Rose beats Woods, faces Westwood in World Golf final

Updated October 12, 2012 10:23:51

England's Justin Rose produced a Tiger Woods-like shot to defeat the 14-time major winning American and set up a showdown with compatriot Lee Westwood in the World Golf final on Friday (AEDT).

The World number five-ranked Rose was trailing in his semi-final tie against Woods until holing an improbable 110-yard wedge shot at the par four 14th hole for an eagle.

An embarrassed Rose then tried to cover his face with his cap en route to a round of 2-under-par 69 to defeat Woods who signed for a 70.

"When Justin birdied 13 and holed out at 14 it was the turning point in the match," said Woods.

"I was two up at the time and all of a sudden one down with four holes to play.

"But I haven't played this format since the Dunhill Cup in '98 so it's been a while, and it's a neat format as it's never over until it's done.

"There can be some big-time swings out there, as we saw with Justin at 14, but then it was a long day."

After having dealt with Woods, Rose now heads to the final "hungry" to finish in front of Westwood, his European Ryder Cup winning team-mate.

"I was really struggling early on today and to can that shot at 14 was easily the turning point," reflected Rose.

"In proper match-play you would only win the hole but in this format I've picked up two shots on Tiger and it's helped me win the match.

"So I've now got Lee and while it's an all-English affair I would dearly love to win this as I want to stay fresh and I want to stay hungry for the rest of the season.

"There is very little history of Westwood and myself playing against each other but being the world number five at the moment it would be great to get one over the world number four."

Westwood secured his passage to the final when setting a new course record of a 10-under 61 to defeat former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel who carded a 67 on the Sultan Course at the Antalya Club.

Westwood's round included two eagles along with eight birdies, including a 50-footer at the last but also a fourth-hole double bogey.

Westwood's score came some five hours after he shot a 64 to defeat American rival Hunter Mahan in the morning's weather-delayed third round.

Woods had earlier easily accounted for world number one Rory McIlroy in the first ever matchplay showdown between the pair to reach the last four.

Woods was always ahead, shooting a 7-under 64 to McIlroy's 1-under 70.

Rose, meanwhile, defeated reigning US Open champion Webb Simpson with a new course record of 9-under 62, compared to Simpson's 67.

McIlroy, who had already lost his opening two matches, began horribly against Woods when he found the water off the opening tee and he did not drop below par for the round until he birdied the 17th hole.

McIlroy said he was now looking forward to time away from the course despite having to return on Friday for a Pro-Am involving all eight players.

"I just came here because I have never played in Turkey and there is a lot of good players here, and I thought it would be a fun week and it has been.

"So I've enjoyed myself. I feel fine and the energy levels are okay and I've got another week off next week before I get myself up for the Race to Dubai."

However, McIlroy's immediate concern is getting a Russian visa so he can accompany girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki to Moscow, where the Danish tennis star will be contesting the Kremlin Cup next week.

AFP

Tags: golf, sport, turkey

First posted October 12, 2012 07:38:37

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Westwood leads after first round at Masters

Updated April 06, 2012 11:07:34

Lee Westwood grabbed the lead under the rain and late in the day in the first round of the Masters on Friday (AEST), as he set out yet again on his lifelong quest to win a major title.

Aaron Baddeley was the best of the Australians with a one-under 71, while John Senden and Geoff Ogilvy both finished two-over at 74.

Compatriots Jason Day and Adam Scott struggled, carding 76 and 75 respectively as amateur Bryden Macpherson endured a tough Augusta initiation with a five-over par 77.

World number three Westwood went out in 32 to signal his intentions and two more birdies against one bogey on the back nine, as the bad weather came in, nudged him ahead atop the leaderboard at five-under 67.

It was the first time the 38-year-old Englishman had led after the first round of a Major despite having five top-three finishes in his last nine majors.

Westwood finished the day one shot ahead of South African Louis Oosthuizen, who had four birdies in the last five holes to card a 68, and Peter Hanson of Sweden.

