Sunday, June 23, 2013

2013 Rex Hospital Open: Sunday – Birdies and bogeys


Danny Lee putts narrowly missed his birdie putt on the 9th - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC

4:45 p.m.

After a two-plus hour rain delay that began at 1:15 p.m., play resumed under clearer and sunny skies with Danny Lee clinging to a two-shot lead (-17) ahead of playing partner Andrew Putnam.

As all players were in place by 3:30 p.m. to resume play, Lee birdied the 7th hole and extended his lead back up to three shots ahead of the field.

Lee went on to par the 8th hole while Putnam fell behind with a double-bogey.

No sooner had Lee dropped his putt when both second-round leader and local favorite Chesson Hadley and playing partner Josh Broadaway each eagled the par-5 ninth to make things interesting as they put themselves only three shots behind Lee.

As both Lee and Putnam missed opportunities to put themselves in any position to score eagles to end their front nine, they both finished with par as Lee stood at -18, followed closely behind by Loar (-16), Hadley (-15), and Broadaway (-15).



Rex Hospital Open - Danny Lee & Andrew Putnam prepare to tee off - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC

1 p.m.

As the entire field is now off the first tee at TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, N.C., the chase to catch 54-hole leader Danny Lee is on.

After three holes, Lee is even and sitting at -17 while his playing partner Andrew Putnam has gotten one stroke closer at -14.

The biggest movers near the top of the board include Len Mattiace as his 3-under par through seven holes has brought him to within five shots of the lead.

Can he pull of an 8 or 9-under par final round to put pressure on Lee?

Or will it be Ed Loar or Chesson Hadley, who are both even through three and five holes respectively, making a big run on the back nine?

Throw in the possibility of inclement weather and who knows what will happen.

More to come soon.

 

Rex Hospital Open Leaderboard

 

Raleigh Sports Examiner @pksport for onsite tournament updates 

 


Saturday, June 22, 2013

2013 Rex Hospital Open: Heading into Sunday

The par-5 ninth hole at the Rex Hospital Open - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC

The final round of play at the 2013 Rex Hospital Open should provide for some of the best play and excitement the event has seen at TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, N.C. in recent years.

While Danny Lee leads the field by four strokes after three rounds of play, course conditions have allowed for scores of at least 6-under par and higher to be posted by multiple players every day.

Lee will need to continue his hot play in order to hold onto the lead to become the first third and final-round leader to win the tournament since Kevin Johnson did it back in 2009.

Raleigh's Chesson Hadley sits five strokes back, but has been near the top of the leaderboard throughout the first three days of play.

It would not be a surprise for this year's tournament to end in a playoff as it did last year when James Hahn outlasted Scott Parel to win the tournament title.

Rex Hospital Open Leaderboard

 

Recent Rex Hospital Open news from the Raleigh Sports Examiner on Examiner.com:


Raleigh Sports Examiner @pksport for onsite tournament updates 


Friday, June 21, 2013

2013 Rex Hospital Open: Hadley hangs on for second round lead



Chesson Hadley putts for birdie on his final hole (#9) - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC

6:30 p.m.

Lee reaches Hadley, but falters on final hole


Danny Lee used his birdie run during his front nine to eventually put himself into a tie for the lead (-10) with Chesson Hadley who finished the day carding a 2-under par 69.

However, Lee pulled his tee shot on the par-5 ninth, and finished his round with a bogey to end up tied for second place, sitting at -9 along with Jason Gore and Edward Loar.

Loar’s 6-under par score of 65 was low round of the day and was matched by Scott Dunlap (-8), Len Mattiace (-6), and Tom Hoge (-5).


Round 2 - Rex Hospital Open Leaderboard

 

Jason Gore putts for birdie on his final hole (#9) - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC

3:30 p.m.

Jason Gore makes run at lead, Hadley hanging on


Tour veteran Jason Gore continued to make a run at the lead early during the second round of play at the 2013 Rex Hospital Open on Friday.

Gore finished his round with a par and finished with a 3-under par 68 to add to his first round of 65 that put him into the lead at the time.

As Hadley continued to maintain his steady play throughout his round, he found himself back in the lead managing to drop a few birdies to jump ahead of Gore (-9), while newcomer to the top of the board, Danny Lee (-8) jumped past Andrew Putnam (-8).

Raleigh Sports Examiner @pksport for onsite tournament updates 

2013 Rex Hospital Open: Friday birdies and bogeys - 11 a.m.


Andrew Putnam on 18th green before putting to take 1st round lead - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC

Erik Flores dropped the first hole-in-one at this year’s tournament on the 16th hole just past 10 a.m. on Friday as  putts continued to drop for others at the time as well.

Jason Gore and Cameron Beckman put up low numbers quickly, scoring birdies early in their second rounds to take the lead at 10-under par before coming back down just after first-round leader Andrew Putnam teed off.

Putnam's game cooled off a little during the latter part of his second round which had Gore and Hadley leading at -8.

