said I need some odds so he gave me 10s.

"I had a little hundred bucks, but I also said 'look, if I manage to catch you, we will have a nice night out and you have to pour my drinks for the evening'.

"A thousand bucks isn't really an issue for him, but pouring my drinks might be an issue for him."

Read More

Turkish Airlines Open: Paul Casey, Darren Fichardt and Steve Webster share early lead

Tiger Woods failed to cash in as the opening round of the inaugural Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya turned into a birdie-fest

Overnight thunderstorms and torrential morning rain meant the start was delayed by three hours and the soft greens and lack of wind at the par 72 Montgomerie Maxx Royal meant scoring conditions were ideal.

First round leaderboard

GB & Ire unless stated

-7 P Casey (14 holes)

-7 D Fichardt (SA) (14)

-7 S Webster (12)

-6 R Gonzalez (Arg)

-6 T Olesen (Den)

-6 R Cabrera-Bello (Spn) (16)

-6 R Santos (Por) (15)

-6 G Coetzee (SA) 15)

-6 P Uihlein (US) (12)

-6 T Bjorn (Den) (12)

-6 J Walters (SA) (11)

But while three players - Englishmen Paul Casey and Steve Webster along with South African Darren Fichardt all ended the day tied for the lead on seven-under - Woods could only shoot one-under in the 10 holes he managed before darkness fell.
That left the world number one down in a tie for 50th in the elite 78-man field contesting the penultimate event of the four-tournament Finals Series.
Race To Dubai leader Henrik Stenson fared better as he carded five birdies and a bogey in an outward 31 to sit on four-under after 10 but Justin Rose, despite two opening birdies, also failed to make hay and ended alongside Tiger at -1.
Woods made the ideal start by flipping a wedge to four feet at the par five opening hole and rolling in the putt for a birdie four.

Narrow escape

After pars at two and three, he escaped with another after narrowly avoiding the water at the fourth - Rose did get wet and made bogey - before adding another three to stay at one-under after seven.

The 14-time major winner got the ball rolling again with a birdie two at the eighth but failed to get up and down at the ninth after coming up short with his approach and fell back to one-under. Woods added a par at 10 but failed to complete the 11th after the darkness quickly closed in.

Rose followed his bogey at four with another at five but birdied six before reeling off four straight pars. Stenson's only dropped shot came at two as he birdied one, three, four, seven and nine to make his move up the field.

Lee Westwood also finished the day at four-under after 11, one in front of playing partner Ian Poulter.

As for the leaders, Casey (who birdied his first four holes), and Fichardt still have four holes still to complete while fellow pacesetter Webster has six.

"I really thought you've got to get off to a quick one and I did exactly that," said Casey.

"It was foot flat to the floor today and just fire at the pins, take advantage of the soft conditions and see what happens."

In a bunched field, eight players share fourth spot - Ricardo Gonzalez, Thorbjorn Olesen, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Ricardo Santos, George Coetzee, Peter Uihlein, Thomas Bjorn and Justin Walters.

Gonzalez and Olesen were two of just 15 players to complete 18 holes as they set the clubhouse target of six-under 66.

The first round will resume on Friday at 8am local time while round two tee-times will be the same as in the original first round draw.

Read More

Turkish Airlines Open: Tiger Woods feeling a bit rusty at Maxx Royal

Tiger Woods: Six shots behind in Turkey

Tiger Woods admitted he was shaking off a little rust as he hit just two fairways in the shortened first round of the Turkish Airlines Open before bad light intervened.

The World no 1 was one-under for his round when play stopped after he had just driven on the 11th - hitting only his second fairway of the round.

It left Woods six shots behind a trio of leaders on seven-under, and after starting his first competitive round since the Tour Championship, he admitted he was a bit rusty as he faced the prospect of a long day on Friday.

After a long delay after heavy overnight rain, the first round will have to be completed early before the second round gets underway.

"I thought when we teed off we would be lucky to get in 11 holes and I was pretty spot on," said Woods.

