The weekend golf recap includes the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world continued to struggle in California, an Australian claimed victory in an inaugural tournament in Malaysia and an unheralded young golfer from Japan pulled out her first victory on the LPGA Tour. It was another busy weekend filled with intriguing storylines throughout the golf world. Here is our golf recap of the results from this past weekend.
Northern Trust Open (PGA)
Bubba Watson overcame the pain of passing kidney stones and played some flawless golf in the final round of the Northern Trust Open to emerge with his first victory of 2016. Two shots behind with four holes to play, Watson hit a pair of birdies on the final three holes to overtake Jason Kokrak and Adam Scott for the win at Riviera for the second time in three years. He’s clearly shown an affinity for this course and you’ll have to keep him in mind when we’re handicapping the 2017 Northern Trust Open.
Watson moved back to No. 4 in the world with the win. Watson passed the kidney stone on the Monday, but was in fine form by the time the tournament got underway on Thursday. By Sunday, he was playing his best golf of the season. That certainly wasn’t the case for world No. 1 Jordan Spieth, who posted the worst round of his career on the Thursday and ended up missing the cut. That’s a tough pill to swallow for the bettors who backed him as he was one of the pre-tournament favorites. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy, who was the betting co-favorite for the event along with Spieth, was tied for the lead in the final round after hitting an eagle on the par-five opening hole, but collapsed after that. McIlroy hit seven bogeys the rest of the way. He failed to hit another birdie until the final hole en route to finishing tied for 20th. It was another disappointing week for the Speith versus McIlroy storyline and even worse for bettors who laid backed the two chalks. At this point, you’ll want to avoid Spieth and his expensive price tags until we see more from him. He just doesn’t look like he’s in good form right now and is not a wise bet. As for Watson, he ultimately stole the show as the Northern Trust Open winner.
Northern Trust Open Results
Bubba Watson -5
Adam Scott -3
John Kokrak -3
Dustin Johnson -3
K.J. Choi -2
Maybank Championship Malaysia (EPGA)
Taking a look at the EPGA golf recap, Australian Marcus Fraser took advantage of Soomin Lee’s dramatic collapse to claim the victory at the inaugural Maybank Championship Malaysia over the weekend. The South Korean Lee led by two strokes heading into the final three holes in Kuala Lumpur only to double-bogey on both the 16th and 18th holes. It was a fairly ugly collapse given that he was in the driver’s seat. That opened the door for Fraser to slide in to top spot. Fraser would finish with a three-under 68 for a two-shot win and earn his first European title since 2010. Lee finished tied for second along with Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines.
Mayback Championship Malaysia Results
Marcus Fraser -15
Miguel Tabuena -13
Soomin Lee -13
Julien Quesne -12
Jorge Campillo -12
ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open (LPGA)
All eyes were on the No. 1 ranked golfer on the LPGA Tour when the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open teed off and she was in it until the very end before ultimately being forced to settle for second place. Japan’s Haru Nomura stole the show with a solid seven-under 65 on the final day to edge out Ko by three strokes for the victory. It was Nomura’s first career LPGA tournament victory. Meanwhile, Ko was right in the mix following a birdie on 13, but failed to hit another over the final five holes and was ultimately forced to settle for the runner-up position in a surprise upset. Finishing up our golf recap, Karrie Webb was among the other notable performers with a nine-under to finish third while Canadian Brooke Henderson finished tied for ninth at seven-under.
ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open Results
Haru Nomura -16
Lydia Ko -13
Karrie Webb -9
Beth Allen -8
Ha-Na Jang -8
