Norman has congratulated his successor

GREG NORMAN has been dropped as captain of the 2013 Presidents Cup International Team in favour of Zimbabwe’s three-time major winner Nick Price.

Announcing the selection of Price and the re-appointment of American captain Fred Couples this week, US PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem admitted Norman would have like to continue in the role he undertook in the last two cups but said it was time for a change.

And Finchem foreshadowed in future the US Tour would relinquish its role in choosing the international captain.

Norman released a statement on his website congratulating Price on his appointment.

“Nick already has an excellent rapport with many of the international players and will do an excellent job in the buildup to the 2013 Presidents Cup at Muirfield Village.” Norman said in the statement. “The International team is a team of champions representing many countries. There is no question they have the credentials to win the 2013 President Cup. I wish Nick and his team well towards this quest. I look forward to my on-going support of the International Team in the coming years.”

Explaining the appointment of Price, who played in five Presidents Cups, Finchem said that while the US with the benefit of the Ryder Cup [Where Davis Love will be the US captain this year] had a team event every year the Internationals only had the opportunity every two years.

He basically said that while Norman had done a good job in his unsuccessful campaigns in San Francisco in 2009 and at Royal Melbourne in 2011 and would be welcomed back by the players, time was running out for Price to have his opportunity.

“Nick certainly was at the top of the list of players going forward simply because he had given so much to the Cup, he’s such a popular player, etcetera, etcetera, and yet he was getting older, and we wanted to – not that he’s ancient, he’s still a young guy – but in terms of his connection with the players,” Finchem said.

“So that was the tilting factor. Greg was terrific. He was great with the decision not to move forward. I think he would have been pleased to move forward, but I think going forward, we’ll look back and Greg Norman’s captaincy was important to the development of the Presidents Cup, and we appreciate it very much.”

Finchem said it had been mentioned to him in Australia last year and earlier that in the evolution of the Presidents Cup it would begin to make sense “to start to separate the internationals from the U.S. from a management standpoint, starting with the captains.”

He said this had been discussed with the heads of the international tours and with players.

“… this would be a structure that would somehow involve the other Tours and maybe past captains or players who have played a certain number of Cups to take a lead role in deciding the captain, which is just more the natural evolution,” he said.

Price, a former world No.1 with five Presidents Cup appearances, three majors and a place in the World Golf Hall of Fame, was ecstatic with his selection.

‘I am both honoured and excited to have been selected as the International Team captain for The Presidents Cup,’ the 55 year old Price said.

“Ever since playing in the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994, it has been an event that has meant so much to me, and I have looked forward to the opportunity of captaining what I know will be a very strong International Team.”

Whilst it might be surprising to some that Norman won’t be a part of the 2013 event, many will be surprised that Couples is.

He made a few asides at Royal Melbourne last year – from memory at one of the team selection confrontations he rolled his eyes and looked heavenward and said something like “Oh God when will this all be over” – that would indicate he had had enough.

And after the US team victory he directly suggested that maybe it was time for someone else to have a go. But that was apparently all part of the show and he was just saying what he thought at the time was the right thing to say.

“I think that’s just an honorable thing to say, even though I was squeezing my leg, like, ‘What are you saying that for?,’” he told the media at Muirfield Village this week. There was definitely no equivocation about how he felt about his reselection.

‘It’s an amazing honour to be selected to serve as US Team captain again in 2013,’ Couples said. “It’s safe to say that The Presidents Cup has been a huge part of my career and my life, from playing in four events to my experiences in 2009 and 2011 as captain.

‘Those memories are unforgettable, and I feel extremely fortunate to get another chance to be a part of The Presidents Cup when we go for a third-straight victory, this time at Muirfield Village Golf Club, which is one of my favourite venues.”

The Presidents Cup, which pits the best golfers in the US against the rest of the world excluding Europe, will be on at Muirfield – scene of the US PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament this week – in Dublin, Ohio, from October 3-6 next year.