"So we got in about the right number of holes as it just gets dark so quickly and it's like someone just turned off the light switch.

"The air now also is heavy with moisture so the ball is not going very far compared to when we were warming up on the range and early in the round.

"But towards the end we were hitting about a half-a-club short.

"I'm still working on a bit of the rust out of my game but then tomorrow is going to be a long day for all of us."

Praise

Woods had a few words of praise for course designer Colin Montgomerie, as his layout at the Maxx Royal course staged its first European Tour event.

Some of Europe's top players explain how special it is to finish the season as European number 1.

"It's a tricky golf course and it helps to have played it numerous times as it one of those courses where you get a better feel for it the more you play it," said Woods.

"But overall Colin's done a good job in designing the course.

"However looking back on my 10 and a half holes, I probably left a little out there and I see that seven under par is leading at this stage so the goal in the holes I have left in the morning is to pick up a few quick birdies."

Read More

Bad weather delays start of inaugural Turkish Airlines Open

Play delayed as the golf bags sit undercover at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course

Thunder and lightning forced a lengthy delay to proceedings on the opening day of the Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya.

The Montgomerie Maxx Royal was drenched by heavy rain as a storm rumbled around the area and proved more than an annoyance to officials.

The bad weather leaves the prospect of the opening round of the inaugural event being carried over to Friday, with the delay reaching over three hours by the time play finally began.

The European Tour's resident meteorologist Mike McClellan said: "At 8am (local), showers and thunderstorms were moving south to north off the sea as low-pressure centered over NW Egypt continues to move to the SE away from us.

Outlook

"Therefore, morning showers and thunderstorms will gradually diminish and clouds will decrease later this afternoon. Friday through Sunday look sunny and warm across the Belek area."

The tournament is the third leg of the Final Series and marks the European Tour's first venture into Turkey - local player Hamza Sayin is among the first players to tee-off in a field which includes world No 1 Tiger Woods.

Woods partners Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson in the day's final group, meaning they will be among the players with little chance of finishing their round on Thursday, if they manage to start at all.

Tournament director Miguel Vidadoar said: "There was first a one hour delay and that was extended to two hours and then when it was safe to inspect the course a number of the greens had flooded.

"That forced us into a further hour's delay. However with an earlier start tomorrow (Friday) I'm confident we can get back to normal and proceed with all four rounds."

Read More

Turkish Airlines Open: Justin Rose would relish battle with Ian Poulter

Justin Rose: Not eligible for appearance bonus

Justin Rose is looking forward to going "head to head" with Ian Poulter as both bid to overhaul Race to Dubai leader Henrik Stenson.

The English pair could both go top of the money list with victory at the Turkish Airlines Open, the penultimate event in the European Tour's Final Series.

Rose won in Antalya last year when the tournament was an exhibition, and he would relish the chance to do battle with his Ryder Cup team-mate at next week's DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

But Poulter has an advantage ahead of the end-of-season showdown as he qualifies for a 20% bonus on all prize money from the Final Series having played in all three events.

Poulter will have at least 130,000 euros added to his total, but Rose is not eligible for the bonus after he elected to miss the BMW Masters in Shanghai.

With a shade over 200,000 euros between them, Poulter's bonus could prove crucial to the outcome in Dubai, although Rose joked: "I would make sure Poults knew he needed a 20 per cent bonus to beat me.

"I still see Henrik as the man to beat, and, to do that, you're going to have to play some good golf.

"Any time you go head to head with Poults, he's a great competitor, so it will be fun to go eye to eye with him.

Exciting

"It's going to be exciting going into Dubai. There's obviously a lot of money at stake here, and, if Henrik was to win, he'd probably be in a very strong spot.

"But the likelihood is that it will all come down to Dubai, which I think is exactly what you want for the final tournament of the year.

"Being European number one is right up there, for sure. I think at this point, it's now the goal for the year - it would be the icing on the cake.

"Having won the European Tour order of merit, I would say, before I won the US Open this year, that was my career achievement and something that I was very proud of.

