Ai Miyazato wins Safeway Classic, leaps back to No. 1 in women's ranking

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Ai Miyazato closed with an even-par 72 to finish at 11 under, two strokes in front of Cristie Kerr and Na Yeon Choi.

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Ai Miyazato was in uncharacteristic territory to start the final round of the LPGA Tour's Safeway Classic.

She was nervous.

While Miyazato normally appears composed, the jitters were evident when the Japanese star bogeyed the par-4 second hole on the Ghost Creek Course at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club. Then she bogeyed the par-4 seventh.

It wasn't until a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole that she steadied herself -- and cruised to her fifth victory of the year. Miyazato, who also led after the first two rounds, closed with an even-par 72 to finish at 11 under.

"Today was a really tough day," she said. "I was really nervous on the front nine. But after nine holes I made a birdie and it gave me a good kick."

With the win, Miyazato reclaimed the top spot in the women's world rankings, swiping that status from Cristie Kerr, who finished two strokes back along with Na Yeon Choi.

Kerr chased Miyazato throughout the final round until hitting into the water on the par-4 18th. The American finished with a 70, while Choi shot a 71.

Miyazato, ranked No. 1 for a week in June and again for a week in July, is among five players who have been jockeying for the top ranking, including Kerr, Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen and Yani Tseng. The spot came up for grabs when Lorena Ochoa retired earlier this season.

"My goal at the start of this year was to become Player of the Year. So I'm aiming for that," she said. "Everybody is so close at the top, so I don't really know what is going to happen. But it's a good motivator for me.

The Safeway Classic, in its second year at Pumpkin Ridge about a 20-minute drive west of Portland, was marred Saturday when veteran Juli Inkster, in strong position to contend in the final round, was disqualified.

The 50-year-old Hall of Famer used a weighted training aid on her club to stay loose while waiting for 30 minutes to make the turn at the 10th hole. That broke rule 14-3, which meant disqualification.

Miyazato and Kim, playing in the final pairing of the day, battled on the back nine holes after Kim pulled even with Miyazato with a jaw-dropping chip from under a tree to birdie the par-3 11th. But Kim dropped two shots with bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes.

In the pairing in front of them, Kerr missed a chance to pull even with Miyazato by misjudging a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 17. Her chances slipped away with the shot into the water on the final hole.

"I just said to myself, `How could you do that?'" she said.

Kerr has won twice on the tour this season, at the LPGA Championship and the State Farm Classic. She won the Safeway Classic in 2008 when it was at Columbia Edgewater Country Club near Portland International Airport.

"I'm not going to be far off as far as points, so this was an important week for me to finish up there even if I didn't win," she said.

Pettersen (69) and Song-Hee Kim (72) finished at 8 under.

Tseng, who the Women's British Open on Aug. 1 for her second major victory of the season and third in three years, finished 2 over.

M.J. Hur, the defending champion, was 4 over and did not make the cut. The Safeway Classic is her first and only title to date. Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and Christina Kim were among those who also missed the cut.

Inkster was in a three-way tie for second at 8 under with Kim and Choi after two rounds. But that was erased when she used the "doughnut" training aid to practice her swing before making the backed-up turn, and the image flashed on television.

LPGA Director of Tournament Competitions Sue Witters said a viewer watching the broadcast brought the violation to the attention of tournament officials via email. By that time, Inkster was almost done with her round.

"I had a 30-minute wait and I needed to loosen up," Inkster said in a statement. "It had no effect on my game whatsoever, but it is what it is. I'm very disappointed."

Patrick Cantlay shoots 60, lowest PGA Tour round ever by an amateur, at Travelers

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One week after he was the low amateur at the U.S. Open, Patrick Cantlay went low again at the Travelers Championship.

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Series: PGA Tour

Nineteen-year-old UCLA star Patrick Cantlay has insisted he has no intention of leaving school early to join the PGA Tour.

But the low amateur last week in the U.S. Open softened his stance just a little Friday after shooting a course-record 10-under 60 -- the lowest PGA Tour round ever by an amateur -- to take a four-stroke lead in the Travelers Championship.

"I'm going to stay amateur definitely for the Walker Cup (in September), and my plan is to stay amateur until I finish college," he said.