ROGER CHAPMAN arrived at the 73rd Senior PGA Championship a virtual unknown but now joins some of golf’s biggest names as a senior major champion.

The 53-year-old Englishman took the 2012 title by two strokes after leading comfortably throughout the final round at the Harbour Shores course on Lake Michigan.

Chapman led wire to wire and started the final round with a five stroke buffer. His closing 1-over 72 was his worst of the tournament but finishing on 13-under was too much for second placegetter John Cook (69) on 11-under and Hale Irwin (68) a stroke further back.

The two big finishers on the day were Kenny Perry who shot a tournament record 62 and Australia’s Peter Senior who finished with a 63.

Senior played the last 10 holes in a sizzling 8-under to finish the tournament on 9-under tied for fourth along with Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer, David Frost and American Joe Daley.

Chapman may have been an “unknown” before – he’s only had one professional start previously this year which was the recent European Senior Tour event in Spain – but joins some hallowed names like recent winners of this event Tom Watson and Tom Lehrman and going back to golfing royalty like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Australia’s Peter Thomson.

“It’s the greatest day of my professional career,” Chapman said. “No question about that.  It was hard work in the end, I think I had a nine shot lead, and your mind just starts to wander a bit.  And I was thinking of George [George Will a former Ryder Cup player who was his mentor as a teenager] all the way around.  What he would be thinking and just lost my focus a bit.”

Sitting next to the trophy containing all those names and with the lifetime exemptions and other doors that would now be open to him starting to sink in, Chapman was incredulous.

“It’s, again, it’s incredible.  I mean, just looking you got Hale Irwin, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson and Fuzzy Zoeller, Jay Haas.  And it’s incredible just to have my name under Tom Watson’s name the defending champion.  It’s just, it’s weird,” he said.

“It’s the best feeling in the world.  This is what we strive for, this is what we practice and work hard for.  As I said in an interview the other day, we’re very lucky to be seniors, over 50s, and still doing our profession. Fifty three years old, I just won my biggest check of my career.  So I’m very happy.”

Donald ... back where it started

LUKE DONALD cantered to a four shot victory at the 2012 BMW PGA Championship to regain his ranking as the world’s No.1 golfer at the weekend.

Donald first gained the ranking a year ago after winning the same event in his native England and although losing the title four times to Rory McIlroy in the 12 months still sees it as an important milestone.

“There is something special about going 12 months and still being No.1,” the 34-year-old said. “We have swapped it a couple of times but to go a 12 month span is something I am very proud of and is a vindication that what I am doing is right and shows that my game is improving.”

Donald finished untroubled at 15-under with fellow countryman Justin Rose tied for second with Scotland’s Paul Lawrie on 11-under.

Rose missed something of a sitter putt on the last that would have seen him in outright second. The Englishman had put some pressure on Donald early on before the world No.1 clinically eased away.

Arch rival McIlroy didn’t even make the cut.

2012 BMW PGA Championship Final Results

Johnson and Dufner had faced off in the final round at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, in a virtual match play for the title.

It was a see-sawing match before Dufner – looking for his third US PGA Tour win in a month – finally lost concentration and triple bogeyed the 15th.

Johnson had his first tour win for two years in the bag from then on, even when assessed a two-stroke penalty for failing to replace his ball to its original position after marking it on the 18th hole. That left him with a 2-over 72, finishing at 12-under.

“I’m going to focus on the positives, because I hit a really solid putt and it’s a good thing I made it,” Johnson said. “No harm, no foul. It was my fault.”

Johnson moved his original ball mark out of the line of Dufner’s putt on the 18th green. But he forgot to move it back before his final 5-foot putt.

Dufner (74) has had an amazing month, with two wins, a wedding and now this close second.

“Pretty good run, today obviously a little disappointing to play that poorly and not kind of a chance there at the end,” said Dufner, insisting fatigue wasn’t a factor. “I feel pretty good actually. … I just played really poorly today.”

