Wrist Still an Issue as Stenson Heads to Dubai

Henrik Stenson was battling a wrist injury when he captured the $10 million FedEx Cup.

Not much has changed two months later, as the Swede looks to go for an unprecedented sweep of the end-of-season prizes on both tours.

Stenson still has the lead in the Race to Dubai standings heading into the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, but he might be forced to alter his pre-tournament preparations in order to rest his ailing wrist. He leads No. 2 Justin Rose by 213,648 points, but with the $8 million purse the top nine players in the standings all have a mathematical chance to capture the Euro Tour’s top prize.

Stenson told reporters that he likely would pull out of Tuesday’s pro-am and have a “light practice session” on Wednesday.

“It’s obviously going to affect my preparations,” he said after tying for seventh at the Turkish Airlines Open, “but it’s been like that for the last three weeks. Long term, I just hope I’m not damaging anything that’s going to take longer to get fixed later on.”

Senden Happy With Rally, Though it Fell Short

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Standing on the 14th tee Sunday, John Senden found himself six shots off the lead at the McGladrey Classic, with realistic aspirations of winning likely erased. A late back-nine rally briefly rekindled the Aussie’s chances, though his bid to claim a second PGA Tour title ultimately came up short. “At that stage, I was just looking for a real high finish,” Senden said of his position through 14 holes, which he had played in 1 over. “When I saw the scores at -14 and I was at -8, I was thinking that it would be a tough ask.” Senden sparked his round with a birdie at No. 14, then holed a 23-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 15th. He then followed with a birdie on No. 16 to reach 12 under and climb within two shots of the lead on a day where names near the top of the leaderboard seemed to revolve on a constant basis. “I just felt like I still had some good golf left,” explained Senden, who carded a 4-under 31 on his inward half to finish two shots behind winner Chris Kirk. “I started to sort of try to be patient with myself on the middle of the back nine, and it started to turn around.” The tie for fourth is the Aussie’s first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour in more than a year, and marks his best result since a fourth-place showing at the 2012 John Deere Classic. “I was happy with my performance and where I finished,” added Senden, who will play in next week’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba before heading to the Australian Open. “This has given me a fair bit of confidence to go home and play well in Australia.”

Put More Red Numbers on Your Scorecard Like Kirk

Chris Kirk claimed the McGladrey Classic at Sea Island on Sunday by simply doing what Tour pros are supposed to do: make birdies. Kirk’s 72-hole total of 14-under par was good enough to defeat Briny Baird and Tim Clark by one stroke. When looking at Kirk’s stats for the tournament there’s only one that jumps out, which was the fact that he led the field in birdies made. One might think that's an automatic recipe for success, but more often than not the opposite can be true. How many times have you been off to your best start only to have the added anxiety of recording a personal best round adversely affect your ability to finish strong? This anxiety can be really tough on junior golfers or new competitive golfers who have worked hard to compete at new levels.

Here are a few tips to help you reach new levels in your game by getting on the birdie train and staying a while:

• Improve your chances to make birdie by Teeing It Forward. Tour players make most of their birdies with wedges or short irons in their hands on approach shots. If you play from a set of tees that consistently leaves you with yardages that require long irons for your approach shots, it’s time to move forward ... at least every once in a while.

• Master putts from 15 feet and in on the greens. The very best ball strikers on the PGA Tourmight only have a few birdie attempts inside of 15 feet in any given round, but they often capitalize and make the putt when given the chance. Build your confidence on these putts when you practice and play by trying to roll in three of four putts (75 percent) from 5 feet, two of four (50 percent) from 8 feet, and one of four (25 percent) from 14 feet. By doing this you will be making putts at what is the tour average.

Baird Loses Heartbreaker at McGladrey, But Secures PGA Tour Card

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – For Briny Baird, the streak continues.

