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Monday, May 21, 2012

Nick Flanagan wins BMW Charity Pro-Am (The Associated Press)

Posted by Yahoo! Sports - Golf News on May 20, 2012

GREER, S.C. (AP) Nick Flanagan won the Nationwide Tour's BMW Charity Pro-Am for the second time in six years, beating fellow Australian Cameron Percy on Sunday with a par on the third hole of a playoff.

Flanagan, a three-time winner on the tour in 2007, closed with a 4-under 67 on the Thornblade Club course to match Percy at 15-under 271. Percy finished with a 66.

Flanagan birdied the final hole in regulation, while Percy closed with a bogey.

Percy, leading at 16 under in the group ahead of Flanagan, missed a 10-foot par putt on the 72nd hole. Flanagan hooked his second shot at the 491-yard, par-4 18th, with the ball hitting a television cameraman and caroming onto the green, nearly clipping the cup before settling 15 feet away to set up his birdie.

''Sometimes it's better to be lucky rather than good, obviously. You've got to take every break you can get out here,'' Flanagan said. ''The birdie putt was pretty much straight away and I had a pretty good read. As soon as I hit it I felt like it was going in. It bobbled on the way, but it had enough speed to get there.''

They played the uphill 18th three more times in the playoff, with Percy handing the title to Flanagan with a double bogey on the third extra hole. Flanagan won with a tap-in par.

Percy's tee shot on the third extra hole went into the trees to the left after hitting a cart path, while Flanagan was in the middle of the fairway.

''I just hit a bad tee shot on that last one,'' Percy said. ''I tried to hit it too hard. When it hit the path I was in all kinds of trouble.''

They opened the playoff with bogeys, then traded pars.

''It's a tough finish when you're hitting 5-irons and 6-irons into the hole,'' Flanagan said. ''It's just a matter of endurance and getting it somewhere near the green and making a par.''

Making only his second start on the tour this year, Flanagan earned $108,000 to jump to 11th on the money list. He also played in the PGA Tour's Wells Fargo Championship, missing the cut.

''It's pretty amazing. I didn't feel like I was playing that well coming into the week,'' Flanagan said. ''I decided to come out and try to just get the ball in the hole, which I haven't done for a long time. I've still got a lot of work to do to get all the way back to where I was, but to win this week feels like I'm a heck of a lot closer.''

Darron Stiles and Robert Streb tied for third, a stroke back. Stiles closed with a 66, and Streb shot a 67.

Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer's grandson and former Clemson player, shot a 67 to finish another stroke back along with Aaron Watkins and Canada's Brad Fritsch. Aaron Watkins finished with a 67, and Fritsch had a 70.

Tour Report: Mickelson makes noise on ‘fun day’ (PGA Tour)

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Watch: Mickelson birdies the 12th

Phil Mickelson rolled in a birdie putt from 14 feet, 10 inches at the 12th hole during Sunday's final round.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

IRVING, Texas — Phil Mickelson started Sunday’s final round six shots off the pace and figuring he had little chance to make a legitimate run at the lead. But perhaps if he made a little noise …

… which he did.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Mickelson reeled off four consecutive birdies on the front nine and would eventually climb into a tie for third at one point early on his back nine, just two strokes off the lead.

But pressing hard for birdies on the last two holes to give himself any shot, Mickelson finished bogey-bogey for a final-round 4-under 66 and a tie for seventh at 6 under, five shots behind eventual winner Jason Dufner.

"I had a great day today," Mickelson said. "The wind was calm and left the golf course susceptible to birdies. I got hot with the putter. I didn’t knock down the pins but I gave myself some putts and made a few and it was nice to see some of them going in."

During his four-birdie streak, Mickelson made putts of 11 feet, 7 feet, 11 feet and 30 feet, then added another 15-footer at the 12th hole. His short birdie putt at the par-5 16th kept his slim hopes alive.

But after a terrific tee shot at the par-3 17th, he missed a birdie putt from 14 feet, 4 inches, and that seemed to deflate him. The par-saving comebacker spun around the lip, and Mickelson’s bid was done. At 18, he found the water with his second shot before nearly holing his par-saving chip.

"I had a chance for a good putt and when I missed it, certainly I was disappointed," Mickelson said about his birdie putt at 17. "I felt like if I could get the last two, you never know."

Overall, Mickelson enjoyed his first start in this event since 2007. His young daughter Sophie flew into town, and the two were able to spend quality time together.

"It was a great week," Mickelson said. "It was my date weekend with my daughter, Sophie. We took in (two Texas) Rangers games, Six Flags, water parks, all kinds of things and had a great week."