Tommy Gainey hit a 67 to finish a distant third  at 7-under while vetera Jim Furyk was alone in fourth one stroke further back after a 68.

Geoff Ogilvy was the best placed Aussie with his final round 69 seeing him tied for 19th on 1-under. John Senden (70) was 2-over at T37 after his promising opening round 69.

The US PGA Tour moves to the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, this week for the Memorial Tournament. Steve Striker will defend his title against a star–studded field that includes Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and a number of Aussies headlined by Adam Scott and Jason Day.

2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational Final Leaderboard

The Moonah Links Legends Course

THE lure of playing three of Australia’s top golf courses on Victoria’s beautiful Mornington Peninsula has attracted golfers from all over the country to the 2012 Regis Australian Veteran Golfers Union National Championships.

The week-long AVGU event for golfers aged 55 and over will take place this November and is already a sell-out with a sizeable waiting list.

The three courses to be used for the championship rounds of the event are all inside the national top 50 rankings.

They are the Legends Course at Moonah Links (15th in the Golf Digest rankings) The Dunes Golf Links (16th), and the Ocean Course at The National Golf Club (36th).

In addition, there will be a stableford event on the Monday of the tournament week, which is November 11 to 16, at the very impressive Rosebud Country Club.

The AVGU National Championship is an annual event that rotates around the states. The championship itself is held as a 54 hole stroke event in three grades with ladies playing a 54 hole stableford event in two grades.

The 2012 event is being hosted by the Mornington Peninsula Veteran Golfers Association and we recently spoke with tournament director Ken McNamara who said they had been flooded with entries with the courses and the location obviously a big attraction.

“They’re all ranked well inside the top 50 in the country and they’re all beautifully maintained golf courses,” McNamara said. “It’s probably the best grouping of courses [the championship] has ever had.”

McNamara said they had received over 550 entries with over 80 at that time on the waiting list.

“We obviously won’t be able to take them all but it’s probably not a bad position to be in,” he said.

Only 400 can be accommodated by the two Rosebud courses for the Monday stableford competition and 470 for the three championship rounds later in the week.

“The entries have come from far and wide,” McNamara said. “Queensland is the biggest contributor with around about 150 and Western Australia is somewhere around 120. We have entries from every state and territory including the Northern Territory. There are people coming from Darwin and Alice Springs, a number of people coming from far north Queensland, Cairns and so forth, which is terrific. Probably the state with the lightest entries would be Tassie followed by Victoria. So these veteran golfers are great travellers.”

McNamara said preparations on the ground were going smoothly.

“We’ve got people in place now. We’ve got course managers at each of the locations and they’re putting their teams together at the moment and they’re fairly clear on what the processes should be followed each day so we think that we are reasonably well organised. The courses are fully aware of what is going on which is important, they’ve shut down their courses for out sole use on those days which is obviously necessary. We’re going to run shotgun starts morning and afternoons on each of the days.”

“The main thing is for people to have a good week. If they can go away and say they really enjoyed it that’s all we are trying to achieve.”

McNamara said they had been particularly pleased with the support of their sponsors, particularly naming rights sponsor Regis.

“Regis provides aged care and they have 45 or 46 establishments all around Australia, I think they are represented in pretty much every state. They are certainly represented locally here they have one at Rosebud and one not far away. They look after all sorts of aged care from retirement village situations to high level care. They a very reputable company and are still in the majority privately owned. They seem to be a pretty decent lot.”

Chapman ... "pleased with the way things are going"

ENGLAND’S Roger Chapman leads the 2012 US Senior PGA Championship after a windy first round of the year’s first senior Major.

Chapman shot a 3-under 68 for a one stroke lead over America’s John Cook.

“We have only played one event [on the European Senior Tour] this year, so this is probably my fourth real competitive round this year,” the Englishman said. “It’s a long way to come, a long wait. But I’m very pleased with the way things are going.”

Chapman was 16th in that European tour event, the Mallorca Open in Spain earlier this month, and was 27th at this event last year in Kentucky.

