Round 1 of Quicken Loans

Wow! That's all I've got to say about round one of the Quicken Loans Tournament yesterday. It was an amazing display of so many great shots.

Two hole in ones! Ishikawa and Fowler both shot a hole in one in round one of the tournament. How rare is it to even get a hole in one, and then to have to golfers do it on the same day at the same tournament? It's remarkable!

Then you've got tons of chip-ins and a slam dunk from 89 yards out. There were some amazing putts, especially the 50+ foot putt by Ernie Els and the 35 foot putt by Tiger Woods.

Goosen and Ishikawa ended the day at -8 par and we'll see how they keep up tomorrow. All I can say is that I can't wait for round two!

P.S. -- If you want to catch the videos of the two aces by Fowler and Ishikawa, I've posted them below.
Source: PGATour.com

How to Chip Over the Sand

If you're like most people, you find sand traps daunting. It doesn't matter if you're in them or trying to get right over them, it's not the position you want to be in.

So how can you hit it right over the sand trap and onto the green if you find yourself short with a bunker in front of you? Rickie Fowler and Butch Harmon have some great tips to get you over the bunker.

The real trick though is going to be practice!


Source: Golf Digest

Spieth Could Be the Best Putter Ever

With the Open Championship over, it's time to look up some more obscure facts about Jordan Spieth. He seems to still be at the top of everyone's mind even though he wasn't able to add the third win of his potential grand slam.

The fact is that despite his loss at St. Andrews, he is an amazing golfer. His putting percentage is incredibly high! Here's a snippet of an article on GolfChannel.com by Ryan Lavner:

“I don’t believe we’ve seen statistics on putting like we’ve seen from Jordan,” Poulter said. “If you look at the percentage of putts he holes from 25 feet, it’s remarkable. That’s generally the distance you hit it to when you are playing well. It’s an amazing percentage of putts that he holes and we all want that sort of putting stroke.”

 Only time will tell, and if he can keep himself healthy, he could potentially be the world's greatest putter. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment down below!

Source: GolfChannel.com

Amazing Golf Deals!

A lot of people I talk to say that golf is an expensive sport. Well...that's true when you add in the price of each round you play. The equipment, on the other hand, doesn't have to be expensive.

There is an amazing site where you get amazing discounts on products from clubs, shoes, shirts, and every other accessory to golf you can think of! The site is Divot.com.

Each day they'll send you one deal. If you like it, great! You can hop over and go snag it for dirt cheap. If you don't, you just delete the e-mail. It's simple, easy, and costs nothing to do. So get started at Divot.com now!

3 Steps to Get Out of the Rough

Many of us probably struggle with being in the rough a bit. If you've ever noticed, those types of shots are much different than fairway or even sand shots. The rough grabs the club, slowing your swing down and actually turning your club in the process. So a well hit ball often goes the wrong way! Here's a great video that gives three easy tips to get out of the rough successfully.



Source: GolfChannel.com

Open Championship Final Winner!

After the tie between Zach Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen, and Marc Leishman, a 4 hole playoff was started to determine the winner. Here are the results:

Player	Hole 1	Hole 2	Hole 17	Hole 18	Score
Zach Johnson	3	3	5	4	-1
Louis Oosthuizen	3	4	5	4	E
Marc Leishman	5	4	5	4	+2

Congratulations Zach Johnson on winning the Claret Jug at the Open Championship!


Source: TheOpen.com

Open Championship Leaderboard (Round 4)

Wow! What an incredible round 4 of golf. It literally could have gone so many different ways. Here's the Leaderboard!

T1	Zach Johnson	-15
T1	Marc Leishman	-15
T1	Louis Oosthuizen	-15
T4	Jordan Spieth	-14
T4	Jason Day	-14
T6	Danny Willett	-11
T6	Justin Rose	-11
T6	Sergio Garcia	-11
T6	Jordan Niebrugge	-11
T10	Brooks Koepka	-10
T10	Adam Scott	-10
T12	Brendon Todd	-9
T12	Oliver Schniederjans	-9
T12	Luke Donald	-9
T12	Martin Kaymer	-9

Jordan Spieth was tied for the lead going into hole 17 with a birdie on the 16th. Unfortunately, he bogeyed 17 and pared 18. Still a wonderful performance on his part! It's been a great year for him, but no chance for the grand slam this year.

