Lydia Ko lead in the Queen Sirikit Cup

Boosted by an overnight lead of 15 strokes over the Australian team of Whitney Hillier, Brenna Elliott and Oh Su-Hyun, the Koreans continued where they had left off.

They extend their lead as the most successful team in the Queen Sirikit Cup having won a total of 15 times over the Cup’s 34-year history.

South Korea, the defending champions, trumped the rest of the field again on the final day of the 34th Queen Sirikit Cup, clinching their sixth consecutive crown in the event.

The Koreans finished with a three-day total of 413 strokes, 25 strokes ahead of runners up New Zealand (438) while discount golf clubs Australia slipped from their overnight second position to finish two shots behind the New Zealanders in 3rd place.

“But it was a sweet win for me after losing narrowly (the individual title) last year. And for the team – it was a great achievement.”

New Zealand, who were fourth after the second day, moved up the standings on the strength of a stellar showing from young superstar Ko.

The North Harbour teenager, who celebrated her 15th birthday on day one of the tournament, fired a four under par 68 in the final round at the Tanah Merah Country Club Garden Course to help New Zealand win the close battle for second place.

But Korea was in a class of their own again all week in Singapore to continue a golden era for women’s amateur golf for their country. Kim Hyo Joo claimed the individual honours with a two under TaylorMade RocketBallZ Driver par 70 in the final round for a three-day total of 204.

“It was my worst round,” laughed Hyo Joo, who finished six shots clear of Ko.

“I felt good playing the final round at that time of day, and just stumbled with a lone bogey," said Ko. As for Kim [the Korean winner], she really played well today, as she had the whole week. She’s really in top shape, as is the whole Korean team.”

A steady showing from World No. 17 Kim Hyo-Joo (70), coupled with firm displays from team-mates Park Chae-Yoon (68) and Baek Kyu-Jung (66) ensured that the Queen Sirikit trophy would be staying Ping G20 Hybrid in Korea for another year.

The premier women’s amateur team tournament was held in Singapore for the first time since 1983, when the Singapore Island Country Club played host.

Something unforgettable at the Texas Open

It's a disappointing truth for a tournament that is eager for a bigger profile, and will get another shot next year when the PGA moves the Texas Open date for the fourth time in five years, this time to right before the Masters.

For now, Wagner, ranked fifth in the FedEx Cup standings, sees an opportunity.

Brendan Steele won the $1.1 million prize last year, and is back to defend his only PGA championship after missing the cut in four of his last six events.

Kuchar, the world's 15th-ranked golfer, has made the cut at all eight tournaments he's played this year and Mizuno MP-58 irons finished tied for third at the Masters. While his peers chose to pass on the court this time, Kuchar said he began thinking he needed to add the Texas Open to his schedule after watching it on TV last year.

Na arrived in San Antonio with a sense of humor, wielding a chainsaw Monday in the woods at No. 9 while being filmed for a Golf Channel parody. But there was also some truth to the spoof: Responding to player feedback, the native areas in the rough and four greens are among areas of the course scheduled to undergo a makeover by next year.

K.J. Choi, ranked 26th in the world, and Fredrik Jacobson are other marquee names. So is Kevin Na, who returns to the site of last year's infamous meltdown on No. 9, when he veered badly off course and hacked away before finishing the hole with a score of 16.

The Texas Open has moved around on the PGA calendar and is now at a new course, TPC San Antonio, in hopes of luring golf's bigger names. Matt Kuchar, two weeks after his near miss at the Mizuno MP-68 Irons Masters, headlines a lackluster field that Johnson Wagner called even weaker than usual.

Jordan Spieth, the nation's top-ranked college golfer at Texas and 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, was humbled by his first brush with the course.

"It's the most difficult — well, it's extremely difficult," said Spieth, who is making his fifth PGA tournament appearance.

The Texas Open changed venues in 2010, but in just two years the course designed by Greg Norman and Sergio Garcia has already earned a reputation for being one of the toughest on tour. Last year's second-round average of 75.289, for example, was the highest on the tour since the 2008 British Open. Tony Piazzi, head of the Texas Open, said one player in an anonymous survey suggested, "You need to blow up all 18 greens."

"I would hope guys that are the best in the world don't say that course may be too difficult for me. I hope that discount golf clubs doesn't happen," Kuchar said. "I think there are courses that are more enjoyable to play and some may be more fun than others. You might not walk off this course thinking you've had a great deal of fun up there."

"It's weaker than most of our fields out here. But the purse is huge and the golf course is tough and takes a lot of local knowledge — it takes experience to play well here," Wagner said Wednesday on the eve of the opening round. "When picking this spot on my schedule, I tagged it as a possible contention spot."

