The cut fell at +3 this year and a few very notable players failed to better that mark:
Rory McIlory will have to wait another year to attempt to win the career grand slam.
Matt Kuchar has been solid for years at the Masters despite not winning, but this year he missed the cut.
Another player who has historically been a factor deep into the weekend at Augusta National is Jason Day, until this week.
Former champions who missed the cut include Dustin Johnson, Danny Willett, Mike Weir, Sergio Garcia, Zach Johnson, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Fred Couples, Vijay Singh, Larry Mize, Bernard Langer.
Bruce Koepka was visibly struggling to read putts and walk following a recent knee surgery.
Lee Westwood has been one of the hottest golfers on the planet recently, but couldn’t carry that momentum into Augusta.
Welcome to the best week in golf, Masters week! The best part of the Masters tournament isn’t the incredible golf course or the amazing competition, or the traditions. Noooo. The best part is the apparel scripting. Today I have a Hooked on Golf Blog exclusive apparel script for Sergio Garcia and his wife Angela, the 2018 Masters Nappy Scripting.
Sergio Garcia Masters Nappy Scripting
This is truly “a nappy script like no other.” I love how the script pays some respect to Augusta National’s security team, the course, his friend Rickie Fowler, and Tiger Woods. Well played. FORE!
Stay tuned for more exclusive HOG Masters coverage.
PGA TOUR
Hero World Challenge
Dates: Dec. 3-6
Venue: Albany Resort, Albany, Bahamas
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday Noon-4 p.m. (Live) / 4:30-7:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday Noon-4 p.m. (Live) / 4:30-7:30 p.m. (Replay)
Saturday Noon-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 5:30-8 p.m. (Replay)
Sunday Noon-2 p.m. (Live) / 6-11 p.m. (Replay)
Tournament Airtimes on NBC (Eastern):
Saturday 2:30-5 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 2-5 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Leonard to take part in Golf Channel / NBC coverage of Hero World Challenge: 12-time PGA TOUR winner, major champion and 1999 Ryder Cup hero Justin Leonard will work as a tower analyst for Golf Channel and NBC’s live coverage of the event.
Elite field: The field includes six of the top-10 players in the world, and each of the 18 players are currently ranked in the top-43 in the world. 11 of the 12 members of the victorious United States Presidents Cup team also are in the field.
New venue: This week marks the 17th playing of the event, but the first time being held at the Albany Resort on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas. The event is not an official PGA TOUR stop, though players will receive Official World Golf Rankings points.
Spieth defends: World No. 1 Jordan Spieth separated himself from the field with a 10 shot victory at Isleworth Golf & Country Club in Florida last December.
Headlining the field: Paul Casey, Rickie Fowler, Bill Haas, J.B. Holmes, Billy Horschel, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Chris Kirk, Brooks Koepka, Matt Kuchar, Anirban Lahiri, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker and Bubba Watson.
PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA / EUROPEAN TOUR
Australian PGA Championship
Dates: Dec. 3-6
Venue: RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, Australia
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday 8 p.m.-1 a.m. (Live)
Thursday 8 p.m.-1 a.m. (Live)
Friday 8 p.m.-1 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 8 p.m.-1 a.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Chalmers defends: Greg Chalmers defeated Adam Scott and Wade Ormsby on the seventh playoff hole for his second Australian PGA Championship title.
Final event of “Australian Triple Crown”: This week marks the third and final event of the “Australian Triple Crown,” which also features the Australian Masters and Australian Open. Australian Masters winner Peter Senior is in the field but Australian Open champion Matt Jones is not. And for the first time, the event is being co-sanctioned by the European Tour and will count as an official event.
Headlining the field: Brandt Snedeker, John Senden, David Lingmerth, Peter Senior, Cameron Smith, Peter Uihlein, Jarrod Lyle, Robert Allenby, Greg Chalmers and Paul Dunne.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Nedbank Golf Challenge
Dates: Dec. 3-6
Venue: Gary Player Country Club, Sun City, South Africa
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 3-10 a.m. (Live)
Friday 3-10 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 4-10 a.m. (Live)
Sunday 4-10 a.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Event changes: This is the 35th edition of the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the first of two times that it will be contested during the 2016 Race to Dubai season. The event will move to November in 2016 and become the second leg of the European Tour’s Final Series. The field of 30 this week will increase to 72 next November. Following the conclusion of play on Sunday, the European Tour will take a four-week hiatus and resume in 2016 with the South African Open in Johannesburg on January 7.
