golfweloveit

ne of the most remarkable performances of any golfer took place at the LPGA’s Bank of Good Hope Championship. Surrey’s Dame Laura Davies pulled out all the stops for a third round 63 followed by a final round 69 to nearly win the tour ament. Had she dome so, the 54 year old would have been the LPGA’s oldest winner by eight years. The winner in Phoenix was Korean major champion Inbee Park.

Take that. What a turnaround. A winless 2017, a nagging rib injury and then 2 missed cuts in 4 starts, over par rounds were all left behind when Rory McIlroy dominated the Arnold Palmer Invitational birdieing five of the last six holes and eight of the last thirteen to shoot 64 in the final round. He saw off fighting performances from Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose.

Once again Tiger Woods was in contention, five under on the final day he got within one shot of the leader until he hit his tee shot out of bounds on the 16th and had a bogey, bogey finish.

Welcome back Rory.

It was long overdue, Paul Casey’s second win on the PGA Tour and his first anywhere  since 2014. But he is a transformed player and person. I remember marshalling at a qualifying tournament at Sunningdale one year and oops, it just popped out as he completed his followthrough. He was on his way walking  down the fairway and watching the tremendous blow he made at the ball with his drive I might have just said “Wow. That was an angry one”. He heard this and stopped in his tracks. I ducked a bit, preparing for a verbal tongue lashing. But it didn’t come. Instead he seemed to stop and think. It was just an observation about that particular shot but since then he seems to have let a lot go mentally and seems very happy with his life as it is now. His superior golf is following in the slipstream of his peace of mind.

We can only hope that Tiger Woods will follow suit and re-find his mental calm after years of turmoil and his golf will consistently go along with it. Because this week it was all about Woods, Casey was like the side show. What is happening is very exciting and there is an anticipation now around Tiger. Television veiwing figures were up a huge 180%.

This week Woods got within a whisker of getting into a play off. On 79 PGA Tour wins, dare we hope he can overtake Sam Snead’s 82 titles? This week after holing a long birdie putt on the 71st hole to get within a stroke of the lead he just left his putt on the 72nd too short to get into a playoff.

Second. Who would have thought it a few months ago? Tiger swung his driver at nearly 130 mph, the fastest on Tour. In six starts since the return at the Hero Challenge his results are  T23, T9. 12th, MC, T5 and T2nd. Jack Nicklaus says “I’m amazed at how well Tiger is swinging and playing. It’s just fantastic”.

And Tiger responded “I’m excited. I do remember how to do this”.

A few weeks previously Mickelson said he knew the win was on the way, and true enough at the WGC Mexico Championship he delivered.

Most of you reading this blog will know I enjoy nothing better than Phil’s Pearls and there was a delicious one on the Saturday of this tournament. The third round leader was called “an upstart” by the American media because, presumably he was not a compatriot and he happened to be 21 years old and came to Mexico having just won two tournaments on the European Tour. Somebody should have warned the formidably talented Indian Shubhanka Sharma not to introduce bimself to Phil, which he tried to do on the practice putting green.

“Not right now” Mickelson rebuffed Sharma.

When somebody told Mickelson off, he, according to Sharma, went over to him and explained he thought he was media. Yeah right. But he suitably unsettled Sharma for him to fall out of contention, a lesson learned, but he did tell the story to the media, good for him.

Mickelson played very well to score 65-66 on the weekend to catch an on fire Justin Thomas who had moved up the field with 62-64 including a spectacular eagle from the fairway on the 72nd hole.

Both players were nervous during the play off, we havent seen Mickelson like this for a long time, he has looked tired and out of sorts for the past few years so it was interesting to see him look so nervous. Justin was disappointing in the playoff, there was a lack of commitment and Mickelson putted exceptionally well to win. He called the playoff exciting and fun and confirmed once again the enormous power of his own self belief.

An incredibly tough week meant that only 11 players scored under par. Justin Thomas played grinding golf to get himself into a play off with early leader Luke List,. He said “I was very calm and comfortable through 14 holes until I played the Bear Trap (holes 15,16,17). Thomas won on the first extra hole for his second victory in the wraparound season and his 7th win in 31 starts.

Tiger Woods rebounded from a missed cut at Riviera to finish 12th but he too was beaten by the Bear Trap where he was 8 over par for the tournament.

Englishmen Matt Wallace and Eddie Pepperell, both European Tour winners in 2018, will represent the home side when the innovative GolfSixes returns to Centurion Club in St Albans, near London, from May 5-6.

England are the highest ranked of the 11 qualifying teams who join defending champions Denmark and four wildcard entries to form a 16-team field packed full of European Tour winners in the second staging of the innovative six-hole competition.

The confirmed qualified teams from around the world are: England, France, Australia, Thailand, Italy, South Korea, South Africa, USA, Spain, Scotland and Sweden.

