The Korea Herald

Coetzee claims first Euro title

Feb 10, 2014

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ― George Coetzee came from four shots back to win the Joburg Open, his first European Tour title, and a place at the British Open on a profitable Sunday for the South African.Coetzee’s final-round 6-under 66, with six birdies and no bogeys, took him to 19-under 268 overall and past compatriots Thomas Aiken and Justin Walters, the overnight co-leaders.The 27-year-old Coetzee was flawless on the East Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club to clinch his maiden title
Walker in control at Pebble

Feb 9, 2014

PEBBLE BEACH, California (AP) ― Jimmy Walker had a hot hand in the cold wind Saturday and built a six-shot lead in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.Walker made his first bogey of the tournament, and that hardly slowed him. He countered with five birdies in 30 mph gusts at Monterey Peninsula for a 4-under 67, leaving him on the verge of his third PGA Tour victory this season.He was at 13-under 202.Tim Wilkinson of New Zealand had a 69 and Hunter Mahan had a 72, both at Monterey Peninsula. Th
Woods to skip WGC Match Play

Feb 7, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Tiger Woods made it official on Thursday, confirming on his website that he’ll skip the WGC Match Play Championship this month.The world number one announced that his next tournament will be the U.S. PGA Tour‘s Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Feb. 27-March 2.After that he’ll play the World Golf Championships Cadillac Championship at Doral near Miami, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando ― in both of which he is the defending champion.The WGC
Molinari in 4-way tie for early lead at Joburg Open

Feb 7, 2014

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ― Edoardo Molinari was in a four-way tie for the first-round lead at the European Tour’s Joburg Open with his 7-under-par 64 on Thursday. The Italian, chasing a British Open place as well as his first title in four years, was joined by Scottish pair Alastair Forsyth and Craig Lee and South African Justin Walters. A 2010 Ryder Cup winner, Molinari opened with three straight birdies at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington and collected eight in all on the par-71 West Course. “The fr
Kevin Stadler wins Phoenix Open

Feb 3, 2014

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (AP) ― Kevin Stadler won the Phoenix Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title when playing partner Bubba Watson missed a 5-footer for par on the final hole.Stadler, the 33-year-old son of PGA Tour winner Craig Stadler, closed with a 3-under 68 for a one-stroke victory over Watson and Canadian Graham DeLaet.Stadler won in his 239th PGA Tour start, earning a spot in the Masters ― a tournament his father won in 1982. The Stadlers are the ninth father-son winners in tour histo
Stallings rallies to win at Torrey

Jan 27, 2014

Choi Kyung-ju finishes in second, one shot back
Korda nabs Bahamas LPGA win

Jan 27, 2014

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) ― Jessica Korda won the season-opening Bahamas LPGA Classic on Sunday for her second tour title, holing a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole to beat Stacy Lewis by a stroke.The 20-year-old Korda closed with a 7-under 66 for a 19-under 273 total on Atlantis Resort’s Ocean Club course. Lewis parred the final four holes ― two of them par 5s ― for a 66.Korda tied Lewis for the lead with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th, then got up-and-down for birdie on the pa
Choi leads in Bahamas

Jan 26, 2014

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) ― Choi Na-yeon shot a 7-under 66 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead in the season-opening Bahamas LPGA Classic, chipping to a foot to set up a birdie on the par-5 18th hole.The seventh-ranked Choi, a seven-time winner on the LPGA Tour, birdied three of the last four holes in her bogey-free round to reach 15 under on Atlantis Resort’s Ocean Club course.“I think the last three rounds I had a really good swing,” Choi said. “I had so many good shots. But I still have
Cink on song at Torrey Pines

Jan 24, 2014

LA JOLLA, California (AFP) ― Stewart Cink fired an 8-under-par 64 on Thursday to seize the lead in the Farmers Insurance Open as Tiger Woods launched his 2014 season with a first-round 72.Cink, seeking his first win since his 2009 British Open triumph, played without a bogey on the Torrey Pines North Course, the easier of the two layouts in use for the tournament.He had a one-shot lead over fellow American Gary Woodland, whose 65 on the North Course included an eagle and five birdies.Australians
Lydia Ko tied for lead in Bahamas Classic

Jan 24, 2014

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) ― New Zealand teen Lydia Ko took a share of the lead in her first start as a U.S. LPGA Tour member, matching Meena Lee with a 5-under 68 in the season-opening Bahamas LPGA Classic on Thursday. The 16-year-old Ko turned pro late last year. She won the Canadian Women’s Open in the last two years as an amateur and closed last season with a victory in a non-tour event in Taiwan in her second pro start. Ranked No. 4 in the world, she had six birdies and a bogey on Atlant
Reed holds on at Humana Challenge

Jan 20, 2014

LA QUINTA, California (AP) ― Patrick Reed lost his putting touch for a few hours in the final round of the Humana Challenge. He found it when things were getting interesting.After shooting three straight 9-under 63s to open a seven-stroke lead, Reed had a 1-under 71 on Sunday at PGA West’s Arnold Palmer Private Course to beat Ryan Palmer by two strokes.Finally resembling the guy who talked Saturday about being in a “putting coma,” Reed ran in an 18-footer for birdie on the par-3 15th to push his
Kirk moves into the lead at Sony Open

Jan 12, 2014

HONOLULU (AP) ― Will Wilcox finally got around to making his debut as a PGA Tour rookie and was surprised as anyone to be in the final group at the Sony Open.As for Chris Kirk and Harris English, it’s no surprise at all.Kirk got up-and-down from a bunker on the par-5 18th by making a 10-foot birdie putt for a 5-under 65, giving him a one-shot lead going into the final round of a Sony Open that remains up for grabs among at least a dozen players.Cloudy conditions and only a gentle, Pacific breeze
Bae grabs early lead at Sony Open

Jan 10, 2014

HONOLULU (AP) ― Bae Sang-moon made seven birdies in pristine conditions along the shores of Oahu for a bogey-free 63 and the early lead in the Sony Open on Thursday.Bae needed every one of them to stay ahead of Chris Kirk, who was in his group.Kirk rallied for a 29 on the back nine of Waialae Country Club and was one shot behind among the early starters in the U.S. PGA Tour’s first full-field event of the year. Bae and Kirk had a better-ball score of 56.Both opened 2014 on Maui last week in the
Johnson wins opening PGA event of 2014

Jan 7, 2014

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) ― Zach Johnson started the new year the same way he ended the last one ― holding a trophy.Johnson pulled away with three straight birdies on the back nine at Kapalua and closed with a 7-under 66 for a one-shot victory over Jordan Spieth in the Tournament of Champions on Monday.Johnson didn’t need any heroics, like holing out from a drop zone on the last hole when he beat Tiger Woods in the World Challenge last month in California. This victory was mainly about chipping and p
Park In-bee voted top female golfer of 2013 by U.S. golf writers

Jan 3, 2014

South Korean LPGA Tour star Park In-bee has been voted the top female golfer for 2013 by American golf journalists.The Golf Writers Association of America announced on Thursday, U.S. time, that Park received 91 percent of the vote to easily capture the Female Player of the Year honors.Park won the first three major championships of the LPGA Tour season in 2013 and led women's golf with six wins overall. The 25-year-old became the first LPGA golfer to win the first three majors of a season since