Global Golf Post - October 24, 2011

SOUTHAMPTON, BERMUDA | Never
mind that there were only four players
in the field, and never mind that the
event was only 36 holes. Keegan Brad-
ley knew who he was up against and
the outcome mattered.
Bradley, the PGA Championship
winner, holed a five-foot par putt on the
final hole to win the PGA Grand Slam,
the yearly event that features the year’s
four major championship winners.
Keegan Bradley
The tournament tightened in the
middle of the second day and the
outcome came down to two players.
Bradley’s par on the 36th hole gave him
a one-shot victory over Masters cham-
pion Charl Schwartzel.
“It was a lot more intense than I
thought it was going to be,” Bradley said.
“Maybe because of the players that were
here. I’m sure everybody wanted to win
it. And coming down the stretch, it felt
like any other tournament that I played
in. It was very, very intense, and I was
nervous over that five-footer to win.”
Bradley, who won $600,000 of the
$1.35 million purse, shot an even-
par 71 at Port Royal Golf Course in
Wednesday’s second round to go with a
67 in the first round to finish at 4-un-
der 138. Schwartzel battled back from
a 3-over 74 in the first round and tied
the course record on Wednesday with a
6-under 65.
Rory McIlroy, the U.S. Open cham-
pion, shared the first-round lead with
Bradley with a 67 but gave it all back
with a 75 on Wednesday to finish at
even-par 142, four shots back. Darren
Clarke, the Open Championship winner,
was never in contention and posted
rounds of 77-74 – 151.
Bradley made two eagles on his
front nine in the first round to turn at
6-under 30 and held a seven-shot lead
for a while. But he made two bogeys on
the back nine to allow McIlroy to catch
him.

Mike Purkey

TY ADVANCES, TADD OUT AT Q-SCHOOL

Former teen prodigies Ty Tryon and
Tadd Fujikawa went in opposite direc-
tions last weekend during the first wave
of the PGA Tour’s First Stage Qualifying.
Tryon, now 27, recovered from an
opening 79 at Stonebridge Ranch CC in
McKinney, Tex., to finish T15 and well
within the cut, which was the top 22 and
ties at all the first-stage stops.
The 20-year-old Fujikawa, however,
struggled at The Club at Irish Creek in
Kannapolis, N.C., finishing at 14-over
298 for a T69 finish in the 76-player
field.
Also advancing from Stonebridge
was Camilo Villegas’ former caddie
Brett Waldman, who matched Tryon’s
finish. Not so fortunate was Jay Haas
Jr., who was on the bag when his
brother Bill won the $10 million FedEx
Cup Playoff bonanza. He finished T49 at
Stonebridge.
The most convincing performance of
the weekend came from Jupiter, Fla.’s
Clint Jensen at Irish Creek. He won by
11 shots.
CHOI WINS NAMESAKE TOURNAMENT
K.J. Choi claimed a convincing two-
stroke victory in his own tournament,
the inaugural CJ Invitational in Korea
after closing with a 5-under-par 67 on
Sunday.
The 41-year-old Choi overcame an
overnight three-shot deficit with an
outward 34 before taking a firm grip
of the US$750,000 tournament, sanc-
tioned by the Asian Tour and Korean
Golf Tour, with three birdies on the
homeward nine in front of large gal-
leries at the Haesley Nine Bridges Golf
Club.
to read more.

BONDAD EARNS FIRST LET TITLE

Australian Frances Bondad came
from two strokes behind overnight
leader Pan Yan Hong to lift her maiden
trophy as a professional at the Sanya
Ladies Open in Hainan, China.
The 23-year-old from Greystanes in
New South Wales birdied the final hole
at Yalong Bay Golf Club to edge one
stroke clear of Scotland’s Vikki Laing.
Bondad earned a one-stroke victory
at 205, 11-under par, securing a first-
prize cheque for € 30,000 and a three-
year exemption to the Ladies European
Tour.

WRIGHT WINS WA PGA
Thirty-seven-year-old Queenslander
Michael Wright won the Brunel West
Australian PGA Championship by one
shot over Terry Pilkadaris in a dramatic
finale at The Novotel Vines Resort and
Country Club.
Wright battled it out with Pilkadaris
until the very last hole where he
claimed the win.
to read more.
FICHARDT IN SUNSHINE CRUISE
Darren Fichardt shot a final-round
68 to win the Suncoast Classic by six
strokes at Durban Country Club on Sat-
urday. Fichardt took his 12th Sunshine
Tour victory after closing the R500,000
event at 13-under par.
to read more.