"So to have the opportunity to do it for the second time, in the modern era, in the new format, would be great."

Rose is in the final group out with world No 1 Tiger Woods and Stenson in Thursday's first round, while Poulter is playing alongside Lee Westwood and Matteo Manassero in the penultimate group.

Read More

Tiger Woods happy to discuss his USA Ryder Cup future with Tom Watson

Tiger Woods: Ryder Cup talks can wait

Tiger Woods has indicated he hopes to sit down for "clear the air" talks with USA Ryder Cup captain, Tom Watson at some point before next year's Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, Scotland.

The relationship between the pair has become increasingly strained in recent years with Watson publicly voicing his criticism of the world number one's one on-course behaviour, in addition to his extra-marital affairs.

Ahead of the Turkish Airlines Open beginning on Thursday, Woods confirmed he is open to discussions with the USA Ryder Cup captain.

"We haven't spoken yet but I am sure as we have another year plus or about a year ahead of us, so there will be a lot of time between now and then to talk," said Woods.

Woods, who elected not to compete in the lucrative WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai last week, is the only non-European Tour member competing in the tournament which has a $7m prize fund.

He will tee up alongside European number one Henrik Stenson and reigning US Open winner Justin Rose who is looking for his first European Tour win in four years.

Woods appeared on the front pages of Turkish newspapers on Wednesday morning after becoming the first golfer to hit a golf ball from the bridge over the Bosphorus River linking Europe with Asia.

The visiting American said it was a unique experience for him which he found both enjoyable and nerve-wracking.

"Tell you what, I have never done anything like that before," said Woods.

Scary

"I've hit balls down the runways at airports before but never down a bridge. The scary part was, and after I had been travelling for 12 hours, was to hop off the plane and have to hit driver down the narrowest fairway you've ever seen.

Tiger Woods has been hitting balls on the Bosphorus Bridge which connects Europe and Asia.

"The wind was coming off the left a little bit and all these cars were driving on the right.

"There could have been an international incident right there (smiling).

"So that was a little bit nerve-wracking. Trust me as every ball I hit drew but it was pretty cool.

"Someone there was telling me that I hit one about 550 meters so that was really cool."

Read More

Turkish Airlines Open: Tiger Woods performs incredible stunt on the Bosphorus Bridge

Tiger Woods generates excitement and huge tailbacks in Istanbul

Tiger Woods hit balls from Europe into Asia during an amazing publicity stunt ahead of the Turkish Airlines Open.

Woods performed the feat on Istanbul's iconic Bosphorus Bridge which spans the two continents and stretches for one-and-a-half kilometres.

Traffic was closed on one side of the bridge for 20 minutes while Woods struck his shots, causing chaos at one one of the busiest times of the day and huge tailbacks.

Woods has been asked to act out many unusual tasks to promote tournaments but said he'd never experienced anything like this.

Tiger stops the traffic!

"I've hit balls down runways at airports before but never down a bridge," said a smiling Woods at Wednesday's press conference.

"And the scary part was, yeah, just flew in from 12 hour journey, hop off a plane and have to hit driver down the narrowest fairway I've ever seen."

"The wind was coming off the left a little bit and all these cars were driving on the right, so if I lose any balls to the right, there's an international incident right there." 

Tiger Woods

Strong crosswinds also added to Tiger's challenge.

"The wind was coming off the left a little bit and all these cars were driving on the right, so if I lose any balls to the right, there's an international incident right there!

"So that was a little nerve-wracking," said Woods.

"Trust me, every ball drew.

"But it was pretty cool. I think somebody was telling me I hit one 550 metres (601 yards) or something like that so not bad."

Woods heads a 78-man field for this week's Turkish Airlines Open at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal.

The 14-time major winner is the 4/1 favourite with Sky Bet to win the first ever European Tour event to be held in Turkey.

Read More

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano named European Golfer of the Month

Fernandez-Castano with BMW Masters trophy

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano has been named European Tour Golfer of the Month for October.