Willett defends: Danny Willett defeated Ross Fisher by four shots to earn his second career European Tour win.
Headlining the field: Henrik Stenson, Martin Kaymer, Robert Streb, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen, Danny Willett, Shane Lowry, Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley.
ASIAN TOUR
Ho Tram Open
Dates: Dec. 3-6
Venue: The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip, Vietnam
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 1-3 a.m. (Live)
Friday 1-3 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 1-4 a.m. (Live)
Sunday 1-4 a.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Inaugural event: This week marks the first playing of the Ho Tram Open, being contested in Vietnam, two hours southeast of Ho Chi Minh City.
Headlining the field: Sergio Garcia, Geoff Ogilvy, Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn, Robert Rock, Oliver Wilson, David Lipsky, Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal.
LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
The Queens
Dates: Dec. 4-6
Venue: Miyoshi Country Club, Aichi, Japan
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Saturday 2:30-5 p.m. (Tape delay)
Sunday 2-5 p.m. (Tape delay)
Broadcast Notes:
Format: The inaugural match play event features four nine-person teams comprised of members of the Ladies European Tour (captained by Laura Davies), LPGA of Japan, Korean LPGA Tour and Australian Ladies Professional Golf Inc. The format features 34 matches being contested over three days: eight fourball matches on day one, eight foursomes matches on day two, and 18 singles matches on day three, with 102 total points available. Each match is worth three points to the winning team, and one point will be given for matches ending all square.
Ladies European Tour Team: Laura Davies (captain), Hannah Burke, Karine Icher, Nanna Madsen, Catriona Matthew, Gwladys Nocera, Emily Kristine Pedersen, Melissa Reid and Marianne Skarpnord.
LPGA of Japan Team: Momoko Ueda (captain), Erika Kikuchi, Ayaka Watanabe, Misuzo Narita, Akane Iijima, Shiho Oyama, Erina Hara, Miki Sakai and Ritsuko Ryu.
Korean LPGA Team: In Gee Chun, Sei Young Kim, Sung Hyun Park, Jung Min Lee, Yoon Ji Cho, Jin Young Ko, Seon Woo Bae, Min Sun Kim, Bo-Mee Lee.
Australian Ladies Professional Golf Team: Rachel Hetherington (captain), Nikki Campbell, Nikki Garrett, Whitney Hillier, Sarah Kemp, Katherine Kirk, Stephanie Na, Sarah Jane Smith and Lindsey Wright.
There is no doubt who the #1 golfer in the world is right now, Rory McIlory. Below is the most recent official world golf ranking top 100 list. Most notably Rory McIlory moved to #1 after this past weekend’s WGC Bridgestone Invitational victory. Adam Scott dropped to #2 while surging Sergio Garcia moved up to #3.
Puzzlingly, Tiger Woods stayed at #10 after the WD at the Bridgestone. Woods is not playing top 10 or even top 100 golf right now. Also interesting to note that Tiger Woods is tied for the lowest number of competitive rounds counted for this ranking (40). What does that mean? That meaning is up for debate. For reference, McIlory’s ranking is computed based on 50 events.
| This Week |
Last week |
Name |
Avg Points |
Total Points |
Points Lost |
