The Masters 2009
Anegel Cabrera held his nerve to win the 2009 Masters, his second major of his career. It was a dramatic sudden-death playoff In which he defeated Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell to claim the coverted green jacket. Kenny perry and Chad Campbell played some gutsy golf but in the end, it was the steady game of Cabrera which claimed victory. Sudden-death playoffs are a cruel way to decide a tournament, however, Cabrera truely deserved victory.
It was a relatively unusual Masters this year. With benign conditions for most of the days play, the course wasn’t at It’s menacing playability. A few players got caught out on the first days play by showing the great Augusta national course a little too much respect. Chad Campbell capatilised on these conditions however on the opening round by carding a 7 under 65, which included 5 birdies on his opening 5 holes, which was the tournaments best start by any player.
I was expecting to see Tiger Woods to be pushing the leaders In the final round but he hadn’t quite captalised on the conditions In the earlier rounds. He did finish off the tournament strong carding a final round 4 under, to finish up with 8 under for the tournament, posting a tied finish for 5th.
Johnnie Walker Classic
As a Perth native, It’s great to see the Johnnie Walker Classic return to The Vines Resort & Country Club. It was a great tournament, with the promising amateur Danny Lee from New Zealand winning by 1 shot. This kid has game. He’s got a good temprament, and an all round package from a powerful long game to a tidy short game. He’ll turn proffesional after the US Masters and I feel he will have a successful professional career.
The fashion was great too. From superstitious #89 shirts to Ian Poulters Johnnie Walker red label and black label clothing outfits. I have to say I feel for John Bikerton. He was co leader going Into the final round and didn’t have a bad last round but he just couldn’t get an ounce of luck. Anthony Kang’s another person I feel sorry for who Imploded in the 3rd round. After leading the tournament after round 2, he shot a 77 and then a 71 final round to finish tied for 48th.
I was a bit dissapointed at seeing Greg Norman and Camilo Villegas miss out on the cut, as well as a whole host of local Australian Players. Still, It was a great tournament with a deserved winner In Danny Lee.
Dubai Desert Classic
The 19 year old superstar Rory MCILROY put In a fantastic performance at the Dubai Desert Classic, scoring 19 under to win by 1 shot from Justin Rose. I heard somewhere that Rory McIlroy has achieved more than what Tiger Woods had at the same age. That Is a fair effort. Maybe this guy will become the new Tiger Woods. Rory has had a great amateur career, where he used to be ranked as the number 1 amateur in the world. His amateur form has been carried through Into his short profesional career. Rising through the world rankings, this kid has great potential to be one of the best golfers In the world. I’ll be watching closely how well he performs this year. The usual suspects were up the top of the leaderboard, with Rose, Stenson and Casey all putting In good performances to claim some of the dough.
Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2009
The Golf was almost as Impressive as the spectacular club house situated behind the 18th green. Paul Casey put In an Impressive display, shooting 21 under with a 65 and a 63 in the second and third round respectively. The third round won It for the Englishman. What Is scary Is that Paul Casey wasn’t on top of his game In the third round where he scored 9 under. The reigning champion Martin Kaymer mounted a decent challenge to retain the title. He especially put the pressure on Casey on the last hole by holing his eagle putt. Although It was just an easy up hill two - putt for Casey to win the tournament by 1 shot.
PGA Tour Mercedes-Benz Championship 2009
In the end, there was only really one player out there, Geoff Ogilvy. Picking up where he left off last summer In Australia, Ogilvy Cruised to a 6 shot winning lead of 24 under. The Aussie nearly played a perfect tournament. His final round was his worst round of the tournament, a 5 under par, which Included 4 bogeys, 6 pars, 7 birdies and an eagle. His other rounds were perfect except for for the second round where he had a blemish on 17, recording a bogey. He showed us a masterclass in putting throughout the tournament, and was a deserved winner of the winners tournament.