Race to Dubai: Jacob Van Zyl Leads Turkish Open By Two Strokes After Second Round

Jaco Van Zyl kept hold of his lead at -14 under par during the second round of the Turkish Airlines Open but a strong chasing pack made sure it was all to play for going into the weekend at The Montgomerie Maxx Royal. The South African opened with a 61 on Thursday and looked like he was going to blow the field away in the second round as he established a seven shot lead just after the turn. But water trouble on the fourth and eighth saw him register his first two bogeys of the week and left the door open for Richard Bland and Chris Wood get within two shots.

Van Zyl's 14 under total equalled the 36-hole record set by Ian Poulter last year but he will still have a lot of work to do to win his first European Tour title with Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy and 2013 champion here Victor Dubuisson both in the top ten. Two-time 2015 winner Kiradech Aphibarnrat, two-time Order of Merit winner Lee Westwood and former US Open champion Graeme McDowell are also within five shots of the leader but Van Zyl is enjoying leading from the front. Race to Dubai points leader Rory McIlroy is 4 strokes back at -10 under par. Can Van Zyl hold on to his lead through the weekend? Or will Richard Bland or Chris Wood - both at -12 under par two strokes back make a move to overcome the Swed? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour.

Race to Dubai: Van Zyl Leads the Turkish Open - McIlroy 6 Strokes Back

Jaco Van Zyl carded a stunning opening 61 to take a three shot lead at the Turkish Airlines Open as The Final Series got under way in Antalya. Race to Dubai points leader Rory McIlroy finds himself 6 strokes from the lead at -5 under par. Can Rory capture the Turkish Open title with two strong final rounds? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour/

The Montgomerie Maxx Royal was hosting the first of the four closing tournaments of The Race to Dubai and Van Zyl bettered the low round record of 62 held by Raphaël Jacquelin, although his achievement will not go in the record books as preferred lies were in play due to recent heavy rain. The South African recorded nine birdies and an eagle to open up an advantage over Lee Westwood who carded eight birdies of his own to sit alone in second. Van Zyl opened with a birdie and picked up further shots on the fourth, fifth and seventh before coming home in 30. The 36 year old eagled the 11th and then made birdies on five of his final six holes to take control after round one. He has recorded four top tens this year but has yet to claim a European Tour title and was delighted to shoot what he described as one of the best rounds of his life. So can Rory McIlrory stage a comeback in the remaining rounds and hold onto his Race to Dubai point lead? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour.

Lydia Ko Wins the Taiwan Championship - Re-Gains the World's #1 LPGA Ranking

The 18-year-old New Zealander holed a 30-yard pitch for eagle on the par-5 12th and finished with a 7-under 65 in sunny, breezy conditions at Miramar for a nine-stroke victory. Ko took the top spot in the world from South Korea's Inbee Park with her 5th LPGA victory this year and the 10th of her career. Park skipped her title defense at Miramar to play in a Korea LPGA event, where she tied for second Sunday. ''I think winning and playing well at an event is the top priority,'' Ko said. ''And then if you get the extra bonus with it, it's even better. ... The winning part is probably the most memorable. I haven't really thought about being world No. 1 again.''

Ko also took the top spot from Park with a second-place tie in the season-opening event in Florida. Park moved back in front with her major victory in the Women's PGA Championship in June in New York. ''In Ocala, I was disappointed in the way I finished,'' Ko said. ''Coming tied second and being world No. 1, I think it's a little different right now. I think I played really consistently well the last couple weeks, so I think it's something we can all celebrate and I want to share this with my whole team.'' Can Lydia Ko hold on to ther World's #1 Ladies Ranking against the likes of Inbee Park and Stacey Lewis? Share your thoughts with the Pro Golf Tour.

Nick Watney Takes a Three Stroke Lead Round 2 Lead Shriners Children Open

While the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open may not be the most high profile PGA tournament of the 2015-2016 wrap-around year it provides young talent - especially Web.com graduates - with an opportunity to test their wings and also awards 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner. Come September 2016 at the Tour Championship "points are points", where gained this fall or next summer during the peak of the season.

