World Golf News - 17 August 2010

In the United States, the German Martin Kaymer won the US PGA Championship in an action-packed final round that had golf fans on the edge of their seats. Weathering the challenges of the course at Whistling Straits Golf Club near Kohler, Wisconsin as well as tough competition from fellow contenders Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson, Kaymer emerged victorious from a two way playoff to lift the trophy.

As the fourth round came to a close, Johnson was put out of the running by a two-stroke penalty which left only Kaymer and the American golfer Bubba Watson in the final playoff. Both players birdied the first playoff hole, but errant tee shots on the following hole saw both of them land in the rough. In a decisive move, Kaymer made an excellent save to claim victory with a bogey on the eighteenth. All was not lost for Watson however, as his second-place finish qualifies him for the Ryder Cup. This is Kaymer's first major victory in the United States, being the second German golfer to win a US major since his compatriot Bernhard Lange, who now plays on the Champions Tour.

The European PGA Tour is in recess, awaiting this weekend's Czech Open. This championship has been a feature on the Tour since its debut in the 1994 season. After several years of cancellations and having been re-branded as the Celanda Czech Open, this year's competition promises to offer entertaining golf in the idyllic setting of Prague. The championship golf course at Prague Karlstein Golf Club, overlooked by an old castle and known for its challenging design is set to once again host a weekend of world-standard golf. A full review of the competition will appear next week.

In women's golf, the South African Lee-Anne Pace won the S4C Ladies' Championship in Wales by three strokes, fending off competition from Christel Boeljon of the Netherlands and England's Melissa Reid who seemed set to compete for the title. After suffering a double bogey on the first hole of the final day, Pace recovered well and soon regained her lead by the early afternoon. In an eventful day's golf, Pace demonstrated her skilful playing and calm nerves as she navigated the course, tapping in for par at the eighteenth hole to claim victory. This is the South African's second victory on the LPGA Tour, having won the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open earlier this year. This second victory bodes well for Pace's future career and makes her a contender to watch on the LPGA.