Making his 365th career start on the PGA Tour, Baird entered the final round of the McGladrey Classic with a share of the lead, in search of his first career win after five runner-up finishes. Instead, the 41-year-old finished one shot short once again after a bogey on the 72nd hole. “It hurts to do what I did on the last hole, to make bogey on the last hole,” explained Baird, who found the water with his approach to No. 18 from a difficult lie in the fairway bunker. “I put myself right there in a great position.” Making his return to the PGA Tour this season after 17 months out due to surgery on both shoulders, Baird had a chance to extend his lead to three shots with an eagle putt on the par-5 15th hole. Instead, the Florida native three-putted for par and saw Kirk draw even with a birdie two holes later.

“I thought when I hit my putt ... It looked like it was going to track,” he said of his eagle attempt from 42 feet at No. 15. “I didn’t hit a real good putt coming back.” Already with the most career earnings among active players without a victory, Baird saw his total money earned increase to $13,183,287 with his share of second place this week on the Seaside Course. “This game’s so humbling, it’s incredible,” he added. “It’s not all about winning, I’ve said that, but this hurts. This really does. This is very disappointing.” Baird can take some solace from Sunday’s result knowing that the $484,000 he received this week is enough to satisfy his major medical extension, reinstating him as a full-fledged PGA Tour member for the 2013-14 season. “I’ve only played a few tournaments in a year and a half, and I know that I did a lot of good stuff this week,” said Baird. “You’ve got to take away some silver linings.”

Kirk Captures Second Title, Masters Invite at Sea Island

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Chris Kirk had to leave Sea Island to tame the Seaside Course.

Six weeks after moving from the coastal community to the Atlanta suburbs, Kirk survived a tumultuous back nine Sunday to capture his second career PGA Tour victory at the McGladrey Classic. “Obviously the biggest win of my career,” said Kirk, who finished a shot clear of Briny Baird andTim Clark after a 4-under 66. “To come here to Sea Island, which is a place that I love and cherish so much ... it’s just an unbelievable thing.” Beginning the final round tied for the lead with Baird, Kirk opened with seven consecutive pars before a birdie at the par-5 seventh hole. That would spark a run of four birdies across six holes, equipping the former Georgia standout with a two-shot advantage as he stood on the 14th tee.
 

From there, things got interesting. Kirk’s lead was cut in half when Baird birdied No. 13, and erased entirely after Kirk found a hazard left of the 14th fairway with his tee shot. Another birdie from Baird turned what was once a two-shot lead into a one-shot deficit in the span of two holes. “It was a bizarre, bizarre day for me,” said Kirk, 28. “I was hitting a lot of really good, quality shots, hitting it right where I was looking, and then all of a sudden kind of had a little bit of a bad tee shot at 14.” Both players left the par-5 15th with the same score, but with momentum shifting back to Kirk. After Baird reached the green in two, leaving himself 42 feet for eagle, Kirk's hybrid approach from 243 yards found the greenside hazard. “Kind of got in between clubs a little bit,” he said. “Trying to take a little off of it in that situation is always a little bit dicey.” Staring at a potential three-shot deficit with three holes to go, Kirk instead rallied for par, getting up and down from 45 yards in front of the green. Baird then three-putted for par, leaving Kirk a shot off the pace. “I honestly thought that ball was just going to keep turning and just slam the back of the hole and go in,” Baird said of his eagle attempt. “I didn’t hit a real good putt coming back.” Kirk drew even with a birdie on the par-3 17th. With the potential of a playoff looming, the tournament was instead decided in a fairway bunker on the 18th. Both Kirk and Baird hit wayward tee shots on the home hole, though Baird drew a difficult lie in the sand, while Kirk’s ball landed safely in the left rough. “I didn’t feel good with my swing, wasn’t comfortable,” said Baird, 41. “You mix that with nerves, and it’s a recipe for disaster.” With Kirk likely to make par, Baird attempted to reach the green with a 4-iron from more than 200 yards despite an awkwardt stance. The ball traveled only 91 yards, though, tumbling into the water left of the green to essentially seal the tournament for Kirk. “I didn’t have obviously a really good lie, but it was a doable shot. My foot just slipped,” said Baird, who got up and down from 130 yards to salvage bogey and a share of second place. “It’s disappointing. I fought really, really hard. I really did.” Now a six-time runner-up on the PGA Tour, Baird remains in search of his first victory after 365 career starts. “It’s amazing what the difference could have been if I’d have just made a bogey earlier in the day,” Baird said. “If I miss (a birdie) putt and make par on 18 and lose by a shot, it sure would sting less.” In the end, it was Kirk who emerged victorious on a course he estimates he has played nearly 300 times – though prior to this week, he hadn’t had much success. “I don’t exactly have an incredible track record on this golf course,” said Kirk, who had cracked the top 60 just once in three prior McGladrey starts.

