May 20 2013

10:45 AM

Shots of the Week

Check out the top-five shots of the week from the HP Byron Nelson Championship and BMW Charity Pro-Am featuring highlights from Sang-Moon Bae, Walt Dennis, Jason Dufner, Tom Gillis, and John Huh.

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10:04 AM

Guan to play in the Memorial

 

Guan Tianlang has made two cuts in three PGA TOUR starts this year. (Revere/Getty Images)

By PGATOUR.COM 

Guan Tianlang has accepted an exemption to compete in the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance. The event will take place May 27 to June 2 at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

Guan, 14, last month became the youngest player to make a cut in a major championship in PGA TOUR history when he finished 58th at The Masters Tournament with a 12-over-par 300 aggregate. His invitation to the first major of the season came by way of his victory at the 2012 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. A native of Guangzhou, China, Guan followed up his performance at Augusta National Golf Club by making the cut two weeks later at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he finished 71st at 4-over 292. Last week he missed the cut at the HP Byron Nelson Championship after rounds of 70 and 77.

Fans will be able to watch Guan's first two rounds at the Memorial through PGATOUR.COM's LIVE@ coverage.

“I am very excited to accept the invitation to play at the Memorial Tournament,” Guan said. “It is Jack Nicklaus’ event, and the same as all the golf fans out there I have very high respect to Mr. Nicklaus, not just as a golf legend, but also as a great person. He has been actively involved in the development of golf in China, and junior golf development worldwide, and as a junior golfer myself I appreciate what he has done to help us grow. My parents and I got the chance to meet him in person at the Masters, and that was one of the highlights of my week at Augusta National. I appreciate a lot the Memorial Tournament for having me there, and it is going to be a great week.”

Guan is ranked No. 78 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

“The Memorial Tournament has been a strong supporter of amateur golf since its inception, and each year the winners of both the U.S. Amateur and British Amateur are always invited to participate,” said Memorial Tournament Founder and Host Jack Nicklaus. “With the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship becoming such an important event in the game of golf, and with the winner earning an invitation to the Masters and a spot in International final qualifying for the British Open, the Captains Club thought it was only appropriate to offer an invitation to the Memorial Tournament. We hope that in the future, we can make this a standard policy with our exemptions."


May 19 2013

8:27 PM

Albers' Sunday observations


Justin Bolli carded Sunday's lone bogey-free round at TPC Four Seasons.

By: Fred Albers, PGA TOUR.COM Correspondent

IRVING, Texas -- Sang-Moon Bae pushed it perfectly. With a one-shot lead and facing a 171-yard tee shot at the 17th hole, Bae pushed his tee shot to the right. A 20-mile per hour wind, gusting from left to right, moved the ball in line with the water hazard. It cleared the water by about five feet, hitting the front of the green. Bae broke out in a big grin as he looked at his caddie, knowing he got away with a mistake that could have cost him the championship. The smile was even bigger 30 minutes latter, when Bae clinched his first PGA TOUR title with a par on the 18th.

Observations

Struggle: Everyone will look at Keegan Bradley’s missed putt from 3 feet, 11 inches at the 16th hole as the tournament’s tipping point. His birdie putt lipped out and Bae had a one shot lead with two holes to play. Bradley always hits his short putts firmly and that one carried a little too much speed to fall. He said he did not know if the pulled was pulled or just broke unexpectedly hard to the left.

It certainly was a key moment in the tournament but Bradley had other chances on a day that he termed “a struggle.” He left an 11-foot birdie putt short on the 10th hole and then three-putted from 17 feet for bogey at the 11th. Moon was struggling during that stretch and if Bradley had applied pressure at that critical juncture, the outcome might have been different. To his credit, Bradley said, “Moon played better than I did today. He deserved to win.”