The Spaniard played a significant role in Europe's victory in the Seve Trophy before winning the BMW Masters at Lake Malaren Golf Club in Shanghai.

The winner's cheque of 851,346 euros fired him to the top of the European Ryder Cup standings and lifted him to fifth in the Race To Dubai standings.

"It's a great honour, I feel very proud to receive this award for the second time," said Fernando-Castano, the first Spaniard to win on the European Tour this season.

Amazing

"Who could have imagined, playing the qualifying school back in 2004, that 10 years later I would have achieved seven victories.

"It's amazing how time goes by. In 2004, you are thinking where your life will end up, and then in 2013, you find yourself with seven titles.

"I look back at 2011, when I had problems with my back, and I can hardly believe how dark a time it was.

"I was full of doubts, and getting back to being competitive again was very tough. But since then, I've won three times. Now I am so happy."

Read More

Lee Westwood aims to cut out the mistakes at Turkish Airlines Open

Lee Westwood: Plenty of birdies, but too many errors

Lee Westwood is determined to eradicate "silly scores" as he bids to end his long title drought at this week's Turkish Airlines Open.

The 40-year-old has not tasted victory this year after relocating to Florida at the start of the season to play full-time on the PGA Tour.

Westwood has made vast improvements to his short game, but he admits that careless mistakes have cost him the chance to add to his career tally of 40 victories worldwide.

He finished a distant 23 shots behind Dustin Johnson at last week's WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, and he admits his form has been blighted by lapses in concentration.

"I always try and look at my form on how many birdies I'm making," said Westwood, who has slipped to 23rd in the world rankings.

"I'm making a lot of birdies but I'm also making some silly scores, a triple-bogey and a couple of double-bogeys, and I made a few silly bogeys on easy holes last week."

This week's event is the penultimate tournament in the European Tour's Final Series, with Henrik Stenson currently leading the Race to Dubai standings Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter.

Westwood topped the Order of Merit in 2000 and 2009, and he knows what it takes to be crowned European No 1.

"It's consistency... you really have to play well the full year," he added.

"In 2000 I think I won something like six or seven events that year. You don't need to do that now, you can almost win the money list without winning an event because there's a big difference in the size of the purses."

Read More

Henrik Stenson tries to play down wrist injury ahead of Turkish Airlines Open

Henrik Stenson: Having regular treatment on a wrist problem

Henrik Stenson has admitted he is playing through the pain of a wrist injury as he looks to protect his lead in the Race to Dubai standings.

The Swede has been having regular treatment on the problem since winning the FedExCup play-offs, and he was unable to breach the top 30 at either the BMW Masters or last week's WGC-HSBC Champions.

But ahead of this week's star-studded Turkish Airlines Open, the penultimate event in the European Tour Final Series, Stenson was keen to play down the severity of the injury.

"It's been bothering me a bit ... but during play it's been all right," said Stenson, who currently leads Graeme McDowell by just 145,000 euros in the race to be crowned European No 1.

"It's all about keeping it mobile, taking some pills every now and again and doing quite a lot of icing.

"I've kept my hand in the ice bucket for quite some time. There's always going to be some wear and tear over long-term golfing.

Pain

"It wasn't a thing that came on suddenly so that was a good thing. It wasn't like I hit a shot and just all of a sudden I started feeling a lot of pain."

Stenson also admitted he has a wager of $1,000 with Ian Poulter over the Race to Dubai, and the Englishman will tee up in Antalya with a deficit of 542,000 euros to make up.

"I had a bet with Poulter when he was some way behind and he still wants me to pay for a night out if he catches me," Stenson added.

"We were having a laugh at Lake Nona in Florida a couple of weeks ago. He said, 'We have to have a bet, I'm going to chase you down'

"I'm going to try to make sure that doesn't happen. It's a tight race and most likely it's still going to be an open story in Dubai.

"The bet was a hundred bucks and he got 10-1 so it's going to be bad for me if he wins."

Read More