The key to his turnaround this week was accuracy off the tee.

“This is a golf course that you really need to play from the fairway,” Kirk said. “Thankfully I drove the ball well this week and the rest of my game was really good.” A winner in 2011 as a rookie at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Kirk now has two PGA Tour victories. Unlike his win in Mississippi, though, Sunday’s triumph comes with a spot in the Masters next spring. Having never played in the season’s first major, Kirk admitted to thinking about Augusta National well before the final putt was holed. “Obviously, winning the Masters would be the greatest thing that I could ever do in my golfing career,” said Kirk, who played Augusta National once a year while at the University of Georgia from 2003-2007. “You can’t win if you’re not playing.” Though he’s now relocated with his family to the Atlanta area in anticipation of the birth of his second child, Kirk maintains a house near Sea Island and, having lived here for several years, has built a relationship with tournament host Davis Love III. “Davis was kind of the guy when I was 12 and 13, really starting to play golf. He was my favorite player that I always looked up to,” Kirk said. “He’s turned from being my idol to sort of a mentor and a good friend.” Following the win, Kirk reminisced about the first time he met Love during a tournament following his sophomore year of high school. “My parents have a picture of Davis and I on their little mantel from that tournament,” he added. “I had braces and kind of long sideburns. It’s a pretty funny picture now.” With the McGladrey trophy now under his arm and his 2014 schedule set to include a stop in Augusta, Kirk speculated that his parents may adjust their mantel to make room for a picture with Love following Sunday’s win.

“I would guess so, yeah,” said Kirk. “Right next to the other one.”

Clark Fires Sunday 62 to Finish Runner-up at McGladrey

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – After blustery conditions for much of the past two days, winds calmed significantly at Sea Island Golf Club for the final round of the McGladrey Classic.

No player took more advantage of the benign conditions than Tim Clark, who carded an 8-under 62 behind an array of accurate iron shots.

“Being five back I had to go out and shoot a good score, and this was one of the calmest days we’ve obviously had,” explained Clark, who tied for second alongside Briny Baird, one shot behind Chris Kirk. “Obviously when you’re playing good on a golf course like this, you can shoot those sort of scores.”
Clark got out of the gates quickly Sunday, recording birdies on five of his first seven holes – all without making a putt longer than nine feet. In total he notched nine birdies on the day, including one on each of his final three holes.
“That’s been one thing that I’ve struggled with,” Clark said of his iron play after reaching 17 of 18 greens in regulation during the final round. “These last few weeks, I found something in my golf swing and I’ve really started to hit it better.”
Having battled injury for much of the past three years, the South African feels optimistic after Sunday’s round netted him his 12th career runner-up finish on the PGA Tour.
“I haven’t played this sort of golf in quite a long time,” added Clark, a former Players champion whose most recent second-place finish came at the 2013 Sony Open in Hawaii. “I’m starting to feel like my game might be back to where it was three years ago.”