A stroke further back were a group of players comprising Paul Lawrie of Scotland, Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain, Francesco Molinari of Italy and Americans Ben Crane, Jason Dufner and Bubba Watson.

The 2008 winner, Zach Johnson of the United States, was on 70, level with veterans Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk among others.

Favorites Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy both struggled.

Woods battled against a wayward driver to scramble a level par 72 while McIlroy opened with a double-bogey six and splashed into Rae's Creek in front of the 13th green en route to an edgy 71.

Westwood, runner-up here to Phil Mickelson two years ago, said that he had been working at easing the tension involved in playing in the Masters.

"I've taken it very relaxed this week. I've played here enough - it's my 13th time - and I know the golf course and that eradicates a lot of the tension," he said.

"I came close recently and I have had a good career and all there is to win is a major championship and that is my primary focus now."

Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion, said he was surfing on the wave of recent South African successes at Augusta National, including close friend Charl Schwartzel's four-birdie finish to win last year.

"We play together a lot and I think it's more just watching videos of him winning over and over, and seeing the way he handled himself under the pressure which was brilliant, finishing with four birdies," he said of his fellow South African's influence on him.

Timid Tiger

Woods, meanwhile, was wayward off the tee and had his short game to thank for salvaging a 72.

"I hit some of the worst golf swings I've ever hit today, and that's all right," he said.

"I just hung in there and grinded my way around the golf course and stayed very patient, stayed in the moment.

"Unfortunately that was about as good as I got right there. I could have shot one, maybe two better, but I got a lot out of that round."

Woods, who is seeking his 15th major title to draw to within three of Jack Nicklaus's record of 18, won his first tournament in 28 months two weeks ago and was immediately installed as Masters favorite with McIlroy leading a strong European challenge.

McIlroy, who blew a four-stroke lead on the Sunday in last year's Masters, seldom looked comfortable after pushing his opening drive into the tall Georgia pines lining the first hole.

But after a mixed bag of a round, he finished strongly with back-to-back birdies to duck under par.

"I'm a lot more pleased coming off the golf course than if I had finished par and to come off under-par is pleasing," the 22-year-old US Open champion said.

"My perseverance and patience paid off and it was nice to finish as I did, but I'm surprised someone didn't go lower than five today."

World number one Luke Donald, meanwhile, survived a disqualification scare after an investigation ruled that an administrative error was to blame for the wrong posting of his score at 73 instead of 75.

But the Englishman's four-over total left him with a mountain to climb as he seeks to win his first Major.

"I'm disappointed. That's not what I wanted. My irons were a bit off. Here that can eat you up. Maybe I can find something tomorrow," Donald said.

Three-time former champion Phil Mickelson was also left with a battle on his hands just to make the cut.

He stumbled badly with a triple bogey seven at the 10th, where he lost his ball off the tee, and with his driver deserting him, he came in with a two-over 74 that included a long birdie putt at the last.

First-round strugglers also included last year's joint runners-up Jason Day and Adam Scott of Australia, who carded 76 and 75 respectively, and 2008 champion Trevor Immelman of South Africa, who had a 78.

ABC/AFP

Tags: sport, golf, united-states

First posted April 06, 2012 10:09:09

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McIlroy to meet Westwood in Match Play semi

Updated February 26, 2012 12:30:01

Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, each seeking a title to become world number one, advanced to a semi-final showdown at the World Golf Championships Match Play Championship.

World number two McIlroy of Northern Ireland defeated South Korea's Bae Sang-Moon 3 and 2 while Englishman Westwood, ranked third, defeated Scotland's Martin Laird 4 and 2 to set up a high-stakes semi-final at the $7.9 million event.

"It will be a great match," Westwood said. "I hope we both play well and make lots of birdies."

Either Westwood, a former world number on, or McIlroy, trying to achieve the mark for the first time, would replace England's Luke Donald as the world number one if he wins Sunday's 18-hole final.

