April 16 2012

5:42 PM

Matchups Game set for Valero Texas

The pairings have been unveiled for this week’s PGA TOUR Matchups Game on Facebook. You can check out the Matchups for the Valero Texas Open below, or on the PGA TOUR’s Facebook page.

Participants have until 6 a.m. ET Thursday to make their picks. Log on to the PGA TOUR Facebook page and click the Matchups link to make your picks for this week, or to sign up.

GO TO FACEBOOK PAGE TO PLAY MATCHUPS GAME

K.J. Choi vs. Matt Kuchar These two technicians are each seeking first win of year
Brendan Steele vs. Johnson Wagner Defending champion takes on No. 5 in FedExCup points
Justin Leonard vs. Harrison Frazar These two Texans have played together for almost 30 years
Charley Hoffman vs. Kevin Chappell These two finished a shot behind Steele here last year
Bud Cauley vs. Harris English It's an SEC battle (Alabama vs. Georgia) between rookies.

March 27 2012

5:00 PM

Rookies in ForbesLife fashion shoot

Live Report Image
Antoine Verglas/Forbes Magazine

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Eight PGA TOUR rookies have stepped off of the golf course and into the world of high-end fashion for the new issue of ForbesLife magazine .

Tommy Biershenk, Jonas Blixt, Bud Cauley, Gary Christian, Harris English, J.J. Killeen, Danny Lee and Jamie Lovemark had the opportunity to demonstrate their modeling ability in designs by some of the world’s most renowned fashion manufacturers -- including Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Rolex and Audemars Piguet, among others.

The photo shoot took place at the Fairmont Princess Hotel, adjacent to TPC Scottsdale during the week of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, with acclaimed French photographer Antoine Verglas capturing the images that were styled by Joseph DeAcetis, the magazine’s style editor.

The 10-page spread, entitled Clubhouse Confidential ( click here for more ), coincides with the relaunch of ForbesLife , which for the first time will be offered on newsstands across the nation and also be available in replica-form for nooks, kindles and iPads.

Verglas, who is based in New York, is recognized for introducing the “Verglas Signature” to glamour photography in the 1990s, an intimate style of capturing a personality of his subjects. His work has appeared in all the leading fashion magazines.

“I think it's fun,” Verglas said of the rookie photo shoot. “They could be models, you know. They did great. They have good looking personalities and are great looking guys and the pictures were really good.”

DeAcetis noted that ForbesLife was going under a redesign and that the idea behind the photo shoot was to reach a new, younger audience. “These athletes transcend any economic level,” he said. “They're great players, and this is what men are interested in. We have a high standard here at ForbesLife that we have to convey and I think that these guys did an amazing job.”

DeAcetis said they worked extensively on matching colors and sizes, and then matching them to ideal locations at the Fairmont Princess. “The shoot is shorter jackets and tighter pants; it's more modern, the cut,” he said. “And that's what these guys are, 21st century men. So it has a little more life to it than a traditional suit or traditional jacket. And that's what these guys embody … the next expectations, they're the next big players.”

Cauley said he had a lot of fun participating in the shoot. “It definitely was my first experience with something like that,” he said. “They dressed me up in really nice clothes and did my hair a little bit differently. We’ll see how it turns out, but I trust what they were doing and I’m sure it will all look great.”

English agreed. "It was crazy, I've never done the modeling experience before,” he said. “It was cool. These are pretty sweet clothes and it was fun. I could definitely do it again; it wasn't bad at all."

Christian, the oldest among the participants at age 40, added, “I enjoyed the experience and would definitely do it again. It was interesting to me as an arty guy how the photographer set up shots and how much of a perfectionist the stylist was.”

PGA TOUR Entertainment was on hand to film the photo shoot and will feature it on an upcoming edition of Inside the PGA TOUR on Golf Channel in early April.


March 12 2012

3:40 PM

Live interview schedule: Transitions

All interviews will be streamed live on PGATOUR.COM.