Louis Oosthuizen ended up with a birdie on 18, which tied him for the lead and sent him to the final tie-breaking round. They have already started the round and he is currently tied after hole 1 with Zach Johnson. The Claret Jug is still up for grabs for the time being. We'll see who ends up with it!

Rickie Fowler ended his round today shooting +1 par to be tied for 30th.

Open Championship Leaderboard (Round 3)

So it was an exciting third round of the Open Championship! There were a lot of changes in the leaderboard. Dustin Johnson didn't golf that well in round three and lost the lead. He golfed +3 over par, to bring him down to -7.

Here's a list of the now top 15 in the tournament!

T1	Paul Dunne	-12
T1	Louis Oosthuizen	-12
T1	Jason Day	-12
4	Jordan Spieth	-11
5	Padraig Harrington	-10
T6	Marc Leishman	-9
T6	Jordan Niebrugge	-9
T6	Sergio Garcia	-9
T6	Justin Rose	-9
T6	Retief Goosen	-9
T6	Robert Streb	-9
T6	Adam Scott	-9
T6	Zach Johnson	-9
T6	Danny Willett	-9
T15	Eddie Pepperell	-8

Like I said, it's been a crazy day of golf! Jordan Spieth and Louis Oosthuizen are both in great position to win the Claret Jug this year. Paul Dunne, an amateur, has golfed incredibly well this tournament to tie for the lead after round 3.

Rickie Fowler is currently tied for 18th in the tournament and could make his move easily to the top if he plays like he did in the Scottish Open. We'll see how it all shakes out on Monday after round 4!

Open Championship (Round 2) Leaderboard

So after the makeup for the rain delays yesterday, round 2 got finished off. As for the leader of Round 2 of the Open Championship, Dustin Johnson still holds onto the lead by 1 stroke! He shot -3 for round 2 to bring him to -10 par.

Here are the top 15 ranked players in the tournament after round 2.

1	Dustin Johnson	-10
2	Danny Willet	-9
3	Paul Lawrie	-8
T4	Marc Warren	-7
T4	Zach Johnson	-7
T4	Adam Scott	-7
T4	Robert Streb	-7
T4	Jason Day	-7
T4	Louis Oosthuizen	-7
T10	Paul Dunne	-6
T10	Retief Goosen	-6
T10	Luke Donald	-6
T10	Hideki Matsuyama	-6
T14	Steven Bowditch	-5
T14	Anirban Lahiri	-5

There are many others who are tied for 14th, among those includes Jordan Spieth. He ended up shooting even par the second round to keep him at -5 for the tournament. Meanwhile, Rickie Fowler has increased his rank up to being tied for 50th, shooting -1 for round 2.

Louis Oosthuizen ended up shooting -2 for round 2, bringing him to -7 par for the tournament so far. Tiger Woods wasn't able to pull his game together this tournament and was cut.

We'll see what the remainder of the tournament brings and who steps up their game to take the championship!

Open Championship (Round 1)

With Round 1 of the Open Championship finished, and Round 2 already under way, players have shown their desire to win! The round started out pretty aggressive with Dustin Johnson laying down the gauntlet, shooting 7 under to hold the lead.

The championship isn't over yet, and there are some real contenders not far behind Johnson. We'll see how it shakes out over the next few days! In the meantime, here's the leaderboard (well, part of it) for the first round.

1	Dustin Johnson	-7
T2	Danny Willett	-6
T2	Robert Streb	-6
T2	Retief Goosen	-6
T2	Paul Lawrie	-6
T2	Jason Day	-6
T2	Zach Johnson	-6
T3	Kevin Na	-5
T3	Louis Oosthuizen	-5
T3	Jordan Niebrugge	-5
T3	Charl Schwartzel	-5
T3	Jordan Spieth	-5
T4	Greg Owen	-4
T4	Luke Donald	-4
T4	David Howell	-4

The other players who we thought had a chance in this tournament were ranked as follows:

• Rickie Fowler - T64 - -1
• Tiger Woods - T134 - +4

There's still a lot of golf left to play and we'll see how things are going at the end of today!

Top 4 Contenders for Open Championship Claret Jug

With number 1 ranked Rory McIlroy out of the picture for the Open Championship, the big questions has been, "Who's going to win it?". Well, we've chosen 4 candidates who have a good chance. We at least expect them to be in the fight for the Claret Jug.