Taking advantage of preferred lies at soggy TPC River Highlands, Cantlay tied the tournament record set by Tommy Bolt when the event was played in Wethersfield in 1954.

Cantlay birdied the final two holes to reach 13 under. After shooting a 67 on Friday morning in the rain-delayed first round, he had eight birdies and an eagle in the afternoon. It was his second eagle of the day on the par-5 13th.

He said he had no idea that he was setting an amateur record.

"I knew where I was. I knew I needed to make eagle on 18 for 59," he said. "It's tough to hole it from 152."

But he came close. His approach landed just above the hole and rolled back to just over 2 feet below the pin.

"I thought it had a chance, it was covering the flag pretty good," he said. "It takes some luck."

D.J. Trahan (62), Webb Simpson (65) Alexandre Rocha (66) and Vaughn Taylor (66) were tied for second along with Andres Romero, who had completed five holes when play was suspended because of darkness just after 8:00 p.m. ET. Seventy-seven players are scheduled to complete the second round Saturday.

Players had perfect scoring conditions Friday with rain-softened greens and little wind. And because of the wet conditions, players were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls hit in the fairway, another big advantage. The projected cut line was 3 under par.

"A day like today, play good in the first round, you just kind of keep it going," Taylor said. Generally, your swing feels the same and your game feels the same, so you just kind of stay in it and just keep playing."

An amateur hasn't won a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson in the 1991 Northern Telecom Open in Arizona. If Cantlay wins, he would have 60 days to decide whether to accept a spot on the tour and the two-year exemption that goes with it.

Four players have shot 61s at the TPC River Highlands course. The last was Kenny Perry in 2009.

Tour rookie Jim Renner shot 29 on his first nine holes and finished his first round with a 63, good enough for a one-stroke lead heading into the afternoon. But he started his second round with a bogey, a par and a double bogey and finished the day at 3 under.

Renner had played in just one Tour event before this season and earned his card though qualifying school. He grew up in Plainville, Mass., and said this tournament was the first PGA Tour event he ever attended.

"I think I walked about four holes and realized I was ready to go home," he said. "I was 14."

The shot of the day came from Heath Slocum, who holed a 160-yard shot across the water to eagle the signature 17th hole. He finished his two rounds at 7 under.

But Cantlay stole the show, and received a standing ovation from the sparse crowd as he walked up the 18th fairway.

"It's just one round," he said. "It was a good round, and I played really well. Nothing bad happened. I'm really proud of it, but I've got a couple more rounds to play."

Harbaugh Identifies List Of Problems To Fix This Offseason

Posted Dec 31, 2013

Ryan MinkBaltimoreRavens.com Staff Writer@Ravens All Ryan Mink Articles



The head coach apologized for failing to meet Ravens' standards, but is confident 'we will be back.'



Head Coach John Harbaugh opened his season-ending press conference with an apology.

“I apologize for the fact that we’re even having this press conference, for the fact that we have to sit here and talk about the fact that we’re wrapping up the season and the playoffs haven’t even started yet,” he said.

The Ravens’ five-year stretch of consecutive playoff appearances ended not because of one problem this year. It was a collection of issues.

And on Tuesday, Harbaugh went through the main points that the team will address this offseason.

“[These] are things that would have made a difference in games that probably would have gotten us in the playoffs,” he said. “Coaches are working on this.”

Run The Ball Better

Harbaugh said not running the ball effectively was “probably our biggest disappointment.”

The Ravens finished with a franchise-low 3.1 yards per carry, which ranked last in the NFL. Baltimore’s 83 rushing yards per game were third worst in the league. Pro Bowler Ray Rice put up just 660 rushing yards after topping 1,100 each of the past four years.

There are a number of factors that go into why the run game flopped, and eventually had to be largely abandoned due to lack of effectiveness.

“You’ve got to be able to throw the ball well to protect the running game,” Harbaugh said. “You’ve got to be able to block people, and move people and knock people around in order to run the ball. You’ve got to create some angles to create situations where there are mismatches. And you’ve got to be able to make some plays out there when plays aren’t there and create some yards.”