Assist: Bae should send a thank you note to David Feherty. The CBS announcer might have saved Bae’s victory with a keen eye at the ninth hole. Bae drove the ball far left and tried to hit a high hook, over trees onto the green. It was a terribly foolish shot for someone who was 4 under and ultimately led to a double-bogey but it could have been worse. Nobody saw the ball land. Bae  looked at the lateral water hazard, right of the green but you can’t just assume the ball had entered the hazard. Someone needed to confirm the ball actually went into the water or it would be treated as a lost ball with a stroke and distance penalty. Feherty was the only one who saw it fly into the hazard. Bae was able to drop by the green, instead of re-hitting the shot.

Bogey free: Justin Bolli had one heck of a day, shooting a bogey-free 65. It was the only bogey free round of the day and Bolli hit just eight greens. He scrambled his way around the course, leading the tournament in scrambling and taking just 21 putts. Bolli had won just $206,605 and ranked 151st in FedEx Cup points at the start of the week.

Tee times: TPC Four Seasons was at its most vulnerable early on Thursday. Keegan Bradley teed off at 7:40 a.m., shot 10 under and played the next 54 holes in one under. Of the top nine players, only two of them -- Justin Bolli and Charley Hoffman -- had afternoon tee times on Thursday. If you played late in the opening round, you were playing catch-up the entire tournament.

Medallion: Byron Nelson use to sit by the 18th green on Sunday and greet players as they left the putting surface. Nelson’s wife, Peggy, now sits on the first tee and says hello to contestants before they begin their final rounds. She wore a large gold medallion around her neck on Sunday that was both striking and historic. It was Nelson’s gold medal from winning the 1937 Masters. Byron had the championship medal made into a necklace for her, saying he considered that Masters his most important victory since it gave him the confidence to not only compete but to win at the highest level.

Fred Albers is a course reporter for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio. For more information on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, click here


8:04 PM

Round 4 highlights

Check out the highlights from the final round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship, won by Sang-Moon Bae.


8:02 PM

Bradley will eventually see positives

Watch Bradley birdie the par-4 15th in Sunday's final round.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

IRVING, Texas -- Keegan Bradley was hoping to go wire-to-wire this week at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. The disappointment of not being able to finish a job that started with a course-record 60 on Thursday stings, but he'll eventually look at the positives from nearly winning his second title at TPC Four Seasons Resort.

"Coming in second is great, which I'll love tomorrow," Bradley said after his final-round 2-over 72 left him at 11 under, two shots shy of Sang-Moon Bae's winning total. "Right now it's a little disappointing."

Bradley entered the final round with a one-shot lead over his playing partner Bae, fell behind by four shots early, then rallied to share the lead after making a putt from inside 18 feet at the 15th hole.

"I hung in there. I chipped away," Bradley said. "I was down four early on. I chipped away and got it back to even with four to play, which is all that I could have asked for. When I made that putt on 15, I was pretty confident that I was going to win this tournament."

But Bae made his short birdie putt on the par-5 16th while Bradley missed his from inside 4 feet. Bradley then bogeyed the 17th to cost himself a chance to win on the 18th.

"I love being in contention so I figured if I could hang and hang and hang, somehow I would find a way," Bradley said. "But just that putt on 16 was the end of it."


5:46 PM

Quick wrap: Bae wins HP Byron Nelson

Sang-Moon Bae captured his first PGA TOUR victory after a final-round 69 at the HP Byron Nelson on Sunday.
(Pennington/Getty Images)

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

IRVING, Texas -- Sang-Moon Bae surged to the lead on the front nine, battled swing issues in the middle of his round, and fought off playing partner Keegan Bradley down the stretch to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday at the TPC Four Seasons Resort.

For the 26-year-old Korean, it's his first PGA TOUR win in his second season on TOUR. With 500 FedExCup points, Bae moves from 95th to 18th in the standings. He also becomes just the fifth Korean player to win a TOUR event.

Bae shot a final-round 1-under 69 to finish at 13 under, with Bradley shooting a 2-over 72 for 12 under. Charl Schwartzel was third at 10 under, with Justin Bolli, after a bogey-free 65, in solo fourth.

