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Walker Cup Victory For GB & Ireland

Posted on September 12, 2011 by | Comments Off on Walker Cup Victory For GB & Ireland

Great Britain and Ireland’s true spirit saw them to a famous victory as they took the Walker Cup for the first time in eight years and only the eighth occasion in the history of the fantastic  matches.

Seen as underdogs by all bar the team and its inspirational captain Nigel Edwards, the home side upset the formbook and secured their 14-12 win with three matches still to come in.

GB&I took a 10½-5½ lead into Sunday’s singles but despite holding the initiative, many of the matches still had the potential to swing either way. The nervy situation meant that Jack Senior’s brilliant birdie putt from the front of the 18th green to snatch an unlikely half against Nathan Smith was crucial.

Michael Stewart’s 3&2 win over Patrick Rodgers calmed down nerves and he was among several heroes, included the outstanding 17-year-old Rhys Pugh, who made it three wins out of three when he beat US amateur champion Kelly Kraft 2&1.

And moments after Stewart’s win GB&I’s Steven Brown parred the last to gain a half against Blayne Barber to secure the famous victory.

SINGLES

  • Lewis lost to Henley 4&2
  • Sullivan lost to Spieth 3&2
  • Senior halved with Smith
  • Stewart bt Rodgers 3&2
  • Hodgson lost to Uihlein 2&1
  • Brown halved with Barber
  • Pugh bt Kraft 2&1
  • Dunbar lost to Williams 1 hole
  • Byrne lost to English 2&1
  • Cutler halved with Cantlay
  • Final score: GB&I 14-12 USA


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Great Golf Courses | Number 4 | Carnoustie

Posted on September 7, 2011 by | Comments Off on Great Golf Courses | Number 4 | Carnoustie

Whenever the name ‘Carnoustie’ is mentioned we automatically think back to The Open in 1999, for those of you that don’t know why, here’s a little reminder……

……yes you remember!!

Van de Velde nearly achieved victory at the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie, when he was the clear leader playing the closing holes. He arrived at the 18th tee needing only a double bogey six to become the first Frenchman since 1907 to win the tournament. He had played error-free golf for much of the championship and birdied the 18th hole in two prior rounds. He took a seven and got into a three-way playoff with Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie.

Paul Lawrie eventually triumphed in the playoff.

Carnoustie had been set up particularly hard for that week boasting the longest rough an Open had ever seen, and the tightest fairways. With the wind blowing as well just made it one of the toughest opens in history, which made Van de Velde’s achievement going into the final hole even greater.

The Championship course was 7,421 yards for that week and a par 71.

Click here to see the final leaderboard.

The Course was established in 1850 and designed by, Allan Robertson, Old Tom Morris and James Braid

The course record stands at 64 held by: Colin Montgomerie, Steve Stricker and Richard Green.

 

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Great Golf Courses | Number 3 | Augusta National

Posted on September 5, 2011 by | Comments Off on Great Golf Courses | Number 3 | Augusta National

Augusta has to be one of my favourite courses of all time, it hosts the second biggest Major of the year ‘The Masters’. Every year when it comes around you can feel the excitement growing around all golf fans as it’s the sign that spring is here and the golf season is a about to get underway again!

Augusta is the most picturesque golf course in the world with its amazing array of flowers and shrubs. Augusta is known best for it’s fast and sloping greens which can make the best players in the world look foolish at times, and it’s usually the person that handles the greens the best that goes on to win.

The course has had to be extended over the years to cope with the advances of technology as it was playing a little bit to easy at one stage, but its back to its toughest again now stretching over 7,400 yards.  The course has 10 par 4’s, 4 par 3’s and 4 par 5’s.

Past Winners include:  Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Tiger Woods,and  Phil Mickleson.

Nick Price and Greg Norman share the course record which stands at 63.

The mystery of how Bobby Jones and course designer Alister MacKenzie  first met — and how Jones arrived at picking MacKenzie to design Augusta National Golf Club — has never been fully explained.

The golfer and architect created their masterpiece in the early 1930s, and it is the center of attention each spring as the home of the Masters Tournament.

 

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Mickelson Switches To Belly Putter

Posted on September 2, 2011 by | Comments Off on Mickelson Switches To Belly Putter

Spectators at the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship this afternoon will get a chance to see a unique sight: Phil Mickelson using a belly putter.

Mickelson will be using the Odyssey belly putter for the first time in competition. It was made to the exact specification of the putter used by Keegan Bradley in his recent victory at the US PGA Championship.

Mickelson has been getting tips from the considerably less experienced Bradley on how to handle the putter, including ball position, eye position and grip. The two have played many pretournament practice rounds, cementing a friendship initially forged at the US PGA.

 

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Rory Pulls Out Of Seve Trophy

Posted on September 1, 2011 by | Comments Off on Rory Pulls Out Of Seve Trophy

US Open champion Rory McIlroy has pulled out of Great Britain and Ireland’s team for the Seve Trophy.

