Issue 105, June 2009
MIDDLE EAST’S NO.1 GOLF MAGAZINE
WORLDWIDE
Spin Doctor Claude Harmon III shows you how to zip it.
Paul CAsey featured Latest Gear Henry Cooper Swing – Markus Brier
ELS●PLAYER●NORMAN●FISHER●NEWS & VIEWS Official Publication of The Emirates Golf Federation & The Arab Golf Federation
Worldwide Golf’s Executive Editor
PLAYER
GARY
PLAYER INTRODUCTION
Blair Atholl, with its water features and its sheer natural beauty, is a joy to play and it’s a joy to just soak up the atmosphere and the scenery. It’s rightly recognised as the second best golf course in South Africa. I’m just as enthusiastic about our course at Saadiyat Beach in Abu Dhabi – from the outset we knew it was an outstanding site and I’m pleased and proud of how it’s developing.
The beauty of golf! I ’M back home on the farm at Colesberg, South Africa, at the moment putting some more work into our golf course here and having some fun with the horses. It’s heaven for me to be with the family and the horses and I really enjoy myself working on the ranch. It’s hard work and at the end of the day I’m pretty well tired out but to see how it is coming to fruition is a rewarding experience. I couldn’t be more pleased with how it’s all working out – and I think everyone who sees it will be suitably impressed. It’s amazing how much joy golf and golf courses can bring to so many people. When we completed the golf course at Blair Atholl it gave me so much pleasure to know we had produced a course that was sheer paradise. It’s probably closer to The Masters course at Augusta National with its colour, its water features and its sheer natural beauty. There are a lot of water holes at Blair Atholl and an abundance of water which enabled us to create so many tranquil areas where water either comes into play or is just so easy on the eye. When you’re at Blair Atholl among the stunning scenery and the relaxing atmosphere it’s hard to believe that you’re so close to a city like Johannesburg. There couldn’t be a greater comparison between the big city and the peaceful country hideaway. Blair Atholl was home for us for many years and we still keep a house there. Many of the memorabilia I accumulated over a lifetime in golf can be seen in the Clubhouse and I would recommend the course, which is rightly recognised as the second best in South Africa, to any golfer of any level. It’s a joy to play and it’s a joy to
just soak up the atmosphere and the scenery. I’m just as enthusiastic about our course at Saadiyat Beach in Abu Dhabi. When I came over to see it in April I was so pleased and proud of how it was developing. From the outset we knew it was an outstanding site, situated right on the beach of the Arabian Gulf. The work that has been done in dredging the miniscule compressed shells to create a substantial foundation for the dunes and features has been nothing short of magnificent. Nothing has been spared in getting the job done the way we wanted it doing and I can only praise the vision and the support of TDIC in every aspect of the development. I can’t wait to see the course open later in the year and to see the reaction of the players when they play it. When I left Dubai in April after the Worldwide Golf 100th Issue golf day, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I flew straight to Morocco to visit the two golf courses we are designing there, Mogador at Essaouira, and Mazagan at El Jadida. One of the courses is right on the sea with the holes running adjacent to the beachfront. It’s a fantastic site and I’m pleased with the progress we’re making. There’s also an excellent hotel and spa and I’m sure it’s going to be a much sought-after resort. Morocco is an interesting country and they have a lot to offer the international golf tourist. With our design work in Oman at the Malkai Course, the wonderful La Residences Des Cascades Golf Resort in Soma Bay, Egypt and a number of other propositions under discussion, we have a considerable involvement in the Middle East and I am looking forward seeing our golf courses come into being over the next few months and years. ■ www.wwgolf.biz
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Over 100 destinations worldwide
Contents 16
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Regulars 1 4 6 10 20 28 35 36 39 43 46 47 48 53 57 61 63 65 92 95 96
Features
GARY PLAYER INTRODUCTION WSP WEBSITE DETAILS ERNIE ELS COLUMN CLUBHOUSE QUICKIES DIVOTS NEWS ITEMS GREG NORMAN COLUMN ROSS FISHER COLUMN GEAR: THE LATEST EQUIPMENT DRIVING RANGE: AUDI Q5 OFFICIAL WORLD GOLF RANKING THIS MONTH IN HISTORY WORLD ROUND-UPS CLAUDE HARMON SWING ANALYSIS WAYNE’S DIARY SANDY MEYER COLUMN ARABIAN GOLF LOCKER ROOM GROOM ROOM IN THE BAG: CLUB PRO
ISSUE No. 105, JUNE, 2009 Worldwide Sporting Publications Ltd, 54 Alderley Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, England, SK9 1NY Editor-in-Chief: Mike Gallemore Executive Editor: Gary Player Editor: Alex Gallemore Publisher: Mike Gallemore Senior Editor: Richard Bevan
WIN THE HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME TO SCOTLAND: The winner is announced for the golf trip for two to the Home of Golf to play and stay at the famous courses at Gleneagles, St.Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie.
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PAUL CASEY WINS THE EUROPEAN TOUR’S FLAGSHIP EVENT: Paul Casey wins the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth by one shot from Worldwide Golf Columnist Ross Fisher and goes to No.3 in the world and into the lead for The Race to Dubai.
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THE RACE TO DUBAI
TUTORIAL
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TRAVEL FEATURE: Blair Atholl, South Africa’s No.2 rated golf course, designed by Gary Player, who still has a home at the Estate, which is renowned not only for the golf course but also for its peace and tranquility and its stunning scenery.
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Issue 105, June 2009
MIDDLE EAST’S NO.1 GOLF MAGAZINE
WORLDWIDE
Spin Doctor Claude Harmon III shows you how to zip it.
GARY PLAYER COLUMN: Gary talks about his enthusiasm for encouraging youngsters to start playing golf and the success of our Worldwide Golf 100th Issue Anniversary golf day at Emirates Golf Club where he is pictured below with Vijay Rao, General Manager, Porsche Centre, Dubai; Maram Salhab, Marketing Assistant, Porsche Centre, Dubai; and David Smith (right), Porsche Middle East alongside a Porsche Cayenne.
Paul CAsey featured Latest Gear Henry Cooper Swing – Markus Brier
ELS●PLAYER●NORMAN●FISHER●NEWS & VIEWS Official Publication of The Emirates Golf Federation & The Arab Golf Federation
FRONT COVER: Paul Casey winner of the BMW PGA Championship.
HENRIK STENSON WINS THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP: The Dubaibased Swede wins the U.S. PGA Tour’s big event at TPC Sawgrass to go to World No.5 and to 17th place in The Race to Dubai.
22 HENRY COOPER: Richard Bevan talks to Britain’s most popular former Heavyweight Champion Boxer, ‘Our Enry’ who, as an Honourary Member of The London Golf Club, presented Ross Fisher with his trophy last year after Ross had won The European Open. Editorial Assistants: Todd Staszko, James Reeves, Tabitha Florence Design Manager: Mark Frain Technical Manager: Mark Collinge Editorial Panel: Gary Player, Mike Gallemore, Alex Gallemore, Richard Bevan, Todd Staszko
Published in Dubai by: Prografix, PO Box 24677, Dubai, UAE (Tel) +9714 340 3785 Advertising & Marketing: David Burke davidb@wspdubai.com (009715) 05519363
Worldwide Golf specifies that post-press changes may occur to any information given in this publication and takes no responsibility for goods or services advertised.
Printed by: Raidy, Dubai
June 2009 SSN 1- 46805671 Approval UAE National Media Council: Ref.816 30/5/2007 Trade Licence No. 1/104375/15280
ALL NEW WEBSITE NOW ONLINE THE techno boffins at WWG Towers have finished their tinkering and the wait is finally over, so without further ado we give you the brand new, all singing, all dancing Worldwide Golf website! For some time now we have been developing a site worthy of our status as the Middle East’s No.1 golf magazine and we think that with www.wwgolf.biz we’ve pulled it off, even if we do say so ourselves! The new state-of-the-art site is packed to the rafters with great features. Keep up-to-date with news from around the golfing globe; post and watch video footage; use the extensive forum section to chat with friends, find a playing partner, or trade gear; win a stack of amazing prizes in the competitions area; or play a variety of fun packed online games. We’re confident that in www.wwgolf.biz Middle East golf fans finally have a website tailored specifically for them.
NEWS
The news section brings you up-to-the minute developments as they happen, both locally and internationally. Worldwide Golf has forged a reputation over the past decade for delivering the most comprehensive local golf news around whilst never neglecting happenings further afield and www.wwgolf.biz allows us to do that even faster!
FORUM
The forum is the section of www.wwgolf.biz that we’re probably most excited about as it’s where you readers can form your own online community. There are various sections for you to discuss anything at all that’s on your mind, golf-related or otherwise! Ask for advice; exchange tips; find a playing partner; buy, sell or trade gear; post video footage; clarify the confusing world of rules and handicapping!
PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF
Try your luck with a game of online golf as well as a host of other tantalising games and post your best scores on the forum!
READ THE LATEST AND PAST ISSUES ONLINE You can now read Worldwide Golf anywhere in the world by accessing the fully interactive online version on www.wwgolf.biz The online publication allows you to grab and turn pages just like a real magazine, or skip straight to your favourite section via the interactive contents page. Plus you need never worry again if you’ve missed an issue because there is a huge selection of past issues in the ‘read online’ section as well!
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Ernie Els is the most successful South African golfer of his generation. Els, nicknamed ‘The Big Easy’ due to his easy-looking swing, has won three Majors and seven World Match Play Championships during a career that spans close on two decades. Els has two U.S. Opens to his name and won The Open Championship in 2002.
