PGA Results: 2013 Kraft Nabisco Championship

Great putting made the difference on both the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour this week. LPGA Tour Kraft Nabisco Championship Mission HIlls Country Club, Dinah Shore Tournament Course Rancho Mirage, California Inbee Park moved one step closer to the #1 ranking on the LPGA Tour by capturing the Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage, California, one of the LPGA's five major championships. The difference in the tournament was the fantastic putting Park displayed.  Any putt from one to 50 feet was an easy make.  No other player came close to rolling the rock like that this past week.

 “I’ve seen Inbee do this before. When she rolls it, you just can’t beat her. She’s the best putter on tour. The course here is a little softer than normal, so I think that’s to her advantage. She doesn’t hit it as high as some other people, but when she’s rolling it, you are not going to beat her.” ~Stacy Lewis

Park fired rounds of 70-67-67-69 for a total of 273.  The nearest competitor, So Yeon Ryu, finished four shots behind after firing a brilliant final round 65.  Park is half a step away from the #1 ranking in women's golf.

“That’s the place that I’ve always wanted and I only have one more spot to go. That brings a lot of momentum, keeps momentum going for me, especially after this week. I felt a lot of confidence with my swing and with my putting. Everything has been going the right way this season. It feels good.” ~Inbee Park

PGA Tour Valero Texas Open TPC San Antonio San Antonio, Texas Coming into this week on the PGA Tour American golfers had won the first 14 events of the season.  Dating back to last year American golfers had won 16 events in a row.  The non-American drought is now over, broken by Scotland's Martin Laird.  The way in which Laird recorded the victory is impressive. Laird was 157th in FedEx Cup points and 161st on the money list before this week, and had dropped considerably in his world rankings over the last year.  Laird's final round play shows us just how deep the PGA Tour really is.  Laird's (anchored) putter caught fire in the final round.  His front nine featured five birdies to no bogies for a 31 on the par-36 front.  Three more birdies in holes 10-17 put Laird in the driver's seat on the 18th.  Surging Rory McIlory brought himself into contention just two shots behind Laird.  With a birdie on the final hole however, Laird could put it away and force McIlory to have to card the most uncommon shot in golf to tie, an albatross or double eagle. On the final hole, a par-5, Laird laid up with a sand wedge for his 2nd shot to give himself the best yardage to the green.  His approach landed over the flag and settled to about 15-20 feet.  Just as he had all day, he dropped another birdie putt to seal the victory.  The final birdie helped Laird tie the course record. With the win Laird, who did not have an invitation to the Masters, punched a one way ticket to Augusta.