But before one of them gets the chance to face either Hunter Mahan or Mark Wilson in Sunday's afternoon final, he must conquer the other in a morning semi-final.

"It's the match I wanted and the match everyone else wanted," said McIlroy, who at 22 would become the youngest WGC Match Play champion.

Not since 2004 have two of the four top seeds reached the semi-finals of the event and not since Tiger Woods and Davis Love met in 2000 have two top seeds met in a semi-final.

Mahan beat US compatriot Matt Kuchar 6 and 5 without losing a hole and Wilson ousted Sweden's Peter Hanson 4 and 3 in other quarter-finals to set up an all-American semi-final and ensure the event's first US finalist since Tiger Woods won in 2008.

"Hunter has made a ton of birdies this week," Wilson said. "I've got to focus on hitting the green and making that par. I'm not going to change anything about the way I'm playing."

Bae, 25, beat McIlroy in a head-to-head showdown in the final round of the South Korean Open three years ago, but the 44th-ranked Bae had never played in a WGC or match play event until this week.

McIlroy seized the lead with a birdie at the first hole but found water off the tee at the par-3 third and took a bogey that sqaured the match.

Bae sank a long birdie putt at the fourth, the longest par-4 hole in PGA history at 536 yards, but McIlroy kept the match level with a round-the-cup effort.

McIlroy sank a five-foot birdie putt at the eighth to regain a 1-up edge but went well right off the 10th tee and landed under a desert bush, forcing him to take an unplayable lie on the way to a bogey that squared the match.

McIlroy responded with a birdie to win the par-5 11th, then Bae found a bunker off the 13th tee while McIlroy blasted inches from the cup out of a greenside bunker to seize a 2-up advantage.

A tap-in birdie at the 15th put McIlroy 3-up with three holes to play and he halved the last to secure the triumph.

"I felt like I hit some really good shots," McIlroy said. "I felt like everything was pretty solid. I played really well out there."

Westwood, who had been number one until being overtaken by Donald last year, had not trailed in a match this week until Laird opened with a five-foot birdie putt.

"He started how I wanted to start, fast and strong," Westwood said of Laird. "I could have been 3-down after three.

But Westwood sank a 13-foot par putt at the sixth to square the match, then birdied to win the seventh and moved 2-up at the turn when Laird bogeyed the ninth.

Westwood moved 3-up when Laird bogeyed 10, but the Englishman missed a five-foot par putt and Laird tapped in to win the 11th.

Sinking a tense birdie putt from six feet allowed Westwood to halve the 13th and Laird found a greenside bunker to prompt a concession at the 14th that put Westwood 3-up. After they halved 15, Laird fell at the 16th.

Hanson had not trailed in any match this week, but promptly fell behind Wilson with a bogey at the opening hole.

A bogey by Wilson at the sixth squared the match. Wilson birdied the eighth to briefly reclaim the lead, only to have Hanson sink a five-foot birdie at the ninth.

Hanson began the back nine with back-to-back bogeys to fall 2-down and Wilson sank a three-foot birdie at 13 to move 3-up. After another bogey by Hanson put Wilson 4-up Wilson birdied 15 to halve the hole and seal the victory.

AAP

Tags: sport, golf, united-states

First posted February 26, 2012 11:04:22

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Westwood moves to world number two

Updated December 19, 2011 08:24:43

Lee Westwood brushed aside a challenge from Masters champion Charl Schwartzel to win the $1 million Thailand Golf Championship by seven strokes.

The emphatic victory at the Amata Spring Country Club, Westwood's fourth of the season, means he moves above Rory McIlroy to number two in the world rankings.

The Englishman played fine golf all week including a stunning 12-under-par 60 in the first round.

He shot 69 in his final round to finish the tournament on 266, an impressive 22 under par, for his third win in Asia this season.

Schwartzel fought hard and briefly threatened the leader, but the South African had to settle for the runner-up spot after shooting an even-par 72.

