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Yesterday I spoke of how I felt this years US Open had been somewhat undermined by the elements but there was no doubting the calibre of Lucas Glover’s performance throughout the entire week and in particular, his final 3 holes yesterday. When Geoff Ogilvy won the US Open a few years ago, many of the games top players in the world, including Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Jim Furyk and Colin Montgomerie, failed to hold their nerve coming down the final few holes so it would have been completely understandable if Glover had frittered away a few shots over the last 3 holes yesterday. However, the 29 year old American did nothing of the sort and instead played them in one under which is fantastic achievement.

I debated yesterday what would be a good score for the final round leaders. It was inevitable that Barnes and Glover would come back towards the rest of the field and you would have thought someone else would come through the pack to challenge. The Mickelson charge got him to 4 under at one stage with four holes to go but bogeys on 15 and 17 dropping him to -2. Glover on the other hand held his nerve to shoot the magic 73 I spoke of yesterday and relegated Mickelson to another 2nd place finish.

Ricky Barnes unfortunately shot 76 to drop back to tie for second alongside David Duval who had a great back nine. Englishman, Ross Fisher was top European at -1 in a very credible display while Tiger Woods tied 6th with Soren Hansen and Hunter Mahan. It was also a noteworthy performance from Rory McIlroy in only his second major. At Augusta, he finished in the Top 20 and this week he secured a Top 10 finish……surely it is only a matter of time before he actually starts challenging those at the top of the World Rankings.

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Already one of the best players in the world, it would seem like a fantastic future lies in store for the young Northern Irishman, Rory McIlroy. Here we get to see the other side of him and understand that he is still very much a home boy at heart with his mom’s Irish stew and a cool glass of milk remaining a favorite…..ah bless!

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A chip-in birdie on No. 17 helped Steve Stricker get into a three-man playoff. Then, lucky to be playing a second extra hole, he put his approach just 3 feet from the cup and knocked it right in to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational. The victory moved him to second in the FedExCup standings. Tim Clark wasted a two-shot lead with five holes left. He left short a 9-foot putt that would’ve won it on the final hole, then pulled a 7-footer that would’ve ended the playoff on the first hole. The final kick in the gut came when his approach on the second extra hole hit the pin and rolled more than 20 feet from the cup. The third man in the playoff, Steve Marino, narrowly missed a long birdie putt on the first extra hole, then took himself out of contention with a wild tee shot on the second extra hole. Elsewhere, Jason Day finished a shot further back on -16 while Paul Casey continued his superb season finishing on -15. Woody Austin and Vijay Singh tied for 6th with Ian Poulter a further 2 shots back on -12.

Christian Cevaer of France won the European Open by a stroke Sunday, more than five years after his only previous victory. Cevaer, ranked 449th in the world at the beginning of the week, made only one birdie in a round of 74 after three bogeys on the front nine, but was solid again on the tough closing stretch of the 7,257-yard London Golf Club course. He birdied the 15th and parred the other four holes of the treacherous last five, getting on the final green with a rescue club before two-putting from the fringe for his victory. His four round total was 281, good for his first win since the 2004 Spanish Open. Steve Webster and Gary Orr with rounds of 71, shared second place with Alvaro Quiros (72). Stephen Dodd who drove home to Wales on Friday thinking he had missed the cut, carded a 68 and tied for fifth with Chris Wood (73) and Jeev Milka Singh (76). Former British Open champion Ben Curtis also shot 68 and finished in a four-way tie for eighth, with Rory McIlroy alone in 12th spot after a 75.

Mark McNulty, playing under the Irish flag these days, won the Principal Charity Classic for his seventh Champions Tour victory, beating Fred Funk with a 30ft left-to-right birdie putt to end a thrilling four-hole playoff. The 55-year-old McNulty closed with a 5-under 66 to match Funk (66) and second-round leader Nick Price (68) at 10-under 203 on the Glen Oaks Country Club course. McNulty and Funk birdied the second extra hole to eliminate Price. It was the Champions Tour’s longest playoff since Bernhard Langer beat Jay Hass in seven holes in the 2008 Toshiba Classic. Mark Weibe (69) finished fourth at 8 under, and David Eger 68) was fifth at 7 under. John Cook (64) topped a six-player group at 6 under.

