29 August 2006

While Tiger Woods celebrated a decade on the PGA Tour with title number 52 at the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational, the weekend delivered no less than four top-20 finishes from South Africans around the globe.

WGC - Bridgestone International
Ten years after he teed it up in his first professional tournament, Tiger Woods celebrated his decade of dominance the only way he knows how - victory no. 52 at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.

The undisputed world number one successfully defended his title on Sunday when he holed an eight-foot birdie to deny Stewart Cink at the fourth play-off hole, winning for the fourth straight time, a streak that began at the Open Championship and shows no sign of ending.

While most of the attention was on Woods, South African attention focused on the young gun from Somerset West, Trevor Immelman.

He strung together four solid rounds of 69, 70, 68 and 70, during which he picked up 16 birdies, shot par 43 times, and dropped 13 shots.

His three-under-par 277 finish was only seven strokes more than Woods, who had to go four extra holes before he could deny Stewart Cink.

The picture of consistency, Immelman claimed a share of thirteenth alongside England's Ian Poulter and Kevin Stadler of the USA, and earned a cheque worth $74 160. It lifted his earnings for 2006 to $3 160 246, good for seventh place on the PGA Tour money list.

European Challenge Tour
England's James Heath put on a stunning final day show to overwhelm the field and secure his maiden professional victory at the European Challenge Tour's ECCO Tour Championship.

The 23-year-old posted a magnificent final round of eight-under-par 62 to win by three strokes from Denmark's Thomas Norret, to take the first prize of €20 800.

Before the storms that had circled the Odense Golf Club throughout the week gathered once more and interrupted play on the afternoon, South Africa's Martin Maritz posted a final round 66 to tie for twelfth on 12-under 268, while Michiel Bothma tied for twenty-eighth on nine-under.

US PGATour
2005 Q-school graduate Will MacKenzie won his first PGA Tour event when he birdied the final hole at the Reno-Tahoe Open to edge Bob Estes by a stroke. Joe Ogilvie finished two shot back.

Tjaart van der Walt carded rounds of 70, 70, 74, and 71 to tie for sixty-third on three-under-par 285.

Asian Tour
Chinese Taipei veteran Wang Ter-chang, who turned 44 earlier this month, was calm and collected as he defeated Australia's David Gleeson on the second hole of the sudden death shoot-out to win the playoff at the US$300 000 Brunei Open.

Garth Mulroy was the top local challenger at the Empire Golf and Country Club, shooting a final round 69 to tie for twenty-first on seven-under-par 277, 11 shots behind the winner.

Nationwide Tour
American Jason Enloe, a 33-year-old native of Decatur, Illinois, fired a final-round four-under-par 68 for a total score of 14-under-par 274, then defeated Boo Weakly at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off to claim his first Nationwide Tour at the $600 000 National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic.

Phalaborwa's Brenden Pappas, already a winner on the Nationwide Tour this season, took his tally of top-20 finishes to four on Sunday. He started the final round tied for twentieth, but ended up claiming a share of twelfth with a final round 70.

Canadian Tour
Stephen Gangluff won the Canadian Tour's Fallsview Casino Resort Pro Am Classic, having overcome a slow start at a challenging Grand Niagara Resort to put up a two-under-par 70 and a win by seven shots from Brock Mackenzie on 14-under-par 274.

A final round of 73 saw 2006 Dimension Data Pro-Am winner, Alan McLean, climbed to fifteenth on the final leaderboard.

Champions Tour
Eduardo Romero, who finished in second place at the Senior British Open after losing a playoff to Loren Roberts, found himself in a major playoff again at the JELD-WEN Tradition.

But this time the Argentinean, who had the day's best round of seven-under-par 65, recorded a birdie on the first playoff hole to defeat Lonnie Nielsen.

Official World Golf Rankings
In his fourth straight win, Tiger Woods, successfully defended his World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational title, beating US Ryder Cup team-mate Stewart Cink at the fourth extra hole of a sudden-death play-off to notch his eleventh individual victory in a WGC event.

His lead over world number-two Phil Mickelson has reached an unprecedented 13.31 average points.

Australia's Adam Scott bumped Retief Goosen down to sixth spot, while, after a short stay at position number eight, Ernie Els climbed back one spot to seventh in the world.

SA Players in the World Top-200

	South Africa's Trevor Immelman has become a world-class performer on the US PGA Tour

	Record entry for Golf Worlds Prestigious golf showdown for SA Tremendous US win for Trevor Les vacances du golf en Afrique du Sud Teenage phenomenon doubles up Sabbatini's biggest golf win yet Golf holidays in South Africa SA golf's best recognised Sun, surf & golf SA golf courses in world top 100 South African golf: a success story SA golf tourism gains pace

	PGA European Tour  Sunshine Tour  Canadian PGA Tour  Ernie Els  US PGA Champions Tour  US PGA Tour  Official World Golf Rankings

Golf courses in South Africa Our climate is ideal for spending time out on the fairways, and when it comes to courses, golfers here are blessed for choice.