Rice’s leg injuries (hip then thigh) made it more difficult. The offensive line struggled to pick up the necessary blocks, especially early in the year, and then simply didn’t execute well enough when they did. Fullback Vonta Leachwas rarely used as the team shifted away from the run.

Protect Flacco Better

Joe Flacco is the franchise quarterback, and thus there’s a high priority on keeping him healthy, something that didn’t happen this season.

Flacco was sacked a career-high 48 times. He took the second most sacks of any quarterback in the league this year, trailing only Miami’s Ryan Tannehill (58 sacks).

Flacco played the final two games of the regular season, both losses that knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs, with a hobbled left knee as a result of a helmet hit by Lions outside linebacker DeAndre Levy. Flacco was sacked six times in those two games.

Hit Big Plays

The Ravens were among the best in big plays in 2012, logging 72 over the course of the year to finish third in the NFL.

They thought they would have even more potential for big plays this offseason when they welcomed in more speed to the offense with Deonte Thompson, Tandon Doss, gave Jacoby Jones the No. 2 spot and madeTorrey Smith the lead receiver.

But that didn’t happen. The Ravens had just 50 big plays, tied for 29th in the league.

Without chain-moving wide receiver Anquan Boldin and tight end Dennis Pitta for most of the year, the Ravens needed to at least get big chunks to move the ball.

Defense Needs To Finish

In many categories, the Ravens defense improved this season when compared to the Super Bowl-winning unit.

They were 12th in the league in points scored per game (22), compared to 17th a year ago (21.5). The Ravens ranked 12th in yards allowed per game (335.5), an improvement from 17th and an average of 350.9 last season. The Ravens were 12th against the pass and 11th against the run.

“You look at it statistically, you look at the numbers – that’s what you do at the end of the year – you’ve got to say we were a good defense. We were a really good defense,” Harbaugh said.

“But, our defensive coaches and our defensive players are going to tell you that that’s not good enough. They want to be a top defense – one, maybe two, maybe three when it’s all said and done. That is the standard for the Ravens defense, and that’s what we’re going to chase.”

But one area where Baltimore’s defense struggled was in the final quarter and minutes of games. It too frequently allowed long scoring drives at the most inopportune times.

The Ravens couldn’t get off the field against Green Bay, versus the Steelers at home, Cleveland on the road, in Chicago in overtime, against the Vikings in a back-and-forth game at home, then late against the Bengals after rallying to tie the game at 17.

“We need to be better in the fourth quarter, and we need to be better at protecting leads at the end of the game,” Harbaugh said.

Although the Ravens’ postseason is starting earlier than usual, Harbaugh is approaching it with “an enthusiasm unknown to mankind,” citing his family motto.

“We will work like crazy to improve and become better. But, this is going to be sticking in our craw for quite a long time – I can tell you that,” Harbaugh said.

The Ravens will have several months to think about their issues before getting back on the field.

“I’m sorry that we didn’t live up to that standard this year, but we will be back,” Harbaugh said to end his press conference.

＜速報＞谷原秀人はパープレーでホールアウト、6位タイで最終日へ

2013年11月23日16時23分




＜ISPSハンダワールドカップ 3日目◇23日◇ロイヤルメルボルンGC（7,046ヤード・パー71）＞

　オーストラリアにあるロイヤルメルボルンゴルフクラブで開催中の「ISPSハンダワールドカップ」の3日目。前半4アンダーで7位で折り返した谷原秀人は、後半やや崩し1バーディ・2ボギーでフィニッシュ。トータル3バーディ・3ボギーのパープレーで3日目を終えた。通算3アンダーは6位タイ。3日目も何とか上位をキープした。

　大会3日目はいきなりの連続バーディスタートと最高の滑り出しを見せた谷原だったが、前半は勢いに乗り切れず失速した。後半に入っても悪い流れは変わらず13番のボギーで3アンダーに戻してしまう。15番では後半唯一のバーディを奪うも次の16番で再びボギーを叩き、結局トータル3バーディ・3ボギーの“71”でホールアウト、スコアを伸ばせずこの日を終えた。