Points Gained |
| 1 |
2 |
Rory McIlroy |
9.4077 |
470.38 |
-211.48 |
363.42 |
| 2 |
1 |
Adam Scott |
9.2368 |
378.71 |
-188.00 |
173.28 |
| 3 |
5 |
Sergio Garcia |
7.7803 |
381.23 |
-135.79 |
251.73 |
| 4 |
3 |
Henrik Stenson |
7.6685 |
398.76 |
-190.20 |
111.47 |
| 5 |
4 |
Justin Rose |
7.4602 |
380.47 |
-192.00 |
199.97 |
| 6 |
6 |
Matt Kuchar |
6.7706 |
352.07 |
-165.55 |
197.77 |
| 7 |
7 |
Bubba Watson |
6.6678 |
313.38 |
-115.32 |
266.39 |
| 8 |
8 |
Jim Furyk |
6.4772 |
297.95 |
-117.67 |
197.43 |
| 9 |
9 |
Jason Day |
6.1919 |
247.68 |
-109.84 |
124.86 |
| 10 |
10 |
Tiger Woods |
5.9077 |
236.31 |
-249.75 |
6.57 |
| 11 |
11 |
Jordan Spieth |
5.6858 |
272.92 |
-77.69 |
184.55 |
| 12 |
12 |
Martin Kaymer |
5.3785 |
279.68 |
-72.14 |
210.93 |
| 13 |
13 |
Phil Mickelson |
5.1451 |
246.96 |
-174.27 |
75.31 |
| 14 |
14 |
Zach Johnson |
5.0157 |
260.82 |
-144.13 |
121.73 |
| 15 |
17 |
Graeme McDowell |
4.9048 |
240.33 |
-140.36 |
120.38 |
| 16 |
15 |
Hideki Matsuyama |
4.8810 |
209.88 |
-67.47 |
122.32 |
| 17 |
16 |
Dustin Johnson |
4.8328 |
241.64 |
-126.15 |
137.25 |
| 18 |
18 |
Rickie Fowler |
4.7877 |
248.96 |
-77.88 |
193.71 |
| 19 |
22 |
Charl Schwartzel |
4.1714 |
216.92 |
-123.14 |
89.85 |
| 20 |
19 |
Jimmy Walker |
4.1548 |
216.05 |
-78.03 |
164.97 |
| 21 |
23 |
Keegan Bradley |
4.1462 |
215.60 |
-131.05 |
120.25 |
| 22 |
21 |
Victor Dubuisson |
3.8801 |
170.72 |
-57.23 |
95.75 |
| 23 |
20 |
Steve Stricker |
3.8790 |
155.16 |
-116.35 |
42.57 |
| 24 |
26 |
Thomas Bjorn |
3.8414 |
195.91 |
-77.32 |
81.29 |
| 25 |
29 |
Patrick Reed |
3.7627 |
191.90 |
-48.12 |
164.63 |
| 26 |
25 |
Luke Donald |
3.7408 |
190.78 |
-137.85 |
95.15 |
| 27 |
24 |
Jason Dufner |
3.7255 |
193.73 |
-141.39 |
76.29 |
| 28 |
27 |
Miguel A Jimenez |
3.4786 |
160.02 |
-61.94 |
91.00 |
| 29 |
28 |
Ian Poulter |
3.4601 |
169.54 |
-127.76 |
40.63 |
| 30 |
30 |
Webb Simpson |
3.4043 |
177.02 |
-117.92 |
75.84 |
| 31 |
31 |
Stephen Gallacher |
3.3499 |
174.19 |
-60.99 |
136.07 |
| 32 |
32 |
Jamie Donaldson |
3.3319 |
173.26 |
-88.96 |
82.89 |
| 33 |
33 |
Thongchai Jaidee |
3.2370 |
168.32 |
-68.07 |
104.19 |
| 34 |
34 |
Lee Westwood |
3.1970 |
166.25 |
-112.35 |
87.01 |
| 35 |
36 |
Brandt Snedeker |
3.1779 |
165.25 |
-149.98 |
61.34 |
| 36 |
38 |
Kevin Na |
3.1517 |
126.07 |
-29.78 |
123.21 |
| 37 |
39 |
Ryan Moore |
3.0938 |
154.69 |
-81.37 |
75.10 |
| 38 |
37 |
Bill Haas |
3.0850 |
160.42 |
-90.71 |
77.21 |
| 39 |
51 |
Marc Leishman |
3.0598 |
159.11 |
-57.61 |
122.10 |
| 40 |
35 |
Graham Delaet |
3.0415 |
155.12 |
-72.28 |
78.76 |
| 41 |
40 |
Brendon Todd |
2.9901 |
146.51 |
-22.95 |
121.03 |
| 42 |
41 |
Kevin Streelman |
2.9174 |
151.71 |
-66.31 |
83.32 |
| 43 |
42 |
Francesco Molinari |
2.8516 |
148.28 |
-81.24 |
84.19 |
| 44 |
43 |
Chris Kirk |
2.7513 |
143.07 |
-58.13 |
93.82 |
| 45 |
44 |
Hunter Mahan |
2.7322 |
142.07 |
-94.97 |
68.51 |
| 46 |
45 |
Jonas Blixt |
2.6236 |
136.43 |
-68.42 |
72.32 |
| 47 |
46 |
Joost Luiten |
2.5943 |
132.31 |
-56.66 |
68.88 |
| 48 |
47 |
Gary Woodland |
2.5741 |
133.85 |
-47.92 |
68.51 |
| 49 |
49 |
Harris English |
2.5669 |
133.48 |
-58.06 |
73.31 |
| 50 |
48 |
Matt Every |
2.5567 |
132.95 |
-43.26 |
109.05 |
| 51 |
53 |
Matt Jones |
2.5047 |
130.25 |
-37.86 |
88.97 |
| 52 |
54 |