Tags: Tournament Previews/Odds/Reviews by admin
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This week the European Tour travels to The London Golf Club for the European Open. A high-class field will be present in Kent for the event where last year, Ross Fisher won the tournament in real style. A fantastic holed bunker shot at the final hole completed a majestic seven shot victory.

Sergio Garcia returns to European soil this week looking to kick-start his poor season thus far. He has not had a top ten finish since January and his last five tournaments in America have been particularly disappointing - 31st, 77th, 38th (at the Masters Tournament), a missed cut and 22nd in his defence of The Players Championship. But he returns to The London Golf Club full of belief that he can go one better than last year, when he was runner-up to Ross Fisher.

Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy looked like he would challenge last week before fading away on the back nine, largely due to some errant tee shots. It is the mark of the young man however that at such an early stage of his professional career, he is joint favourite at 12/1 with defending champion Ross Fisher.

Henrik Stenson (25/1) and Angel Cabrera (25/1) will both be looking to bounce back after disappointingly missing the cut in Wentworth last week while Graeme McDowell will look to avoid what is becoming an all to familiar dreadful start to his tournaments. To his credit, he has bounced back from these starts and if he can shoot a sub 70 round on Thursday, he wont be without his chances.

Colin Montgomerie has played well in his last two tournaments only for final rounds of 80 and 77 undoing all the good work. Rafael Cabrera-Bello had a nightmare last week but the Spaniard remains on our radar and we are convinced it is a matter of “when” and not “if” he wins on Tour. At 80/1 his price looks too high and we just hope his confidence hasn’t taken too big a hit from Wentworth. David Horsey was impressive last week also and at 80/1, is again tempting. Finally, newly turned professional Shane Lowry (125/1) makes his debut on Tour after his Irish heroics. I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed for Lowry and would love to see him make it through to the weekend at least.

Verdict

Ross Fisher nearly came through for us last week and we are finding it difficult to oppose him this week despite the low odds. At 12/1 we recommend him as an each way bet due to the fact he likes the course and played so beautifully last week. I would imagine McIlroy and Stenson won’t be too far away however.

As an outside bet, David Horsey impressed me last week. His swing looks very compact and despite falling back in the final round at Wentworth last week, he should be brimming with confidence. At 80/1, I think he offers value. Rafael Cabrera-Bello is also tempting but I will stick with Horsey this week

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Following on from our review of the Footjoy SYNR-G shoes and the flagging of www.buyfootjoygolfshoes as your number one source for obtaining both new and reasonably priced Footjoy’s, I though I would flag this article I came across earlier on www.europeantour.com:

“Latest independent figures reveal FootJoy’s continued dominance of the golf shoe market, as top four best selling shoes in the UK all bear the name of the #1 Shoe in Golf

FootJoy, the #1 Shoe and Glove in Golf, once again recorded high market shares within the UK golf shoe sales market for the first quarter of 2009, according to the most recent Golf Datatech UK retail audit. FootJoy dominated the volume brand share at 53.4%, way ahead of the next brand with just 14.8%. With a whole raft of updated styles in the best selling models combined with high performance product introductions and high profile ambassadors like Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy showcasing the brand on Tour, FootJoy has once again set the standard for the new season.

Such is the strength and depth of its product line-up, FootJoy shoes are also dominant in the breakdown of total unit model share sales for the year to date, with the top four and seven of the top ten coming from the FootJoy portfolio. The AQL® remains the nation’s favourite golf shoe with 17.4% of the market, followed by the DryJoys® golf shoes with 8.9%. The full top ten list is as follows:

1. FootJoy AQL (17.4%)
2. FootJoy DryJoys (8.9%)
3. FootJoy Contour Series™ (8.1%)
4. FootJoy GreenJoys® (6.2%)
5. Competitor Model A (4.9%)
6. Competitor Model B (2.9%)
7. FootJoy SoftJoys® (2.8%)
8. FootJoy LoPro Collection™ (2.7%)
9. Competitor Model C (2.5%)
10.FootJoy ReelFit® (1.9%)

The continued popularity of the AQL has seen this range alone sell more units than the nearest competitor brand’s total sales across all of its models in the first quarter of 2009. While AQL and DryJoys continue to lead the way another success story is the new LoPro; the sporty and ultra-comfortable shoe launched in January this year is already the 8th best selling golf shoe in the UK.

