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Is Clarke The Right Man To Captain Europe?

Well as you all know by now Darren Clarke has been appointed European Ryder Cup Captain for 2016 which seems to be a popular choice among fans and player alike, and no doubt his current sponsors will be very happy with the publicity.

Clarke has won the Ryder Cup 4 times as a player which will stand him good stead as he prepares for seemingly one of the biggest weeks of his life next year in America. He has been victorious under the captaincy of Seve, Sam Torrance, Bernhard Langer and lastly Ian Woosnam in which Darren Clarke bravely lead Europe to victory in Ireland after the death of his wife a week earlier.

Next September the event will be held at Hazeltine National Golf Course in Minnesota, and Clarke will be up against good friend and opponent Davis Love III who will be trying to heal the wounded tiger that is the US team, after many years of domination by Europe.

The last time Europe were defeated in America was under the captaincy of Nick Faldo who didn’t conduct himself amazingly well in Valhalla in 2008. I really we hope we see a professional approach from Clarke as he is known as a bit of a ‘boy’ on the tour and does like to party, but I guess we will only find this out as time goes on…

I’m sure it will definitely be as fiercely contested as ever and will be another great spectacle for this game we all love. It’s a long time to wait, but I remember thinking that when I was waiting for the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, and look where that time as gone!

Montgomerie Tips McIlroy To Win All Four Majors Next Year

Ex European Ryder Cup Captain and eight time Order Of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie has stuck his neck out and said that he thinks Northern Irishmen Rory McIlroy can win all four major titles next season.

He only has to win The Masters and the US Open next year to emulate the achievements of Tiger Woods who has held all four majors at once, but Montgomerie believes he can win all four and gain an unprecedented six-major sweep for the first time in the history of the sport.

The only player to win all four majors in one season was Bobby Jones but this came back in the 1930’s before The Masters was introduced and two of the grand slam tournaments were for amateurs.

There’s no doubt that McIlroy is the best player in the world right now and will dominate the game for the next 5 years, but winning all of the majors in one season is one hell of a task and something that I believe way beyond McIlroy’s dreams.

There are just too many good other players now compared to many years ago, and although McIlroy is way better than most, it only takes one off day in a major championship for him to be overtaken by someone waiting in the wings.

I’m not saying it’s impossible but it is highly unlikely, and be a betting man like am I will not even be looking at the odds for this one.

 

Lyoness Open Agrees A New Five Year Deal With European Tour

The European Tour have agreed a new five year deal for The Lyoness Open to feature in the Race To Dubai until 2019 .

The tournament held in Austria will see it’s tenth consecutive staging next year but also held the event between 1990 and 1996 in the past and has had famous winners with the likes of Bernhard Langer and Paul McGinley.

The prize money has increased a bit since those days, and as part of the new agreement the 2015 tournament will see the prize money increase by 50% from €1,000,000 to €1,500,000. Diamond Country Club will be the host again next year as it has been since 2010.

This years event was won by Mikael Lundberg after holing a 40ft putt in a play-off against home favourite Bernd Wiesberger who was the winner of the event back in 2012.

This is a really excellent tournament and to have it as part of the Race To Dubai until 2019 is a great thing for the tour and for the players.

Can McIlroy Win Again? Of Course He Can

It was another great day at the office for Rory McIlroy yesterday as he put himself right into contention after a fairly lackluster couple of days at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston.

The Northern Irishman carded seven birdies, to shoot a flawless round of 64 and find himself only 2 shots back from leader Russell Henley.

Henley himself had a good day and shot a credible round of 65 to take a one shot lead going into today from Billy Horschel.

Chris Kirk and Jason Day also join McIlroy on 10 under par with Webb Simpson a further shot back on 9 under.

All is set for another tight finish, and if McIlroy can get off to a fast start like he has everyday so far, it will be hard to see any other winner then him going into the final few holes.

Enjoy!

McIlroy Claims Fourth Major In Near Darkness

It wasn’t all plain sailing this time around for Rory McIlroy as he saw his overnight lead vanish after the first few holes in the PGA Championship at Valhalla.

McIlroy found himself 2 over par on the front nine, and strong starts from Mickelson, Fowler and Henrik Stenson saw him 2 behind the leaders at the turn.

But as a true champion McIlroy was to show that he wasn’t out of the tournament yet and with a tremendous second shot to eight feet on the par 5 10th which he holed for eagle, he suddenly was right back in the tournament.

As the other players were running out of steam and holes up ahead, he would go on to birdie the 13th and the 17th and claim a one-shot victory in what was pretty much darkness at the 18th green apart from the lights of the clubhouse which lit up a small part of it.