ERNIE
ELS
Getting better but still looking for that missing spark
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T’S been a pretty varied month on the golfing front since I last wrote. I’ve played in South Carolina, South Korea, Florida and England. You might say I’ve been clocking-up some serious Air Miles! Still, Hilton Head was a good place to go after the disappointment of The Masters. The Verizon Heritage is one of the first tournaments that is inked into my schedule every year. I love the place and there’s just something about that golf course that suits my eye. I made a good start to the tournament, shooting 68 on a tricky and windy day. Nothing much happened for me over the next three days, though. I shot 71, 73 and 72 to finish well down the field. Shame, because I really felt like my rhythm was good at the start of the week. I was expecting better. I didn’t have long between finishing at Hilton Head and jumping on a plane to South Korea to take part in the Ballantine’s Championship at the Pinx Golf Club on the picturesque island of Jeju. Actually, by the time I arrived it was four planes. But it was worth the trip. It wasn’t my first time playing in South Korea, but it was my first time playing in the Ballantine’s and I enjoyed the experience. Korea is at the forefront of the Asian golf boom and the fans there are extremely passionate and also quite knowledgeable about the game of golf. I’d heard from some of the players who took part in the previous year’s tournament that we could expect some windy conditions. Man, they weren’t kidding. It was extremely windy on the practice days and, although we had a calm day’s play on Thursday, things turned wild again at the weekend. I felt like we were in Scotland! It was windy, cold and a really tough test of golf. How tough? I shot 73 on Saturday and it was the second lowest score of the day. I went from tied-28th after two rounds to tied sixth after three rounds and in with a chance of winning. Scoring wasn’t easy on the final day, either. I moved into a good position with a couple of birdies in the first six holes, but I couldn’t keep the momentum going and ended up shooting 71, which left me at 2 under par for the tournament and tied fourth. I felt like I’d wasted a chance to
win. But on the upside, my long game stood up well to probably the toughest conditions we’ll see all year. I took some more encouragement from that. My journey to work was a little easier the following week – you know, just throw the gear in the back of the car and drive from our house in West Palm Beach to a house we rented in Ponte Vedre Beach for The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. No problem. My record in that event has not been the best. Up to this year I’d played it 15 times and had only three top 10s, including a tied sixth in 2008. My 16th attempt was nothing to write home about, as they say. Inconsistency was again my enemy. I was making some birdies, but there was just no momentum out there. If you’re not absolutely on top of your game on that golf course, especially with the greens as fast and as hard as they were, it was easy to shoot some pretty high numbers. Don’t ask me why I haven’t done better at TPC. I can’t put my finger on it, really. I like Pete Dye’s Stadium Course and I’ve had plenty of good scores over the years. I just haven’t been able to put it all together over four rounds. It’s strange, really. Still, maybe next year. The BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth is another tournament where my record is strangely not great. I know that golf course like my own back garden, which, in fact, is pretty much where it is, considering we’ve had a house on the Wentworth Estate for more than 10 years. I’ve also won seven World Match Play Championship titles there. But I’ve never really come close to winning the PGA; it’s another of life’s little mysteries. This year over the first two days I felt like I played better than I scored – a pair of 73s leaving me right on the cut line at 2 over par. That’s been a familiar story this season. But you know, it is what it is. My game is better than that. I just have to start making it show on the scorecard. The positive thing was I shot 5 under par over the weekend, a 70 on Saturday and a 69 to finish on Sunday. It was probably about as bad as I could have scored, which is satisfying in one sense but frustrating in another. It left me at 3 under par for the tournament and tied 21st.
Ernie Els looks on with eventual winner Paul Casey at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
It wasn’t the result I was looking for, but, overall, it was another great championship at Wentworth. We had wonderful weather and the crowds were fantastic. And it was good to see Ross Fisher do so well there, with him having come through the Club’s excellent Junior Scholarship programme. Next year, by which time the West Course will have its new greens, I believe this great Championship will be even better. Talking of better, that’s where I’m trying to get with my golf game. I have some of my favourite tournaments of the year just around the corner and I’m 100 per cent focused on my game and getting it back to where I want it to be. Honestly, I feel so close to playing really well again, I just need that little spark to get me going. ■
WWG COLUMNIST Ernie Els tees off at Wentworth during the BMW PGA Championship.
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THE GOLF COMPETITION OF A LIFETIME
Carnoustie Golf Links, Scotland.
THE WINNER OF THE GOLF HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME: Huzaifa Mohamed from Dubai, UAE ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Return flights from Dubai to Glasgow; Self-Drive rental car; 2 nights accommodation in Gleneagles; One round on the Kings Course at Gleneagles; 4 nights accommodation at St Andrews Old Course Hotel; One round at Kingsbarns Golf Club, Fife; One round at the Dukes Course at St Andrews; One round at St Andrews New Course; One round at Carnoustie Golf Links.
QUESTION: WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE GOLFER WHO HAS RECENTLY RETURNED TO THE GAME, WHO WON THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP AT St ANDREWS IN 2005?
ANSWER: TIGER WOODS
THE LUCKY READER OF WORLDWIDE GOLF has won the golf trip of a lifetime, courtesy of VisitScotland and Evolution Golf Scotland. Return flights from Dubai International Airport to Glasgow International Airport with accommodation at Gleneagles and St Andrews, plus self-drive car hire and the opportunity to play rounds at the Kings Course at Gleneagles, Kingsbarns, St Andrews New Course and Dukes Course, and Carnoustie. Two nights accommodation in Gleneagles are followed by four nights at the St Andrews Old Course Hotel in a week you’ll never forget. The world renowned Gleneagles Hotel has been a 5 Red Star hotel every year since 1986 and is set in 850 acres of beautiful Perthshire countryside while The St Andrews Old Course Hotel, one of the most famous and recognised Hotels in global golf, offers views over the most famous golf course in the world and is situated in the heart of Fife’s links golf community. Both are World Class facilities among World Class golf courses. Evolution Golf Scotland specialise in providing a tailor-made experience in Scottish Golf Vacations due to its personal expertise of Scottish golf and an unrivalled quality of service. Whether it’s the venues of past and future Open Championships like Carnoustie or St Andrews that you desire or the parkland beauty of Gleneagles, Evolution Golf Scotland can provide the right package, perfectly custom-fitted for you, the individual. Visit www.evolutiongolfscotland.com; www.visitscotland.org; www.conventionscotland.com; www.visitscotland.com. Evolution Golf Scotland: Head Office, 41 Owendale Avenue, Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland ML4 1NS. UK telephone: +44 141 416 3298; UK Mobile: +44 7980 225559; Kuwait Mobile: +965 66039646.
Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland
The Old Course Hotel, St Andrews, Scotland
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PLAYER QUOTES JOKES WORD OF THE MONTH CARTOONS
The Golfing Nun A nun walks into Mother Superior’s office and plonks down into a chair. She lets out a sigh heavy with frustration. “What troubles you, Sister?” asked the Mother Superior. “I thought this was the day you spent with your family.” “It was,” sighed the Sister. “And I went to play golf with my brother. We try to play golf as often as we can – I was quite a talented golfer before I devoted my life to Christ.” “I seem to recall that,” the Mother Superior agreed. “So I take it your day of recreation was not relaxing?” ”Far from it,” snorted the Sister. “In fact, I even took the Lord’s name in vain today!” “Goodness, Sister!” gasped the Mother Superior. “You must tell me all about it!” “Well, we were on the fifth tee...and this hole is a monster, a 540-yard par 5, with a nasty dogleg left and a hidden green...and I hit the drive of my life. I creamed it. The sweetest swing I ever made. And it’s flying straight and true, right along the line I wanted...and it hits
a bird in mid-flight!” “Oh my!” commiserated the Mother. “How unfortunate! But surely that didn’t make you blaspheme, Sister!” ”No, that wasn’t it,” admitted the Sister. “While I was still trying to fathom what had happened, this squirrel runs out of the woods, grabs my ball and runs off down the fairway!” “Oh, that would have made me blaspheme!” sympathised the Mother. ”But I didn’t, Mother!” sobbed the Sister. “I was so proud of myself! While I was pondering whether this was a sign from God, this hawk swoops out of the sky and grabs the squirrel and flies off, with my ball still clutched in his paws!” “So that’s when you cursed?” said the Mother. ”Nope, that wasn’t it either,” cried the Sister, anguished, “because as the hawk started to fly out of sight, the squirrel started struggling, and the hawk dropped him right there on the green, and the ball popped out
NOT MUCH OF A DRIVER! The argumentative golfer in the club bar had been looking for a fight all afternoon since losing his game. Finally, he threw a punch at the player on the nearest bar stool who’d asked him if he’d enjoyed his round. He ducked and the golfer, losing his balance, fell off his stool and onto the floor. By the time he’d disentangled himself from the bar stools and dusted himself off, his opponent had left. “D’ya see that, barman.’” he complained. “Not much of a fighter was he?” “Not much of a driver either, sir. He’s just driven over your clubs,” said the barman gazing out of the window.
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of his paws and rolled to about 18 inches from the cup!” Mother Superior sat back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest, fixed the Sister with a baleful stare and said... “You missed the putt, didn’t you?”
The secret of concentration is the secret of selfdiscovery. You reach inside yourself to discover your personal resources, and what it takes to match them to the challenge. - Arnold Palmer
“I have a hook. It nauseated me. I could vomit when I see one. It’s like a rattlesnake in your pocket.” – Ben Hogan
WORD
OF THE MONTH...
Pigeon – An easy mark – the golfer everybody wants to play against. If you hear someone refer to you as a ‘pigeon’ take up tiddlywinks.
“Bob Hope’s swing? I’ve seen better swings on a condemned playground!” – Bing Crosby
DID
YOU KNOW...
Robert Trent Jones was probably the most widely known of all golf course architects, but not everyone greeted every one of his courses with wide-eyed enthusiasm. Some players thought Trent went too far in creating punishing holes. Running into him one day, Jimmy Demaret slapped him on the back and said, “Saw a course you’d really like, Trent. On the first tee you take a penalty drop.”
“Two balls in the water. By God, I’ve got a good mind to jump in and make it four!” – Simon Hobday
CLUBHOUSE QUICKIES
WHAT CAN I DO? Fred was playing off the sixth tee at the Royal Quebec Club. The fairway on the sixth needed some skill because it ran alongside the road. But Fred sliced the ball badly and it disappeared over the hedge bordering the road. So he put another ball down and took the penalty. He was having a beer after the game when the pro joined him in the bar. “Excuse me Fred, but was it you who sliced this ball into the road at the sixth this morning?” “Yes, but I took the penalty.” The pro replied: “That’s as may be. But you might be interested to know that your ball hit and killed a small boy on a tricycle; the tricycle fell in the path of a Mountie on a motorcycle. He skidded and was thrown through the window of a car, killing the nun at the wheel. The car then swerved into a cement mixer which wasn’t too damaged but had to veer slightly and in doing so ran into the local school bus with such an impact that it sent it flying through the window of the St Lawrence shopping centre. At the last count from the hospital there are 13 people dead and 79 people seriously injured.” The golfer turned a deathly shade of white and said, “What can I do?” “Well, you could try moving your left hand a little bit further down the shaft,” the pro advised.
“Sometimes you’re so into a putt that when you miss it, it’s like a stab in the heart,” – Tom Lehman
GET OUT OF THAT ONE
ITS ALL IN THE MIND Camilo Villegas masters the art of telekinetic ball movement.
Happily innocent of all golfing lore, Bob’s wife watched with interest the efforts of her man in the bunker to play his ball. At last it rose amid a cloud of sand, hovered in the air and then dropped on the green and rolled into the hole. “Oh my stars,” Bob’s wife chuckled, “he’ll have a tough time getting out of that one.”
