WGT Golf News

Today marks the beginning of the 2012 PGA Transitions Championship at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. Over 140 players take the field for a $5.5 million purse at the 7,340-yard Copperhead Course, a par-71 track that annually ranks as one of the most challenging tests on the PGA Tour.

In round one of the tournament, Padraig Harrington shot the lowest official score of his life, a 10-under 61, to set the course record in the championship today. In fact, Harrington broke the Copperhead Course record, held previously by Mark Calcavecchia and Jeff Sluman. It represented the lowest first-round score on tour this year, relative to par.

Right behind Harrington are Will Claxton, who finished 7-under 64, and John Senden, who finished today with 5-under 66. Senden has a history of playing well here with a tie for 15th last year and back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2008. Finally, tournament defending champion Gary Woodland shot a 3-under 68 to close out the day.

Full PGA Tour Leaderboard

Enjoy new Blitz Challenge games, the new TruGolf course Chateau Whistler, new high-level PING G20 virtual clubs, and the new Block Player option…plus, the 2012 Virtual U.S. Open is right around the corner!

NEW GAME - BLITZ CHALLENGES

WGT Blitz games are 9 closest-to-the-hole shots with dynamic scoring bonuses that keep matches exciting down to the last shot. 

Now you can play new Blitz Challenge games against 1-3 other players for WGT Credits. It's winner-take-all from 25 to 2000 credits per game.

NEW COURSE - CHATEAU WHISTLER

Carved out of the mountain slopes in British Columbia, this magnificent golf course is the latest from TruGolf. 

Play all 18 holes strokeplay on Chateau Whistler, and be sure to check-out the latest TruGolf technology in the images of the trees, water and grass, all based on WGT player feedback about Cabo del Sol.

Note, Greens Fees have been reduced on Chateau Whistler and Cabo del Sol...

Free - Closest-to-the-hole

Free - Single Play Stroke Play

40 credits - 9 holes strokeplay
60 credits - 18 holes strokeplay

NEW CLUBS – PING G20 HIGH-LEVEL

The latest technology from PING, the new PING G20 clubs, now available for top players.

These new virtual clubs start unlocking at level 81, and include a new driver, woods, irons and a discounted full set…all with solid overall distance and control, as well as a slower WGT swing meter.

NEW FEATURE - BLOCK PLAYER

WGT has a great community, but you might not want to hear from EVERYONE, so now you can use the new Block Player option on your Account page. 

Blocking a player removes the ability for that player to invite, friend, challenge, or message you on WGT.

SPECIAL OFFER – FREE GREEN BALL ON ST. PATTY'S DAY

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, WGT is giving away 1 WGT GI-SD virtual ball, in green of course, to everyone who logs in on 3/17 and plays WGT on St. Patty's. 

Get more distance and control...plus a little luck of the Irish!

WGT MILESTONE

WGT is now the largest online golf game, as over 200 million total rounds of online golf have been played on WGT.com. 

Our sincere thank you to all WGT players for continuing to spread the word to friends. Your support enables us to keep adding new courses, features and equipment to grow the game. 

Next milestone…the over 500 million annual rounds of golf that are played in the real world.

COMING SOON - 2012 VIRTUAL U.S. OPEN ON WGT

WGT is excited to host the 2012 Virtual U.S. Open, played at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. The course, only miles from WGT Headquarters in San Francisco, is absolutely stunning and very challenging.

WGT will start releasing Olympic to players in April and is working closely with the USGA on exciting improvements to the 2012 Virtual U.S. Open. Stay tuned...

Other improvements include ability to save Replays in multiplayer games, and upgraded database servers for supporting more players in more countries.

Another lead lost in the final round of the 2012 WGC-Cadillac Championship on the PGA Tour.

This time, it was Bubba Watson, who shot a 62 on Friday, but missed most of the fairways and many putts to finish on Sunday with a 74 at -15 in second place. Watson's weekend performance brought the rest of the field back into the tournament, including Keegan Bradley, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose.

It was Rose who swooped in for the victory at the Blue Monster, shooting 70 and finishing at -16. Rose is now ranked #7 in the world, joining McIlroy (#1), Luke Donald (#2) and Lee Westwood (#3) as other UK players who are currently dominating the world rankings of golf.

McIlroy had an impressive charge on Sunday, shooting 67 and just missing several birdie putts, finishing in third place at -14. McIlroy has now finished in the Top 5 in 9 of his last 10 professional golf events.