While Round 2 play in still in-progressing Nick Watney is looking to capture some low hanging fruit to kick-off the new year. Although the top ranked players are taking some well-deserved time off after a grueling but exciting 2014-2015 season, points gained ealory in the golf year can give new and mid-tier player a much-needed boost of confidence before the big boys return. For now, which player has the advantage to take home the winner's trophy at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour.

Grillo Wins the Frys.com Tourney as Jason Day Re-Captures World's #1 Ranking

Emiliano Grillo:  Look, this guy was already the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year before he won the Frys.com Open. Now he has cemented his long-term status, not to mention a spot in the OWGR top 50, and will be teeing it up next to friendly rival Jprdan Spieth at several big events next year. This is only the first of many for the Argentinian. Grillo became the first pro to win his first start as a PGA TOUR member since Russell Henley accomplished the feat at the Sony Open in 2013. He's the first rookie to win since Nick Taylor won last year's Sanderson Farms Championship.

Jason Day has once again ascended to the top of the world rankings, but this time he did it without hitting a shot. Thanks to the divisor math involved in the Official World Golf Ranking, Day overtook Jordan Spieth for the No. 1 spot even though neither of them played last week. This marks Day's second time on top, and it ends another brief reign for Spieth, who became No. 1 with his season-ending Topur Championship win last month. Emiliano Grillo jumped from No. 72 to No. 36 thanks to his win at the Frys.com Open, his second win in the last three weeks. So what does the future hold for the young Argentinian? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour. Frys.com Leaderboard: http://www.golfchannel.com/tours/pga-tour/2015/fryscom-open/

European Tour: Rory McIlroy Leads the 2015 Race to Dubai

The Race to Dubai celebrates both the diversity and the shared passion for golf across the globe. From the curtain-raising Nedbank Golf Challenge in December across four continents through to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, The 2015 European Tour International Schedule presented 12 months of enthralling tournament action featuring 48 tournaments in 27 countries worldwide.

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy won The Race to Dubai for a second time, having first finished European Tour Number One in 2012, at the end of a magnificent season during which he won The Open, US PGA Championship, the European Tour's flagship event of the BMW PGA Championship and the WGC - Bridgestone Invitational. He succeeded Henrik Stenson, who won title in 2013 and became the first man to win The European Tour's Race to Dubai and FedEx Cup on the US PGA Tour in the same year.  McIlroy (2012), England's Luke Donald (2011), Germany’s Martin Kaymer (2010) and England's Lee Westwood (2009) have previously won The Race to Dubai. Who is your pick to win the 2015 Race to Dubai? Send your comments to the Pro Golf Tour.

Presidents Cup - Recap: Team USA Wins By a Single Point - 15 1/2 to 14 1/2

The US extended its Presidents Cup winning record to 9-to-1 with a one point victory over the International Team in Incheon, South Korea. The Presidents Cup came down to the final hole of the final match. Bill Haas, the son of U.S. Captain Jay Haas, clinched the deciding point, giving a fitting ending to a dramatic day that saw the International Team make a late push for the Cup. The two teams earned six points apiece on Sunday, allowing the U.S. to hang on to its one-point lead. Here's a look at the 12 singles matches on the Presidents Cup's final day.

When U.S. captain Jay Hass laid out his Sunday singles plan, he had a general idea where each player would go – early, middle or late – with little or no regard for the potential situations each player might face. With his position last in the lineup, Haas’ son, Bill, figured the outcome of the Presidents Cup would have already been decided when he completed his match. So does this win for Team USA bode well for their performance in the 2016 Ryder Cup? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour.

Presidents Cup: International Team Storms Back - US Holds Slim 5 1/2 to 4 1/2 Lead

The International Team had its best day at The Presidents Cup in eight years, winning 3.5 points in Friday's four-balls to create some much-needed drama going into the weekend at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. The 3.5 points were the most earned by the Internationals in any one team session since they claimed 4.5 points on Day Two (also four-balls) in 2007 at The Royal Montreal Golf Club. As a result, the U.S. leads by just a single point, 5.5 to 4.5, going into Saturday's double session, which starts with four foursomes matches.Louis Oosthuizen-Branden Grace (INT’L) def. Dustin Johnson-Jordan Spieth (USA), 4 & 3: Price’s decision to send out his only winning foursomes pairing against the powerhouse American duo.