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PAUL CASEY BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
THREE IS THEMAGIC NUMBER FOR CASEY P
AUL Casey moved up to a career-best No.3 on the Official World Golf Ranking thanks to a superb one-stroke victory over Ross Fisher at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Casey needed to birdie the final hole after Fisher carded a best-of-the-week 8-under par 64 and did so by getting down in two from a greenside bunker. He found a sandy lie with his second shot but splashed out to five feet leaving a testing downhill left-to-right putt. “It was not an easy putt, but any putt to win is something I would like to have,” said the 31-year-old who, having started the year 41st in the world, now sits behind Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods in the ranking courtesy of three tournament victories in the space of five months. “The BMW PGA Championship is our flagship event on The European Tour and I’ve always wanted to get my hands on this trophy,” he said after the biggest win of his career so far. “There are so many great names on this trophy and it feels great. A lot of people have put in a lot of work, but I have to give special thanks to Peter Kostis, my coach in the States.” Casey, who won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and the Shell Houston Open earlier this season, now joins Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam and Colin Montgomerie as the only Brits to have ever made it to No.3 or higher on the rankings. “It’s very flattering to be included alongside those names,” he said, “but I think I still have a long way to go to get even slightly close to what they achieved in the world of golf.” That was a clear indication as to what is highest on his agenda – Major Championships. “That would be reasonable to assume that, yes,” he grinned when questioned about his ambitions. “There are lots of things on the list to try and accomplish. Certainly Major success is at the top of that list. I’ve tried to give equal weight to every event
I’ve played this year and try and prepare with equal measure for every tournament, and maybe that’s why things are going pretty well this season.” Casey opened up with a 3-under 69 to sit two shots behind the lead held by Anthony Wall, David Horsey and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano but fired himself to the top of the leader board on day two thanks to a sublime 5-under 67. The Englishman then extended the gap at the top heading into the final round with a successive 67 to lead Denmark’s Søren Kjeldsen by three, Rory McIlroy by four and Ross Fisher by five. McIlroy put himself into contention with a superb 7-under 65 while Fisher and Kjeldsen carded rounds of 67 and 68 respectively to putt themselves within shooting distance of Casey. The weather on the final day was glorious but it didn’t start well for Casey who bogeyed the first hole. He quickly made up for it with birdies on holes 3 and 4 before a bogey on hole 8 pegged him back to levelpar at the turn. Meanwhile, playing in the group ahead, Fisher was making his move and reached the turn in 4-under, briefly holding the lead when he birdied the par-5 12th to get to 6-under for the day. However, Casey immediately hit back with a birdie on 12 to go level and took the lead again with a superb birdie putt at the par-4 15th. Fisher exerted more pressure on his fellow countryman with back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 which left Casey needing to repeat the feat to win the title. Casey birdied the 17th but having not birdied the 18th in his previous three rounds the pressure was on. However, the Ryder Cup star showed his composure and experience by getting up-and-down successfully to earn himself the biggest pay cheque of his career so far. www.wwgolf.biz
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Paul Casey clenches his fist as his crucial birdie putt on the final hole is about to drop, earning him the biggest victory of his career at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and taking him up to third place in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Q. What does it mean to you to win this tournament at such a prestigious venue? CASEY. It’s nice to be part of the history. I don’t know when the first time I would have turned up to watch this tournament at Wentworth as a youngster. At a guess, it would probably have been around the time Nick Faldo won back in 1989 or maybe Ian Woosnam in ‘88, maybe even Bernhard Langer in ‘87, I’m not certain. There are certainly some impressive names who have won the tournament here.”
Paul Casey with the famous falcon trophy after winning the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in January – the first of his three wins so far this season.
Q. Your win takes you to the top of The Race to Dubai and you’re currently eighth on the FedExCup standings on the PGA Tour. How much would it mean to you to win either of the season-ending races? CASEY. I would love to give myself an opportunity to challenge in both The Race to Dubai and the FedExCup. There’s huge money to be won on The European Tour, and it’s very attractive – plus, the prestige that goes with winning. I think you also get a nice exemption as well – a seven-year exemption for winning The Race to Dubai. That’s very appealing and definitely something I would like to snap up. Q. When you won in Abu Dhabi this year it seemed a great relief that you could win after such a long break. How do you explain three tournament wins so far this year? CASEY. I can’t really explain it. This time last year, I wasn’t playing great golf and people were beginning to say things like, ‘he hasn’t won in a while,’ so it was nice to get that out of the way in Abu Dhabi – it was very relieving. But I can’t explain how good it feels to suddenly pile on a couple more wins after that, particularly the BMW PGA Championship. I think it’s maybe beyond my
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expectations a little bit. It’s very special that I’ve had three wins this year so far. Q. You mentioned the work you do with Peter Kostis and your other coaches – is it mostly physical or mental or was it swing changes or even a new attitude? CASEY. I did a lot of physical stuff with Damon Shelton – a guy I work with in the U.S. We worked on my fitness and spent a lot time in the gym, and I think the physical strength that I now have has actually assisted with my mental strength. Peter Kostis is unbelievable. He knows the whole package. He works incredibly hard with me on my swing, but he also works on the mental side of things and the fitness side of things. He pushes me very, very hard. So Peter has to take a huge amount of credit for what I’ve been doing so far this year. Q. Have your goals changed at all after winning The European Tour’s flagship event? CASEY. Certainly – Majors are at the top of my list, but there are so many tournaments we have with great history or that are played on great golf courses. For example, winning at St.Andrews would be on my list, say the Dunhill Links Championship or something like that. If it’s not tournaments, there are places you want to win. There’s not going to be any shortage of things I would like to achieve. Q. What was your first reaction to reaching No.3 in the world? CASEY. Well, Wow! It’s pretty cool. I haven’t really thought about it too much. I had no idea until I found out when I arrived at Wentworth that I would move up to World No. 3. if I won. I’m very excited about it. ■
PAUL CASEY BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL LEADERBOARD 1 2 3 4 5
Paul CASEY Ross FISHER Søren KJELDSEN Stephen DODD Rory MCILROY
ENG ENG DEN WAL NIR
-17 -16 -13 -12 -10
69 67 67 68 68 73 67 64 69 69 68 69 71 68 70 67 72 70 65 71
271 272 275 276 278
€750,000 €500,000 €281,700 €225,000 €190,800
“I had no idea until I found out when I arrived at Wentworth that I would move up to World No.3 if I won. I’m very excited about it.” – PAUL CASEY. www.wwgolf.biz
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HENRIK STENSON
STENSON
JOINS THE CLUB S
HOOTING a final round bogey-free 66 on one of the most demanding golf courses in the world in bone-dry conditions is something you rarely see in the professional game, but Henrik Stenson is something of a rarity. After stripping off to his underwear to hit out of some mud at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in Miami he was the most talked about player of the day, but two days later a final round 83 left more people talking about his naked ambition than his game. Now, after a sensational four-stroke victory over Ian Poulter at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, everyone is discussing Stenson’s golf and not his designer boxer shorts. Stenson followed in the footsteps of Sergio Garcia (2008) and Sandy Lyle (1987) as the only European victors of the U.S. PGA Tour’s flagship event and the Dubai-based Swede clearly sees his performance as a springboard to bigger and better things.
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Henrik Stenson kisses the famous crystal trophy after winning The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, Florida, last month – the flagship event of the U.S. PGA Tour and the tournament the players regard as golf ’s ‘Fifth Major.’
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“It’s obviously a great feeling to have won The Players Championship,” said a jubilant Stenson after he lifted the famous crystal trophy and pocketed the $1.7m winner’s cheque. “I probably controlled myself this week as well as I’ve ever done in my career. Even if I hadn’t played as well today and hadn’t won this tournament, I felt I was in the right state of mind. Because of that, I believe I’m bound to win some great tournaments further down the line. “This is going to give me a lot of confidence going into the Majors. Obviously, if I can play as well as I did today I can surely produce that sort of performance on the Sunday of a Major. If you look at my résumé, it’s been a case on quite a few occasions that I’ve won tournaments with very strong fields, and that’s obviously very pleasing.
Began in fine style I won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Dubai Desert Classic when Tiger Woods was in there - I played with Ernie Els and beat him down the stretch. It just seems to bring the best out of me, playing the best players in the world, and obviously now I feel like I’m up there where I belong when I’m playing good.” Stenson beganThe Players Championship in fine style with opening rounds of 68 and 69 to reach the halfway point at 7-under and four shots off the lead held by Germany’s Alex Cejka, who was
“Playing the best players in the world seems to bring out the best in me and, obviously, now I feel like I’m up there where I belong.” – Henrik Stenson on fire over the first two days. The third round was tougher and that was reflected in the scoring as Cejka carded a level-par 72 to take a five-stroke lead into the final day as Stenson carded a 73. Poised on 6-under with Stenson were Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, Ian Poulter, Ben Crane and Jonathon Byrd and from that group it was Stenson who struck with a sublime round of golf. Starting out with six straight pars, Stenson sparked into life on hole seven with a birdie. He then birdied nine to make the turn in 34. He continued his solid display with birdies on 11 and 13, then produced back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 which gave him an almost unassailable lead. He parred the nerve-jangling ‘Island Green’ 17th and then the last to see out a famous and stylish victory. “I think I’ve always been pretty good at handling myself when I’m up there,” he said. “When I’m in contention, I’ve been able to close the deal
HENRIK STENSON
quite a few times over the years and been a strong front runner. But then again, you’ve got to handle yourself to get into that position. I’ve always said it’s been one of my favourite courses since I played it in 2006 for the first time. I’ve always liked to play it, and it suits my eye, suits my game.” Poulter, who finished runner-up at The Open Championship last year, again had to settle for second place at yet another big tournament. The Englishman carded a final round 70 for an 8-under total and was pleased with how his game faired in the tough conditions. “I was thinking that if I could finish in front of Tiger, that might be good enough to win,” said Poulter, “but I wasn’t expecting someone to go out there and shoot 66. I was pleased with how I finished the tournament off but my hat’s off to Henrik for putting his foot down and disappearing.” Woods also had plenty of nice things to say about Stenson’s performance. “It’s pretty incredible,” he reflected. “He played great. We all know he’s got all the talent in the world to do this. It was just a matter of time before he put it together. To do it on this stage was pretty impressive.” Stenson’s victory at The Players Championship earned him an exemption to the remaining Majors this season and the next three Open Championships plus the next two Masters tournaments but right now his mind is focused on getting back to basics on The European Tour.
“I was brought up on The European Tour. I like all the changes – playing in so many different parts of the world – and being based in Dubai, the Middle East Swing is on my doorstep” - Henrik Stenson
Right: Henrik Stenson strips off down to his boxer shorts to play out of the water at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at Doral, Miami. Below: Henrik Stenson is presented with the giant trophy from Mohammed Ali Alabar, after winning the Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club in 2007.
