PGA TOUR
Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard
Dates: March 19-22
Venue: Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Fla.
If the PGA Tour only played Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Matt Every would be the #1 player in the world. Coming into the Arnold Palmer Invitational Every was the defending champion and managed to come away with his second consecutive win on Arnie’s home course.
The scoring was tight right down to the final few holes between Every and Henrik Stenson. But Stenson was irritated that their group was given a warning for slow play, and that may have caused his two three-putts at the 15th and 16th holes. Those two three-putts opened the door for Every, who finished one shot ahead of Stenson.
Meanwhile Rory McIlory, hoping to use his round at Bay Hill as a tuneup for the Masters, struggled. McIlory’s wedge game was suspect at Bay Hill, and for McIlory (and most players) the wedge game at the slick and fast Augusta National Golf Club is on the top of the priority list, along with putting.
“I’m not taking advantage of getting it up and down close to the green. There are quite a few wedges for me at Augusta so I’m going to concentrate a lot on shots from 120 yards and in and get that as sharp as I can.” ~Rory McIlory
LPGA TOUR
JTBC Founders Cup
Dates: March 19-22
Venue: Wildfire Golf Club at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Ariz.
South Korean Hyo Joo Kim finished very strong in the JTBC Founders cup. With a barrage of five birdies in the final eight holes, Kim finished with a three-stroke cushion over Stacy Lewis.
The 19-year-old winner Kim closed with a final round of 67, 5-under par after draining a 10-footer on the 18th hole, claiming her second winner’s check on the LPGA Tour.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Tucson Conquistadores Classic
Dates: March 20-22
Venue: Omni Tucson National (Catalina Course), Tucson, Ariz.
Marco Dawson was winless in 412 events on the PGA Tour, and 161 events on the Web.com Tour. It only took Dawson 21 events on the 50-and-over circuit for Dawson to finally claim a winner’s check.
Dawson finished with a final round 3-under 69 for the victory after separating himself from a tie at the 16th hole with a 20-foot birdie putt.
“I’m just thinking about all the work I put in over the years, especially the last few years; more mental work than anything. I’m really happy with the way I played. I’m just glad I played the game that I wanted to play.” ~Marco Dawson
Tuscon National, the host venue, was formerly the home of the PGA Tour’s Houston Open.