Bae is the third first-time TOUR winner in the last four weeks on TOUR (Billy Horschel and Derek Ernst the other two) and the eighth first-time winner of the season.

"The course was really tough," Bae said. "The winds were very strong. I did very well this week."

Bae and Bradley were tied going to the par-5 15th. After both players hit excellent third shots, Bae made his birdie putt from 5 feet, 3 inches, while Bradley -- on the same line -- saw his birdie putt from 3 feet, 11 inches horseshoe out.

"I wouldn't have hit the putt any different," Bradley said. "It's surprising to miss like that."

It was the second par for Bradley on TPC Four Seasons two par 5s on Sunday, as he also parred the seventh hole. Through the first 54 holes, Bradley had posted five birdies and one eagle on those two par 5s and had led the field in par-5 scoring.

Bradley had also led the tournament for the first three rounds, seeking to win his second HP Byron Nelson title and fourth TOUR event. He entered Sunday leading Bae by one shot, but saw that lead quickly disappear.

"I'm pretty disappointed but Moon played very well," Bradley said. "He played better than me today, so I'm happy for him."

Bae posted four birdies in his first eight holes while Bradley bogeyed the par-4 third. When Bae walked off the eighth green, he had a four-stroke lead.

But he double-bogeyed the ninth and bogeyed the 10th. When he bogeyed the 15th while Bradley posted his first birdie of the day, the two were now co-leaders.

Just as quickly, though, Bae went back in front at the 16th when Bradley's putt lipped out.


5:45 PM

Congratulate Sang-Moon Bae

Sang-Moon Bae carded a final-round 69, coming from behind to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday for his first PGA TOUR victory.

Want to congratulate Bae? Leave a note in the comments section below and we'll deliver it to him.


5:02 PM

Bradley finally makes birdie in Rd. 4

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

IRVING, Texas -- It took 15 holes, but Keegan Bradley finally has made a birdie in Sunday's final round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

And now he has regained a share of the lead heading to the final three holes.

Bradley's birdie putt from 17 feet, 7 inches at the par-4 15th was set up with a great approach shot and moved him to 12 under. Tournament leader Sang-Moon Bae then followed by seeing his par putt from 4 feet, 8 inches lip out, dropping him to 12 under and into a tie with Bradley.

Bae had led playing partner Bradley by four shots through eight holes, but a double bogey at the ninth brought him back to the pack. Bradley had suffered two bogeys with no birdies through his first 14 holes before making the birdie putt, which he followed with a fist pump.

Charl Schwartzel continues to hang around and is only one shot off the lead going to his final hole of the day.


4:38 PM

Watch Bae birdie the sixth hole

IRVING, Texas -- Sang-Moon Bae hit his approach shot from 132 yards at the par-4 sixth to within 5 feet to set up his birdie putt in the final round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

Bae currently leads Keegan Bradley by two shots through 13 holes Sunday.


3:46 PM

Bae's lead cut in half heading to back 9

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

IRVING, Texas -- Sang-Moon Bae was in control of the HP Byron Nelson Championship after eight holes on Sunday. But as the final group makes the turn, it might be Keegan Bradley who has the momentum.

Bae was enjoying a four-shot lead thanks to a superb putting display early Sunday. But an errant tee shot, followed by an approach shot that found the water, left him with a double bogey at the par-4 ninth.

Meanwhile, Bradley -- the 54-hole leader who had seen Bae sprint past him on the front nine -- made a clutch 14-1/2 foot par-saving putt that left him pumping his fist after the ball dropped. That left Bradley at 12 under while Bae dropped to 14 under.

Bae made putts of 26 feet, 7 inches at the third; 22 feet, 1 inche at the fifth; and 11 feet, 4 inches at the eighth to grab the lead. The second-year pro is seeking his first PGA TOUR win.