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International News
Colombian Camilo Villegas won the Honda Classic
title at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, by five shots from second-placed
American Anthony Kim, his third PGA Tour title. Villegas dropped three
strokes in five holes on the back nine, however, he finished in style with a
long putt for birdie at the 18th to card a round of 68 and a total of 13
under for his week. The win took Villegas up 9 places to World Nº 12.
South Korean Noh Seung-yul became the youngest professional in history
to win an European Tour event when he edged out compatriot K J Choi to claim
the Maybank Malaysian Open following a dramatic finale at Kuala Lumpur Golf
& Country Club. Noh won on the Asian Tour in 2008 and now holds cards in
Asia, Europe and Japan. The win takes the teenager to Nº 130 and a jump of
136 places. At the other end of the age scale 48-year-old Steve Pate
defeated Aaron Watkins in a playoff to capture the Pacific Rubiales Bogota
Open and become the oldest tournament winner in Nationwide Tour history.
Pate started the week with no World Ranking Points and this win takes him to
World Nº 424.
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Ernie Els ended two years without a win in superb
style at the WGC-CA Championship in Miami with a final round of 66 for an
18-under-par total and four stroke win over fellow South African house guest
Charl Schwartzel. Three strokes further back in joint third were German
Martin Kaymer, American Matt Kuchar and Ireland's Padraig Harrington. The
win puts Els back into the Official World Golf Ranking Top Ten, a place
where he has spent more weeks - 759 now - than any other player since the
rankings started in 1986. Els moved to Nº 8, a jump of 12 places.
The
Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular ran over to a Monday finish and
Rookie Derek Lamely won in only his twelfth ever PGA Tour start. This win
took him to Nº 103 and an improvement of 104 places.
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Jim Furyk
picked up his 14th PGA Tour victory, and the the first since 2007, when he
won the Transitions Championship from Korean KJ Choi at the Copperhead
course at Palm Harbor's Innisbrook Resort in Florida. After a thunderstorm
delay of almost four hours the 39-year-old American scored a last round 69
which placed him just a single stroke clear of Choi who scored a fine 67
which included four birdies in the first six holes. The win moved Furyk up
three places to Nº 6 in the World Golf Ranking.
Rhys Davies secured
his maiden European Tour title at the Trophée Hassan II in Morocco as he
overhauled Louis Oosthuizen to win by two shots. The 24 year old Welshman
was two behind the South African going into the final round, but shot a
seven under 66 to Oosthuizen’s 70 at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam to finish 25
under. Davies entered comfortably into the World Top 100 as he climbed 40
places to Nº 81.
Ernie Els
won the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard finishing his
final 4 holes on Monday morning after torrential rain on the Sunday
afternoon. He moved up one position to Nº 7.
Louis Oosthuizen won the
Open de Golf de Andalucia in Malaga, Southern Spain and earns a spot at the
Masters Tournament as a result. He climbed to World Nº 44. That week’s other
winners were Fabian Gomez at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open on the Nationwide
Tour and Robert Dinwiddie at the Kenya Open on the European Challenge Tour.
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