Notebook: Round 4, WGC-CA Championship

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Mar. 14, 2010
By Joel Schuchmann, PGA TOUR Staff

Weather: Partly cloudy skies in the morning becoming mostly sunny by the afternoon. Temperatures climbed into the upper 70s with west winds 12-22 mph.

• The 54-hole leader has gone on to win this event nine of 11 times -

• Tiger Woods -- 2007, 2006, 2003, 2002, 1999

• Ernie Els -- 2004, 2010

• Geoff Ogilvy -- 2008

• Phil Mickelson -- 2009

• A year after U.S. players finished 1-2-3 for the first time in CA Championship history, there were only two Americans in the top 10: Matt Kuchar (T3) and Bill Haas (T6). This week matches the fewest U.S. players to finish in the top 10 at any stroke-play World Golf Championships (2005 CA Championship when Tiger Woods won and David Toms finished T6).

• The most countries represented at any stroke-play World Golf Championships event is 10, at the 2009 HSBC Champions. At the CA Championship, the record is eight, which has happened four different times (2000, 2003-05). This week, there were seven countries represented in the top 10 (South Africa, US, Germany, Ireland, Australia, England, Spain).

Ernie Els 68-66-70-66 -- 270 (-18)

• Els won the 2004 CA Championship (American Express Championship at the time) when it was held at Mount Juliet Conrad in Kilkenny, Ireland. A win this week makes Els the third player to win the same World Golf Championships event more than once, joining Tiger Woods (7-Bridgestone Invitational; 6-CA Championship; 3-Accenture Match Play Championship) and Geoff Ogilvy (2-Accenture Match Play Championship).

• Els, 40 years, 4 months and 25 days old, is the second-oldest winner of a World Golf Championships event and the oldest in CA Championship history. The oldest player to win a World Golf Championships event is Vijay Singh, who is also the only other player in his 40s to win a WGC.

• Vijay Singh, 2008 Bridgestone Invitational, 45 years, 5 months, 12 days old

• Ernie Els, 2010 CA Championship, 40 years, 4 months, 25 days old

• Phil Mickelson, 2009 HSBC Champions, 39 years, 4 months, 23 days old

• Phil Mickelson, 2009 CA Championship, 38 years, 8 months, 27 days

• David Toms, 2005 Accenture Match Play Championship, 38 years, 1 month, 23 days

• Els moved back into the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking with his victory today at the CA Championship. He was last in the top 10 after a T6 at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Els holds the Ranking record for the number of weeks in the top 10 (758 weeks). Last week marked Els' 900th successive week in the world top 50 last week (entered the top 50 on December 6, 1992), which is second only to Vijay Singh who entered the top 50 on March 1, 1992, and is currently on 942 successive weeks.

• Els has won 11 of 16 times he has held or shared the 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR, with an active streak of seven consecutive wins with the third-round lead.

Tournament Lead after 54 holes 54-hole score Finish
1994 U.S. Open 2 over Nobilo -7 W (74)
1995 GTE Byron Nelson Classic 3 over Freeman -15 W (68)
1995 PGA Championship 3 over Maggert, O'Meara -16 T3 (72)
1996 Buick Classic 6 over Herron -13 W (71)
1997 Buick Classic 3 over Maggert -14 W (69)
1997 Buick Open 3 over Fabel, Mize, Strange -13 T2 (74)
1998 Bay Hill Invitational 6 over Estes -15 W (73)
2000 Mercedes Championships Tie Woods -11 2 (68)
2000 MCI Classic 2 over Lowery -12 T3 (74)
2000 International 8 points over Mickelson, Norman 40 pts W (n/a)
2002 Genuity Championship 8 over Lonard, Woods -17 W (72)
2002 British Open 2 over Hansen -5 W (70)
2003 Mercedes Championships 2 over Choi -25 W (67)
2004 Memorial Tournament 2 over Couples, Choi, Rose -12 W (66)
2004 WGC-American Express Championship 2 over Bjorn -15 W (69)
2010 WGC-CA Championship Tie with Schwartzel -12 W (66)

Charl Schwartzel, 67-70-67-70 -- 274 (-14)

• Schwartzel posted his second consecutive top-10 finish at a World Golf Championships event. Schwartzel finished T9 at the 2010 Accenture Match Play Championship after being ousted in the third round by Stewart Cink after 19 holes.