Little-known American Michael Thompson performed well with a 70 to finish in third place, one shot back, while in joint fourth place two strokes further behind were Thailand's Chawalit Plaphol and Simon Dyson of England.

"The first two days were probably the best I've ever played," Westwood said.

"I've never had an 11-shot lead after two rounds before."

Although Westwood's fourth-round score did not match the 60 and 64 of his first two days, he was still very satisfied with it.

"I thought 69 was a good score. I putted great on the back nine," he said.

Westwood felt the turning point on Sunday was at the 12th when he sunk a birdie after Schwartzel had also birdied and looked like he might close to within two shots.

"Fortunately I holed it," he said.

"That was an important putt."

He was understandably upbeat about the next season.

"I'm a better player than one year ago and I'm managing my game better too," he said.

Schwartzel admitted it had been "a tough day".

He conceded that Westwood's birdies on the 12th and 13th proved decisive.

"I had pulled him back to three shots and it was getting close up to that stage," Schwartzel said.

Schwartzel began the day knowing he had to overhaul a four-shot lead and got off to a good start when he birdied the first hole, while Westwood could only manage a par.

But Westwood responded quickly with two successive birdies and at the turn the Englishman held a five-shot lead.

There was drama at the par-five 11th when Schwartzel sunk an eagle while Westwood missed a birdie putt, resulting in a two-shot swing to the South African and cutting the lead to three.

Both players birdied the 12th but Westwood also picked up a stroke at the 13th to restore his four-shot lead.

Schwartzel's challenge effectively ended at the next hole when a poor chip saw him make a bogey, leaving Westwood five shots clear with just four to play.

He went on to stretch the lead by a further two strokes.

John Daly finished joint 16th after shooting 75 in the final round while Sergio Garcia recorded a 71 for joint 24th place.

AFP

Tags: golf, sport, thailand

First posted December 19, 2011 08:24:43

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Scott, Westwood, Donald miss out again

Updated August 15, 2011 11:22:24

World number one Luke Donald, second-ranked Lee Westwood and Australian star Adam Scott, this year's Masters runner-up, settled for another major near-miss on Sunday at the 93rd PGA Championship.

All three made a charge for the lead in hopes of capturing their first major title but fell short, each shooting a 2-under-par 68 and finishing well back of winner Keegan Bradley, who beat fellow American Jason Dufner in a play-off.

Scott finished seventh on 4-under 276, four strokes out of the play-off, while Donald and Westwood shared eighth on 277.

Each took a bogey on the 18th, finding the water fronting the green while in hopes of closing with a birdie.

Scott, coming in off a World Golf Championships victory last week and a flap involving his new caddie, former Tiger Woods bagman Steve Williams, sees his game as being solid enough to handle a back-nine battle for a major title.

But like his British rivals, he started too far back to make more than a worthy early charge.

Scott began the day five back, one nearer than Donald and Westwood.

"Hung in there well. For me, it's just positive," he said.

"My short game is that good now. It's good enough to hang in there on the last nine of a major to keep a score going.

"Everything is right where I want it to be. Every day I have my opportunities. You need to take them all to win these things.

"I did the best I could. That was a good score."

England's Donald called it another missed opportunity.

"The positive I see is I didn't have my best this week and I still came reasonably close," he said.

"I know I've got the game to compete and win majors, but got to take that it as a positive. Again, bittersweet. It's another major gone, another year gone without winning a major."

Donald took a share of fourth at this year's Masters and a share of third at the 2006 PGA among four top-five major finishes.

He has a chance to win the money titles on the US and European tours, something he will have to satisfy himself with until his next major chance comes around in eight months at the 2012 Masters.

"Certainly a goal. That would be a great accomplishment," Donald said.

"No one has ever done it, and to be the first would be very special."

Westwood has two top-10 finishes in majors for the third year in a row, including a share of third at this year's US Open, runner-up showings at the British Open and Masters last year and shares of third at the 2009 British Open and PGA.