 22-year-old Rory was part of the winning side two years ago and cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal had said he wanted to see as mny big names as possible play especially the US Open Champion.

But McIlroy said he wanted some time off, as he had 12 weeks on the road ahead to look forward to.”I want to spend some time at home and do a few things before I head off on that big run,” said McIlroy.

Britain’s Lee Westwood has yet to confirm his attendance while world number one Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Martin Laird and Justin Rose are likely to be absent because of the FedEx Cup play-offs in America.

McIlroy is due to tee of in the first round of the European Masters in Crans-Montana, Switzerland on Thursday in his first event since injuring his right arm at the US PGA Championship earlier this month.

“Now it’s not painful,” he said. “It’s more like a numb sensation, like if someone gives you a dead arm.

“It’s nearly 100% and I’m happy with it.”

The world number six has been in the United States with new girlfriend Caroline  Wozniacki, the current No.1 tennis player in the world as she is currently playing at the US open.

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Woods Confirms New Tournament Schedule

Posted on August 30, 2011 by | Comments Off on Woods Confirms New Tournament Schedule

Tiger Woods has confirmed that he intends to play in the Frys.com Open at CordeValle Golf Club, California in early October.

Woods, who has dropped from number 1 to 38th in the world following his recent personal and injury problems, is keen to regain form after being selected as a wildcard for the USA Presidents Cup team in November.

“I always enjoy competing in my home state, and this tournament fits my schedule perfectly,” said Woods, who missed the cut at the recent US PGA.

US Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples recently warned Woods to sharpen his game by playing in more tournaments but last week assured the 14-time major champion that he would be one of his two picks for the event, well in advance of the official team announcement on 26 September.

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The Long Putter – To Ban Or Not To Ban?

Posted on August 26, 2011 by | Comments Off on The Long Putter – To Ban Or Not To Ban?

The long putter has been in the news in recent weeks after Adam Scott won The Bridgestone Invitational and Keegan Bradley Won The PGA Championship (the first major he has played in!) Did the long putter help him keep his nerve coming up the last few holes or should we just admire a young talent that not only coped with triple bogeying the fifteenth then only to proceed to birdie the next two holes but also par the 18th- one of the toughest holes in golf to get into a playoff!

The Long putter isn’t anything new to the game, you see players trying it out every now and again, even greats like Colin Montgomerie, have used them in the past when they’re struggling for form on the greens, but they never seem to stick it. Do they feel guilty knowing that it is an aid or maybe they feel like it’s cheating deep down? This is a very interesting debate which will go on for a while yet, I think it should be banned, if you haven’t got the nerve coming down the stretch then you wont win major tournaments.

What are your views? Let me know?

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Great Golf Courses | Number 2 | Royal St.Georges

Posted on August 25, 2011 by | Comments Off on Great Golf Courses | Number 2 | Royal St.Georges

Click to zoomClick to zoomClick to zoom

Royal St. George’s – Host to the 2011 Open Championship in which Darren Clarke Won his first major title, the thirteenth Open held at this fantastic golf course. The first Open was held in 1894 and was won by J H Taylor.

Designed by Laidlaw Purves in 1887, the Club has a distinguished golfing history and is proud to have hosted many amateur and professional tournaments.

As well as the history surrounding the club, it is regarded as one of the world’s best golf courses.  The undulating fairways, deep strategically placed bunkers and fast, true greens will prove a test to all standards of golfer. People say it’s not that toughest course unless the wind blows but I beg to differ!

There is a full range of practice facilities including an open air driving range, pitching area, practice nets and practice putting green with bunkers. People say it’s not that toughest course unless the wind blows but I beg to differ!

The Course itself is a par 70 consisting of 12 par 4’s, 4 par 3’s, and 2 par 5’s and is 7,204 yards off the Championship tees.

Here’s a flyby View of the 16th hole where Thomas Bjorn famously lost the Open  http://www.opengolf.com/en/TheCourse/CourseGuide.aspx?hole=16

 

 

 

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Fisher Wins Czech Open

Posted on August 22, 2011 by | Comments Off on Fisher Wins Czech Open

Englishman Oliver Fisher has won the Czech Open, his first European Tour title having been a runner-up on two previous occasions.

The 22-year-old shot a final round 69 which meant he finished on 13 under, two shots ahead of Mikael Lundberg.

“It feels fantastic,” he said. “I can’t really explain what it means.”

Starting the round level with Scotland’s Steven O’Hara, Fisher birdied six holes, but also carded three bogeys coming home.

Read a full report here at bbc.co.uk

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Crazy Finishes In The US PGA

Posted on August 16, 2011 by | Comments Off on Crazy Finishes In The US PGA

As reported here yesterday, Sunday’s finale in Atlanta at the US PGA was a topsy-turvy affair, with Keegan Bradley eventually taking the crown where just a few holes earlier his fellow countryman Jason Dufner looked set to take the glory.

This great article looks back at some other crazy finishes across the last 25 years of the tournament.

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