Steve Pate, J.L. Lewis, Jeff Sluman, Jay Haas, David Frost and Jim Carter each shot 70 to share third place on 1-under.

Peter Senior and Michael Harwood were the best placed of the four Australians taking part.

They shot 74’s to be 3-over while Peter Fowler and Graham Marsh were on 4-over.

A number of big names struggled with Fred Couples, Tom Lehman and Tom Kite among those on 5-over and below the projected cut line.

“Anything under par is a good score,” Couples said. “It’s just another round of golf. I’m 52 years old. If I’m worried what I shot every single round, then that’s a problem.”

The tournament is taking place on a Harbor Shores course that only opened two years ago for its first full season. The Jack Nicklaus-designed layout gave players quite a challenge on a windy day along the shore of Lake Michigan, with the severe greens causing some particular headaches.

Senden ... came home with three birdies

JOHN SENDEN is the leading Aussie after the first round of the 2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas.

The lanky Queenslander shot a 1-under 69 to be five strokes behind leader Zach Johnson.

Senden had a slow start with bogeys on 5 and 6 but turned more positively to snatch birdies on 10 and 11 and then went into the red with another on the 17th.

Johnson hit a bogey-free 6-under 64 that gave him a one-stroke lead after the tough Colonial course was racked with 20-30 mph winds.

“Today was great. I got off to a good start, just hit some quality shots. I didn’t put myself ever in a position that was too worrisome,” the American said. “I kept the golf course in front me. I attacked when I could attack. I had a couple of nice saves when I needed it. … I’ve got zero complaints.”

Jason Dufner continued his recent great form to be tied for second along with rookie Harris English and fellow Americans Tom Gillis and Kyle Reifers.

Sergio Garcia, the 2001 champion in the same group as Johnson, shot a 66 to match Chris DiMarco, Tommy Gainey and Andres Romero on the third rung of the leaderboard on 4-under.

Geoff Ogilvy, Greg Chalmers were the next best placed Aussies on even while Aaron Baddeley was 1-over and Marc Leishman has work to do at 2-over.

Leishman ... best Aussie performer last week

THE US PGA Tour moves to Fort Worth this week for the 2012 Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Seven Aussies will line up against a pretty decent field that includes golf’s latest hottest player – the laugh-a-minute Jason Dufner – and a couple of last month’s hottest players in Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar.

There’s also the likes of Hunter Mahan – the only other player along with Dufner to win twice on the tour this year – along with defending champion David Toms and a swag of regulars.

The Aussies listed to play include the in-form Marc Leishman, Aaron Baddeley, Geoff Ogilvy, Greg Chalmers, Robert Allenby, John Senden and Rod Pampling.

One of them sometime soon has got to come up with Australia’s first win on the tour this year. It’s been our leanest trot for years.

The event is being telecast in Australia on Fox Sports beginning at 5am on Friday.

2012 BMW PGA Championship

Meanwhile, most of Europe’s best will be at the Ernie Els design-tweaked Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey, England for the 2012 BMW PGA Championship.

Els, Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter are among the names taking part as the European Tour heats up in the run up to the 2012 British Open.

Australian representatives include Marcus Fraser, Matthew Zions, Andrew Dodt, Richard Green and Brett Rumford.

Live coverage on Fox Sports begins at 11pm Thursday.

2012 BMW PGA Championship Leaderboard

Senior ... still seeking that elusive first US win

US Champions Tour regulars Peter Senior and Graham Marsh will be joined by Senior European Tour stars Peter Fowler and Michael Harwood at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Harbor Shores course in Benton Harbour.

Defending champion Tom Watson is out with a wrist injury but there will be a host of well-known names among the 156 competitors competing for the title.

They include past Senior PGA Champions Michael Allen (2009), Jay Haas (2006, 2008), Hale Irwin (1996, 1997, 1998, 2004), Tom Lehman (2010), Mike Reid (2005), Tom Wargo (1993) and Denis Watson (2007).

