Filed under: PGA, Golf Odds and Ends
FanHouse golf writer B.J. George breaks down the week's winners and losers in this special Tuesday edition of Monday Movers.
Stock Up Martin Kaymer -- The German dominated a strong field in Abu Dhabi by shooting a new record low. Kaymer topped last year's record-tying 21-under by three strokes. The 26-year-old torched his self-proclaimed "home course" to the tune of 25 birdies and only one bogey. With the 8-stroke victory over Rory McIlroy, Kaymer passes Tiger Woods and now finds himself No. 2 in the world. You should expect last year's PGA Champion to reach No. 1 at some point this season, likely before the year's first major.
Jhonattan Vegas -- Another 26-year-old picked up the win at the Bob Hope Classic but this one was much more improbable. Just three weeks into the new PGA season, the rookie picked up his first tournament victory and made history by becoming the first Venezuelan to win on Tour. Vegas' final-round 69 was his worst of the week but good enough to land him in a playoff with Gary Woodland and Bill Haas, where a second hole par secured the win. The former Texas Longhorn jumped 101 spots to 86th in the world rankings in just his fourth year as a professional golfer.
European Tour -- This week showed us again that the gap between the top two golf tours in the world continues to close. The European Tour hosted the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship while the PGA Tour set up in California for the Bob Hope Classic. While the PGA had a prize pool twice that of the European tour, the field of players didn't reflect the payout. With Phil Mickelson making his 2011 debut at Abu Dhabi, that tournament boasted all four current major winners as well as four of the world's top five.
Consistency -- What do Matt Kuchar and Charles Schwartzel have in common? If you answered future major winners, you might be proven correct soon, but for now, neither has finished outside of the top 10 this season. Kuchar finished T7 at the Bob Hope Classic for his third straight top 10 and currently sits 7th in the FedEx Cup Standings. Schwartzel, who will be debuting on the PGA Tour this season, leads the European Tour's Race to Dubai after his 5th top 10 in five events in 2011.
Ryder Cup Captains -- The American and European Ryder Cup teams both officially named their team captains this week. Davis Love III will lead the U.S. while Jose Maria Olazabal will try to keep the Cup in Europe for a seventh time in nine matchups. Both men have a Ryder Cup history already. Love's first three career matches in the Ryder Cup took place against Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros. Love won the first but never beat Olazabal again. Vice Captains won't be named for a while but Fred Couples and Sergio Garcia are two favorites.
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Source: http://golf.fanhouse.com/2011/01/25/shifting-golf-markets-kaymer-vegas-stocks-soar/
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