‘Best of both worlds “I was brought up on The European Tour. I like all the changes, playing in different parts of the world, and being based in Dubai means I have the Middle East Swing on my doorstep. So I’m happy to follow the sun, to be in that part of the world between October and February and then America in the spring and be back in Europe over the summer. I’ve been able to enjoy the best of both worlds.” In 2006 Stenson won his first tournament in the Middle East at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, then in September he won the BMW International Open the week after he qualified for his maiden Ryder Cup appearance at The K Club in Ireland. At the start of the following year Stenson continued his rich form with wins in Dubai and then in Arizona at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, which saw him reach a career-best fifth on the Official World Golf Ranking. Last season he carded ten top-ten finishes, including back-to-back runner-up spots at the Abu Dhabi Championship and the Commercialbank Qatar Masters. He finished the year with another appearance at The Ryder Cup and his fourth consecutive top-ten finish on the Order of Merit. Although Stenson’s victory at The Players Championship doesn’t count toward his Race to Dubai ranking on The European Tour, it’s sure to propel his game to another level and with some big tournaments on the horizon don’t be surprised to see Stenson stepping into the winner’s circle again this season. ■
THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD 1 2 T3 T3 T5 T5 T5
SWE ENG USA USA USA ENG USA
Henrik Stenson Ian Poulter John Mallinger Kevin Na Jim Furyk Brian Davis Ben Crane
-12 -8 -7 -7 -6 -6 -6
68 67 66 71 68 71 65
69 68 71 66 74 69 73
73 75 74 74 71 71 72
66 70 70 70 69 71 72
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DIVOTS MEXICO OPEN TO BE RESCHEDULED DUE TO SWINE FLU OUTBREAK THE Nationwide Tour’s Mexico Open presented by Corona Light has been postponed as a result of the swine flu outbreak and will be played later in the season. The tournament was to be played the week of May 18-24. The new tournament dates will be announced in the near future. El Bosque Golf Club in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, is the new host site this year. The club is located approximately 200 miles northwest of Mexico City.“ Given the serious circumstances surrounding the swine flu outbreak, the Nationwide Tour has decided it is in everyone’s best interests to reschedule the Mexico Open presented by Corona Light and play the tournament later in the season,” said Nationwide Tour President Bill Calfee.
LADIES TOUR GOES GREEN THE Ladies European Tour’s Deutsche Bank Ladies’ Swiss Open won by Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord last month was the first carbon neutral event to be held on the Tour. Organisers reduced the amount of harmful carbon emissions which are inevitably produced in the running of a big sporting event. They took a number of steps to make the event as environmentally friendly as possible including reducing paper usage before, during and after the tournament and using energy efficient and environmentally friendly electronic devices. “Environmental protection is a matter of social responsibility and is one of the greatest challenges of our time,” said Tournament Director Hanns Michael Hoelz.
Tour statement explains: “International Sports Management, promoters of The British Masters, have, in agreement with The European Tour, postponed the tournament for one year. The European Tour will work with ISM to secure funding for 2010.”
SEVE TROPHY GETS A RE-NAME AS CAPTAINS ARE ANNOUNCED THE Seve Trophy has been renamed after a new sponsorship deal with French communication giant Vivendi was announced. ‘The Vivendi Trophy with Severiano Ballesteros’ will see Denmark’s Thomas Björn lead the Continental Europe side with Ireland’s Paul McGinley taking charge of the Great Britain and Ireland team when the tournament is held at Saint Nom-la-Bretèche in Paris, France, on September 24-27. The biennial event is played in a similar match play format as The Ryder Cup but with two fewer players on either side. The 10-man teams will be made up of the top five players on The Race to Dubai money list and the leading five players on the Official World Golf Ranking as of 14 September.
MARK JAMES CLAIMS MALLORCA SENIOR OPEN MARK James defeated former Ryder Cup teammate Eamonn Darcy in sudden-death to win the Son Gual Mallorca Senior Open on the European Senior Tour. The Englishman birdied the third extra hole to win after the pair were tied in regulation on 10-under 206. The win makes it back-to-back wins for former Ryder Cup Captains on the European Senior Tour after Sam Torrance had won the DGM Barbados Open.
BRENDON TODD MAKES NATIONWIDE TOUR HISTORY
BRITISH MASTERS DROPPED FROM EUROPEAN SCHEDULE THE British Masters, one of the longest running tournaments on The European Tour, has been dropped from this season’s schedule after organisers failed to attract a sponsor. The event, won last year by Spain’s Gonzalo FernandezCastaño and held at The Belfry for the last three years, is one of the Tour’s oldest events, having been staged every year since 1946. A European
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FALDO TO PLAY IN FOURTH TURNBERRY OPEN
NATIONWIDE Tour player Brendon Todd created history by making a hole-in-one at the same hole two days in a row at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic. Todd made the first ace on the opening round with a 7-iron on the par-3 17th from 157-yards. The following day he opted for an 8-iron for the same outcome.
NICK Faldo has announced he will play in his 33rd Open Championship at Turnberry this year – his fourth Open at the famous Ayrshire venue. Faldo finished 62nd at the 1977 Open, fifth in 1986 and eighth when The Open was last staged at Turnberry in 1994. The six-time Major Champion missed his first Open since 1975 last year as he focused on his role as Ryder Cup Captain. Faldo made a rare appearance as a Senior golfer when he played in the 2007 Senior Open Championship at Muirfield, where he won the third of his three Open Championships (1987 - Muirfield; 1990 - St. Andrews; 1992 - Muirfield).
SIM BACK ON TRACK AFTER TWO YEARS OUT OF ACTION AUSTRALIAN Michael Sim, who has two wins and a play-off loss in his last three Nationwide Tour starts, is just one win away from immediate promotion to the PGA Tour after returning to the action after a serious back injury that has affected him for the last two years. A stress fracture in his spine derailed his career through 2007/08 but he’s back winning tournaments this year. In early April he won the Stonebrae Classic and in May he won the BMW Charity Pro-Am. One more win and he will make his automatic return to the PGA Tour.
NEWS SNIPPETS FROM AROUND THE GOLFING GLOBE
MONTY TO GET AN EXTRA CAPTAIN’S PICK
RYDER Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie has been granted an extra pick for the 2010 matches in Wales. Montgomerie had hoped to have four wildcard choices at his disposal, but The European Tour Ryder Cup committee agreed to three, one less than the U.S. team. Under this new system, five players will be selected from The European Tour ranking and four from the Official World Golf Ranking (previously five) with the remaining three players picked by Captain Montgomerie.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH: “My mind just wanders. I’m thinking about what shoes I’m going to buy... I need to wash my car……I’m thinking about stuff that doesn’t matter.” – Bubba Watson on his lack of focus on the golf course.
ROUND OF THE MONTH: Henrik Stenson’s bogey-free 66 at the final round of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, Florida. It was a sensational display of control from the Swede who demonstrated exactly why he’s known as the ‘Iceman’.
SLIMMER OF THE MONTH:
LOWRY TURNS PRO SHANE Lowry, winner of The 3 Irish Open at the County Louth Golf club, Baltray, last month has signed professional terms with the Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management just days after his sensational triumph. Lowry joins fellow Irishman Graeme McDowell and Worldwide Golf‘s Columnist Ross Fisher at Horizon and he he went on to make his debut as a professional at The European Open in Ash, Kent. “I feel this decision will give me the greatest chance of becoming the best player I can be,” said the 22-year-old. “There is a tinge of sadness for me leaving my amateur career behind. I’m fully aware that playing against some of the greatest players in the world on a weekly basis, will be new territory for me and it will be a difficult challenge.”
With his three-way tie for second place in the BMW Italian Open, a slimmed-down John Daly moved up 343 spots in the Official World Golf Ranking to 451st place. The week before the Torino event Daly finished in a tie for 31st place in the Open de España in Girona and the week after the Italian Open at The 3 Irish Open at County Louth Golf Club in Baltray, he missed the cut. A reformed Daly says he is happy toconcentrate on The European Tour in the run up to The Open at Turnberry.
MICKELSON SUSPENDS SCHEDULE AS WIFE AMY BATTLES CANCER PHIL Mickelson has suspended his PGA Tour schedule indefinitely after his wife Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer last month. According to a release from Mickelson’s management company his wife is to have more tests and faces major surgery. PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said: “We are saddened by the news of Amy Mickelson’s diagnosis but are hopeful that with the support of Phil and her family and friends, she will come through this difficult time. The thoughts and prayers of everyone connected with the PGA Tour are with the Mickelson family.”
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BRITISH boxing legend Sir Henry Cooper – the first man to put Mohammad Ali on the canvas – talks exclusively to Richard Bevan about how golf filled the sporting void left in his life when he hung up the gloves in 1971 and gave him the perfect vehicle to continue the charity work that has seen him raise millions for good causes over the years.
TAKING SHOTS WITH ‘OUR ENRY’ A
S a rising star by the name of Cassius Clay found out, nobody in the world of heavyweight boxing was safe from ‘Enry’s ‘Ammer. Sir Henry Cooper, the longest serving British Heavyweight Champion of all time, had one hell of a left hook and he used it with devastating effect to become the first fighter ever to put Clay on his rear end in the fourth round of one of the most famous and talked about contests of all time at Wembley Stadium in 1963. Clay was quite literally ‘saved by the bell’…well, the bell, the ropes and some glove ripping scullduggery by the young American’s trainer Angelo Dundee. Clay went on to make good on his prophecy of beating the man UK fight fans knew as ‘Our Enry’ in the fifth round when the bout was stopped due to a nasty cut above
Cooper’s left eye. The 21-year-old took the World title in his next fight when he ‘shook up the world’ to beat the ‘big ugly bear’ Sonny Liston inside six rounds, before converting to Islam and changing his name to Muhammad Ali. The rest is boxing legend. British boxing fans still talk about the night ‘Our Enry’ almost changed the course of boxing history. “If only he’d hit him earlier in the round...if only he’d hit him in the middle of the ring...if only Henry’s eyes hadn’t been so susceptible to cuts...if only Angelo Dundee hadn’t been able to ‘buy’ Clay precious time...” But with a legacy of 11 years at the top of British boxing, three Lonsdale Belts (given to the British boxing champion) to go with European and Commonwealth titles, two BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards and a country that still holds him dear to their hearts as a 4
SIR HENRY COOPER
“IT WAS BLOOMIN’ MARVELLOUS. I PLAYED WITH BALLESTEROS WHEN HE WAS ONLY 19 OR 20. THERE WAS NOTHING HE COULDN’T DO ON A GOLF COURSE, HE WAS UNBELIEVABLE.” Above: Henry Cooper smiles for the cameras with Seve Ballesteros at La Manga, Spain, in 1988. Opposite page: Cooper shocks a young Mohammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) with the power of his famous left hook and makes history as the first boxer to floor the soon-to-be World Champion. First page (inset): Sir Henry presents the trophy to Worldwide Golf columnist Ross Fisher after his victory at last year’s European Open at The London Golf Club, where Cooper is an honorary member.
national icon, Cooper doesn’t do ‘if onlys.’ “I suppose I could have changed boxing history, yeah,” smiles the instantly likeable Cooper, who went on to fight Ali a second time at Highbury Stadium in London in 1966 – a fight that was again stopped due to a cut eye, this time in the 6th round. “But I don’t dwell on it. I had a marvellous career and I’m very proud of my record and my three Lonsdale Belts. As a kid I always dreamed about the Lonsdale Belts so to be the only fighter ever to win three of them outright makes me very proud. I was the longest reigning British Heavyweight Champion. I look at my fights and I beat all the best guys in British boxing. I beat Billy Walker, who was the Golden Boy of the ring, Johnnie Prescott, Jack Bodell – all of those boys. I’m very proud of that. “The thing with the Ali fight was that I hit him at the edge of the ring. He had great movement and I had to cut his mobility down so I trapped him on the ropes and when I caught him with that big left, the ropes let him down nice and gently! He went from the top rope, to the middle rope, to the bottom rope. Then, of course, the bell went and he had time to recover because of the glove incident.