Look back at Thursday first-round stat pack:

  • Putnam and Beckman hit 100% GIR on Thursday
  • Chesson Hadley ranked 3rd in putting – 1.467 putts/hole to put him at -8 overall
  • Longest recorded drive: Clodomiro Carranza – 385 yards – 9th hole 
  • Putnam was tied for 29th, dropping the ball at a 1.667 putt/hole rate

Round 2 - Rex Hospital Open Leaderboard


Recent Rex Hospital Open news from the Raleigh Sports Examiner on Examiner.com:

Thursday, June 20, 2013

2013 Rex Hospital Open: A look back and ahead with Billy Casper


Billy Casper tours Rex Hospital in Raleigh - Rex Hospital Media

Three-time major champion and Hall of Fame golfer Billy Casper toured Rex Hospital and visited with patients and doctors in the run-up to this week’s Rex Hospital Open on Tuesday.

Casper, an inductee into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978 and PGA Hall of Fame in 1982, visited the heart station, catheterization lab and a heart floor and learned about the hospital’s anticipated expansion of a new heart and vascular tower recently approved to be built. Funds from this year’s Rex Open will benefit Rex Heart & Vascular services and programs.

The visit to Rex marked another stop during a busy week for Casper, who also serves as co-chair of this year’s Rex Hospital Open, along with Captrust’s Jimmy Talton.

A Masters and two-time U.S. Open champion, Casper will also host an exclusive dinner event at 6 p.m. on Saturday at TPC Wakefield Plantation.

The dinner event begins with a reception followed by a five-course dinner during which Casper will recount stories of his playing experiences, including his relationships with golf legends Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

He will also be signing copies of his book, “The Big Three and Me.”

The dinner costs $150 per plate and space is limited.

To reserve a spot, contact Carson Gilbert at carson.gilbert@rexhealth.com or (919) 345-5830.

Raleigh Sports Examiner @pksport for onsite tournament updates 

 

2013 Rex Hospital Open: Round one birdies and bogeys


Two-time Rex Hospital Open champion putts on 18th hole - PKS Consulting LLC

As the morning groups at the Rex Hospital Open finish making their way around the course at TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, N.C., on Thursday, local product Chesson Hadley used his hometown discount to take the early lead, carding an 8-under par 63.

Hadley was closely followed by former two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen whose 6-under score of 65 kept him close, using up his stored up shot-making abilities after being DQ’d back in June from a U.S. Open-qualifying round for wearing metal spikes.

Kent Jones equaled Janzen’s 65 as the board was littered with 50-plus players who shot under par to set the standard for what looks to be a very exciting week of PGA golf to take place in the Triangle.

As much as many were scoring low on Thursday, others struggled including two-time champion Kyle Thompson, walked off the course disappointed after carding an 8-over par 79, while 2009 champion Kevin Johnson finished at even par (71).


Round 1 - Rex Hospital Open Leaderboard

 

As afternoon groups begin to tee it up on a sunny day with temperatures in the low 80’s and a slight breeze, conditions are ideal for players and spectators alike, local golf fans should filter in en masse to take in local junior product, amateur Carter Jenkins, who will tee off at 2 p.m. on the 10th hole.

He shot an 8-under 63 at TPC to earn his shot at getting an exemption to tee it up against the pros, hoping to make the cut and improve on his first experience at the Rex when he fell below the cut line, scoring rounds of 76 and 80 accordingly.

Recent Rex Hospital Open news from the Raleigh Sports Examiner on Examiner.com:

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Carolina RailHawks expect battle with Chivas USA to advance in U.S. Cup play


Carolina RailHawks vs. Chivas USA - U.S. Open Cup - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting LLC

The Carolina RailHawks host Chivas USA in the Round-of-16 match of the 100th Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. on Wednesday.

With a 2-0 win over the LA Galaxy back on May 29th, the RailHawks earned a return rematch with Chivas, who beat Carolina 2-1 in last year’s U.S. Open Cup meeting, the first-ever competitive match between the two clubs.

The Goats tallied the 2-1 victory over the RailHawks in that game on penalty kick scored during stoppage time, making this year’s Carolina squad want to advance to the quarterfinals even more.

“We have a lot of guys (back) from last year,” Kupono Low said.

“I thought last season we did very well going forward – we scored a lot of goals. With the lead we gave up some of the goals later in the game, so this year we’re focusing on playing the whole 90 minutes, being a little more disciplined. Defensively, that’s created the success we’ve had this season.”

Carolina comes into the game with a 2-2-1 (W-T-L) record in their last five games while Chivas has struggled with a 1-0-4 record during the same span.

“They have a little fire in them, they want to do something well in this Open Cup,” Low continued.

“For us, and potentially teams that don’t finish in the top of the table for the MLS, there’s a lot at stake. I’m sure there’s players on their team still fighting for starting positions, same as ours. It’s gonna’ be a battle.”

The RailHawks will continue to show why they are currently atop the NASL standings and hope to use their success in Cup play to prove that they belong competing against any team.

“Teams like us in the NASL, we put a lot into it (US Open Cup),” Low continued.

“It’s our opportunity to get recognized on a higher stage and it also gives us the opportunity to get us into the Champions League. Lower divisions like us are fighting for that and we put all of our chips on the table and go for that Open Cup. It’s going to come down to the final minute to decide who’s going to go on to the next round.”

The winner of Wednesday’s game advances to the tournament’s quarterfinal round against the winner of the match between Real Salt Lake and the Charleston Battery.

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Friday, June 7, 2013

30-plus days of pure action in the Triangle