Golf Claps & Silent Treatment: BMW Championship
Written by Justin Rose was the ultimate driving machine in winning the BMW Championship. Well, at least for one round.
Justin Rose
The Englishman hauled off the hardware on the strength of a first-round 63 in which he hit every fairway while averaging 304 yards per poke. Rose’s driving stats slipped, but his willpower never wavered; he won by two with a gutsy Sunday finish.
Rose and 29 of his PGA Tour brethren now pack their bags for Atlanta and the Tour Championship, where the 2011 FedEx Cup will be decided. Those in position to cash the $10 million winner’s check include Rose, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Luke Donald and Matt Kuchar.
On with this week’s cheers and jeers…
Golf Claps
Justin Rose: Ah, the sweet smell of success. It has come all too infrequently for Rose, a wondrous talent who won for just the third time in his Tour career with a 13-under total at Chicago’s Cog Hill Golf Club. Clearly the class of a 70-man field, Rose stumbled down the stretch before a chip-in birdie on the 71st hole provided a two-shot cushion.
Rose’s rock-solid par on the tough 18th may be a sign of newfound toughness. For now, the finish puts to rest doubts about Rose’s ability to close out a big tourney.
The Aussies: John Senden and Geoff Ogilvy needed stellar performances just to make the Tour Championship. The Australian pair delivered, placing second and third, respectively, to punch their tickets to Hot-lanta.
Good on ya, mates.
Lexi Thompson: We’d be remiss without a detour to the women’s side, where a girl made history over the weekend. Lexi Thompson, age 16, didn’t just win the Navistar LPGA Classic. She shredded the field by five shots, showing monster talent and a killer instinct that marks her as the golfer Michelle was supposed to be by now.
Of course, Thompson has to become a full-fledged LPGA Tour member before she can set about dominating the game. Golf blogger Stephanie Wei has the details.
Silent Treatment
Dustin Johnson: The defending BMW champ was riding high entering this year’s event, but went off track in a T65 performance. Still Johnson maintained his second-place standing in the FedEx Cup race and stands a good chance of winning it all – provided he can turn things around in a hurry after leading the BMW field in bogeys (23).
Rees Jones: Phil Mickelson’s not the only one who wants to sue the “Open Doctor” for malpractice. Jones’ remodeling of Cog Hill’s revered No. 4 course was panned by the mild-mannered likes of Steve Stricker, who said the owners “need to get their money back” from the veteran architect.
While fans often dismiss players’ course criticisms as mere whining, that’s not the case here. Mickelson, Stricker and others routinely deride Jones’ work for its one-dimensionality, saying his style – marked by over-abundant bunkering and multi-fingered greens -- sucks all strategy from the game.
The operative word being “sucks.”