There are also 15 Major champions including Fred Couples, Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Steve Jones and Larry Mize.

With 18 top ten finishes and four second placings since joining the Champions Tour three years ago, Peter Senior is Australia’s best chance. First he has to overcome his frustrating failure to win in the US.

“It’s been a couple of years and I have had four or five really good opportunities to crawl over the line and haven’t done it so it is beginning to get on my mind a little bit that I haven’t won,” Senior told AAP this week. “A win in the US is the little holy grail for me and a major would just be a great thing to have on your CV. I know the more times you put yourself in that position the more chance you have of falling over the line. I was in the top 10 a lot last year (12 times from 22 events) and the game is in good shape. I’ve had a reasonable start to the year so I’m feeling good.”

The 52 year old believes the fact the course is comparatively new, it only opened in July 2010, will be a help.

“This is a fairly new course and most of the guys have never seen it before so it’s a great leveller in that regard,” he said. “It looks in great shape and the greens will be very difficult, they have a lot of slope and if the wind gets up it will prove pretty tough going.

“Normally guys have played a course a lot during their career and have learned where to miss it and where not to miss it but everyone will be a little blind this week and you could find yourself in some tough short-sided positions if you’re not careful. The harder the courses, the better I seem to finish so hopefully this is no exception.”

Perennial crowd favourite Fred Couples tied for second at the 2010 championship and was a winner earlier this year on the Champions Tour. After a reasonably sparse schedule lately the American was obviously feeling fresh.

“I don’t feel like I played much [this year], but I’ve played pretty well when I played and I’m excited to be here,” Couples said.

He had just played his first ever round on the course and echoed some of Senior’s comments.

“I think the golf course is long, but not ridiculous.  There are a couple key holes, I think they’re more the par 4s.  The par 5s are quality holes.  You can’t get away with, certainly, a mishit tee shot or a second shot if you’re going for these greens.”

Australian television coverage

The event is being covered by Fox Sports in Australia with live coverage in the wee small hours for the night owls and later repeats during the day.

2012 Senior PGA Championship Live Leaderboard

Dufner .... two wins and a wedding this month

JASON DUFNER almost broke into a smile today after winning his second US PGA Tour event in three weeks.

Dufner (67) sunk a 25 foot birdie putt on the final hole of the 2012 Byron Nelson Championship at the TPC Four Seasons Resort to take the title by a stroke.

The 35 year old also got married in the last couple of weeks but not much breaks through the immutable Dufner façade.

“Two wins and to get married in the same month – it doesn’t get much better professionally or personally,” he said.

Dufner’s 11-under total edged out fellow American Dicky Pride (67), who was looking for his first win since 1994, while Australia’s Marc Leishman (66) finished tied for third along with Sweden’s Jonas Blixt (66) and Americans Joe Durant (65) and JJ Henry (68).

Leishman continued his good form of the earlier rounds and was in contention coming down the stretch but a bogey on the last didn’t help.

Jason Day started the final round on 7-under and was had a chance to repeat his 2009 victory in the event but after a bogey on the 4th never really got going and faded with a 72.

After waiting six years for his first win, Dufner now has two and shoots to the top of the season long FedEx Cup and can just about book his spot on the 2012 US Ryder Cup team.

If you think those successes added to the nearly three million odd million dollars he has won this month will really get the celebrations going, consider the last two Q&A’s at his winner’s media conference:

Q. When fans watch you on TV or see you in person, you look extraordinarily calm and nonexpressive, even in victory. When you get back to the hotel room will you let out a primal scream or chest bump Kevin when you see him?

JASON DUFNER: No, none of that.

Q. Do you ever get extra expressive?

JASON DUFNER: Here and there a couple of times a year. Usually there is some alcohol involved or Auburn football, but for the most part I’m laid back. We’ll head over to Ft. Worth, check into the hotel, get dinner, chat, and we will be on to next week at the Colonial. We will celebrate a little bit, but I’m pretty laid back all the time for the most part.