Bury the hatchet “I’ve had dinner with Angelo Dundee two or three times since that fight and he rubs it in every time. He was a wily operator. What happened was he noticed that the stitching on Ali’s glove was coming away so he stuck his thumb in the hole and ripped it so the glove had to be replaced. Nowadays there has to be a spare set next to the ring but not in those days. It was a good 100-150 yards to the changing rooms at Wembley Stadium so by the time someone had come back with the gloves he’d had two-and-a-half minutes to recover, which, for a fit man, is all you need.” Cooper eventually retired from boxing in 1971 after a controversial points loss to a young Joe Bugner, when referee and sole judge Harry Gibbs was the only person in the stadium who thought Bugner had won it. Cooper didn’t talk to Gibbs for years after the incident, which had prevented him from retiring with his British, European and Commonwealth titles intact. But it was a chance to raise money for charity – something he’s been doing relentlessly since he first stepped into the spotlight – that finally prompted him to bury the hatchet shortly before Gibbs’ death in 1999. “I was at a boxing show at Grosvenor House,” he recalls. “There were about 1,000 people there and a good mate of mine said, ‘if I get a £20 note off each of them for charity, would you go up and shake hands with Harry Gibbs?’ I said, ‘of course I will.’ It meant that we could make another 20 grand above what we’d already raised. I thought, ‘well I haven’t got to go to bed with him, I’ve only got to shake his hand.’“I think if you’ve been lucky in life, which I have been in my career, you’ve got to try and give something back. I’ve got a lovely family – I lost my wife last year – but we’ve still got a lovely family. We’ve
got sons and grandchildren and they’re all healthy, which is wonderful. Not everybody is that lucky, so I try to give as much as I can to help others.” Cooper was knighted in 2000 for his services to boxing and for his charity work, which is ongoing to this day. The 74-year-old legend may have hung up his gloves 38 years ago but he has continued to raise millions for good causes, primarily through his second great sporting romance – golf. He didn’t start playing until after he’d left the ring for good but for a man who thrived on difficult challenges, the quest to re-train his hulking heavyweight frame to master the subtleties of golf was something he couldn’t resist. “When I retired from boxing I had to do something,” he says. “One day you’re a boxer and the next day you’re not. I’d been in the gym my whole life so I had to do some kind of exercise. I had a liking for golf. I’d watched it on TV and as a kid I’d had a go at pitch and putt and all of that sort of thing for fun so I decided to join Ealing Golf Club in Middlesex. “I wanted something totally different from boxing and golf is about as different as you can get! For example, you have to have really firm wrists when you’re throwing punches but in golf they have to be nice and loose, so I enjoyed that challenge. It was also just the sort of gentle exercise I needed, so it suited me just great.” Having taken up the game relatively late in life, Cooper admits that it wasn’t the easiest of sports to get to grips with. “For 27 years of my life – from when I was nine years old to when I was 37 – I’d been boxing. You train your muscles completely differently than you do with golf, so that was a problem! That’s why when I look at my swing I cringe and think ‘ouch, that’s not me is it?’ It’s certainly not pretty!
One of the star attractions “The trouble is I came into golf too late. When you’re 37 and you’re playing against people who have been playing their whole life, you’re going to struggle, but I get by. I got down to a 7 handicap at Ealing, which is not the longest track in the world, but it’s a tricky little course. My handicap’s been going up and up the last few years though – I play off 14 now.” Cooper’s status as one of the most popular sportsmen of his generation meant that when he did start getting to grips with the Royal & Ancient game, he was in the privileged position of being able to play the finest courses in the world in illustrious company. His popularity and endearing personality meant that he was regularly among the star attractions on televised events such as the BBC series, ‘Pro Celebrity Golf’. “Yeah, I used to play all the ones that were on TV,” he smiles. “It was bloomin’ marvellous. I played with Ballesteros when he was only 19 or 20. There was nothing he couldn’t do on a golf course, he was unbelievable. I played the Bob Hope Classic a few times as well. Bob came over to the UK a4 4
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“THE THING WITH THE ALI FIGHT WAS THAT I HIT HIM AT THE EDGE OF THE RING. HE HAD GREAT MOVEMENT AND I HAD TO CUT HIS MOBILITY DOWN SO I TRAPPED HIM ON THE ROPES AND WHEN I CAUGHT HIM WITH THAT BIG LEFT THE ROPES LET HIM DOWN NICE AND GENTLY! HE WENT FROM THE TOP ROPE, TO THE MIDDLE ROPE, TO THE BOTTOM ROPE. THEN, OF COURSE, THE BELL WENT AND HE HAD TIME TO RECOVER BECAUSE OF THE GLOVE INCIDENT.”
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SIR HENRY COOPER
Above: Henry Cooper training in the gym ahead of his controversial final fight with Joe Bugner in 1971. Right: Sir Henry tees off at the Russ Abbot Golf Day in 2007.
lot and I got to know him and Bing Crosby quite well. Bing was in the UK once when we were playing in an event at Gleneagles. He was the only man allowed to walk around the Gleneagles Hotel with his hat on – that famous pork pie hat he used to wear. Because he wore a syrup of course (syrup and fig = wig) and he didn’t want to put it on, they let him keep his hat on! “I played with Doug Sanders and all those guys – I think Doug learned his swing in a telephone booth, his backswing was so short!” Cooper himself is a good all-round golfer and one who boasts no fewer than six holes-in-one to his name. Interestingly enough for a man known as one of the biggest hitters in the fight game, he’s never been much of a bruiser on the golf course. Instead he’s more skilled in the delicate disciplines. “I’m not the longest driver in the world, never have been,” he says. “I think I’m a reasonable putter and my short game’s decent. I’ve got a good little pitch and run shot that helps me out quite a lot.” The good news for his opponents is that he’s also not one to lose his temper on the course.“ That’s the good thing boxing teaches you – discipline,” he smiles. “You’ve got to stay calm. I’m good at that. I don’t get hold of my club and sling it. I’ve never broken a club or kicked a tree or anything like that. In boxing it’s all about control. You don’t go potty – if you get hit, you don’t rush in. It’s the same with golf. You’ve got to stay calm, even if you hit a bad shot, and avoid getting ahead of yourself.”
Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters As with many leading sportsmen, Cooper and his identical brother George (who also went on to become a professional boxer, fighting under the name ‘Jim Cooper’) excelled at many sports while growing up on the Bellingham Council Estate in South East London during WWII. They were particularly good at football and cricket but perhaps because of the tough neighbourhood they grew up in they became drawn to boxing. They had their first taste of the craft by coming to each other’s aid during impromptu scraps in the school playground. Golf was a sport they never had the means or opportunity to play seriously so it’s a great source of pride to Cooper that he’s now able help talented youngsters progress in golf through his patronage of the prestigious Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters series, which raises thousands of pounds through the Charitable Trust. “You’ve got to try and help the youngsters. If they have the chance to take up golf, good luck to them,” he says. “As a youngster, where I came from we never had the chance to play golf. I had to wait until I’d retired. As kids, we didn’t have two pennies to rub together! We used to go up to Beckenham Park Golf Course and hide in the woods and when the balls came down, we used to grab them and take them up to the clubhouse and sell them to make a few pennies. “You’d get threepence for a good one. This was during the war and they weren’t making golf balls then, so if you found a good one that wasn’t cut up you could sell it – but we certainly couldn’t afford to play ourselves! “It’s great to be able to put something back into the game now that I’m in
a position to do so. The Junior Masters is a recognised junior Major now. We hold it at Nizels Golf and Country Club in Kent and have kids coming from Italy, Holland – all over. It’s marvellous seeing all these kids competing. They’re all under 17 and they’re all knocking the ball 200 yards plus! A lot of players from that tournament have gone on to make it on the professional tours. “We raise money to help talented youngsters progress by giving them bursaries. A lot of it is raised through sponsorships and through the Pro-Am at the event, which is great fun. The kids are the ‘pros’ and they’re joined by three amateurs. They get treated like real pros all weekend with their own car parking spaces, caddies and everything. It gives them a great taste of what it’d be like for them if they made it onto the Tour.”