Tour Report: Watch: Pride’s 23-foot putt to save par (PGA Tour)

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Dufner’s 25-foot birdie putt on 18 wins Nelson (The Associated Press)

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IRVING, Texas (AP) Jason Dufner made a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday for a one-stroke victory in the Byron Nelson Championship, his second victory in four weeks.

The winning putt wrapped up a closing 3-under 67 for an 11-under 269 total, one ahead of Dicky Pride.

Dufner got his first PGA Tour victory at New Orleans on April 29, then took a week off to get married. He also led alone by one stroke after the second and third rounds at the TPC at Four Seasons course.

Pride, whose only PGA Tour victory in a 20-year professional career came in 1994, was at 10 under with a par-saving 22-foot putt at No. 18 after hitting his drive into the water.

Moments later, Dufner made a putt that was only a few feet longer but on virtually the same line as the one Pride made to finish his round of 67.

J.J. Henry, who had an early hole-in-one, was in the lead at 11 under after consecutive birdies at Nos. 15 and 16, overcoming a bad tee shot on the first and a greenside bunker on the second.

But Henry, in the final group with Dufner, hit his tee shot at the par-3 17th over the green. The former TCU star lost the lead with a double bogey after a 4-foot putt slid just outside the cup.

After watching Henry's meltdown, Dufner made a tap-in par at No. 17 and then hit a big drive on No. 18 in the middle of the fairway. He hit his approach to the middle of the green, avoiding a playoff with the long putt and joining Hunter Mahan as the only two-time winners this season.

Pride had made a 13-foot birdie putt at No. 17.

Joe Durant, who was the final alternate added to the Nelson field, shot a 65 to finish in a tie for third at 271 with Henry (68), Marc Leishman (66) and rookie Jonas Blixt (66).

Phil Mickelson, making his first Nelson start in five years, had four consecutive birdies on the front nine and went on to a round of 66 to finish four strokes back. He tied for seventh with Ken Duke, who also had a string of four birdies in a row in his own 66.

While Henry and Dufner were playing the 17th hole, Pride drove his tee shot at No. 18 left into the water. After his drop, Pride hit his approach to 22 feet and made that par-saving putt to remain at 10 under, letting out a scream when the ball dropped into the hole.

Pride, who went to the University of Alabama, then watched the final group play the 18th hole and waiting to see if he would be in a playoff. Even he had to applaud on the clinching putt by Dufner, who went to rival Auburn.

Matt Kuchar, the fifth-ranked player who won The Players Championship a week earlier, had 70 and finished at 276 in a tie for 15th. He was trying to become the first PGA Tour player since Tiger Woods in 2009 to win in consecutive weeks.

Henry's ace came at the 154-yard No. 5 hole, when he hit a pitching wedge. When the ball rolled back into the cup, Henry thrust both of his arms in the air, then had an emphatic uppercut and he celebrated with the gallery.

After Henry's drive at the 504-yard 15th was way right and under a tree, he hit his approach to the middle of the green and made a 32-foot birdie putt that led to another, though more subdued fistpump. His approach at the easier par-5 16th went in a greenside bunker, but he blasted inside 2 1/2 feet for a birdie to get to 11 under.

Then came the tee shot at No. 17 that carried over the green on the opposite side of the hole.

Dufner had consecutive bogeys at Nos. 2 and 3, but quickly responded with consecutive birdies on the following two holes.

After a bogey at No. 11 following a bad tee shot, Dufner got back to 10 under with his birdie at the par-5 16th, when he blasted out of a greenside bunker to 6 feet.

The last of Mickelson's four birdies in a row came when he holed a 30-footer at the 461-yard eighth hole. That got him at 6 under at about the same time the final group of Henry and Dufner were finishing at No. 1, both at 8 under.

Mickelson was 8 under after a birdie at the par-5 16th, but his 3 1/2-foot par putt at the following par 3 circled the cup and rolled back toward him for his first bogey of the day. He finished with another bogey at No. 18, though that could have been worse after his approach from the rough went into the water. After his drop, his 54-foot par-saving putt rolled over the cup, banged into the edge but didn't drop.

Vijay Singh, a 34-time PGA Tour winner whose last victory was in 2008, was within two strokes of the lead after his third-round 66. But he hit his first tee shot Sunday into the rough and his second into a greenside bunker on way to bogeys on his first three holes and a 71 for a ninth-place tie at 275.

Tour Report: Henry posts go-ahead ace (PGA Tour)

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IRVING, TexasJ.J. Henry used a pitching wedge to record the third hole-in-one of his career, as he aced the par-3 fifth in Sunday’s final round of the HP Byron Nelson Champion.

Henry, who had been tied for the lead prior to hitting his tee shot, briefly took a two-shot lead with the ace. But playing partner Jason Dufner ended up with birdie on the same hole to reduce the lead to one.