Kevin Stadler |
2.5042 |
130.22 |
-49.21 |
105.98 |
| 53 |
52 |
Angel Cabrera |
2.4718 |
121.12 |
-44.04 |
70.42 |
| 54 |
50 |
Mikko Ilonen |
2.4295 |
111.76 |
-40.64 |
78.30 |
| 55 |
57 |
John Senden |
2.3938 |
124.48 |
-50.93 |
97.26 |
| 56 |
54 |
Louis Oosthuizen |
2.3696 |
120.85 |
-116.89 |
83.67 |
| 57 |
56 |
Billy Horschel |
2.3340 |
121.37 |
-65.69 |
50.40 |
| 58 |
58 |
Shane Lowry |
2.2586 |
112.93 |
-48.83 |
72.11 |
| 59 |
59 |
Russell Henley |
2.2441 |
116.69 |
-54.12 |
88.77 |
| 60 |
62 |
Ernie Els |
2.2034 |
114.58 |
-115.69 |
46.31 |
| 61 |
65 |
J.B. Holmes |
2.1722 |
86.89 |
-14.69 |
88.41 |
| 62 |
60 |
Koumei Oda |
2.1691 |
108.46 |
-41.37 |
51.39 |
| 63 |
61 |
Ryan Palmer |
2.1583 |
103.60 |
-45.94 |
84.64 |
| 64 |
63 |
Pablo Larrazabal |
2.1294 |
110.73 |
-50.05 |
82.39 |
| 65 |
64 |
Gonzalo Fdez-Castano |
2.1065 |
109.54 |
-73.49 |
32.76 |
| 66 |
66 |
Brian Harman |
2.0450 |
106.34 |
-32.85 |
86.34 |
| 67 |
67 |
Matteo Manassero |
2.0306 |
105.59 |
-74.78 |
45.21 |
| 68 |
68 |
Charley Hoffman |
2.0212 |
101.06 |
-43.45 |
65.92 |
| 69 |
69 |
George Coetzee |
1.9876 |
99.38 |
-54.23 |
75.51 |
| 70 |
71 |
Bernd Wiesberger |
1.9622 |
102.03 |
-61.71 |
44.87 |
| 71 |
70 |
Richard Sterne |
1.9446 |
85.56 |
-58.98 |
27.59 |
| 72 |
72 |
K.J. Choi |
1.9082 |
97.32 |
-40.81 |
72.14 |
| 73 |
73 |
Rafael Cabrera Bello |
1.8619 |
96.82 |
-44.80 |
74.03 |
| 74 |
74 |
Erik Compton |
1.8336 |
95.35 |
-16.03 |
86.24 |
| 75 |
77 |
Brooks Koepka |
1.8194 |
87.33 |
-31.78 |
54.42 |
| 76 |
75 |
Tim Clark |
1.8164 |
89.00 |
-48.17 |
52.67 |
| 77 |
76 |
Ben Martin |
1.7965 |
93.42 |
-24.95 |
62.96 |
| 78 |
80 |
Nick Watney |
1.7909 |
93.13 |
-100.53 |
25.16 |
| 79 |
83 |
Fredrik Jacobson |
1.7677 |
77.78 |
-36.61 |
50.43 |
| 80 |
78 |
Charles Howell-III |
1.7617 |
91.61 |
-48.65 |
48.77 |
| 81 |
79 |
Ryo Ishikawa |
1.7516 |
91.08 |
-47.88 |
50.33 |
| 82 |
82 |
George McNeill |
1.7396 |
81.76 |
-20.43 |
70.11 |
| 83 |
85 |
Brendon de Jonge |
1.7348 |
90.21 |
-57.46 |
43.71 |
| 84 |
81 |
Chris Stroud |
1.7311 |
90.02 |
-39.27 |
39.55 |
| 85 |
84 |
Paul Casey |
1.7059 |
88.71 |
-37.07 |
45.74 |
| 86 |
86 |
Boo Weekley |
1.6746 |
87.08 |
-53.93 |
23.65 |
| 87 |
87 |
Anirban Lahiri |
1.6587 |
69.67 |
-27.48 |
34.76 |
| 88 |
88 |
Chesson Hadley |
1.6488 |
79.14 |
-26.49 |
45.27 |
| 89 |
89 |
Scott Stallings |
1.6446 |
85.52 |
-50.97 |
60.19 |
| 90 |
90 |
Chris Wood |
1.5639 |
75.07 |
-49.47 |
34.43 |
| 91 |
98 |
Branden Grace |
1.5589 |
81.06 |
-76.57 |
39.38 |
| 92 |
91 |
Kim Hyung-sung |
1.5395 |
80.05 |
-48.95 |
24.54 |
| 93 |
100 |
Fabrizio Zanotti |
1.5377 |
78.42 |
-11.50 |
75.12 |
| 94 |
93 |
David Hearn |
1.5246 |
79.28 |
-33.49 |
47.91 |
| 95 |
92 |
Tommy Fleetwood |
1.5230 |
79.20 |
-32.54 |
40.18 |
| 96 |
94 |
Ross Fisher |
1.5110 |
78.57 |
-47.16 |
30.99 |
| 97 |
96 |
Edoardo Molinari |
1.5070 |
61.79 |
-15.44 |
52.24 |
| 98 |
95 |
Thorbjorn Olesen |
1.5016 |
78.08 |
-67.59 |
41.35 |
| 99 |
102 |
Danny Willett |
1.4990 |
70.45 |
-41.22 |
43.87 |
| 100 |
97 |
Daniel Summerhays |
1.4967 |
77.83 |
-34.96 |
47.05 |
2013 was quite a year for Hooked On Golf Blog and me, Tony Korologos. This article is part one of two (part two tomorrow), looking back at 2013 from at HOG viewpoint.
January