The rapid success of the LoPro underlines FootJoy’s unquestionable strength in depth and broad appeal. The younger, casual and more contemporary designs like LoPro and ReelFit, plus more modern style options in DryJoys and AQL, complement the more traditional styles more readily associated with the #1 Shoe in Golf. Another FootJoy innovation, the new SYNR-G™, is also ahead of forecast following the high profile launch at the start of the year and, despite a premium price tag, has been in big demand. An effective advertising campaign, featuring triple Major winner Padraig Harrington, combined with the support of FootJoy’s retail partners has ensured that SYNR-G has been highly visible in golf shops the length and breadth of the UK.

So, there you have it, Footjoy continue to dominate as the #1 shoe in golf. Hardly a surprise when you consider everybody you see on a golf course is wearing Footjoy’s. If you dont have a pair of Footjoy Golf Shoes, well perhaps you should consider switching over. A great place to look and source Footjoy Golf Shoes can be accessed by clicking here.

Tags: Blog - Topical, Equipment Review by admin
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European Tour

Paul Casey took another step toward catching Tiger Woods at the top of the World Rankings with a cool, calm and collected win in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Casey finished birdie, birdie to finish at -17 to win his third tournament of the season and continue his excellent form. He was pushed all the way by one of our tips at the beginning of the week, Ross Fisher. Fisher shot a superb 64 in the final round and only just missed out on a playoff as his eagle putt slipped by the edge on the last. Soren Kjeldsen battled his way to third place while Stephen Dodd continued his good form to finish a shot behind Kjeldsen at -12. Rory McIlroy made an early charge but came unstuck around the turn to finish in 5th position.

PGA Tour

Rory Sabbatini, dressed in pink in support of one of his buddies and Amy Mickelson in their battle against cancer, shot a superb 64 to win the Byron Nelson Championship. Standing on the final tee with a 3-shot lead, Sabbatini was able to enjoy the walk with the victory all but assured. Sabbatini did bogey the last to eventually win by 2 shots from Englishman Brian Davis who also shot a 6 under par 64 too finish on -17. It was Davis’ third consecutive top-5 finish so perhaps the talented 34 year old could claim hiis first tour victory in the not too distant future. D.A. Points had a final round of 65 to finish 3rd on -16 while Scott McCarron finished with a scintillating 62 to tie Dustin Johnson on -15 in 4th place.

Champions Tour

After receiving a special invite from The PGA of America, Michael Allen ended a 20-year victory drought in dramatic fashion Sunday, making a clutch birdie on Canterbury’s brutal 18th hole to win the 70th Senior PGA Championship and join Arnold Palmer as the only men in history to win the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy in their Champions Tour debut. Allen was chased all the way home by 1987 Masters Champion Larry Mize. Mize shot a final round 67 to finish 2 shots back on -4. Bruce Fleisher also had a 67 to claim third place on -2. With a final round of 66, Tom Watson was 4th while Chris Starkjohann, Fred Funk, Gil Morgan and Jeff Sluman finished in a tie for 5th.

LPGA Tour

Yani Tseng followed her excellent 62 in the third round with a solid 67 in the final round to win the LPGA Corning Classic. She won by a single shot over Paul Creamer who had back-to-back 65’s to finish on -20. Soo-Yun Kang also tied for 2nd after her round of 69. Mika Miyazato completed her with with a 70 to end the week in 4th on -19. One of our favourites, Michelle Wei, continues to show good form as she tied for 26th on -13. Her opening round of 73 just left with far too much to do. We believe she is not far away though.