1. Jordan Spieth

 



Mike Pedersen Golf

Making a name for himself in golf, he went from nobody to World Ranked #2! He is on a role with his win at the John Deere classic, and looks forward to the Open Championship at St. Andrews.

He's the talk of the golf world right now with his 2 major wins this year already. With a win from the Open Championship, he will be 3/4 of the way to a major grand slam. He would be added to the short list of 6 players who have ever done it.









2. Rickie Fowler





USA Today

Fowler is a golfer to prove everyone wrong. Before the Players Tournament at TPC Sawgrass he was supposedly among one of the world's most overrated golfers. At least, that's what his critics thought. That tournament he went on to win and showed the world that he can contend with the best.

He, like Spieth, is also going into the Open Championship with some momentum. He recently won the Scottish Open. Currently ranked #5 in the world now after that win last week.









3. Louis Oosthuizen



HD Golf

Although not ranked in the top 10 of the world, Louis Oosthuizen has shown that he plays well at St. Andrews. He won the Open Championship in 2010 at St. Andrews and I think we could see some amazing things come from him there this year.

He is currently ranked #17 in the world going into the Open Championship.










4. Tiger Woods



Golf, by Tour Miss

Why put Tiger in the running? Are you crazy? The fact of the matter is, Tiger is looking a lot better than he has been the past few years. His golf at Greenbrier showed us he is coming back.
 

Not only that, but St. Andrews is Tiger's course. He won both 2000 and 2005 Open Championships at St. Andrews and was 23rd in 2010. If he has as much control over his clubs as he did at Greenbrier, he'll be a top contender.

Still, there are a lot of golfers that have a good chance at winning the Open Championship. Really it's anyone's game. These are the 4 we'll be watching and have a great chance of winning. Let us know who you think will win, or who you're rooting for this Open Championship by leaving a comment down below!

Open Championship Tee Times for Each Player

So the Open Championship is finally here! With some upsets (Rory's ankle) and some exciting developments (Spieth's grand slam chance & Fowler's win), along with some great pairings! This is going to be exciting to watch and see who is going to take home the win.

If you wanted to know when your favorite player was teeing off for the Open Championship at St. Andrews this year, here's a full list! (At least the first two rounds)

Source: GolfChannel.com 

1:32 a.m. Thursday/6:33 a.m. Friday: Thomas Bjorn, Greg Owen, Rod Pampling

1:43 a.m. Thursday/6:44 a.m. Friday: Todd Hamilton, Paul Dunne (a), James Hahn

1:54 a.m. Thursday/6: 55 a.m. Friday: Graham DeLaet, Brian Harman, Russell Knox

2:05 a.m. Thursday/7:06 a.m. Friday: Matt Every, Alexander Levy, David Lingmerth

2:16 a.m. Thursday/7:17 a.m. Friday: Joost Luiten, Matt Jones, Robert Streb

2:27 a.m. Thursday/7:28 a.m. Friday: Anthony Wall, Byeong-Hun An, Jordan Niebrugge (a)

2:38 a.m. Thursday/7:39 a.m. Friday: Sandy Lyle, Charley Hoffman, Kevin Na

2:49 a.m. Thursday/7:50 a.m. Friday: Retief Goosen, Shane Lowry, Kevin Streelman

3:00 a.m. Thursday/8:01 a.m. Friday: Carl Pettersson, Luke Donald, Hunter Mahan

3:11 a.m. Thursday/ 8:12 a.m. Friday: Ross Fisher, Victor Dubuisson, Billy Horschel

3:22 a.m. Thursday/8:23 a.m. Friday: Graeme McDowell, Webb Simpson, Oliver Schniederjans (a)

3:33 a.m. Thursday/8:34 a.m. Friday: Ernie Els, Tom Watson, Brandt Snedeker

3:44 a.m. Thursday/8:45 a.m. Friday: J.B. Holmes, Brendon Todd, Shinji Tomimura

4:00 a.m. Thursday/9:01 a.m. Friday: Ian Poulter, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson

4:11 a.m. Thursday/9:12 a.m. Friday: Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Patrick Reed

4:22 a.m. Thursday/9:23 a.m. Friday: Darren Clarke, Mateo Manassero, Romain Langasque (a)

4:33 a.m. Thursday/9:34 a.m. Friday: Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth

