Category Archives: News Stories

Torrance eyes win in Turnberry

Posted on February 15, 2012 by | Comments Off on Torrance eyes win in Turnberry

Sam Torrance is targeting a ‘home’ victory when he returns to Turnberry. The Senior Open Championship is being held there for a record seventh time from July 26-29.

The 2002 Ryder Cup Captain was born in Largs, less than 60 miles up the Ayrshire coastline from Turnberry, and he says that the iconic Ailsa Course is one of his favourite golfing backdrops. And that’s quite a statement considering the courses he has played throughout his career.

Torrance nearly won The Senior Open Championship in 2009 when it was played at Sunningdale, the course he is a member of close to his Surrey home, finishing two shots behind winner Loren Roberts.

Torrance hopes returning to his native west coast of Scotland can inspire him again as he attempts to become the first Scot since Brian Barnes in 1995 and 1996 to win The Senior Open Championship.

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A quick summary of the desert swing

Posted on February 14, 2012 by | Comments Off on A quick summary of the desert swing

Well the desert swing is over and I think you’ll agree that we saw some great golf!

We saw Robert Rock fight off the challenge of Tiger Woods on the final day and establish himself as a Ryder Cup contender and who knows maybe a major contender?

We saw Paul Lawrie win the Qatar Masters for the second time which saw him back in the world’s top 50 again after a long absence and we’ll also see him fighting for a Ryder Cup spot I believe.

And then we see the young impressive Spaniard Cabrera-Bello win the Dubai Desert Classic beating off Westwood, Kaymer and McIlroy on the final day after shooting a 63 on day one!

Golf in the deserts looks to be a wonderful thing, you can see a lot of the players enjoy playing out there and the condition of the golf courses is always immaculate and the greens look pure. Hopefully one day I will get to play out there.

The hospitality and the hotels look superb as well!

It’s a mild day today so I hope you will be practising at some point, and remember…the good weather and The Masters are just around the corner now. 🙂

 

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Tiger struggles as Mickelson shines at Pebble Beach

Posted on February 13, 2012 by | Comments Off on Tiger struggles as Mickelson shines at Pebble Beach

Phil Mickelson shot an impressive eight-under-par 64 and came from six shots behind to win the Pebble Beach Pro-Am by three shots on 16 under par.

Mickelson hit three birdies and an eagle in his first six holes to wipe out the overnight lead of Charlie Wi who got off to the worst possible start by four putting the first hole and found himself playing catch up early on.

Wi closed with three birdies to finish with a 72 to end second on 15 under. Just a shame Sky Sports didn’t want to show Wi finish the the 18th hole, especially as if he had holed his second shot he would have tied the lead!!

Tiger Woods bogeyed the final three holes on the front nine on his way to a 75 as he dropped back to eight under. Tiger never really got going, he missed four or five really short putts which is unlike Tiger. He seems to be starting tournaments well but can’t seem to finish them off like he used to.

“It just feels great to win this tournament,” Mickelson, 41, said.

“It’s a special place for me, Pebble Beach, and to have a win here, where my grandfather caddied, feels awesome.

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McIlroy and Bjorn top leaderboard at halfway stage

Posted on February 10, 2012 by | Comments Off on McIlroy and Bjorn top leaderboard at halfway stage

Thomas Björn gave McIlroy a timely reminder of what happened five months ago after joining Rory in the halfway lead at the Dubai Desert Classic.

US Open Champion McIlroy justified his position after entering the tournament as favourite by adding a 65 to his first round 66 to reach 13 under par.

Bjorn has matched him shot-for-shot so far and now finds himself in a battle with not only the World Number Two, but also with Westwood and Kaymer who are lurking right behind him and ready to pounce.

Kaymer had the first hole-in-one of his life, (yes life) on the 186 yard seventh  as he reached 11 under with a 67, while Lee Westwood‘s 65 for ten under included birdies on the last three holes.

All is set for a another great weekend in Dubai which always seems to have an exciting finish!

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McIlroy’s girlfriend knows how to turn Rory on

Posted on February 9, 2012 by | Comments Off on McIlroy’s girlfriend knows how to turn Rory on

A brilliant nine under par 63 left Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello two shots clear at the Dubai Desert Classic but World Number Two Rory McIlroy had seven birdies in his last ten holes to grab a strong finish in the opening round leaving him only three behind.

It could have been even better for both of them, however.

The European Tour’s first 59 was in sight when Rafael Cabrera-Bello stood on his 12th tee nine under par.