Ladies European

France’s Jade Schaffer won the HypoVereinsbank Ladies German Open yesterday. The 22-year-old from Strasbourg, who recently moved to Paris, beat Spain’s Paula Marti witha birdie at the first extra hole of a sudden death playoff. Both players totalled 13-under 275 after four rounds at Golfpark Gut Häusern near Munich. Schaeffer closed with a five-under 67 to set the mark, before Marti matched her total with a final round of 73. Melissa Reid was again just outside the winners enclosure, finishing in a tie for 3rd alongside Martina Eberl. Maria Verchenova has become very popular amongst the male population so we are hoping she can push through and be known for her golf ability rather than just her good looks. She had a solid week to finish in a tie for 31st.

Tags: Tournament Previews/Odds/Reviews by admin
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Who remembers the 1969 Ryder Cup where 18 of the 32 matches went down to the final green at Royal Birkdale? In what was such a tense and competitive event, Jack Nicklaus displayed an incredible moment of sportsmanship when he conceded Tony Jacklins putt on the 18th to halve the Ryder Cup. However, some of his teammates and especially Captain Sam Snead were less than impressed such was the desire to win.

Or what of the 1991 Battle on Kiawah Island? Following on from the feud between Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger over allegations of Cheating at the Belfry, the tension this year rose to unprecedented levels. The US Team came out dressed in Khaki baseball caps as though preparing for a war. In fact, a war on the shore is exactly what we got with the American Golfers criticised for going completely overboard.

1999 again saw the Americans being accused of some gamesmanship. Trailing going into the final day, the Americans seemed to be possessed and were fist pumping, dancing, jumping and just about doing anything they could to get the crowd involved. It worked but was however marred when the American team and wives ran on to the green when Justin Leonard holed a monster putt against Olazabal, when Olazabal still had a putt to halve the hole.

So, when the young talented Irishman with goofy looking hair, Rory McIlroy, comes out and says the Ryder Cup is not a priority for him, you begin to wonder. When he claims it is just an exhibition match, you question has he not been following the Ryder Cup over the years or something? Captain Montgomerie had to smile in front of the cameras after to explain that Rory was young and would learn once he had played in the competition. However, I cant help but think Monty behind closed doors would have been gritting his teeth at the thought of a young kid denouncing the Ryder Cup as simply an exhibition.

Rory McIlroy is a fantastic young talent and someone who is sure to challenge the very best in golf and I cant wait to see it. We do not need him however down-playing the Ryder Cup as though he is some experienced campaigner. Think of all the passionate great players we have seen in the Ryder Cup….Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Payne Stewart, Christy O’Connor Snr & Jnr, Seve Ballersteros, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie….the list goes on and on. I proclaim Tiger Woods has the same attitude as Rory with the Ryder Cup. Last September, the number one golfer in the world was missing due to injury but, surprise surprise, the US Team won. Why? Passion!! Pure and simple passion! Think Anthony Kim, think Boo Weekley, think J.B Holmes……even Jim Furyk started dancing (well we are not sure what he was doing but his legs and arms were moving all over the place).

You see, the Ryder Cup is much more than an exhibition. It is each and every Europeans or Amercians right to claim thay have the best Tour in the World. It is true the matches sometimes go overboard but who cares (provided its kept inside the ropes)? I want to see that…I want to see Rory hole a 20ft and pump his fist at his American opponent. Golf is a game based on etiquette but every two years, at the Ryder Cup, it becomes a war, a competitive hatred develops but that is all it is…competitive. I want to see Sergio Garcia hand the smug little Kim an ass whopping the next time because that is exactly the faith he suffered when they met last time….but wasn’t it great for the game? A young cocky Kim strutting his stuff to the adoring fans, a gladiator taking centre stage at the Colosseum. Or Boo Weekley riding his driver down the first fairway….Fantastic!

So Rory, we will forgive your blasphemous words but be warned!! If you think you can walk into the Ryder Cup without something to prove, you are sadly mistaken. If you cant unerstand that every golfer the world over would give anything for the opportunity to play in the Ryder Cup, then you are sadly mistaken. If you think the passionate Europeans will forgive you for thinking the Ryder Cup can be treated with the individualistic and nonchalant contempt I believe Woods has shown toward the Ryder Cup, you are very much mistaken! We want the Ryder Cup back and with Captain Montgomerie on board, the passion and fight is back. Poulter, Garcia et all will be reborn and the war will commence!

This is competiton. This is Passion. This is the Ryder Cup!!

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