SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda(AP) U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover brought a new set of irons to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf to start getting ready for next year, and it worked out beautifully in Bermuda at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
Glover briefly gave up the lead to British Open champion Stewart Cink until running off three straight birdies around the turn at Port Royal Golf Course and closing with a 5-under 66 for a five-shot victory.
Masters champion Angel Cabrera also had a 66 and finished second after Cink bogeyed the last hole for a 70. PGA champion Y.E. Yang, still struggling with jet lag after a flight full of delays from South Korea, shot 70 to finish last among the four major champions.
``I brought out new irons this week with the new grooves just to try and see how they work, because I wanted a couple of rounds under my belt with this new model,'' Glover said. ``So Nike made a good set, and I think I like them.''
A new rule changing the dimensions of grooves in irons starts next year, although it is expected to affect wedges the most, and Glover kept his old wedges in the bag this week because he didn't want to give up too much of an advantage.
Ultimately, he won with his putter, especially the birdie putts on the ninth, 10th and 11th holes to pull away. Cink made bogey on the 12th and 13th, eliminating any drama in Bermuda.
Glover finished at 11-under 131 and earned $600,000, pushing his total for the year over $4 million.
Cabrera, who won the Grand Slam two years ago when it first moved to Bermuda, finished at 136 and made $300,000. Cink earned $250,000 and Yang took home $200,000.
For at least a couple of hours, it looked as though the 36-hole event might be headed for a playoff for the third straight year.
Cink opened with two birdies, and another birdie at No. 5 gave the British Open champion the lead. Glover's birdie on the ninth put him in a tie for the lead as they headed to the back nine, and it was over four holes later. Glover birdied the next two holes, Cink followed with two bogeys and no one else had a serious chance of catching the U.S. Open champion.
``I had it going really well, and then I just ... I don't know, the wheels kind of fell off out there,'' Cink said. ``And then the bogey I made on 12, really, I just felt like the momentum just sort of dissipated completely.''
Cabrera also was in the hunt until he missed a birdie putt at No. 12 that had the makings of a two-shot swing.
``I made what I made and I missed what I missed, and I think that the 12th hole was a key there,'' Cabrera said. ``I went on to lose it, on the 12th hole, when Lucas had made a very important long putt for par, and I missed a short one for birdie there.''
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Storms welcome major champs to Bermuda
SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda(AP) Some reward for winning a major.
Y.E. Yang slept on a pullout couch in the locker room. Lucas Glover read a book. Stewart Cink twittered. Angel Cabrera scowled.
The four major champions spent Monday dodging thunder and lightning that interrupted the pro-am for the PGA Grand Slam of Golf at Port Royal Golf Course.
Yang, who took down Tiger Woods to win the PGA Championship, spent several hours asleep on a hastily supplied bed after a journey that began in South Korea at 7 a.m. Sunday and didn't end until 5:30 a.m. Monday. His slumber was captured by Cink on camera and immediately posted on Twitter. Cink has more than 1 million followers after his British Open victory.
``I thought this was just an opportunity I just couldn't pass up,'' Cink said. ``When you only have four in the field, and one of them takes a nap, and there is a fold-out bed in the locker room, that's pretty impressive. And he slept with all the commotion going on, as well. When the rain would come, we would all rush back into the locker room, and there would be lots of noise. And he never moved.
``It was pretty impressive, but he had a long night. I was intentionally vague about it being a long night. Most people will think that he was partying.''
The incident added some comic relief to a pro-am where the players were each able to finish just six holes due to weather Glover described as the ``worst I have ever played in.''
Glover is opting to trust the yardage book to guide him around the rest of the course during the first round Tuesday, while Cabrera, the Masters champion, may look at the rest of the course in the morning.
``It was tough out there obviously,'' said Glover, whose won his U.S. Open in five days of rain and muck at Bethpage Black. ``I think that's the worst conditions I've ever played golf in. I'm not going back out. There is probably a good chance that I'll get even wetter. I think I'll just go with the yardage book.''
The only one to brave the rain was Cink, who took a cart around the parts of the course he didn't see. Yang sent his caddie.
``I got to play six entire holes,'' Cink said. ``And I don't think you could say I played those holes, because the weather was absolutely atrocious. But it seems like a nice course, a good course for wind because it's not that long. There are holes that will play very difficult in the wind. It looks to be a course that is in great shape.''
The quartet of major champions start the opening round Tuesday round at 9:30 a.m. EDT. All expect the wind to play a big part.
``The wind is going to play the biggest part, rain or not,'' said Glover, who hammered one drive at No. 14 all of 215 yards into the wind. ``The greens are still very firm, but the wind will be the big issue. It'll be tough and it'll be a good test, regardless. If it was dead calm, it would be a good test, because the course is so good. But the wind is going to be the main defense.''
Glover shoots course record, leads PGA Grand Slam
SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda(AP) Lucas Glover shot a course record Tuesday to dominate the first round of the PGA Grand Slam.
Glover hit six birdies and an eagle to finish at 6-under 65 at the newly renovated Port Royal Golf Course, but bogeys at Nos. 13 and 16 stopped him from taking total control of the tournament.
The U.S. Open champion owed his record-setting round to a hot putting, including monster putts of 60-plus feet on Nos. 4 and 17, which earned him the eagle and a two-shot lead over Stewart Cink.
``I played well,'' Glover said. ``I'm really pleased with my round. I didn't know what to expect. I think, truthfully, not seeing the course might have helped, because we might not have known where some of the trouble was.''
Despite missing several putts on the back nine, British Open champion Cink remained confident that he could chase down Glover.
``I think the greens are, they are tricky to read,'' Cink said. ``I'll maybe slightly adjust for tomorrow.''
While Glover and Cink had good rounds, Angel Cabrera and Y.E. Yang struggled. Cabrera finished five shots behind Glover, with four bogeys on the back nine. At the par-5 17th hole, Cabrera duffed two chip shots and then two-putted from 14 feet.
Yang, still recovering from the long flight from South Korea, finished with an even par 71.
``I tried my best,'' Yang said. ``Unfortunately, I didn't hit under par. Fortunately, I didn't embarrass myself by hitting over par. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll end in on a stronger note.''
Glover rolls to PGA Grand Slam title