• Schwartzel, 25 years, 6 months and 14 days old, was looking to become the second-youngest winner of the CA Championship, behind Tiger Woods. Woods was 23/11/7 when he won the 1999 event.

Player First PGA TOUR win Total PGA TOUR wins to date
Ian Poulter 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship 1
Henrik Stenson 2007 Accenture Match Play Championship 2
Kevin Sutherland 2002 Accenture Match Play Championship 1
Craig Parry 2002 Bridgestone Invitational 2
Darren Clarke 2000 Accenture Match Play Championship 2

• Schwartzel was attempting to become the first player to make the World Golf Championships-CA Championship his first PGA TOUR win. Five players have made a different World Golf Championships event as their first PGA TOUR victory, including Ian Poulter last month at the Accenture Match Play Championship.

• Schwartzel continues his fine play in 2010, having won the first two events of the European Tour season, the Africa Open and the Joburg Open.

Miscellaneous

• Robert Allenby made three eagles this week: ace on par-3 No. 13, round 2; eagle on par-4, No. 5, round 1; eagle on par-5 No. 1, round 2. He recorded only eight eagles during the entire 2009 season.

• Hole-in-one, eagles on par-4 and par-5 in same PGA TOUR event (since 1983)

Year Player Event
2010 Allenby, Robert WGC-CA Championship
2009 Fowler, Rickie Frys.com Open
2008 Day, Jason Turning Stone Resort Championship
2002 Parnevik, Jesper BellSouth Classic
1998 Kamm, Brian Kemper Open
1988 Koch, Gary Shearson Lehman Hutton Andy Williams Open
1987 McCallister, Blaine Seiko Tucson Open
1984 McGowan, Pat Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open

• The low rounds of the tournament were recorded on Sunday by 2010 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship winner Ian Poulter and Alistair Presnell. Poulter made an eagle on No. 1 en route to a 64 (-8). Poulter was T62 after rounds of 72-78-72 but jumped to T37. This is Poulter's second-lowest round of the year. He shot a 63 (-9) during the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he finished T24.

• Presnell, who earned a spot in the field by virtue of his finish on the 2009 Australasian Order of Merit, was competing in his first World Golf Championships event. After a bogey on the fourth hole, Presnell reeled off nine birdies, including three-straight 3s on the closing holes. Presnell was T24 after rounds of 72-70-72, but moved into a T6 finish with his 64 (-8).

• Bill Haas (T6) finished among the top 10 in his first World Golf Championships start.

• Steve Stricker (T16) earned 56 FedExCup points this week to climb back into the lead of the season-long FedExCup standings with 836. He is seven points ahead of Camilo Villegas and 16 points ahead of Els.

• Here's a look at the 18th hole this week, which has traditionally played as one of the most difficult on the PGA TOUR:

Round Scoring average Bogeys or worse Balls in the water
Thursday 4.647 37 18
Friday 4.258 17 11
Saturday 3.956 14 2
Sunday 4.000 8 1
Cumaltive 4.210* 76 32

• Lowest scoring average for No. l8 since TPC Blue Monster at Doral began hosting the CA Championship in 2007.

• Course stats since the World Golf Championships-CA Championship moved to Doral Golf Resort & Spa.

Year Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Cumulative
2010 72.57 70.90 71.60 69.87 71.235
2009 70.60 70.50 70.81 71.73 70.91
2008 70.89 72.33 70.18 70.73 71.04
2007 73.39 72.11 72.56 73.94 72.99

• Bogey-free rounds on Sunday were recorded by Els, Graeme McDowell, Francesco Molinari, Sean O'Hair, Anthony Kim, Y.E. Yang, Scott Verplank, Ross McGowan and Retief Goosen.

• Below are players who have top 10s in both World Golf Championships events this season

Player Accenture CA Championship
Paul Casey 2 T6
Schwartzel T9 2
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