"I have enjoyed playing great for a long time now, but unfortunately when I turn up to majors, when I don't win one, then it's a disappointing week for everybody it seems," he said

"Obviously for me, but that's the sort of level of golf I'm playing at."

Fellow Briton Westwood missed two putts inside six feet in the first five holes but kept battling and stayed in the hunt for a while.

"I played lovely again," he said.

"Didn't miss many greens in regulation, which was tough today, and played very solidly. Missed a couple of short ones early on.

"Everybody is missing on these greens. They are very difficult to read. Hit a lot of good putts out there that didn't go in."

AFP

Tags: golf, sport, united-states

First posted August 15, 2011 11:04:36

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Donald takes top spot from Westwood

Posted May 30, 2011 06:09:00

England's Luke Donald claimed the PGA Championship and the world number one ranking after a dramatic play-off against Lee Westwood at Wentworth.

Tied at 6-under par, the pair re-played the 18th - a par-5 - where Westwood put his approach shot into the water surrendering the title and his top spot in the rankings.

Donald was safely on the green in three and when Westwood failed to hole his chip from dropping zone he handed his rival the title.

This is the first time Donald has headed the rankings. He is the third Englishman to do so after Nick Faldo and Westwood and this was his fifth win on the European Tour.

It also made up for the disappointment of finishing runner-up to Simon Khan in this - the Tour's flagship event - last year.

But it was a bitter pill for Westwood to swallow after his last round 68 - his best score of the week and at one point he was two clear of the field.

Donald was ecstatic at reaching the top spot in the world.

"It is something that you dream about but you never know if you are going to get there - but I got there," he said.

"It took a lot of hard work, a lot of sweat and tears, a lot of belief and a lot of failure. But I am sure Lee will be battling hard to get it back.

"But winning is always top of the list. It is a great honour and a great achievement to get to number one but it is the wins that get you there.

"This is the flagship event and with the four major champions here and everybody from the Ryder Cup it is very special."

Westwood felt that he had blown a chance to win the title without going in to a play-off.

"It shouldn't have gone to a play-off," said Westwood.

"I had a good chance at 17. The finish was a bit iffy with a three putt on the 16th and I had chances to birdie the last two but I didn't take them. I finished second not because of the play-off but because I didn't take my chances on 17 and 18."

Donald shot a 64 in the first round which he described as the best golf he could play but relied on his short game to keep him contention in rounds two and three when he was in trouble several times.

Both players had chances to win the championship in regulation play.

Donald had a putt that shaved the hole on the 17th and Westwood was one over par for the last three holes, which include two par-5s.

The world's top two-ranked players were locked in battle all afternoon and when Westwood missed and eight foot putt on the 18th for a birdie he left Donald needing a birdie to take the title.

Donald put his drive on the last in a fairway bunker, laid up short of the water on the par-5 and left himself a 40-foot putt for the title.

But it was asking too much and he and Westwood, who formed such a successful partnership in last autumn's Ryder Cup, were back to the 18th tee for the play-off which was effectively a shoot-out for the world number one spot.

Both were in the perfect spot about 100 metres from the green, but whereas Donald put his pitch to around eight feet, Westwood watched his land on the putting surface and spin into the water.

The 18th has attracted plenty of criticism since it was re-modelled by Ernie Els for last year's event, but it served up a finish full of drama this year.

England's Simon Dyson, who had a final round 69, finished third but Matteo Manassero, who shared the lead overnight, never got going and faded out of contention with a 75.

Earlier Australia's Marcus Fraser shot a 67, 5-under par, which included a run of four birdies from the fourth, to shoot up the leaderboard and Ireland's Shane Lowry equalled that score helped by an eagle on the par-5 18th.

