Lydia Ko and Inbee Park Lead a Strong Field into the First LPGA Major of 2016

Lydia Ko, fresh off her 11th LPGA win will attempt to make more major championship history at the ANA Inspiration. The tournament will be held at the Mission Hills Country Club inRancho Mirage, California on the famed Dinah Shore Tournament Course playing 6,799 yards. At last year’s Evian Championship in France Ko became the youngest player to win a professional major championship – men’s or women’s – since Young Tom Morris at the 1868 Open Championship. Young Tom was 17 years, five months and three days old. Ko was 18 years, four months and 20 days old. Ko still has some time to become the youngest two-time LPGA major winner. Se Ri Pak was 20 years, nine months and eight days old when she won her second major. She has won five of her last 13 starts around the world. She has finished either first or second eight times in that span. But the recent queen of the majors has been Inbee Park. Park has won six of the last 15 majors contested. She has won six major championships since the 2013 season began. No other player has won more than one major in that span.  Can the young Ko make history with by winning her 12th LPGA win at age 18 and capturing another major title? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

Jason Day Wins WGC Matchplay to Re-Capture the World #1 Ranking from Jordan Spieth

Jason Day won the WGC-Dell Match Play for the second time in three years with a 5 and 4 victory over Louis Oosthuizen in the final at Austin Country Club. After two wins in as many weeks, Jason Day is back to the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings. Day beat South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen 5 and 4, in the final of the WGC-Dell Match Play to de-throne Jordan Spieth  out of the top spot for the first time since early November. While Day was assured of the No. 1 ranking by making the semifinals, his win means that he'll remain No. 1 leading into the Masters regardless of Spieth's performance this week at the Shell Houston Open. Day had previously spent a total of four weeks with the No. 1 ranking following his win at last year's BMW Championship. Here at the Pro Golf Tour our premise has been that Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy comprise a new "top threesome" that is likely to dominate the men's game for the foreseeable future ... with any of these oustanding players holding the OWGR #1 spot at any point in time. For now all eyes are looking to The Masters. Can the struggling Jordan Spieth resusrect his game to successfully defend his 2015 victory, will Jason Day's steamroller position him to capture his 2nd major win or will Rory McIlroy rise to the occassion by displaying some of his past brilliance to claim his first Masters? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

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WGC Dell Matchplay - Jason Day & Jordan Spieth Vye for the OWGR #1 Position

Jason Day surprised even himself Thursday with his dominant 5-and-3 victory over Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee at the WGC-Dell Match Play. Questionable for the second round because of what he later described as an inflamed disk in his back, Day eagled his opening hole and made five birdies around the turn to improve to 2-0 this week. “I was actually quite surprised that I got to the golf course and hit the shots without really protecting it,” he said. Day will play Paul Casey on Friday, needing only a half point to advance to the weeken. After limping off the course Wednesday and receiving treatment, Day said he considered undergoing an MRI to see if there was any structural damage. He decided to test his back before the round, going through a half-hour warmup session, swinging fully and aggressively, like he would on the course.  Day, who has battled back issues since he was 13, knew he’d be able to play after his very first tee shot – a 372-yard blast that settled 12 feet away, leading to an opening eagle. Another win by Day this week could move him neck and neck with Jordan Spieth - who won his first round match yesterday - for the OWGC #1 spot. Which player has the best opportunity to come out on top? Share your pick with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

Jason Day's Win at Bayhill Puts Him in Prime Position for the Masters

Jason Day's win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational got the Aussie within striking distance of #! OWGR Jordan Spieth setting a showdown at The Masters. Day went wire-to-wire at Bay Hill for a one-shot victory over Kevin Chappell. In the process, he overtook Rory McIlroy for the No. 2 spot and got within 0.374 points of Spieth. It's the closest anyone has gotten to Spieth since he won the  Hyundai Tournament of Champions in January, and Day will now have a chance to reclaim the top spot this week at the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship. Day has spent a total of four weeks at world No. 1, most recently in November While Chappell fell short of his first PGA Tour win, his second runner-up of the season allowed him to vault 60 spots to No. 69 in the latest rankings, improving upon his previous career best of 85th. Troy Merritt, who finished T-3 despite a trio of final-round double bogeys, went from No. 120 to No. 82. Other moves from Bay Hill included Zach Johnson, who jumped five spots to No. 15 after a fifth-place finish, and Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat who moved from No. 46 to No. 39 after finishing T-6. The top 50 in the world rankings after this week's events will qualify for the Masters. Will our prediction that the elite threesome - Spieth, McIlroy and Day - will rotate as the world's #1 ranked male gofler in 2016 and beyond hold true? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

Jason Day Jumps to a 2nd Round 5 Stroke Lead at Bayhill

After an opening-round 66 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, though, Jason Day is very much back in that discussion. His round included seven birdies and an eagle, and at 6 under he holds a one-shot advantage over a pack of players that includes two of his countrymen, Scott and Marc Leishman. “Anytime you’re shooting 6 under, especially at a golf course like this, with how tough everything is, it does wonders for your confidence,” Day said. “The last few rounds at Doral felt like something was coming around nicely, and it kind of crept on to this tournament.” Day was away from competition for the final three months of last year after his wife gave birth to the couple’s second child. His 2016 results, while solid, aren’t overwhelming: three top-25s in four starts, highlighted by a T-10 finish among a limited field at Kapalua. It’s been the start of tournaments, in particular, that has proved difficult. Day’s opener at Bay Hill not only gave him the lead, but it served as his first sub-70 opening round since the Tour Championship. Day has watched as players Scott, Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth have all hoisted trophies in recent weeks. Rather than force the issue, though, he has remained committed to the path that took him to world No. 1 and a major championship just last summer. Can the young Day hold his lead in Round 3? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bayhill (Preview)

Matt Every, 2015 champion, leads a star-studded field vying for the winner's prize of $1.1M USD and 500 FedEx Cup points at this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational. And with just three weeks to go before The Masters one senses that the 2015-2016 wrap-around season is moving into high gear. Along with the usual suspects surnamed Spieth, McIlroy, Day, Stenson, Watson, Fowler and the like is young Maverick McNealy, a junior at Stanford University, was chosen in a vote of his peers in last year’s Arnold Palmer Cup. The players selected a member from each team (excluding themselves) who they think best represents the “Arnold Palmer Legacy,” that is, the values that Arnold Palmer has exhibited during his legendary career. The top vote-getter from the winning team earned the exemption, which went to McNealy. Now down to the facts: Halfway through the first round nearly one third of the field is under par with Marc Leischman, Troy Merritt and Adam Scott tied for the lead at -6 under par. So who are your picks to take home the king's trophy come Sunday? Let us know here at the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

Charl Schwartzel Wins the Valspar Championship in a Playoff over Bill Haas

It was Schwartzel’s first win in the United States since his 2011 Masters Tournament victory. Schwartzel’s final-round 67 was 5.2 strokes better than the field average and allowed him to erase a five-stroke deficit at the beginning of the round. Schwartzel won on the strength of his approach shots, which accounted for 61 percent of his total gain on the field. Bill Haas started the day with a one-shot lead, but a final round 72 only beat the field average by 0.2 strokes for the day. When asked about the positives for the week, Bill Haas replied, “My putting was really good.” For the tournament, Haas gained the most strokes with his putting (1.4 strokes gained per round), followed by his approach shots (1.0 strokes gained per round). Jordan Spieth closed with a respectable even par for Round 4 - far from his #1 OWGR form, yet this buys himself two tournaments to hopefully and finally get the rust off his game going into the Masters. What affect will this win have on former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel prior to August? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour. View the final Valspar leaderboard here.