The key moment came at the eighth hole after Johnson had put the U.S. 1 up with a birdie at the seventh. Oosthuizen responded by rolling in a monster putt from 72 feet off the green at the eighth to square the match. Grace then won the next two holes with birdies and the Internationals never trailed after that. Meanwhile, Spieth – the recent FedExCup champ and world’s top-ranked player – could not get untracked. He struggled in all facets and seemed out of sorts all day. “One of the worst rounds of golf I’ve felt over the ball in a long time,” Spieth said. “… DJ counts on me to keep the ball in play and be consistent. I didn’t do that to free him up to play his game. You know, that was Merry Christmas to them.” What does this episode portend for the Round 3 matches? Send your comments with the Pro Golf Tour.

Presidents Cup - Update: Team USA Takes a 4-to-1 Lead After the Round 1 Foursomes

Perhaps the U.S. dominance in Thursday’s foursomes matches at The Presidents Cup can be reflected by the simplest of gestures: A firm handshake. That’s how Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson, the two senior players on America’s 12-man roster, celebrated their good shots against the International duo of Jason Day and Steven Bowditch at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea.

No high-fives, no wild displays of exuberance, the kind of which Mickelson had two years ago with his most recent Presidents Cup partner, Keegan Bradley. Johnson is more low-keyed, less apt to show his emotions. “I’m a pretty mellow guy out there,” Johnson admitted, before adding, “I thrive with Jason Dufner.” So after U.S. Captain Jay Haas decided to partner Mickelson with Johnson for the first time in their Presidents Cup/Ryder Cup careers, the two took it down a notch. “Zach’s never really been one to overly celebrate,” Mickelson explained. “So we came up with just a very subdued handshake to celebrate our successes.” Which team has the edge for the Friday-Round 2 Four-Ball matches? Send your comments to the Pro Golf Tour.

Presidents Cup Week is Here - Players to Test the South Korea Jack Nicklaus Course

The South Korea Jack Nicklaus Golf Course has been readied and the players are practicing for the 2015 Presidents Cup where the US team plays the Rest of World (minus Europe). The US enjoys an 8-1 win/loss record since the Presidents Cup was inaugurated in 1994. Structure of the matches will be reduced from 34 total points to 30, with five four-ball and five foursome matches on Thursday/Friday, versus six and six; and four four-ball and four foursome matches on Saturday, versus five and five.

The first four Presidents Cup events (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000) were played with a total of 32 matches. Each player will be required to participate in two of the first four sessions, with every player competing in the Sunday singles.  In the past, team members were required to play in at least three of the four four-ball/foursome segments. The order of the matches for Thursday and Friday will be determined by the host team’s captain, versus being set forth in the competition agreement. In this scenario for 2015, Captain Price can determine which format – four-ball or foursomes – will be played on Thursday and Friday. Finally, foursome, four-ball and singles matches that are all-square after 18 holes are determined to be a draw, with each team receiving a half point.  Previously, singles matches that were all square after 18 holes were extended to sudden death to determine the winner until one team had enough points to win The Presidents Cup. So which team has the edge leading into this year's tournament? Send your comments with the Pro Golf Tour.

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Jordan Spieth Named PGA Tour Player of the Year - No Surprise Here

Today the PGA Tour named Jordan Spieth as the PGA TOUR Player of the Year and Jack Nicklaus Award recipient, and Daniel Berger as PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, as voted by the TOUR’s membership for the 2014-15 season. PGA TOUR members who played in at least 15 official money events this past season were eligible to vote. The balloting process ended on October 1. The 22-year-old Spieth became the youngest PGA TOUR Player of the Year since Tiger Woods won the award at the age of 21 in 1997.

“The PGA TOUR enjoyed a sensational season from every perspective as our young stars shone brighter than ever before, but none brighter than the PGA TOUR Player of the Year Jordan Spieth,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “He captivated us throughout a memorable year that included the FedExCup and five victories, highlighted by two major championships. And the sportsmanship he displayed in both victory and defeat was a stirring indication of the role model and ambassador he has become in a very short period of time.” One of nine PGA TOUR rookies who advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs, Berger, 22, earned his spot as the only rookie at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola after a runner-up finish in the penultimate Playoffs event, the BMW Championship. How deserving is Spieth to receive the POY award? Send your comments to the Pro Golf Tour.