Tuesday, March 13
1:15 p.m. ET: Gary Woodland
2:30 p.m. ET: Lucas Glover
3 p.m. ET: Tom Lewis 

Wednesday, March 14
11 a.m. ET: Harris English
12:30 p.m. ET: George McNeill
1 p.m. ET: Webb Simpson
TBD: Justin Rose


March 4 2012

10:38 PM

Live updates: News, notes, more

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- The final round of The Honda Classic is in the books. Check below for updates, news and more from Sunday at PGA National. FINAL-ROUND UPDATES (All times ET) | Final leaderboard 5:38 p.m.: Slow and steady won the race for Rory McIlroy. It wasn't flashy down the stretch, but it didn't have to be as McIlroy parred his last five holes -- scrambling on three of them -- to hold off Tom Gillis and Tiger Woods to win The Honda Classic. McIlroy will move to No. 4 in the race for the FedExCup and No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking with his victory at PGA National. 5:15 p.m.: Rory McIlroy makes yet another up-and-down for par on the 17th hole. He heads to the par-5 18th needing just a bogey to secure a victory at PGA National. 5:05 p.m.: Two holes into the Bear Trap and Rory McIlroy's two-shot lead remains intact. After scrambling for par on No. 15, Mcilroy had a routine par on the 16th. He's off to the tough 186-yard par-3 17th. 4:35 p.m.: Rory McIlroy has entered the Bear Trap, where trying to hold onto his two-shot lead over Tiger Woods, who is already in with a 62. McIlroy has played the 15th, 16th and 17th holes in a combined 3 under this week with three birdies and no bogeys. If he can get through there in even par today, he’ll likely win. 4:12 p.m.: Things just got a lot more interesting at PGA National. Tiger Woods holed an 8-foot eagle putt on the 18th to cap a final-round 62 and take the clubhouse lead at PGA National. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy was rolling home an 8-foot putt of his own -- for birdie -- on the par-4 13th to push back to 12 under. 3:59 p.m.: Rory McIlroy found his first bump in the road Sunday at PGA National when he bogeyed the par-4 12th hole. Losing that shot, McIlroy falls to 11 under. He's three clear of playing competitor Tom Gillis and Justin Rose, who got up-and-down from a fairway bunker for birdie on No. 13. Lee Westwood is in the clubhouse three back while Tiger Woods is three off the pace with one hole to play. 3:20 p.m.: Back-to-back bogeys by Tom Gillis have dropped the 43-year-old four shots back of Rory McIlroy, who now seems to be well on his way to his third career PGA TOUR victory. McIlroy has just one birdie all da but he’s been mistake-free with zero bogeys on the card on what’s been a wet and windy day at PGA National. 2:55 p.m.: Tiger Woods’ birdie barrage has slowed a bit. Woods had pretty good looks on Nos. 12 and 13, but missed from 18 and 14 feet, respectively. They were by no means gimmies of course, but both had a chance at going in the hole and nearly did. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy made his first birdie of the day on No. 8 and just turned in 1 under. He leads by three over Tom Gillis and five over Woods. 2:30 p.m.: Seven holes down for Rory McIlroy, seven pars. He hasn’t been quite as sharp as he was in his previous three rounds here, but McIlroy has made a couple of big putts when he’s need to make them, including a 12-footer to save par on the par-3 seventh, where he missed the green right and into a bunker. The good news for McIlroy is that he still leads by one over Tom Gillis. However, Tiger Woods continues to climb. Woods is 5 under through 12 holes and only four back of McIlroy with just two players separating him from the top spot on the leaderboard. 2:05 p.m.: Rory McIlroy is six holes into his final round and still has the lead by one over Tom Gillis. But it’s Tiger Woods who is making the biggest noise right now. Woods is 5 under through his first 11 holes after his third birdie of the day (he also has an eagle) to get to 7 under for the week. Woods is still four shots off the lead, but he’s now tied for fourth with only two players separating him from McIlroy. 1:25 p.m.: Rory McIlroy has had a couple of looks at birdie through his first three holes but has failed to convert either of them. On the first hole, he missed a 10-footer and had to settle for par, and on the par-5 third just now he missed from just outside 15 feet. Tom Gillis did not miss, though, and thanks to his second birdie of the day he is now one back of McIlroy. Charl Schwartzel, meanwhile, is now in third by himself after playing his first four holes in 2 under. 1:05 p.m.: Thanks to an eagle and two birdies, Tiger Woods is now 6 under for the week and five shots off the lead. He’s still a long way from contending of course, but Woods is putting well with 11 putts through seven holes. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy made a big par save from about 13 feet on the second hole after missing the green short on his approach. Tom Gillis, who was within a stroke of McIlroy after a birdie on the first hole, gave it right back with a bogey on No. 2 after missing a par save from just inside 12 feet. 12:46 p.m.: What was a two-stroke lead at the start of the day for Rory McIlroy is down to one after Tom Gillis birdied the opening hole, where he hit his approach to just over 7 feet and made the putt. McIlroy and Harris English, meanwhile, both parred the hole. McIlroy had a look at birdie from just inside 11 feet but slid it past the hole, while English got up-and-down from just short of the green. 12:30 p.m.: The final group of Rory McIlroy, Harris English and Tom Gillis has teed off here at PGA National, where Justin Rose and Charl Schwartzel have cut into their lead a little bit. Both birdied the first hole and are three and four shots back, respectively, of McIlroy, who leads English and Gillis by two. 12 p.m.: Despite the wet conditions, the ball is being played down here in the final round at PGA National, where some low starts are popping up. Tiger Woods, who played just one hole before was suspended earlier, is 2 under through his first three holes, while Lee Westwood and Erik Compton are both 3 under early in their rounds. Spencer Levin is also 2 under through 3 holes. They all still have a long way to go, however, with Rory McIlroy at 11 under. McIlroy will tee off in 20 minutes. 11:45 a.m.: Play resumed about 15 minutes ago with a couple of players taking advantage of what are some pretty soft conditions after rain rolled through the area earlier. Lee Westwood played his first three holes in 3 under, while Erik Compton was 2 under through his first three holes. Because of the delay, the leaders won’t tee off until 12:20 p.m. This is the third time Rory McIlroy has taken a lead to the final round, and he’s 1-for-2 in that situation having of course gone on to an easy victory in last year’s U.S. Open.