For the First Time, Masters Invite on the Line at McGladr

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – A drive across the state of Georgia from Sea Island Golf Club to Augusta National would, depending on traffic, take just under four hours. It happens to be a journey that a McGladrey Classic champion has yet to take based on his victory at the Seaside Course.

That all changes Sunday.

 With the event now integrated into the PGA Tour’s 2013-14 wraparound schedule as a full-fledged FedEx Cup event, tournament officials will be able to hand an invitation down Magnolia Lane to their winner Sunday in addition to the trophy and $990,000 first-place check. For a player like Kevin Stadler, a spot in the field at Augusta National serves as extra motivation as he looks to join his father, 1982 Masters winner Craig Stadler, for a trip around Amen Corner next April. “You think about it, sure,” said Stadler, who sits one shot off the lead after a Saturday 65, firmly entrenched on a crowded leaderboard that lists 12 players within four shots of the lead heading into the final round. “It’s not necessarily something on the forefront of my mind, though.” Still in search of his first PGA Tour victory, Stadler nearly earned a spot in the 2014 Masters field by making it to the season-ending Tour Championship this fall. His run through the FedEx Cup Playoffs came up just short, though, as the 33-year-old finished the season 33rd in points when only the top 30 players advanced to East Lake. “I certainly thought about it this past year,” Stadler said of potentially joining his 60-year-old father for a competitive round at Augusta National. “I’d obviously love to get there while my dad is still playing, which is getting shorter and shorter by the year.” The lure of the Masters is also strong for Scott Brown, who called Augusta, Ga., home as a child. Though he won earlier this year, Brown’s victory at the Puerto Rico Open did not bring with it a Masters invite because of its position on the schedule opposite the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Having attended at least 10 Masters tournaments alongside his grandfather in the late 1980s and 1990s, Brown now finds himself at 8-under 202, two shots off the pace heading into the final round at Sea Island and on the cusp of his first trip inside the gates as a tournament participant. “Absolutely, yes. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it,” Brown explained after a third-round 68 moved him into a tie for sixth. “We know what kind of benefits we get from winning. Obviously, I’d love to play there, being in my own backyard.” Holding a share of the tournament lead through 54 holes, Briny Baird has made a pair of Masters appearances, most recently in 2009. While a return to Augusta National remains enticing, Baird’s larger focus is on claiming his maiden victory in this, his 365th career PGA Tour start. “I know I can do it,” explained Baird, who has compiled $12,699,237 in career earnings – the most for any active player without a win to his credit. “Knowing you can do it and doing it are two different things.” Five times a runner-up, including a playoff loss at the 2011 Frys.com Open, Baird believes the difference between winning and losing is mental. “I’ve always said Tiger Woods wasn’t 80 PGA Tour wins physically better than me. There’s a mental capacity that’s in there,” said Baird, who is playing this season on a major medical extension after surgeries to both of his shoulders in 2012. “It’s just not possible to be 80 PGA Tour wins better physically, so it’s obvious there’s some mental in there ... It’s mostly mental I would say, actually.” Joining Baird in Sunday’s final group will be Chris Kirk, who has yet to make the field at the Masters, though he does have the PGA Tour title that Baird covets. Kirk won the 2011Sanderson Farms Championship, but that win – like Brown’s victory this year in Puerto Rico – did not bring with it a spot at the season’s first major.
At 10-under 200, the 28-year-old shares the lead with Baird heading into the final round, one that he expects to be highly competitive. “It’s sort of anybody’s game,” explained Kirk, who was a member at Sea Island before relocating to the Atlanta area earlier this year. “Obviously I’m happy to be tied for the lead right now, because that’s one less shot that I’ve got to go get tomorrow.” With the first seven names on the leaderboard separated by just two strokes, the fourth installment of the McGladrey Classic remains largely unpredictable. What’s certain, though, is that the eventual champion will be able to make the short drive from St. Simons Island to Augusta and, upon arrival, finally watch the gates swing open based on the merit of his win.