It’s been quite a few weeks for McIlroy and he has become the third youngest player after Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus to win four majors, but by the way this young man is going, he will be looking to break all records set by these great players and who’s to say anything can stop him at the moment.

If you followed my bets from earlier last week then well done on your winnings, and don’t spend all of the money at once!

 

Me and McIlroy are Both Winners!

Well I’m sure if you are a golf fan, you would have watch some of the golf from yesterday’s final round at The Open Championship, which saw Rory McIlroy claim his third major win in what no doubt is going to be a long and successful career.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the young Northern Irishman though as the players chasing him were all playing well and making lots of birdies, which really did put the pressure on him and at one stage his lead was cut to just two shots.

Garcia was looking the most likely candidate to catch him who was 5 under par through 10 holes after a fine eagle putt on the 10th, but his race looked to have been run after he left his bunker shot in the bunker on the par three 15th. But with birdies on 16 and 18 he was still in with a shout, but only if McIlroy was to falter.

McIlroy was to hold things together even if he did finish a little shakily after hitting his second shot on 18 into the bunker, but he still managed to make par and win by two clear shots over Garcia and Fowler.

If you had read my betting tips on Tuesday then you would have seen that I had backed Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler. I had  an each way bet on both of them so made myself a nice tidy profit overall.

The final major of the year is only a couple of weeks away, and the PGA Championship is being held at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

Kaymer Claims Eight-Shot Victory At US Open

Well if there was ever going to be a video made on how to win a major championship then they should use this one as an example.

It was quite simply a breathtaking performance from a player who has had his ups and downs in the past few years, but he is with no doubt back to his best once again.

It’s been an incredible few weeks for Martin Kaymer who claimed The Players Championship a few weeks back on Mother’s Day, and incredibly claimed the US Open on Father’s Day, he obviously didn’t want his Dad to feel left out!

This win will go down as one of the most emphatic victory’s in US Open history as the cool German never looked flustered, even when he did hit a wayward shot, he took his medicine and never tried to do anything clever. His touch around the greens was second to none, and he had the pace of the greens from day one.

This was how Tiger Woods used to win major championships. Get a strong lead after two rounds and then stay there, and just do what you have to do to win. If everyone is chasing you around a tough golf course it’s very hard for them to make birdies, and that was the case around Pinehurst No.2.

So that’s the first two majors of the season done and another month to go before The Open hits our TV screens.

The next event on the PGA Tour is The Travellers Championship, where Bill Haas will be looking to defend his title.

Mickelson Aiming For Career Grand Slam At US Open

The desperation for Phil Mickelson to win the US Open and to claim a career Grand Slam will make it even tougher for him as he heads to Pinehurst this week.

Mickleson has never won a US Open before but has been runner-up an amazing six times in his home Open, he will be looking to put things straight come Thursday.

Only a handful of players have ever managed to claim a career Grand Slam before, they are Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus , Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen and if Phil can win this week he will truly go down as one of the all-time greats in the game of golf.

Mickelson will be putting great expectations on himself this week like he always does, but there’s no reason why the big American can’t triumph at this tough golf course which is also hosting the Women’s US Open soon after.

If like me you are looking forward to watching the golf tomorrow night, don’t forget to tune into Sky Sports 4 from 2pm.

Enjoy!

Michelson Disqualified For Scoring Error In US Open Qualifier

Landon Michelson a 22-year-old amateur was trying to qualify for the US Open in a second qualifier at Quail Valley. The youngster had shot a pair of 71’s and was set to at least be in a play-off when it dawned on him that he had accidentally signed for a 70 in his second round.

Michelson then had to decide whether to admit the mistake or keep quiet about it and live with knowing what he had done.

He ended up doing the right thing and admitting his mistake and was subsequently disqualified which left him with no chance of chasing his dream any more.

It may seem a bit harsh on Michelson, but the rules are the rules, so next time you’re playing in a competition at your club or anywhere else, make sure that you’re signing for the correct score, otherwise you could be disqualified too!!

Westwood Desperate For Automatic Ryder Cup Spot

Next months US Open is going to an important tournament for Lee Westwood as he aims to get an automatic place in the Ryder Cup team to face the USA in September.

The big Englishman from Worksop is currently 14th in the points list and know that a really good week at Pinehurst could see him guarantee a place in the side for the showdown at Gleneagles.

You would like to think that even if he didn’t make the side automatically, he would get a captain’s pick from Paul McGinley as Westwood’s experience and record in the Ryder Cup is one of the best ever.

Westwood will fancy his chances in the second major of the year after his seventh place finish at Augusta back in April, and since leaving his coach Sean Foley, he seems to have a better grasp on his swing and feels more comfortable with what he’s trying to do.

The US Open starts two weeks tomorrow and will be live on Sky Sports. Make sure you tune in. I think we could see another European winner!