-AFP

Tags: sport, golf, united-kingdom, england

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Westwood in danger of losing top spot

Updated May 22, 2011 00:33:00

Luke Donald and Germany's Martin Kaymer are in a battle to dethrone Lee Westwood as world number one after the Briton suffered a shock defeat in the last 16 of the World Match Play Championship in Spain.

Westwood was beaten by Ryder Cup team-mate Ian Poulter, who birdied the short 17th and held on to win by one hole.

Donald also struggled when taken to the 19th by Swedish outsider Johan Edfors but prevailed to give himself hope of being world number one for the first time.

Kaymer, looking to regain the top spot, eased through to the quarter-finals with a 3 and 2 success over Dane Soren Kjeldsen.

US Open champion Graeme McDowell won the battle of Ryder Cup partners by defeating fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy 3 and 2.

South African Charl Schwartzel, the US Masters champion, matched Englishman Ross Fisher's eagle at the last to close out the defending champion by one hole.

Spain's Alvaro Quiros, Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium and Italian Francesco Molinari also went through.

-Reuters

Tags: sport, golf, spain

First posted May 22, 2011 00:21:00

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Westwood mauls Hansen in Spain

Posted May 20, 2011 14:10:00

World number one Lee Westwood handed out a 6 and 5 mauling to Denmark's Anders Hansen on the opening day of the World Match Play Championship in Casares, Spain.

The 38-year-old Englishman carded six birdies in eight holes from the fourth to leave Hansen trailing, and was delighted to have completed his day's work on the 13th.

"The less holes you can play are obviously to pay dividends down the road and down the tournament," Westwood said.

"You get to a point in your career where you look for places that you can gain an advantage or where you can improve.

"I wasn't as strong as I ought to have been, but now I'm a lot more powerful. I wouldn't say I'm a svelte marathon runner, but I'm fit for golf - powerful in all the right areas."

Compatriot Luke Donald, the world number two, was also in impressive form, defeating Ryan Moore of the United States 4 and 3.

Donald said he would like to take on Westwood in Sunday's final.

"I would love to play Lee," Donald said.

"There's more satisfaction when you can take down the number one player in the world."

Donald is used to such a scenario - when he won the WGC Match Play in Arizona in February, he beat Martin Kaymer in the final although the German still took the world number one spot.

Elsewhere on the opening day in Andalucia, Northern Irish pair Graeme McDowell, the US Open winner, and Rory McIlroy enjoyed opening wins.

McIlroy saw off Retief Goosen of South Africa by one hole by chipping in at the last, while McDowell defeated British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, also of South Africa, 3 and 1.

The day's other three winners were Kaymer, who overcame Korea's Yang Yong-Eun two and one, and Spanish duo Alvaro Quiros and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Quiros saw off Paul Casey 6 and 5 and veteran Jimenez overcame Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa by the same score.

The match between Ryder Cup team-mates Ian Poulter and Francesco Molinari was halved with the Englishman sinking a five-foot birdie putt on the last.

-AFP

Tags: sport, golf, spain

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Westwood stays near top with Indonesia win

Posted April 24, 2011 19:07:00

Lee Westwood celebrated his 38th birthday with a comfortable three-stroke victory at the Indonesian Masters to stay in the hunt for regaining the world number one spot from German Martin Kaymer.

The world number two will top the rankings if fellow Briton Luke Donald, who led by a stroke at the $750,000 Heritage tournament in South Carolina after the penultimate round, fails to land the trophy.

Westwood, who led by five strokes after the third round, started with a birdie on the first hole but dropped a shot on the second to make the turn at even-par 36 at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

Westwood, who was world number one for 17 weeks until Kaymer replaced him in February, birdied the 11th and 12th holes after eight straight pars to take control of the leaderboard to end at 19-under 269.

Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee finished second with a brilliant bogey-free round of 65.

Australia's Marcus Both finished on 13-under for an equal-third finish alongside Park Hyun-bin of South Korea, Thailand's Thitiphun Chuayprakong and Bangladesh's Siddikur Rahman.

-Reuters

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