Chairman of The Variety Club Golfing Society Cooper is also the long-standing Chairman of The Variety Club Golfing Society, which raises around £1 million every year to buy coaches for handicapped children through the staging of 26 golf tournaments around the UK. Then there’s his own tournament, the Sir Henry Cooper Golf Classic, held annually at Penina in the Algarve for the past 10 years and at La Manga in Spain for 17 years before that, which also donates all proceeds to a nominated charity. But for a man well and truly smitten with the game, fund-raising is certainly not a chore. “I just love the game so it’s no trouble for me to raise a few bob for charity by organising and playing in golf tournaments,” he says modestly. “In the summer I play about three or four times a week and in the winter I try to fit in a couple of games a week. Just recently I haven’t been playing as much because I’ve been seeing doctors and have had a couple of procedures done. They told me I’ve got to cut out golf completely for a while but I’ll be back out there soon!” As he proved many times over in his boxing days, Sir Henry Cooper rarely stays down for long and when he does return to the golf course you can be sure that even at the age of 75, he’ll still have enough good shots up his sleeve to deliver that knockout blow when it counts. ■ www.wwgolf.biz
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T was a pleasure to come back to Dubai last month to see what’s taken place at the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, the venue for The Dubai World Championship in November. It was important to me to put the last touches to the golf course as part of the final preparations. I take this responsibility seriously given the magnitude of the tournament that Jumeirah Golf Estates will be hosting in just six months’ time. We’re going to have 60 of the best players in the world descending on the Earth course. The tournament is important, not just for golf, but for Dubai in general. My support for Dubai, personally and professionally, is genuine. I’ve been coming to Dubai for almost 20 years. People should appreciate the wisdom and intelligence behind the “Dubai model” from where it was 25 years ago to where it is today. It’s very difficult to build a nation and we are all witnessing a country being born. It’s unlikely we will have another opportunity to see something like this in our lifetime. The Dubai World Championship will be the crown in The European Tour’s schedule and I feel a great sense of pride in this golf course, just as I have with some of the golf courses I’ve built in America and Australia for other PGA Tour events. The final preparation for the Earth course is all about understanding what The European Tour needs for its players. I have to balance what I want and what The Tour and the players themselves want. The players’ abilities come into question with regard to driving distances. For instance, there’s a 60-yard discrepancy between the shortest and longest hitters on the Tour, which needs to be taken into account. I talked to The European Tour’s
GREG
NORMAN PUTS THE FINAL TOUCH TO THE EARTH COURSE objective is to have a golf course that’s balanced and that challenges the players from the 1st tee to the 18th green. Ideally, you would like to avoid having a runaway winner, you would prefer to see four or five guys all battling it out to win the golf tournament – that’s the exposure you want. Everybody would like to see an exciting finish, and believe me with the last three or four holes the
FROM THE CONSENSUS I’VE HAD FROM THE DUBAI BASED PLAYERS WHO PLAYED HERE AND PRACTISED HERE, THEY SEEMED TO HAVE A GOOD FEEL ABOUT IT AND THE FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE SOMETIMES THE BEST IMPRESSIONS. Director of Tour Operations, David Garland, about the situation when we inspected the Earth Course together. Given that there will only be 60 players, we are presented with both unique opportunities and challenges. They will be going out in twosomes, so it’s going to be different, but we’re hopeful that all the players will play in the same weather conditions, despite the fact that the wind changes here quite regularly. It will be different to a typical PGA Tournament where players who tee off at 7.00am get different conditions to those who tee off at 2.00pm. As course designers we don’t try and set up the golf course to set a winning score. We can’t try and force a winning number on the players, although the USGA does when it sets up the U.S. Open. They like a par of 70 and 280 as a winning score. To them that is even par and that could be 8-under par on other golf courses. My principal
Earth course will provide a fascinating climax to the tournament. We had 700 yards to play with when we set up the course for tournament conditions, which completely changes the characteristics of how the golf course plays. I can compare this to TPC Sawgrass in some respect. Pete Dye’s course has evolved dramatically over the course of the last 20 years. At the start, everybody complained that it was too tough to play and that the fairways were too narrow. During the last two decades the course has changed here and there and I expect that will happen with the Earth course, too. There are huge banyan trees which will mature and turn into huge canopies in five to ten years’ time so the whole vision and feel of the course will change each year the players come back. This golf course will be a tough golf course to play. It’s not going to be a pushover, but it is well balanced. It was a joy for me to be able to walk
around the course with David Garland who will set the golf course up for the actual event – we as designers rarely get that type of opportunity. It’s collaboration with the ultimate goal in mind and it’s a great way to work things out. From the consensus I’ve had from the Dubai based players who participated in the January launch, they seemed to have a good feel about it and the first impressions are sometimes the best impressions. This is a golf course that everyone will have to learn – everybody will be naked coming in to it. In November, they will have to learn the course strategy, the agronomics, and the element – remember it’s in November not January or February when the Desert Classic is held. Conditions are totally different. Everybody starts from square one. When we first came here and walked this site we all said our first problem would be getting depth perception, as it’s such a vast expanse out there. But to grasp the broad expanse of views and scale it in, when you get on this golf course it looks massive. In the beginning, we had no idea that there would be a tournament on this course, let alone an event as big as the Dubai World Championship. We designed it principally as a residential members’ course, although it was always going to be a course that could be set up for the better player. I won’t be playing the Championship, as I don’t expect to play the eleven tournament minimum to qualify, but I’d like to be here as the course designer and somebody who has immense pride in what we have created. I still practice and I still love to play – and I still get a passion about going out there and wanting to perform. I’m not sure I can win a Major Championship because I don’t play week-in and week-out, which you need to hone your game, to
WWG COLUMNIST get to that fine level. But a PGA Tour event? Yes, I absolutely do feel at times I can win. To keep it together for 72 holes is the hardest thing. I felt like I played better at Augusta National this year than I did at Royal Birkdale last year – but I missed the cut at The Masters and I did what I did at Birkdale. It’s a strange game. I’m really looking forward to the summer. My son, Gregory, will be on the bag for me for my tournament events. I’m looking forward to The Open, followed by the Senior Open at Sunningdale. It’s a brilliant move to take the tournament to Sunningdale. It’s not a long course by modern day standards but it’s a favourite amongst the players. As for Turnberry, I stayed in the hotel there last summer when the Senior Open was at Troon, and I love it there; it has a great atmosphere. I’m really looking forward to those two weeks. After Leisurecorp’s acquisition of Turnberry I was invited to walk the Ailsa course with the R&A, which was a great opportunity. It has so much potential. Peter Dawson asked me some questions as we walked the 18 holes and I gave him my input. A lot can be done with Turnberry from a development perspective. It’s a diamond in the rough. It can be polished up beautifully and in a couple of years could be one of the greatest golf destinations. It just has to be brought back to life. It’s Leisurecorp’s dream that takes time and money, but with help from the R&A and The European Tour it can shine again. AS CAPTAIN of The Presidents Cup team this year I receive a print out every two weeks of all the players who could potentially be on my team of 12. As I review the list of 40 players – non Americans and non Europeans, the depth of talent is tremendous – an extremely healthy position for world golf. It’s this pool who are competing with the Europeans and Americans for The Race to Dubai, and this format is the best format. The qualification criteria for the FedExCup in America is still fluid – every year they’ve changed the way players qualify. The Race to Dubai is so simple in that you’re going to get the top 60 competing for the pot of gold at the end of the year. And the people who walk through the gates have the opportunity to watch the players for free, which is phenomenal. The exposure that the Dubai World Championship on the Earth course will give golf and Dubai will do wonders for the region.
DAVID GARLAND: European Tour, Director of Tour Operations: “It’s rare but it’s invaluable to have Greg’s time before the course is played to find out the philosophy of each hole, how he’s designed it and what his thoughts are, because we want to encapsulate that in how we set the golf course up for the Championship. In his mind he has visualised how certain holes will play in certain conditions and with the time and detail Greg has put into this it will serve us well.” www.wwgolf.biz
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I N N O V A T I O N
T O
W E A R
ML50 50+ UV PROTECTION MOISTURE-WICKING EASY CARE W R I N K L E R E S I S TA N T
P E R F O R M A N C E. L U X U R Y. S T Y L E.
Š2008 MacGregor Golf Company. All Rights Reserved. Greg Norman and the Greg Norman Collection logo are registered trademarks of Great White Shark Enterprises Inc. Play Dry is a registered trademark of Reebok International Ltd. and is used under license from Reebok. GREGNORMANCOLLECTION.COM
TRAVEL FEATURE
Blair Atholl
WHERE TRANQUILITY and CONVENIENCE MEET
S
OUTH Africa’s Blair Atholl is among the most beautiful and tranquil country retreats on the planet – just ask our Executive Editor Gary Player who has kept a home there for over 25 years. And yet, it’s the accessibility of the place that makes it all the more enticing. The stunning development, that incorporates a Gary Player designed Championship golf course, an extensive Equestrian Centre and a Spa and Wellness Centre as well as a sprawling country Estate, is deceptively convenient in its location. You could be anywhere at Blair Atholl. Stand just north of the stone-clad clubhouse and look back at it through a screen of indigenous bush and you could be at an exclusive private bush lodge, miles from anywhere. Visit the rustic halfway house with wooden walkways and decking set in a cool, shady glade on the Crocodile River, and you could be on the banks of a trout stream in the mountains. Walk through the meadows that flank the 10th hole, sweeping down the valley, framed by mountains hazy in the distance, Blair Atholl could be anywhere. But it’s only 15 minutes from Fourways and five minutes from Lanseria. It doesn’t feel as though it’s in easy striking distance of Johannesburg or any of its amenities. And yet, it is. With 330 plots, which are on average 3,700m2, residents at Blair Atholl are assured
of plenty of space between themselves and a handful of neighbours. Many sites are completely invisible from the road and are not overlooked by anyone, screened off by riverine vegetation. There is at least half an acre as a “buffer zone” between each plot – and often much more. New homes are now going up in Blair Atholl to accompany the house that’s been there all along – Gary Player’s country retreat. Watching them develop it’s interesting to see that the magic of this place has caught on. You won’t see columns that put the Acropolis to shame, or miles of paving, massive gatehouses or multi-storeys. There are no 20 foot walls. It’s just not that kind of place. Instead you’ll see houses that are dwarfed by the huge spaces around them – not only by the stand area that must stay undeveloped, but also by the wide open spaces that separate each plot. It’s not just the openness of the space that complements the houses – although with the Estate being over 600 hectares space is the keynote – it’s also a sense that people want to stay in touch with nature. They want to savour the values that Blair Atholl brings to them and their families – privacy, peace, tranquility, nature and a relaxing retreat. The Gary Player course itself is a sight to behold and a joy to play. At over 7,500 metres, it takes in all the different features and moods of the Estate. From sheltered green, shady www.wwgolf.biz
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South Africa’s
BLAIR ATHOLL
spots to big skies and rolling views, from aloe-strewn miniature rocky koppies to great sleepy meadows, the course includes fantastic water features and only two holes run alongside one another. It’s one great, expansive loop – even the fairway stands have intentionally been set well away from the playing lines. In terms of water, the course will be entirely self-sufficient, with waste water from the Estate being recycled and purified, then used to irrigate the course and the common gardens. Full of scenic running water features, small streams, and big sleepy dams, every drop of water is part of the greater scheme of water conservation, re-use and sustainability. Players and residents are treated to beautiful, environmentally responsible playing and viewing conditions. At the clubhouse, with its old farmstead water feature and stone façade, you would be forgiven for thinking you were in an Italian hilltop village. From the open terraces this impression is confirmed, with its north aspect overlooking the Crocodile River Valley, the neighbouring conservancy, and the Magaliesberg mountain range. Inside, the clubhouse has a restful, yet sociable ambience, with subtle lighting, big windows overlooking the spectacular view, and a sense of understated relaxation and reward. In a corner full of bookshelves and glass cabinets, memorabilia from Gary Player and other golfing greats are displayed. This includes replicas of the complete set of Major trophies he has won. The Blair Atholl Wellness Centre is situated conveniently close to the clubhouse, yet it has an air of being completely removed from it, a perfectly tranquil hideaway.Designed in a courtyard setting, 32
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opening onto a lap pool, the centre has facilities for Pilates and gym, and private treatment rooms for reflexology, as well as relaxing, rejuvenating beauty and spa treatments. Other services offered include sports massage, physiotherapy, personal training, sun beds, tanning sprays, Jacuzzi, steam room, Vichy shower, facials, manicures and pedicures. You can even relax after your treatment or work out with a healthy refreshment at the juice bar. Another attraction for the whole family is the equine facility. Long associated with racehorses, the farm has always kept impeccably bred horses in immaculate white post and rail paddocks, and now these beautiful features are being extended to the entire Estate. One of the visual pleasures you will enjoy is driving past peacefully grazing horses in their paddocks as you enter the Estate from the top gatehouse. Central, private stabling is available for residents only, complete with lunging and jumping arenas and dressage ménages, as well as expert care and stable management. The stables have the most remarkable, breathtaking view of the Magaliesberg range and can accommodate 70 horses. Outrides on the bridle paths take in a thousand acres of shady, winding river trails and open inviting hillside canters. All are well suited to the needs of both the beginner and the experienced rider. Tuition, available in private and group lessons, is also on offer. With such a fantastic array of facilities housed in an area of outstanding beauty, accessible from many of South Africa’s major cities, it’s no wonder Gary Player loves Blair Atholl so much – it’s a feeling shared by everyone who visits this wonderful place. ■
TRAVEL FEATURE
For enquiries visit: WWW.BLAIRATHOLL.CO.ZA WWW.SAVEAMILLIONSHOTS.COM www.wwgolf.biz
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S O M E O F T H E G R E A T E S T P L AY E R S I N T H E W O R L D H AV E O N E T H I N G I N C O M M O N .