The hole-in-one was Henry’s second of the year. He had one in the first rounf of the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com.

The ace was the first at the HP Byron Nelson Championship since Ken Duke aced the second hole in the second round of 2010.

Should Henry go on to win, he would be the first winner of a PGA TOUR event to have an ace in the same week since Steve Stricker at last year’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance.

Jonathan Byrd was the last champion to post an ace on the final day. His ace came in a playoff to win the 2010 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.


Tour Report: Live Rd. 4 updates: News and notes (PGA Tour)

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Live Report Image Carroll/Getty Images

IRVING, Texas – Sunday’s final round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship is underway at the TPC Four Seasons Resort. PGATOUR.COM is on the scene and will have continuous updates throughout the round. Feel free to join the discussion as the final round unfolds.

MORE HP BYRON NELSON: Final round scores | Shot Tracker | Projected FedExCup points


LIVE UPDATES: FINAL ROUND (all times ET)

1:30 p.m. – Phil Mickelson’s on fire. He just posted his fourth consecutive birdie, rolling in a 30-foot putt at the par-4 eighth. That moves him to 6 under and into a tie for fifth, just two strokes off the lead.

1:27 p.m.  – J.J. Henry opened with a birdie, thanks to his approach shot at the opening hole that landed 3 feet from the pin. He’s now at 8 under and tied with playing partner and 54-hole leader Jason Dufner.

1:17 p.m. – Third consecutive birdie for Phil Mickelson, this one at the par-5 seventh with an 11-foot putt. He’s now at 5 under for the tournament and tied for seventh.

1:10 p.m. – David Mathis is having a good day; he’s 3 under through 10 holes, moving him to 4 under for the tournament. No surprise that Mathis is playing well today; he ranks second on the PGA TOUR in final-round scoring average this year. Click for stats

1 p.m. – About the lack of noise from Phil Mickelson? Well, he just woke up. Mickelson rolled in a birdie putt from 11 feet at the par-3 fifth, then followed with another birdie from 7 feet at the par-4 sixth. He’s now at 4 under for the tournament and into a tie for 10th.

12:55 p.m. – Local resident J.J. Henry, one shot behind playing partner Jason Dufner in the final twosome, may have a slight advantage over the rest of the field. “I was actually a player consultant with Harrison Frazar for the D.A. Weibring redesign (of TPC Four Seasons in 2008),” Henry said. “So I feel like I know this golf course pretty well.” Henry and Dufner will tee off at 1:15 p.m.

12:50 p.m. – Jason Day, the 2010 HP Byron Nelson champ who’s in a three-way tie for second going into the final round, said the strategy for winning Sunday is fairly simple: “The guy that obviously makes the least amount of mistakes out there (Sunday) is going to win. That’s just how things are going to go.” Day tees off in 15 minutes with playing partner Dicky Pride in the penultimate group of the day.

12:45 p.m. – Jason Dufner is at the top of the leaderboard entering the final round despite his putter. Through 54 holes, Dufner ranks 66th out of 71 players left in the field in strokes gained-putting. He’s given up 3.5 strokes to the field on the green this week. This is not unusual for Dufner – he entered this week ranked tied for 117th on the PGA TOUR in strokes gained-putting. Fortunately, his ball-striking has been impeccable – he ranks second in driving accuracy and first in greens in regulation in this week’s field.

12:35 p.m. – Phil Mickelson, starting the day six shots off the lead, was hoping to make some early noise, but it hasn’t worked out thus far. He missed a birdie putt inside 9 feet at the first hole and had routine pars on the next three holes. Click here to follow the rest of Mickelson’s round on Shot Tracker

12:30 p.m. – With the leaders teeing off in 45 minutes, a few players with earlier tee times have already jumped out to nice starts. D. A. Points has made the turn at 4 under on his round and is 5 under for the tournament. Ken Duke is 3 under for the day through six holes and also at 5 under. Alex Cejka has already finished, having posted his second 65 of the week; unfortunately, he shot 73-76 in the middle two rounds, leaving him at 1 under for the tournament.


Munoz, Kung advance to Sybase championship match (The Associated Press)

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GLADSTONE, N.J. (AP) Azahara Munoz (Atha-HAR-uh Moon-yoth) of Spain and veteran Candie Kung have advanced to the title match in the Sybase Match Play Championship Sunday.

Munoz won the last three holes to post a 2 and 1 win over 15th-seeded Morgan Pressel in another upset in this surprised-filled event at the Hamilton Farm Golf Club. The 24-year-old NCAA champion who is looking for her first LPGA Tour win was 2 down after nine holes. The 19th seed won four holes on the back nine with three coming on either bogeys or worse by Pressel, who was seeking her first win since 2008.