Tiger Woods withdrew on the 12th hole, after noticeably limping and stretching his left leg. Reports are that Woods has re-injured his left Achilles tendon, which he initially injured at the 2011 Masters. It doesn’t appear to be the left knee, which has undergone surgeries in recent years. His expected return date is unknown.

Full PGA Tour Leaderboard

A great offer for WGT players from Myrtle Beach Golf Holidays…

Enter to win a four-day, three-night golf weekend for two people in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, known as the Golf Capital of the World.

The winner and a friend will spend the weekend golfing in Myrtle Beach, and then play in the “Monday After The Masters” celebrity golf tournament with professional golfer, model and new host of "The Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz" Blair O’Neal, plus attend the “Hootie & Friends” celebrity concert that night!

Enter to Win!

*Eligible to residents of USA and Canada. Event 4/7/12 – 4/10/12. See contest website for rules, eligibility and prize details.

The 2012 World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship kicks off this week at the famed TPC Blue Monster at Doral in Florida.

The TPC Blue Monster at Doral is one of the most well-known courses on the PGA Tour. Measuring 7,266 yards with generous fairways and undulating greens, as well as a number of water holes, including the iconic par-4 18th hole - nicknamed the Blue Monster - where water runs along the left side of the hole from tee to green, ranked as the 33rd most difficult (+0.311) on tour last season, so should make for some exciting finishes.

All eyes are on Rory McIlroy, defending his new #1 world ranking, as well as Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood, who are coming off low rounds last weekend. The defending champ is Nick Watney, and watch-out for Phil Mickelson, a previous winner here and coming off that playoff loss at the Northern Trust last month.

On a related note, Donald Trump is purchasing the Doral resort for $150 million, and planning to renovate the facilities in 2013, so Mr. Trump is sure to keep Doral in the headlines next year.

TV Schedule: The tournament will be broadcast on the Golf Channel and NBC Sports, check your local listings:

• Thurs, March 8 from 1pm - 6pm ET
• Fri, March 9 from 1pm - 6pm ET
• Sat, March 10 from 11am - 6pm ET
• Sun, March 11 from 12pm - 7pm ET

Video: Check out some of the memorable moments from the WGC-Cadillac Championship's history.

On Sunday at the 2012 Honda Classic held on the PGA National Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods went head to head in the final round. Woods fired a final round 62, his best final round score of his career. McIlroy shot a -1 under 69, to win the tournament by two strokes over Woods, and Tom Gillis, who also shot a final round -1 under of 69. McIlroy finished the tournament at -12 under, while Woods and Gills finished at -10 under.

With his win, McIlroy took over as the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world. It also made him the 16th player to be No. 1 in the world, and the second-youngest behind Woods, who was 21 when he first reached No. 1 after the 1997 U.S. Open. It was his fifth career win, three of those on the PGA Tour, which includes his record-setting performance last year at Congressional to win the U.S. Open, and a 62 in the final round to win at Quail Hollow.

Full PGA Tour Leaderboard

The World Golf Championships started with the top 64 golfers in the world and ended with the Final Four players on Sunday, featuring Rory McIlroy vs. Lee Westwood and Hunter Mahan vs. Mark Wilson. 

McIlroy knocked off Westwood 3 & 1 in the dramatic morning match on Sunday, and had a chance to replace Luke Donald as the #1 ranked golfer in the world. However, Mahan continued his impressive week of match play, beating Wilson 2 & 1 and then McIlroy 2 & 1 in the final for victory. Mahan played the best golf all week, with 35 birdies in 96 holes across 6 matches. In the consolation match, Wilson beat Westwood 1 up for third place.

Full PGA Tour Leaderboard

The next World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship is Mar 8-11 at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral.

With his victory, Mahan moves to #9 in the world rankings, with Donald #1, McIlroy #2 and Westwood #3 and Wilson #24.

World Golf Rankings

Hunter Mahan has had a busy couple years, both on and off the golf course...

• 2010 - records his second and third PGA Tour wins and makes his second Ryder Cup team
• 2010 - flubs a chip in final match at Ryder Cup to give Europe the victory
• 2011 - appears in top-viewed Golf Boys video with over 3 million views on YouTube
• 2011 - married Dallas Cowboy's cheerleader Kandi Harris, who was featured on the 2006 TV season of Making The Team
• 2012 - currently building a 19,000 square foot home in Dallas

...more on Hunter Mahan website.

Mahan also plays the new PING G20 golf clubs, one of the top virtual golf clubs available on free online golf game World Golf Tour.