F O O T J O Y. C O . U K / D R Y J O Y S
Learn more about new DryJoys at footjoy.co.uk/dryjoys Pro Sports International, PO Box 26723, Dubai, UAE Sign up to The Comfort Zone, our free e-newsletter, at thecomfortzone.info
WWG COLUMNIST
ROSS
ROSS Fisher is one of the hottest young stars on The European Tour. Having only joined the Tour in 2006 he already has two titles under his belt, including the 2008 European Open. He is currently ranked 22nd in the World and 4th in The Race to Dubai.
FISHER
COULDN’T BE FEELING BETTER!
I
’M writing this column on the eve of my title defence at The European Open at The London Golf Club and I couldn’t be feeling any better heading into a tournament. I was really close to winning my home tournament, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, but came up just one stroke short of Paul Casey. It was obviously disappointing not to win but at the same time if someone offers you a 64 in the final round and a chance to win the flagship event on your home Tour when you’ve started the day five strokes off the lead, you’d take it. I couldn’t really have expected to give much more, especially when you consider that I came back from a 73 in the second round. I could quite easily have missed the cut but I battled through and shot 67-64 at the weekend, which I think showed my determined character. If it were not for a
“I thought The Masters went pretty well for me and I feel that I’m definitely capable of winning a Major – so why not the U.S. Open?” – Ross Fisher few putts that didn’t drop here and there, who knows? But, to be fair, I did hole my fair share so, overall, I can’t complain. I’m certainly feeling great about my game heading into The European Open and I’m thoroughly looking forward to the tournament. I’ve got great memories of the course from last year and I’m really pleased with the way I’ve been playing. I played really solid for three days at The 3 Irish Open, but the weather dented my chances at Baltray. Then Wentworth was a great week, so my confidence is really high and I’m hoping I can rekindle the form I produced at The London Golf Club last year. It’s my second experience of defending a title but last time it was in Holland whereas this is a home tournament and I
think people know me better now than they did when I went back to defend The KLM Open last year. Understandably, there’s more interest in me from the media and the spectators but I don’t find it a distraction at all – I love it. I take it as a compliment. If the media want to talk to you then you’re obviously doing something right! That’s what we all strive to achieve. We want to win golf tournaments and put our name about so doing all the media stuff is part and parcel of the job and I enjoy doing it. Occasionally it can take its toll if you do too much of it, but that’s what the guys at my management company, Horizon, are there for, to make sure I have the right balance. I love playing tournaments close to home. It definitely adds a bit of spice
Above: Ross Fisher acknowledges the cheers of the crowd after the final round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
when you’re performing in front of your home fans. It’s also great being able to drive home to my own house afterwards – it makes a nice change! The Heritage course really suits my eye and last year’s sevenstroke victory speaks for itself where that’s concerned – so fingers crossed I can do the business again. I’ve got a few big tournaments to play before the U.S. Open so I haven’t really turned my attention to Bethpage yet but I’m really looking forward to it and it’s great to be playing all four Majors this year. I thought The Masters went pretty well for me and I feel that I’m definitely capable of winning a Major so why not the U.S. Open? For now, though, I’m delighted to up to 22nd in the Official World Golf Ranking and fourth in The Race to Dubai. It’s still relatively early in the season so it’s a great position to be in. If I can put in some more good performances and maybe sneak a win or two, I’ve got a great chance of finishing the year really strongly. ■ www.wwgolf.biz
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GEAR
Next Month We review the Mizuno MP T-Series Wedges.
PLAYER TECHNOLOGY HARDWEAR FOOTWEAR APPAREL BALLS
NIKE GOLF APPAREL PAUL Casey looked the business as he roared to victory recently in The European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. He was, as always, dressed from head-to-toe in Nike Golf apparel and the company have developed their own distinct look which is modern and effortlessly stylish while still retaining a classic edge. The Nike Fit Storm Cap is extremely comfortable and while in the unlikely event of a downpour it will keep your head dry from the outside, it also has very good moisture absorbing qualities to keep you free from sweat. The Nike Sphere React Cool Polo shirt made from 91% polyester and 9% spandex is lightweight, cooling and holds its shape very well – perfect for the summer. The Dri-Fit Flat Front Pants are wonderfully shaped for a slim-line, stylish look while Nike Golf’s Zoom Elite II shoes utilise a wealth of technology including a symaptex all weather membrane, caged lateral support system, Nike power platform in the sole (for added control) and the famous Nike Air cushioning, to create shoes that are of Tour standard in comfort, performance and look. Look out for Nike Golf’s new Autumn/Winter 09 range in stores from July 1st.
www.nike.com/nikegolf
DAPHNES HEADCOVERS THERE is a common trend among golfers – both pros and hackers – to adorn their golf clubs with ever more eye catching head covers. The most established of all the companies making these wonderful decorative-yetfunctional creations is USA-based Daphnes Headcovers. Daphnes specialise in the animal-based designs favoured by many of the game’s top players such as Ernie Els and Justin Leonard, although since beginning life 25 years ago the company has branched out with all kinds of bizarre creations such as bananas and rubbish bins. They’ve even recently brought out a new headcover called the ‘Talking Dog’, which chips in with helpful comments during your round like, “Another good walk spoiled” and “Don’t blame me, I’m just along for the ride.”
www.daphnesheadcovers.com 36
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WWG STYLE
YES! GOLF HENRIK Stenson’s form around the greens of Sawgrass’ Stadium Course was exemplary as he secured the biggest win of his career at The Players Championship recently and his World Ranking of No. 5 makes him the highest placed student of Phil Kenyon, Yes! Golf’s European Tour rep and Director of Instruction for the Harold Swash Putting Schools. Kenyon and Stenson started working together on the Tour player’s putting at The Open Championship last year, where he finished third, his best finish in a Major to date at that time. The relationship has produced some steady results since and Kenyon joined the Swede recently in America to continue their work. Yes! Golf remains one of the most eccentrically successful golf equipment brands on the Tour. A minnow compared to the massively budgeted major club manufacturers, the C-Groove concept first conceived by Harold Swash remains quite unique in concept and performance.
www.yesgolf.com
THE ABSOLUTE READER WHEN practising reading your putts, you have to be sure that the ball starts on the line that you are aiming at. The Absolute Reader is a green-reading tool which makes sure the ball will always come out straight, no matter how you hit it. There are other tools on the market, such as the famous STIMP-meter, but these offer you the lines without getting the feeling of hitting the ball yourself. By hitting the ball with your putter, you get the feel for the proper speed of a certain break. You can also hear the sound of the ball rattling along the edges of the channel if you don’t hit it straight, and that tells you that you may have subconsciously compensated for a line that you did not believe in. The Absolute Reader created a lot of buzz at the 2008 PGA Merchandise show where buyers for one of the largest U.S. training aid suppliers called it the best product in the show that year.
www.esotericgolf.com
CALLWAY BIG BERTHA DIABLO HYBRIDS THE new Big Bertha Diablo Hybrids have incorporated the Dual Runner Sole that was originally introduced in the FT-Hybrids into an improved Diablo design which provides the power to give you the confidence to pull off any shot from anywhere on the course. The Dual Runner Sole helps lower the leading edge to make the sweet spot on the face more accessible so you can get the ball up quickly, even from heavier lies. Distance and forgiveness is increased because discretionary weight is removed from the hosel and repositioned in the perimeter of the clubhead. Harold Swash, Phil Kenyon and Henrik Stenson.
www.callawaygolf.com
PING RAPTURE V2 IRONS PING Rapture V2 Irons are perfect for players who like maximum forgiveness – in other words, most of us! The clubs feature a tungsten sole weight along with an oversized stainless steel body with a titanium face for longer, higher launching shots. The feel of these clubs at contact is wonderfully solid while the grip is fantastic. The ultimate game improvement irons!
www.ping.com
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37
Abu Dhabi Golf & Equestrian Club
100 Dhs 2009 SUMMER PROMOTION SIMPLE
From June the 1st through until the last day of Ramadan (excluding Eid), enjoy outstanding value at the UAE’s best kept secret- and best of all…. its SIMPLE.
100 DHS FOR 9 HOLES – ANYTIME, ANY DAY. SIMPLE Above rates include Cart Hire and Range Balls. Bookings available 7 Days in advance.
Summer Rates are offered due to climatic conditions and seasonal Course maintenance work.
ABU DHABI GOLF & EQUESTRIAN CLUB, PO BOX 33303
TEL – 02 445 9600
DRIVING
RANGE
WWG WHEELS
AUDI Q5 SUV
Styling and Technology >>
RIDE COMFORT PERFORMANCE SPACE BRAKING
AUDI Q5 SUV
The new Audi Q5 combines the dynamism of a sports sedan with a highly variable interior and versatile options for leisure-time and family use. Strong and efficient engines, Quattro permanent all-wheel drive and agile running gear have been brought together to create a superior technology package for both on- and off-road driving. A spacious interior with a myriad of intelligent functions and highlights, such as the innovative seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission and the Audi drive select control system, are proof of Audi’s Vorsprung durch Technik.
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DRIVING From the luxury class only, the AUDI Q5 SUV Q5 STYLING At 4.63 metres long, 1.88 meters wide and just 1.65 meters high the Q5 is the sportiest SUV in its class and will stand out on the roads of the Middle East with its coupe-like styling and expressive grille and headlights, as well as the eye-catching LED technology used both in the daytime running lights and taillights. Alloy wheels of up to 20 inches will give the SUV a robust flair. Through a revolutionary front-shift of the front axle the Audi Q5 boasts the longest wheelbase in this segment (2.81 metres),
which not only makes for a roomy interior that comfortably accommodates five people and storage space of up to 1,560 litres in volume, but also allows for the optimum distribution of axle load, good directional stability, high comfort and impressive dynamics. Multiple storage functions like the foldable front seat allow for transportation of large objects such as surfboards. What’s more, this SUV sets another benchmark in its class with a low drag coefficient of 0.33.