Ah the beginning of a new year and the hopes that my short game would improve. There’s always 2014…
Rory McIlory switched to Nike Golf. Personal issues, business issues, and perhaps the equipment switch would contribute to a less-than-satisfying year on the course for Rory.
Attended the PGA Show for the billionth time. Orlando hates me and my body. Had a great time seeing the new gear, meeting old golf friends and battling in the Battle of the Golf Blogs.
February
February I posted a bunch of golf videos from the PGA Merchandise Show.
Asher Golf’s James Roundy, a local friend, passed. Sad.
The Hooked On Golf Blog World Tour traveled to Bogota, Colombia. What a fantastic trip! I got to play golf with Web.com Tour star Kevin Foley in the Web.com Tour Colombia Championship Pro-Am. Kevin would later gain his PGA Tour card for 2014! He must have learned from my dual chicken wing granny over the top swing.
March
While in Colombia I played golf at La Cima Golf Course, 10,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains. Wow. Ball go far.
Met Web.com Tour player Dusty Fielding. Nice kid.
A fun blog post was “Filtering Out the Noise: Golf Social Networking’s Top 10 Overused Status Updates.”
I reviewed the Cobra Amp Cell driver.
April
Bubba’s Hover was the video rage. Bubba Watson released a golf cart hovercraft!
Of course, April is Masters month. Not a month is busier for me or HOG. Lots of Masters related articles. Adam Scott won the Masters in dramatic fashion. Angel Cabrera hit what I consider the shot of the year with his approach on the final hole to about two feet. That shot resulted in a birdie to tie Adam Scott and force a playoff.
I reviewed the Cobra Amp Cell irons.
May
Ecco Golf came out with hybrid wingtip shoes. Some of the coolest crossover shoes ever.
Tiger Woods won THE PLAYERS (always write “The Players” in ALL CAPS, it is what they do). Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods had a little tiff which the media went into a feeding frenzy over. Sergio eventually apologized for some not-so-nice comments.
HOG poll results told us that Delta Airlines is the worst airline for golf travel.
Good thing Adam Scott won the Masters when he did. The USGA and R&A announced the ban on anchored golf clubs, beginning January 1st, 2016. Bye bye belly.
Eric/Tom sent in some great fan mail, calling me an “asshole who sucks at golf and couldn’t break 100” all because of a golf bag I reviewed. Thanks Eric/Tom!
I fell down a volcano and suffered volcanic road rash. Thankfully my Nikon survived.
June
I played in the Salt Lake Amateur golf tournament. I was right in the mix through 27 holes until my back went out on the 10th tee. I finished, but the last nine was not pretty. Bugger. Kill me.
HOG readers voted Southwest Airlines as the best airline for golf travel by a landslide.
I reviewed a very cool book: An American Caddie in St. Andrews: Growing Up, Girls, and Looping on the Old Course.
Posted an article on golf CHEATERS. That’s what sandbaggers are.
Justin Rose won the U.S. Open in amazing fashion. That was one of the best ball striking displays I’ve ever seen.
On June 30, I boarded an airplane bound for St. Andrews, Scotland.
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