It left him needing four more birdies to achieve the magic number, but the 27 year old Spaniard parred the last seven holes for a 63 and a two stroke lead over German Marcel Siem and Scotland’s Scott Jamieson.

US Open Champion McIlroy was failing to impress and was one over for the tournament and way back in the in the pack until his girlfriend turned up on the 9th which he birdied and it seemed to spark him into life and by the time he almost holed-in-one on the 15th – Scot Stephen Gallacher did make an ace there – he was up to five under and right up there.

Lets hope McIlroy’s girlfriend turns up again tomorrow for all our sakes!!

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Lawrie Back In Top 50 After Win In Qatar

Posted on February 6, 2012 by | Comments Off on Lawrie Back In Top 50 After Win In Qatar

Paul Lawrie has finally made his way back in to the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking’s for the first time since 2003 after a superb performance gave him a second Commercialbank Qatar Masters.

The 43 year old Scot, chipped in twice during a brilliant closing 65 and beat Australian Jason Day and Swede Peter Hanson by four shots.

Lawrie has struggled since his famous 1999 Open Championship victory at Carnoustie, and less than a year ago he was 272nd in the Official World Golf Rankings. Now he is part of golf’s elite group again.

Winning the Qatar Masters guarantees him a place in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play in Arizona later this month and the 24-man Volvo World Match Play in Spain in May.

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Qatar Masters Cut To 54 Holes

Posted on February 3, 2012 by | Comments Off on Qatar Masters Cut To 54 Holes

Winds of up to 45mph meant that less than three hours’ play was possible on the second day of the Commercialbank Qatar Masters which has now been cut to just 54 holes.

They decided at 2pm to call off play for the day and announced soon afterwards by tournament director David Probyn that the sponsors did not want the event to carry into Monday.

Many of the players are also entered for the Omega Dubai Desert Classic next week which they hope will go ahead.

“The course is still on the verge of playable, but there’s no point sending the guys out for an hour or two on a marginal course,” Probyn said.

“The winds will be down a notch tomorrow and decreasing during the day, while the forecast for Sunday is for much calmer conditions.”

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Donald receives two PGA awards from the US

Posted on February 2, 2012 by | Comments Off on Donald receives two PGA awards from the US

Luke Donald’s run of awards continued when he returned to his winter home in the US earlier this week for a reception at the PGA of America Headquarters, where he received two more awards from his stunning 2011 season.

Luke spends his winters in Palm Beach Gardens ( sounds cold and horrible doesn’t it! ), and was honoured by PGA staff as he picked up his first PGA of America Player of the Year Award and Vardon Trophy. Donald won both awards last season, becoming the first Englishman ever to win both in the same golfing year. Donald is just the second Briton to earn the Vardon Trophy, based upon lowest adjusted scoring average. The trophy was first presented to “Lighthorse” Harry Cooper in 1937.

The PGA Player of the Year, first presented in 1948, was last presented to an Englishman called Nick Faldo, it was back in 1990 when he took the honour.

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Westwood Hopeful To Challenge This Week In Qatar

Posted on February 1, 2012 by | Comments Off on Westwood Hopeful To Challenge This Week In Qatar

Lee Westwood has admitted to being a notoriously slow starter, but insists he is ready to hit the ground running at this week’s Qatar Masters.

Westwood finished 17th on his first start of the season in Abu Dhabi last week, but that was not good enough to prevent Rory McIlroy snatching his World Number Two spot as he finished second and was just pipped to the finish by Englishman Robert Rock.

Westwood failed to get a top-ten finish on The European Tour in the first four months of 2011, but in 2009 he finished third at Doha and the 38 year old feels he is ready to go two places better this week after a very strong finish to 2011.

Westwood partners Thomas Björn and Jason Day over the first two days, and thinks that Jason Day – a runner-up at last year’s Masters Tournament and US Open Championship – could be one to look out for in 2012.

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Clarke Parts Company With Open-Winning Caddie

Posted on January 31, 2012 by | Comments Off on Clarke Parts Company With Open-Winning Caddie

Darren Clarke has sacked the caddie that helped him win his first major championship in The Open at Sandwich in July last year.

Clarke’s team said that the split with John Mulrooney was amicable and had come after he missed the cut at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday.

The Northern Irishman will be looking for a new caddie as he practices over the coming weeks ahead of his return to competitive golf at the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona on February 22.

Clarke hasn’t been at his best since his victory at Sandwich, his best result a 20th-place finish at the Volvo Golf Champions tournament in South Africa a couple of weeks back.

He slumped to rounds of 72 and 81 last week in Abu Dhabi

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