|
 The Pacific Links China Championship was scheduled for Sept. 18-20
at the 27 Club in Tianjin. The golf club and adjacent area were not
affected by blast.
"On behalf of the Champions Tour and our players, we are confident
this is the appropriate and correct decision," Champions Tour
president Greg McLaughlin said.
"Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and those
injured after this tragedy. We look forward to our continued
partnership with Pacific Links and the 2016 Champions Tour event at
the 27 Club in China."
Organizers decided to cancel the tournament out of respect to a
grieving community.
Sun Liping, chairman of Pacific Links International, said it is time
to support the victims' families and friends, and community of
Tianjin, which is located near Beijing.
--Martin Kaymer of Germany will be limited to 11 events on the PGA
Tour next season because he failed to meet the minimum requirement
of 15 tournaments during the 2014-15 season.
Kaymer, who won the U.S. Open and the Players Championship last
year, competed in 13 PGA Tour events this season, but he didn't play
well enough to qualify for the four events in the FedEx Cup
playoffs.
"Gaining full eligibility to play on both Tours -- the PGA Tour and
the European Tour -- is a challenge," Kaymer said in a statement.
"When coordinating my 2014-15 schedule I was forced to plan with a
certain degree of risk. Unfortunately I have not been able to reach
my goals on the PGA Tour for this season.
"I certainly accept and acknowledge the regulations of the PGA
Tour."
Of course, Kaymer could rectify matters by winning a tournament next
season and earning a two-year membership on the PGA Tour.
--The PGA Tour reduced by four the number of matches in the
Presidents Cup, giving the event its fewest matches since it began
in 1994.
Nick Price of Zimbabwe, who will captain the International team for
the matches in October at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, Korea,
in October, lobbied for the change to help keep the matches close.
The United States won the past five Presidents Cups by a combined
score of 95-75, and by at least three points each time, and it leads
the all-time series 8-1-1.
"After numerous meetings and discussions, it was apparent that both
captains felt passionate about their respective positions, as did
their potential team members," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem
said. "But with no clear consensus between the two sides, it was up
to me to make a decision that would be best for the event overall."
Under the new format, Thursday and Friday each will include five
matches (fourballs or foursomes), down from six. Saturday will
consist of four matches of fourballs and foursomes, down from five
each, followed by 12 singles matches on Sunday.
In addition, singles matches will be halved if they are tied after
18 holes, instead of going to a playoff.
As captain of the host team, Price will decide whether to start with
foursome or fourball play.
Each player must compete in two of the four team matches.
Previously, players had to compete in at least three team matches.
The Presidents Cup began in 1994 with 32 matches and went to 34
matches in 2003.
"I think just looking at the record of the Presidents Cup, we're
1-8-1," Price said before the changes were made. "I think all of us
on the team feel that a points change would really make it more
exciting and more competitive.
"I think win, lose, or draw, we all want to see it come down to the
final match on Sunday instead of being done with eight matches left
on the golf course on Sunday. That's a big deal."
The Presidents Cup was created to give international players from
outside Europe a chance to compete in a team event similar to the
Ryder Cup, which pits the U.S. against the Euros.
--Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, N.Y., was added to the rotation of
The Barclays, traditional opener of the FedEx Cup playoffs that is
held in the New York/New Jersey area.
Glen Oaks, which is located on Long Island, will host the tournament
for the first time in 2017.
"The Glen Oaks Club is a fantastic addition to a rotation of some of
the best courses in the metropolitan New York/New Jersey area,"
Finchem said. "The Barclays has a proud tradition of visiting the
very best golf courses in the area, and Glen Oaks fits perfectly
with the other tremendous sites in the rotation."
Glen Oaks Club was formed in 1924 south of Lake Success on land
purchased from the estate of William K. Vanderbilt, and later moved
to the current site in Old Westbury. The course was designed by Joe
Finger and opened for play in 1971.
[to top of second column] |
Glen Oaks was named the 2015 Club of the Year by the Metropolitan
Golf Writers Association.
Officials of The Barclays also announced the course rotation through
2022:
2016, Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y.;
2017, Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, N.Y.; 2018, Ridgewood Country
Club in Paramus, N.J.; 2019, Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey
City, N.J.; 2020, Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J.; 2021,
Bethpage Black; 2022, Liberty National.
--Paula Creamer hasn't had a year to remember, but that didn't
matter much to Juli Inkster.
Inkster made Creamer one of her captain's Picks for the United
States team for the Solheim Cup matches next month at Golf Club St.
Leon-Rot in Germany. The decision came after the two met last week.
"I wanted to know where she was at mentally and physically," Inkster
said of their 90-minute get-together over a bottle of wine. "I went
with my gut. I really believe in her. The team believes in her. I
think she's earned the right to prove herself, and I wanted to give
her a shot to do that.
"I feel like she's not as lost as everyone thinks she is. She has a
lot of confidence in herself, and that's what I wanted to hear. I
wanted to hear she still believes in herself. That was pretty much
the deciding factor. There were no tears. No woe is me. She was very
outspoken and very honest with me, and I felt like this could really
turn her game around.
"Paula really made it easy on me. She knew she would be a
controversial pick. She said, 'You do what you have to do. It's not
going to hurt our friendship at all.' I don't have Paula on the team
because she's a good friend of mine. I have Paula on the team
because I think she will help the team."
Inkster knows Creamer well, having teamed with her in the Solheim
Cup for a 3-2-1 mark part of Creamer's 12-6-5 overall record as a
fiery member of five U.S. teams.
Stacy Lewis, Lexi Thompson, Cristie Kerr, Michelle Wie, Brittany
Lincicome, Angela Stanford and Gerina Piller earned spots on the
U.S. team off the points list.
Rookie Alison Lee joined Lizette Salas in making it from the Rolex
World Golf Rankings, and Brittany Lang was Inkster's other captain's
pick.
Captain Carin Koch of Europe completed her team by selecting
Caroline Hedwall of Sweden, Karine Icher of France, Caroline Masson
of Germany and Catriona Matthew of Scotland as her captain's picks.
They will join Suzann Pettersen of Norway, Gwladys Nocera of France
and Charley Hull and Melissa Reid of England, who qualified from the
Ladies European Tour points list, and Anna Nordqvist of Sweden,
Azahara Munoz of Spain, Sandra Gal of Germany and Carlota Ciganda of
Spain, who earned their spots by their world rankings.
The U.S. leads the series 8-5, but the Euros won the last two.
--Chris Kirk returned to the PGA Tour last week for The Barclays,
six weeks after breaking his right hand while playing with one of
his children.
Kirk, who last played in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in June, said
he started hitting golf balls again earlier this month and could
have returned a week earlier for the Wyndham Championship, but he
wanted the be sure the hand was completely healed.
"Golf is a lot more fun when you're not in pain," said Kirk, who
claimed his fourth PGA Tour victory earlier this season by winning
the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
"It's been six weeks (since he was injured), but it feels like it
never happened."
Kirk, who finished second in the FedEx Cup standings last year,
started the week at 29th in the points, and shot 76-68--144 to miss
the cut in the Barclays. He will defend his title this week in the
Deutsche Bank Championship.
-----------------------------------------------
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