1:03 PM

PGA TOUR Today

Round 4 preview

Amanda Balionis and the SiriusXM crew breaks down Sunday's action at PGA National.


March 3 2012

11:35 PM

Final update: McIlroy leads by two

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Twice before on the PGA TOUR Rory McIlroy has led after 54 holes. The last time came at the U.S. Open and you saw how that turned out.

Thanks to a 4-under 66 Saturday at a windswept PGA National, McIlroy holds a two-shot advantage over Harris English and Tom Gillis entering the final round of The Honda Classic, where he seems poised to win for the first time since the historic performance at Congressional Country Club nine months ago.

“I have to just try and focus on what I've been trying to do all week, which is hit fairways and hit greens,” McIlroy said. “Really stay in the present, stay in the moment and not think about everything else that could happen.”

Should McIlroy win, he would moved to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Gillis, meanwhile, is just looking for victory No. 1 in a career that has spanned more than two decades for the 43-year-old.

A native of nearby Jupiter, Fla., Gillis shot a 1-under 69 Saturday. He’s made just two bogeys all week.

English has won before. His lone victory came on the Nationwide Tour last year when he was an amateur and still in school at the University of Georgia. After a 66 Saturday, he has a chance to cash his first winners’ check.

Three others, including Justin Rose and Brian Harman, who torched the course record with a 61 in the second round, are two more shots back at 7 under but certainly not out of it.

If Tiger Woods, who is playing in The Honda Classic for the first time in his professional career, is going to win he’s going to need something spectacular. Woods is seven shots back and tied for 18th after a 69 on Saturday.


December 1 2011

10:30 PM

Wind wreaking havoc at q-school

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Q-school has plenty of pressure all on its own. Add in winds consistently in the 20-25 mph range -- with gusts as high as 50 -- and scoring has taken on a whole new meaning here in the second round. Case in point: As of this moment, only nine players have recorded rounds in the 60s. Seven more players failed to break 80, including Brendan Pappas, who shot 86 -- currently the highest score in the books Thursday.

As for the leaderboard, there’s still a long way to go here in the second of six rounds at PGA West. Matt Jones, however, was one of those players to break 70, carding a 68 on the Stadium Course to earn a share of the lead at 9 under. Harris English and Will Claxton are also 9 under, but they are still on the golf course.

Some other notable names in the top 25 on the leaderboard: Billy Hurley III, Vaughn Taylor, Jeff Maggert, Dean Wilson, Bob Estes, Troy Merritt, Adam Hadwin and Sam Saunders.