　この日スコアを伸ばせなかった谷原だが通算3アンダーは6位タイとまだ上位。最終日の爆発に期待したい。

日本チームは粘って単独3位！地元オーストラリアが首位に浮上！

2013年11月23日20時53分




＜ISPSハンダワールドカップ 3日目◇23日◇ロイヤルメルボルンGC（7,046ヤード・パー71）＞

　オーストラリアにあるロイヤルメルボルンゴルフクラブで開催中の「ISPSハンダワールドカップ」の3日目。この日地元オーストラリアのジェイソン・デイが6バーディ・1バーディの“66”でラウンド、5ストローク伸ばし前日首位に立ったデンマークのトーマス・ビヨンを抜き通算9アンダーで単独首位に躍り出た。

　そのデイと1打差の通算8アンダー単独2位にはトーマス・ビヨン。続く通算6アンダー単独3位には米国のマット・クーチャー。さらにイタリアのフランチェスコ・モリナリが通算5アンダーで単独4位につけた。

　そして、通算3アンダー6位タイには日本の谷原秀人と北アイルランドのグレアム・マクドウェルの2人が並んだ。また、日本チームのもう一人、石川遼はこの日3バーディ・2ボギーの“70”で1ストローク伸ばし通算1アンダーで12位タイとした。

　チーム戦ではこの日首位に立ったデイのオーストラリアが首位。単独2位には米国。そして、日本チームは単独3位で3日目を終えた。

【チーム戦】
1位：オーストラリア（-11）
2位：米国（-10）
3位：日本（-4）
4位：デンマーク（-2）
5位：カナダ（E）

【個人戦】
1位：ジェイソン・デイ（-9）
2位：トーマス・ビヨン（-8）
3位：マット・クーチャー（-6）　
4位：フランチェスコ・モリナリ（-5）
5位：ケビン・ストリールマン（-4）
6位T：グレアム・マクドウェル（-3）
6位T：谷原秀人（-3）
8位T：アダム・スコット（-2）
8位T：スチュアート・マンリー（-2）
8位T：キラデク・アフィバーンラト（-2）

12位T：石川遼（-1）他4名

＜中間速報＞遼、1つ伸ばし2アンダーでハーフターン

2013年11月24日12時01分




＜ISPSハンダワールドカップ 最終日◇24日◇ロイヤルメルボルンGC（7,046ヤード・パー71）＞

　オーストラリアにあるロイヤルメルボルンゴルフクラブで開催中の「ISPSハンダワールドカップ」の最終日。3日目通算1アンダー12位タイとした石川遼が前半を終え、1バーディを奪い通算2アンダーで後半を入った。

　この日石川はスタート1番からバーディと好発進を切るもその後はスコアを伸ばすことができず結局1バーディ・ノーボギーで前半を終えた。大会は残りバックナインのみ。後半のチャージに期待したい。　

＜速報＞日本チームがホールアウト、遼は3アンダー、谷原は2アンダー上位フィニッシュ！

2013年11月24日14時56分




＜ISPSハンダワールドカップ 最終日◇24日◇ロイヤルメルボルンGC（7,046ヤード・パー71）＞

　オーストラリアにあるロイヤルメルボルンゴルフクラブで開催中の「ISPSハンダワールドカップ」の最終日。日本から出場した石川遼と谷原秀人が大会を終えた。

　この日石川は出だしの1番でバーディと好発進を切った。ところがその後はスコアを伸ばせずスコアカード通りにプレー。結局前半は1バーディで1つ伸ばし折り返した。後半では11番でこの日2つ目のバーディを奪取。15番ではこの日唯一のボギーを叩くも17番ですぐさま取り返し、2バーディ・1ボギーで後半を終えた。この日石川はトータル3バーディ・1ボギーの“69”、今大会初めての60台で締め、通算3アンダーで大会日程を終えた。

　一方の谷原は、前半はバーディ先行させるもその後ボギーを叩き結局パープレーで前半を終えた。3アンダーで後半へ入った谷原は今度はボギーを先行させる苦しい展開。15番でこの日2つ目のバーディをうぶも次の16番で再びボギー。後半1バーディ・2ボギーで1つ落としこの日を終えた。この日谷原は2バーディ・3ボギーの“72”でラウンド、通算2アンダーで4日目をホールアウトした。