Editor's Weekly Word

When you're in the zone you can't seem to do anything wrong, as Vijay Singh and Craig Stadler are clearly demonstrating at the moment. Their victories last weekend mean that they have each won the last three tournaments they have entered on their respective Tours and nobody can get anywhere near them. Why? To paraphrase Craig Stadler's comments this week, 'when you go into a tournament believing that you are going to win, it makes it easier'.

The other thing it does is dent your opponents' confidence in their own ability as they also believe you are going to win - a pretty powerful combination. But, as both these players are well aware, it can't last forever. It will be interesting to see how long they can keep it going and what records they can establish along the way.

If you have downloaded your free welcome gift for subscribing to Golfing Weekly ("The Putting Book" by Carey Mumford) you will have seen a chapter on "Finding the Zone". Although it was written a couple of years ago and makes extensive reference to Tiger Woods, it is as relevant today as when it was written. If you haven't downloaded your copy yet you can get it from our download page. It's well worth the read and may even help you find a zone of your own. You can also get another perspective in the article, "Playing in the Zone" by Michael Anthony, in our archive section.

Have a good week.

Regards

Andy Smith
Founder/Editor
www.golfing-weekly.com

84 Lumber Classic - Tournament Report

Vijay Singh made it three wins in a row on Sunday when he clinched the 84 Lumber Classic with a final round 69 to complete a wire-to-wire victory by one stroke over Stewart Cink. Cink came from down the field with a seven under par round of 65 to set the clubhouse target of 14 under par but it was not quite good enough to get on terms with the world number one. Coming down the final fairway with a two stroke cushion meant that, despite putting his second shot into the greenside pot bunker, Singh was able claim his eighth title of the 2004 season with a bogey on the last.

Singh's $756,000 paycheck took his earnings for the season to $9,455,566 which surpasses Tiger Woods' PGA Tour single season earnings record of $9.1million which has stood since 2000. This was Singh's fifth win in his last six starts and with entries in four more tournaments before the end of 2004, it looks highly likely that he will become the first player to earn more than $10 million in a year.

Come-from-behind specialist Stewart Cink admitted afterwards that Vijay is just too hot for the rest of them at the moment. His runner-up earnings took him past the $4 million mark for the season and strengthened his position at #5 on the Money List.

Third place was shared by Pat Perez (67), Zach Johnson (68) and Chris DiMarco (70). Perez was cut from nine of his first twelve starts this year but seems to have hit a vein of form with top-25 finishes in each of his last three outings in his quest for his first PGA Tour victory. DiMarco briefly closed the two-stroke overnight gap when Singh bogeyed the third hole but Singh immediately bounced back with a birdie at the fourth and never relinquished the sole lead again.

John Daly was in the top ten on the leaderboard for much of the afternoon after getting to four under for the day with his birdie on the eleventh hole but a couple of bogeys on 15 and 16 left him with a round of 70 and a share of 13th place on 280, eight under par for the tournament.

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84 Lumber Classic - Results

Par 72 - 7,032 yards

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PGA Tour Money List

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The Heritage - Tournament Report

Sweden's Henrik Stenson claimed his second European Tour title this weekend with a four stroke vistory over Spain's Carlos Rodiles. Stenson, whose only other Tour win came in his 2001 rookie year at the Benson & Hedges International Open, has recently been showing a return to form including a tied second place in the Scandinavian Masters last month and he currently stands in 24th position on the Volvo Order of Merit.

Having started the day with a one shot lead over countryman Patrik Sjöland he maintained his dominance of the event throughout the day, finishing with four consecutive birdies from 14 to 17 and a comfortable par on the easy 18th. He was the only player to shoot all four rounds in the sixties, his final round 66 giving him a 19 under par total of 269.

Rodiles' round of 65, which included six birdies on the back nine, was enough to pass the remainder of the field and claim the outright runner-up spot on 273, with Sjöland two shots futher back in third place. Anders Hansen also posted a 65 to claim fourth on 276 while fifth place was shared by four players including England's Simon Wakefield who should have finished in the top three but could only manage a bogey on th last after going out of bounds left with his drive.

Ian Woosnam challenged for the lead early on the back nine but dropped back to a share of ninth place after a bogey on 15 and a double on 17 put paid to his chances.

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The Heritage - Results

Par 72  - 6,979 yards

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Volvo Order Of Merit

Earnings on the European Tour are paid in Euros. The equivalent value in US$ is for information purposes only and was calculated at the rate which was current at time of publishing. Earnings from the majors are included in both the European & PGA Tour Money Lists.

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Longs Drugs Challenge - Tournament Report

Following on from her recent runner up finish at the State Farm Classic, Californian Christina Kim recorded her debut LPGA Tour victory this weekend in her home state. A closing 65, which included five birdies on the back nine, gave her a one shot victory over Karrie Webb who missed a birdie putt on the final hole which would have forced a playoff.

Juli Inkster, twice winner of this event, held a three shot lead at the turn but couldn't keep pace with the late charges of Kim and Webb, settling for third place a shot further back.

The best round of the tournament was a 60 by Anna Acker-Macosko which earned her fifth place in the event and fell short of Annika Sorenstam's LPGA record of 59 by just one shot.

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Longs Drugs Challenge - Results

Par 71 - 6,235 yards

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ADT Money List

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SAS Championship presented by Forbes - Tournament Report

Craig stadler continued his phenomenal run on the Champions Tour by recording a six stroke victory over Tom Jenkins this weekend. Since turning 50 last summer, Stadler has notched up eight wins, five of them this year and the last three in consecutive appearances. Not surprisingly, he tops the money list with official earnings in excess of $2 million and also leads the Charles Schwab Cup points race.

Nearest rival in both tables is Hale Irwin who will have the chance to close the gap this week as Stadler is not entered for the Constellation Energy Classic which kicks off on Friday in Baltimore.

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SAS Championship presented by Forbes - Results

Par 72 - 7,137 yards

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Champions Tour Money List

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"Off the Cart Path" - weekly cartoon strip by Roy Doty

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Official World Golf Rankings

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