Payne kept silent about Women’s issue in Augusta

Payne's Olympic golf idea was killed for your very reason he loved it: Olympic leaders could not allow this type of discriminatory spot to host one of its events. But, having said that, he still took to lead what became referred to as the "Women's Olympics" for all you strides created by women on Payne's watch, such as inaugural women's soccer and softball competitions.

So it was Wednesday that, Payne, now 64 and chairman of Augusta National for six years, held his annual news conference around the eve in the 2012 Masters and spent some time in their opening discount golf clubs remarks doing what he i did so best: think outside the box.

He spoke eloquently of his concern for that lack of increase in golf, an understatement with the game is hemorrhaging participants, dropping 12.9% since 2003, in accordance with the National Golf Foundation. Actually is well liked mentioned junior and international programs the club champions.

"Impressive efforts, I really hope, although not enough," Payne said. "We can do better."

Questions came next. He soon was inquired on Augusta's male-only membership policy, using a follow-up on the membership status of IBM CEO Virginia "Ginni" Rometty brand new show afterward. In the two cases, Payne leaned back around the time-honored Augusta chairman's defense that membership decisions are "private."

Soon, though, an issue came that couldn't be wrapped in a real tidy package.

"Mr. Chairman, I note your concerns regarding the expansion of golf around the world, and I also note that Augusta National is an extremely famous club. No it could send an excellent message to young girls Taylormade R11 irons worldwide should they knew that particular day they can join this very famous driver?"

Payne reached for your old fallback: "Once again, that handle a subscription issue, that i'm not likely to answer it."

"No, it won't," the reporter shot back.

Another chimed in: "Seems just like a mixed message, Billy, is the thing that he's saying. You're throwing a lot of cash into growing the game, yet there's still a notion that particular people are excluded."

Payne: "That is often a membership issue that we're not going to ?- thank you ?- "

As well as on it went. I'm able to only Ping G20 irons imagine what the younger Payne would have looked at this older version, twisting himself in to a pretzel in order to avoid discussing something so benign, so kind, so worthy. Here was Payne, cornered by way of a simple question, disgracing himself with his fantastic club by screaming "privacy" to defend their out-of-date ways rather than anxiously beginning a brilliant conversation about introducing more members of our society with a game he believes is likely to make them better people. How will you "no comment" that?

David M. Fleury is planing to purchase golf club

During the golf boom with the early 1990s, the opened about 350 new courses a year throughout the country, Fleury said. Recently, a opened 12 new courses.

Based on the National Golf Foundation, about 158 courses closed across the nation this year. Like modern times, closures were disproportionately lower priced public venues, together with a large numbers of nine-hole courses, the foundation said in the online newsletter.

The foundation said the number of rounds played on New England courses was 6.3 percent reduced 2011 compared to 2010. That's from the end of September in both years.

Nationally, the number of rounds played fell 3.5 % inside same time frame.

Part of it was the current recession, said James Cassagrande, the golf pro at Northampton Country Club. People lost disposable Taylormade R11 driver income and the leisure time they once employed to hit site.

Golf business people are beginning to find out the light at the conclusion of the tunnel, particularly when they're able to attract more young adults and some women towards the game and after that get those die-hard golfers out of the home for the links every time they can, and sometimes it means letting find cheaper and quicker five- and six-hole rounds.

At a foreclosure auction recently, mortgage-holder Robert Berniche bought the clubhouse at Northampton Country Club for $600,000. The course is owned by people who just love adjacent condominiums.

Hickory Ridge Country Club in Amherst seemed to be foreclosed within the winter. Jay Craig, someone in Appliedgolf in Millstone Township, N.J., bought it for $1 million. Based on assessors records it absolutely was worth $1.3 million.

In January, Connecticut businessman Jerry Antonacci, president of USA Hauling and Recycling in Enfield, bought Hampden Country Club with a foreclosure auction for $1.4 million, $200,000 lower than its ping g15 irons assessed value.

Fleury, 40, can be an Agawam native and University of Massachusetts at Amherst grad who's worked for golf great Jack Nicklaus as a designer and builder. Fleury is now someone with Rulewich & Fleury Golf Design in Bernardston.

His group was able to buy Crestview, which hosted professional women' golf during the early 1990s, after the club's member-owners rejected a procurement to some real estate developer.

But those member-owners knew they couldn't hold on to Crestview. It had been founded in 1958 by prominent Jews who'd been excluded business area members-only country clubs.

But as time went on, a dwindling number of discount golf clubs shareholders were being asked to compensate for mounting year-to-year business losses and up with capital improvements.

Instead, Fleury offers to offer golf on the public as well as selling memberships.

He'll also benefit from Crestview's unique layout when a number of holes bring about and outside the clubhouse.