4:44 a.m. Thursday/9:45 a.m. Friday: Paul Lawrie, Ryan Palmer, Kevin Kisner

4:55 a.m. Thursday/9:56 a.m. Friday: Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Day

5:06 a.m. Thursday/10:07 a.m. Friday: John Senden, Tadahiro Takayama, Brooks Koepka

5:17 a.m. Thursday/10:18 a.m. Friday: David Duval, Stewart Cink, Ben Curtis

5:28 a.m. Thursday/10:29 a.m. Friday: Mikko Ilonen, David Howell, Greg Chalmers

5:39 a.m. Thursday/10:40 a.m. Friday: Raphael Jacquelin, David Hearn, Eddie Pepperell

5:50 a.m. Thursday/10:51 a.m. Friday: Tyrrell Hatton, Scott Arnold, Paul Kinnear (a)

6:01 a.m. Thursday/11:02 a.m. Friday: Adam Bland, Gary Boyd, Daniel Brooks

6:12 a.m. Thursday/11:13 a.m. Friday: Scott Hend, Jonathan Moore, Ryan Fox

---

6:33 a.m. Thursday/1:32 a.m. Friday: Mark Calcavecchia, Marcel Siem, Jaco Van Zyl

6:44 a.m. Thursday/1:43 a.m. Friday: Thomas Aiken, David Lipsky, Jonas Blixt

6:55 a.m. Thursday/1:54 a.m. Friday: Soren Kjeldsen, Morgan Hoffmann, Danny Lee

7:06 a.m. Thursday/2:05 a.m. Friday: Richie Ramsay, Pablo Larrazabal, Cameron Tringale

7:17 a.m. Thursday/2:16 a.m. Friday: Steven Bowditch, Hiroshi Iwata, Ben Martin

7:28 a.m. Thursday/2:27 a.m. Friday: George Coetzee, Anirban Lahiri, Rafael Cabrera-Bello

7:39 a.m. Thursday/2:38 a.m. Friday: Padraig Harrington, Liang, Wen-Chong, Marc Warren

7:50 a.m. Thursday/2:49 a.m. Friday: John Daly, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jason Dufner

8:01 a.m. Thursday/3:00 a.m. Friday: Zach Johnson, Bernd Weisberger, Tommy Fleetwood

8:12 a.m. Thursday/3:11 a.m. Friday: Thongchai Jaidee, Danny Willett, Gary Woodland

8:23 a.m. Thursday/3:22 a.m. Friday: Geoff Ogilvy, Francesco Molinari, Bill Haas

8:34 a.m. Thursday/3:33 a.m. Friday: Mark O'Meara, Russell Henley, Gunn Yang (a)

8:45 a.m. Thursday/3:44 a.m. Friday: Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, Justin Leonard

9:01 a.m. Thursday/4:00 a.m. Friday: Stephen Gallacher. Hiroyuki Fujita, Ryan Moore

9:12 a.m. Thursday/4:11 a.m. Friday: Adam Scott, Martin Kaymer, Jimmy Walker

9:23 a.m. Thursday, 4:22 a.m. Friday: Jammie Donaldson, Yuta Ikeda, Keegan Bradley

9:34 a.m. Thursday/4:33 a.m. Friday: Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson

9:45 a.m. Thursday/4:44 a.m. Friday: Nick Faldo, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler

9:56 a.m. Thursday/4:55 a.m. Friday: Jim Furyk, Paul Casey, Brendan Grace

10:07 a.m. Thursday/5:06 a.m. Friday: Harris English, Ashley Chesters (a), Andy Sullivan

10:18 a.m. Thursday/5:17 a.m. Friday: Koumei Oda, Marc Leishman, Kiradech Aphibarnrat

10:29 a.m. Thursday/5:28 a.m. Friday: Edoardo Molinari, James Morrison, Romain Wattel

10:40 a.m. Thursday/5:39 a.m. Friday: Pelle Edberg, Daniel Berger, Mark Young

10:51 a.m. Thursday/5:50 a.m. Friday: Brett Rumford, Tom Gillis, Ben Taylor (a)

11:02 a.m. Thursday/6:01 a.m. Friday: Marcus Fraser, Scott Strange, Allister Balcombe (a)

11:13 a.m. Thursday/6:12 a.m. Friday: Taichi Teshima, Robert Dinwiddie, Rikard Karlberg

Source: GolfChannel.com