THE NEW WORLD TOUR

The Race to Dubai may be a departure from tradition, but it is responsible for elevating the European Tour to a genuine World Tour, relegating the American PGA Tour to second best. The absence of Woods, Mickleson and co. in no way detracted from the performance of Westwood, who has suddenly developed an aura of invincibility once [...]

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Poulter Wins in Singapore

Ian Poulter spared European Tour blushes by winning the Singapore Open, thus denying many top Americans undeserved access to membership of the European Tour and back-door entry into the Race to Dubai. The European Tour boobed by staging two co-sanctioned events simultaneously.
Fortunately, bona fide Tour members won them both, resulting in Fisher’s elevation to 17th in the World rankings and [...]

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Ryder Cup 2010- Chapter

Last week’s Omega European Masters just happened to be the first European Tour tournament providing qualifying points (euros) for next year’s Ryder Cup clash at Celtic Manor in Wales.  You may think that it’s a little premature to be thinking about an event which is more than a year away, but Sunday’s result at Crans-sur-Sierre [...]

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THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF GOLF COURSES

Most keen golfers follow the exploits of the star players on TV as they tackle increasingly long golf courses. Courses measuring in excess of 7,000 yards now seem to be the norm on the European Tour, which is fair enough for the top pros, most of whom can wallop their drives well over 300 yards.  Those [...]

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WELL DONE, RORY!

By common consent, 19 year-old Rory McIlroy is currently the world’s best golfer, based on his present form. Even Mark O’Meara, one of Tiger Wood’s best friends, reckons that young Rory is better now than Tiger was at the same age. It must be said that there were times during the final round of the Dubai [...]

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LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD

Being born in La Línea and now resident in Cádiz makes it a bit of a stretch claiming Álvaro Quirós as a local lad, but it’s worth the effort, since he is the most watchable European golfer since Seve Ballesteros. This “lad” (he’s 26 years old) weighs in at 13 stone and stands 6 ft [...]

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JUNIOR MASTERS AT LA CALA

Since 2004, La Cala Resort has hosted this annual team event, which this year featured teams of four from nine of the regional Spanish golf federations.  Each team comprised two girls and two boys, playing 36 holes of stroke-play, with the best three cards counting.  Since its inception, the event has featured some of Spain’s best junior golfers, [...]

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ONLY 6 WEEKS TO CHRISTMAS, BUT 2009 IS HERE ALREADY…

…if you are a golf pro playing on the European Tour, that is.  Only a few days after the final tournament of 2008 – the Volvo Masters – the 2009 Race to Dubai has begun with the HSBC Masters in Shanghai.  The fact that it is still 2008 and Europe has not yet annexed Asia [...]

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ANIKA SORENSTAM RETIRES

The impact this lady had on womens’ professional golf can’t be overstated. The European Ladies Tour was on its knees until she came along and her unequalled record on the U.S. tour did as much for the European girls as it did for the Americans. Despite her success, she has always remained modest and approachable, [...]

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RINGING THE CHANGES AT BIRKDALE

OK, so Harrington won again, with Europeans filling the top places and no Americans in sight. Notwithstanding the absence of Woods, the advantage of strength-in-depth is now with Europe, at least as far as The Open Championship and the Ryder Cup are concerned. Of course, the Americans enjoy a huge advantage in the other three [...]

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