Pepperell claimed his maiden European Tour victory by finishing on 18 under par at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in February, while Wallace won a thrilling play-off against countryman Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston to win the Hero Indian Open earlier this month. Wallace is now looking forward to teeing it up in the unique GolfSixes event for the first time.

The 27 year old said: “Playing in front of a home crowd is an exciting prospect and something I’ve always looked forward to. Last year it looked as if there were a lot of kids enjoying the whole experience, so it should be a lot of fun to play in front of so many young fans and hopefully get them excited about golf.

“I think it’s a great idea to have new and different formats like this on the European Tour, and, with the wildcard teams in the mix this year, there could be some intriguing match ups. Eddie and I have both had good starts to the year, and the chance to team up to represent England is really exciting. I’m sure we’ll have a good laugh on the course and hopefully give the home fans plenty to cheer about.”

European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn and Solheim Cup Captain Catriona Matthew will become the first male and female professionals to play together in a competitive match play format on the European Tour when they form the ‘Captains Team’ as one of the four wildcard entries.

An ‘England Women’s Team’ comprising Charley Hull and Georgia Hall will be joined by a ‘European Women’s Team’ of Norwegian Suzann Pettersen and England’s Mel Reid, with the final wildcard team to be confirmed shortly.

Defending champions Lucas Bjerregaard and Thorbjørn Olesen will return to represent Denmark in the fast-paced competition as the 16 teams go head to head for a total prize fund of €1 million with the eventual winners receiving €100,000 each.

The 16 teams will compete over six holes in a group stage, with teams split into four groups of four, before the top two teams from each group progress to the knockout stages – the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, a third/fourth place play-off match and the final.

In the group stages, three points will be given for victory with one point awarded for a draw and the matches will be played in a greensomes match play format.

Once again the six holes will be themed, with the popular shot clock hole returning – with a penalty imposed if players take longer than 30 seconds per shot – alongside the long drive and closest to the pin holes.

The innovative six-hole competition will have a festival feel with a centrally-located Fan Zone full of entertainment for all the family.

The 15 confirmed teams are:

Defending champions:

DENMARK: Lucas Bjerregaard, Thorbjørn Olesen

Qualified teams:

1. ENGLAND: Matt Wallace, Eddie Pepperell
2. FRANCE: Romain Wattel, Alexander Levy
3. AUSTRALIA: Wade Ormsby, Sam Brazel
4. THAILAND: Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Thongchai Jaidee
5. ITALY: Renato Paratore, Edoardo Molinari
6. SOUTH KOREA: Jeunghun Wang, Soomin Lee
7. SOUTH AFRICA: George Coetzee, Haydn Porteous
8. USA: Julian Suri, David Lipsky
9. SPAIN: Pablo Larrazábal, Adrian Otaegui
10. SCOTLAND: Richie Ramsay, Scott Jamieson
11. SWEDEN: Alexander Björk, Joakim Lagergren

Wildcard teams:
1. CAPTAINS TEAM: Thomas Bjørn, Catriona Matthew
2. ENGLAND WOMEN’S TEAM: Charley Hull, Georgia Hall
3. EUROPEAN WOMEN’S TEAM: Suzann Pettersen, Mel Reid
4. FINAL TEAM TBC

Tickets for the event, which will feature amphitheatre-style stands around tees and greens, music and pyrotechnics on the first tee and player engagement across the course, are on sale now for just £16 for adults and £5 for children from http://et.golf/clscgA.

Former European Tour starter Ivor Robson was presented with one of Mark Robinson’s paintings on his retirement, these are available on robinsongolfart.com.

I also love good golf photography – I remember a stunning exhibition of Brian Morgan’s photographs at St Andrews one year during the Open. His prints are expensive but worth it. Look at brianmorgan.com

Wetter winters and coastal erosion linked to climate change are threatening the future of golf, a report backed by governing body the R&A warned.

Golf is facing an increase in unplayable holes, winter course closures and disruption to professional tournaments due to increased rainfall, while rising sea levels could jeopardise all the world’s coastal courses by 2100.

Extreme weather is made worse by climate change, causing more golf course closures, while wetter, warmer autumns and winters cause damage and disease to grass and greens, the report said.

Steve Isaac, director of golf course management at the R&A, said: “There is no question it is becoming a huge factor. I believe golf is more impacted by climate change than any other sport aside from skiing.

“We are feeling it now with increases in unplayable holes, winter course closures and disruption to professional tournaments. And the future threats are very real.”

Professor Piers Forster, director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds, said Britain had seen six of the seven wettest years on record since 2000 and record-breaking wet winters in 2014 and 2015.

“That, combined with rising sea levels and increased storm surges, means that climate change is already affecting the historic game of golf in its birthplace,” he said.

“Without cutting the carbon emissions driving climate change, sea levels will rise by over a metre and extremely wet winters will become the norm,” he warned.