The 49th-seeded Kung, who hasn't won since 2008, built a 3-up lead after 12 holes before securing the win with a birdie at No. 17.

The title match is Sunday afternoon.

Colsaerts, McDowell reach World Match Play final (The Associated Press)

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CASARES, Spain (AP) Nicolas Colsaerts birdied the second playoff hole to complete a comeback against Paul Lawrie and reach the final of the World Match Play Championship.

Colsaerts will play former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell.

Colsaerts, who lost in the semifinals here last year, was 4 down after four holes but birdied the par-5 last to force a playoff against the 1999 British Open winner.

Both had a par on the 19th - Colsaerts making a 4-foot putt on the par-3 17th - before the Belgian made one from slightly further out to clinch victory.

''I didn't really feel that much pressure because I was 4 down all day, and I could see Paul wanted the match to finish early,'' said Colsaerts, who lost in a playoff to Ian Poulter in the 2011 semis.

Unlike Lawrie, McDowell managed to hold onto his early lead against home favorite Rafael Cabrera-Bello.

The Northern Irishman was 3 up after four holes, but had to wait until No. 18 to celebrate the win and give him the chance of his first tournament victory since the Chevron World Challenge in December 2010.

Cabrera-Bello could have taken the match to extra holes if he made birdie from just off the green but his putt slipped by the left of the cup before conceding after missing an attempt back up the hill.

The Spaniard, whose journey to the last four lifted him into the top 60 in the rankings and sealed a spot in next month's U.S Open, came from 2 down to beat Robert Karlsson in the last 16 and 3 down to overcome Alvaro Quiros in the quarters.

''It was a great game - Rafa is a hell of a player and I didn't want to see the 18th today,'' said McDowell, who made the winning putt for Europe at the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Play was suspended for an hour toward the end of both semifinals because of the threat of lightning. Wind was forecast for the final.

Colsaerts, McDowell reach World Match Play final (The Associated Press)

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CASARES, Spain (AP) Nicolas Colsaerts birdied the second playoff hole to complete a comeback against Paul Lawrie and reach the final of the World Match Play Championship.

Colsaerts will play former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell.

Colsaerts, who lost in the semifinals here last year, was 4 down after four holes but birdied the par-5 last to force a playoff against the 1999 British Open winner.

Both had a par on the 19th - Colsaerts making a 4-foot putt on the par-3 17th - before the Belgian made one from slightly further out to clinch victory.

''I didn't really feel that much pressure because I was 4 down all day, and I could see Paul wanted the match to finish early,'' said Colsaerts, who lost in a playoff to Ian Poulter in the 2011 semis.

Unlike Lawrie, McDowell managed to hold onto his early lead against home favorite Rafael Cabrera-Bello.

The Northern Irishman was 3 up after four holes, but had to wait until No. 18 to celebrate the win and give him the chance of his first tournament victory since the Chevron World Challenge in December 2010.

Cabrera-Bello could have taken the match to extra holes if he made birdie from just off the green but his putt slipped by the left of the cup before conceding after missing an attempt back up the hill.

The Spaniard, whose journey to the last four lifted him into the top 60 in the rankings and sealed a spot in next month's U.S Open, came from 2 down to beat Robert Karlsson in the last 16 and 3 down to overcome Alvaro Quiros in the quarters.

''It was a great game - Rafa is a hell of a player and I didn't want to see the 18th today,'' said McDowell, who made the winning putt for Europe at the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Play was suspended for an hour toward the end of both semifinals because of the threat of lightning. Wind was forecast for the final.

Cabrera-Bello set for 2nd appearance at US Open (The Associated Press)

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CASARES, Spain (AP) Rafael Cabrera-Bello's consolation prize following his semifinal exit at the World Match Play Championship is a spot at next month's U.S. Open.

The 61st-ranked Spaniard missed out on a place in the final of one of his home tournaments when he was beaten by 2 holes by Graeme McDowell on Sunday.

However, the ranking points earned from his week at the Finca Cortesin course will lift him above Italian player Matteo Manassero and into the top 60 when the new rankings are released on Monday, securing a place at the year's second major.

It will be Cabrera-Bello's second appearance at the U.S. Open - he finished tied for 47th in 2010 at Pebble Beach - but he will be returning to the United States with a bigger reputation.

He won the Dubai Desert Classic in February and has played into contention to make Europe's Ryder Cup team for September's match against the U.S. in Medinah, near Chicago.

''I'm proud of myself, it's been a good week,'' said the 27-year-old Cabrera-Bello, whose first and only other tournament victory came at the Austrian Open in 2009.

''Overall I played really well and I'm very excited about the tournaments coming up. It'll great to be at the U.S. Open again.''

This year's U.S. Open will be at the Olympic Club in San Francisco on June 14-17.