Round 2 is complete at the WGC-Accenture Matchplay Tournament. Here's a quick recap of all 16 golf matches...

HUNTER MAHAN, USA def. Y.E. YANG, Korea, 5 and 3 - a dominating victory

STEVE STRICKER, USA def. LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN, South Africa, 1 up - makes a 21' birdie on 18 for the win

DUSTIN JOHNSON, USA def. FRANCESCO MOLINARI, Italy, 7 and 5 - no short game issues today

MARK WILSON, USA def. ROBERT ROCK, England, 3 and 2 - 1 eagle and no birdies for Wilson

MARTIN LAIRD, Scotland def. MATTEO MANASSERO, Italy, 2 and 1 - an impressive 7 birdies for Laird

PAUL LAWRIE, Scotland def. RYO ISHIKAWA, Japan, 1 up - experience over youth

JOHN SENDEN, Australia def. JASON DAY, Australia, 6 and 5 - Aussie upset

MATT KUCHAR, USA def. BUBBA WATSON, USA, 3 and 2 - Bubba wild off the tee

PETER HANSON, Sweden def. ERNIE ELS, South Africa, 5 and 4 - Els' upset run ends

SANG MOON BAE, South Korea def. CHARL SCHWARTZEL, South Africa, 1 up - Bae's upset run continues

LEE WESTWOOD, England def. ROBERT KARLSSON, Sweden, 3 and 2 - #1 seed advances

MARTIN KAYMER, Germany def. DAVID TOMS, USA, 2 up - #1 seed advances in a high-quality match

RORY MCILROY, N. Ireland def. ANDERS HANSEN, Denmark, 3 and 2 - #1 seed advances

NICK WATNEY, USA def. TIGER WOODS, USA, 1 up - Tiger misses 6' foot putt on 18

BRANDT SNEDEKER, USA def. KYLE STANLEY, USA, 2 and 1 - tight match

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ, Spain def. KEEGAN BRADLEY, USA, 2 and 1 - watch out Rory!

See results and next matches on PGA Tour Live Bracket

The PGA Tour changes the golf tournament format this week, with 64 top-ranked players competing in head-to-head matches from Wed thru Sun...similar to the NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket in March.

Here are the 4 top seeds and their matches today...

#1 Luke Donald vs. #16 Ernie Els

#1 Rory Mcilroy vs. #16 George Coetzee

#1 Martin Kaymer vs. #16 Greg Chalmers

#1 Lee Westwood vs #16 Nicolas Colsaerts

And here are 4 other interesting first-round matches to watch...

#4 Sergio Garcia vs. #13 Miguel Jimenez (top Spaniards)

#3 Dustin Johnson vs. #14 Jim Furyk (top Americans)

#5 Tiger Woods vs. #12 Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (who's "beatable"?)

#5 Bubba Watson vs. #12 Ben Crane (the Golf Boys go head-to-head)

See Results on Live WGC Matchplay Bracket

Another exciting finish on the PGA Tour, this week at the Northern Trust Open at Riveria Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.

Phil Mickelson had the early lead, but his putting slipped on Sunday, letting the rest of the field back into the tournament. Bill Haas posted a 69 for the lead in the clubhouse, forcing Mickelson and his playing partner Keegan Bradley to birdie the difficult 18th hole for a tie...a hole that had only yielded only 6 birdies all day.

In dramatic fashion and in front of a huge gallery, Mickelson drained his 25' putt AND then Bradley made his 12' putt, for a pair of birdies and a 3-way playoff with Haas. 

The first playoff hole (#18) was all pars, and on the short par 4 second hole (#10), all three players had difficult approach shots, but Haas stunned everyone, playing a safe chip shot and then making a 45' putt for the win.

All three players are at the top of their games. Haas with his first win in 2012 after winning the 2011 FedEx Cup with that famous chip out of the water at the Tour Championship. Bradley is one of the rising stars on the PGA Tour with his 2011 PGA Championship. And Mickelson is coming off his 40th career victory last week at Pebble Beach over Tiger Woods.

Dustin Johnson fell victim to his short game again, missing some chips and putts to finish fourth. Also tied in fourth place was Sergio Garcia, in his first PGA appearance of the year, with 2 eagles and 5 birdies for 64, the low-round of the day.

Full PGA Tour Leaderboard

Editor's Note: Did you catch rookie Keegan Bradley fist-pumping veteran Phil Mickelson after his 18th hole putt? Then Mickelson told Bradley "Join me!" Where else do you see that in professional sports. That's why we love golf!