WWG WHEELS
AUDI Q5 SUV Engine: Output: Top speed:
3.2-litre 265 bhp 145km/h
Acceleration: 0- 62 m/h
6.9secs
Transmission:
S Tronic
Fuel consumption: Urban (Automatic) 23 mpg Extra Urban (Automatic) 37.2 mpg Combined (Automatic) 30.4 mpg Trunk space: Minimum Maximum
540 ltr 1560 ltr
Q5 EQUIPMENT The new Audi Q5 offers virtually countless clever features, many of them known from the luxury class only. These include a roof load sensor that allows the ESP (Electronic Stabilization Programme) to adjust to the higher centre of gravity caused by roof loads, and innovative driver assistance and safety systems like the Audi parking system advanced with rearview camera; the navigation system with three-dimensional maps and the high-beam assistant which automatically switches between the high and low beams. Additionally, the Audi Q5 features the Audi side assist, which monitors the vehicle’s blind spot, and the adaptive cruise control which maintains a constant distance from the vehicle in front. The triple-zone climate control system, the intelligent chip key with keyless entry and electromechanical parking brake guarantee highest levels of convenience for its owner. Among the multimedia options the Audi Q5 is available with MMI, the best operating system on the market with intelligent speech control system, Bluetooth telephone, a DVD drive and TV tuner, an iPod interface and MP3 capability as well as the top-of-the-line sound system from Danish specialists Bang & Olufsen. www.wwgolf.biz
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summer golf EMIRATES GOLF
Summer Green Fees Visitors
Sun - Thu Fri - Sat
Emirates Golf Federation
Majlis Course
The Faldo
Majlis Course
The Faldo
18 Holes
18 Holes
18 Holes
18 Holes
Dhs.400 Dhs.400
Dhs.300 Dhs.300
Dhs.360 Dhs.380
Dhs.260 Dhs.290
18 hole rate includes shared golf cart and unlimited range balls prior to play. 9 hole rates available on request. Rates are valid from 1st June - 30th September 2009.
Summer Steps Golf Tuition Enjoy 4 x 30 minute lessons with one of our PGA qualified instructors, which can be taken on the range or the 9 hole par 3 course at no extra cost: Visitors ~ Dhs.800* EGC members ~ Dhs.600 *Includes 1 x 9 hole unaccompanied par 3 round free of charge. Valid from 1st June - 31st August 2009.
Just Gym 2-for-1 For only Dhs600, you can avail of 2 one-month gymnasium memberships for the price of 1 at Emirates Golf Club. Valid from 1st June to 30th September 2009. Emirates Golf Club T: +9714 380 2222 E: egcreservations@dubaigolf.com GOLF • DINING • RECREATION
www.dubaigolf.com
OFFICIAL WORLD GOLF RANKING
A R O U N D T H E W O R L D O N T H E U. S . P G A T O U R & E U R O P E A N T O U R AS OF MAY 25, 2009 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Tiger Woods Phil Mickelson Paul Casey Sergio Garcia Henrik Stenson Geoff Ogilvy Kenny Perry Padraig Harrington Vijay Singh Camilo Villegas Robert Karlsson Sean O’Hair Steve Stricker Jim Furyk Anthony Kim Rory McIlroy Lee Westwood Ernie Els Ian Poulter Zach Johnson Angel Cabrera Ross Fisher Mike Weir Martin Kaymer Luke Donald Retief Goosen Rory Sabbatini Stewart Cink Justin Leonard Ben Curtis Nick Watney Alvaro Quiros Tim Clark Shingo Katayama Robert Allenby Søren Kjeldsen Miguel A Jimenez Justin Rose Jeev Milkha Singh K.J. Choi Adam Scott Trevor Immelman Dustin Johnson Chad Campbell Oliver Wilson Hunter Mahan Graeme McDowell Stephen Ames Gonzalo Fdez-Castano David Toms
USA USA Eng Esp Swe Aus USA Irl Fji Col Swe USA USA USA USA Nir Eng Saf Eng USA Arg Eng Can Deu Eng Saf Saf USA USA USA USA Esp Saf Jpn Aus Dnk Esp Eng Ind Kor Aus Saf USA USA Eng USA Nir Can Esp USA
Pts. Avg
Tot. Pts
9.41 8.23 6.92 6.55 6.26 6.19 5.79 5.18 5.11 4.79 4.48 4.44 4.40 4.33 3.95 3.80 3.78 3.75 3.69 3.61 3.42 3.38 3.37 3.33 3.30 3.30 3.23 3.20 3.05 3.02 2.97 2.96 2.87 2.82 2.78 2.77 2.74 2.71 2.70 2.69 2.69 2.60 2.53 2.48 2.45 2.38 2.32 2.30 2.29 2.28
376.54 386.74 332.03 327.59 312.79 291.09 283.60 264.23 260.76 239.65 219.65 230.83 189.09 203.31 193.34 186.36 196.74 206.27 191.74 176.85 181.25 182.42 168.73 179.83 132.01 184.58 167.76 150.56 164.96 136.05 154.41 130.22 157.79 149.34 167.00 157.92 147.87 135.34 191.59 134.62 126.55 135.27 116.27 134.12 129.90 123.64 129.65 105.71 123.60 93.33
Events 40 47 48 50 50 47 49 51 51 50 49 52 43 47 49 49 52 55 52 49 53 54 50 54 40 56 52 47 54 45 52 44 55 53 60 57 54 50 71 50 47 52 46 54 53 52 56 46 54 41
Pts. Gained 125.40 187.76 257.94 39.11 152.82 157.43 151.08 34.24 26.14 70.50 29.72 164.27 101.28 80.35 40.85 111.62 27.57 54.46 87.14 125.09 119.13 78.85 58.40 64.84 68.61 103.01 96.92 38.30 52.66 33.46 129.91 77.51 53.76 41.83 41.30 67.87 31.25 51.40 43.02 32.44 30.45 18.31 85.15 62.90 35.56 48.53 23.09 27.26 63.22 68.85
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
Aaron Baddeley Thongchai Jaidee Ben Crane Davis Love-III Prayad Marksaeng Andres Romero Brian Gay J.B. Holmes Mathew Goggin Louis Oosthuizen Charl Schwartzel Pat Perez Kevin Sutherland Boo Weekley Stuart Appleby Anders Hansen Peter Hanson Rod Pampling Søren Hansen Lucas Glover Francesco Molinari Richard Sterne Kevin Na Fred Couples Lin Wen-Tang Bubba Watson Anthony Wall Ryuji Imada Brendan Jones D.J. Trahan Dudley Hart Charles Howell-III John Rollins Thomas Levet David Smail Briny Baird Jerry Kelly Charlie Wi Scott Verplank Fredrik Jacobson Ryo Ishikawa Charley Hoffman Darren Clarke Michael Sim Hiroyuki Fujita John Mallinger Johan Edfors Scott Piercy Mark Wilson Woody Austin
Aus Tha USA USA Tha Arg USA USA Aus Saf Saf USA USA USA Aus Dnk Swe Aus Dnk USA Ita Saf USA USA Twn USA Eng Jpn Aus USA USA USA USA Fra NZl USA USA Kor USA Swe Jpn USA Nir Aus Jpn USA Swe USA USA USA
Pts. Avg
Tot. Pts
2.25 2.24 2.21 2.19 2.19 2.19 2.19 2.18 2.18 2.16 2.11 2.09 2.03 1.98 1.95 1.94 1.94 1.91 1.90 1.87 1.85 1.85 1.83 1.79 1.79 1.78 1.77 1.75 1.75 1.72 1.71 1.66 1.66 1.66 1.65 1.65 1.64 1.63 1.62 1.62 1.61 1.60 1.60 1.59 1.57 1.56 1.54 1.54 1.52 1.51
107.87 134.62 90.43 96.54 135.70 118.06 133.35 111.37 124.26 108.14 116.15 108.79 103.68 101.13 109.14 98.96 104.63 112.83 102.76 97.39 103.86 92.67 107.74 71.76 71.71 95.96 104.30 98.26 75.06 99.75 68.59 98.19 93.16 81.28 80.98 100.43 95.12 92.67 77.79 77.57 64.42 94.29 89.37 66.91 70.81 91.85 83.13 61.48 81.96 84.64
Events Pts. Gained 48 60 41 44 62 54 61 51 57 50 55 52 51 51 56 51 54 59 54 52 56 50 59 40 40 54 59 56 43 58 40 59 56 49 49 61 58 57 48 48 40 59 56 42 45 59 54 40 54 56
37.31 69.73 51.90 45.70 35.88 29.20 79.87 53.79 33.23 75.46 44.54 58.43 25.68 29.52 16.69 62.63 23.72 29.41 26.28 68.38 39.63 6.82 85.14 45.23 2.05 55.37 49.38 25.79 8.30 33.61 5.47 62.82 63.07 49.11 25.08 48.20 50.24 41.18 29.40 24.60 0.00 70.06 15.18 51.97 20.17 55.79 47.69 34.94 38.56 19.00
Over 100 destinations worldwide
Gary Player is a true legend of the game. The South African is one of only five players to have won a career Grand Slam of all four Majors. He has won a total of nine Majors and nine Senior Majors, among 167 Tour events worldwide. Here he talks about our recent Worldwide Golf 100th Anniversary golf day and his interest in encouraging youngsters to play golf.
GARY
PLAYER
YOUNGSTERS ARE FUTURE STARS
F
OLLOWING our wonderful Worldwide Golf 100th Anniversary Issue golf day and dinner at Emirates Golf Club in April I’m hoping that we can do something to help and support the growth of junior golf in the region – and particularly among the young Nationals. Talking to Abdullah Al Naboodah and Saeed Albudoor at the Awards Dinner it was fascinating to listen to their hopes and ambitions for the Emirates Golf Federation and their enthusiasm to promote the youngsters. It’s always a problem motivating young people to take up sport when there are so many distractions for them these days. It’s more important than ever before that the younger generation take an active interest in sport. They need to keep themselves fit in this age where so many illnesses are suffered by youngsters largely due to their inactivity. It’s too easy for them to spend hours gazing into a computer screen playing computer games or watching television. We’ve got to help them appreciate that it’s far better to get out there and play an active game physically than play it with their fingers
on a computer. The surveys you hear of where youngsters spend hours and hours every day of their lives sitting down playing computer games are frightening. The obesity levels in the United States, for instance, are reaching record crisis levels and we all have to do whatever we can to prevent it. Playing any active sport is the healthy alternative to being overweight and susceptible to a whole variety of illnesses. Golf is one of the most rewarding sports you can play. It teaches you to keep fit, it teaches you manners, it teaches you sportsmanship, it teaches you discipline and it teaches you respect for others and how to get on with people. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing your game gradually improve – because of your efforts in getting fit and practicing regularly. The old adage that ‘practice makes perfect’ is true. I’d like nothing more than to have the opportunity to get the youngsters from the Middle East over here to South Africa, give them some coaching and get them playing on the wonderful courses we have out here. We’ve got so many good ideas on how to help
the youngsters I’m really looking forward to the chance to work with them, should it arise. With so many interests through our golf course design work in the Middle East it would also be worthwhile to spend some time with the juniors when I’m over there and help them progress. The younger generation are the stars of the future of the game and it would be a huge feather in the cap of the Emirates Golf Federation and the Arab Golf Federation to see one of their prodigies making a name for themselves in the professional game.
STENSON’S A REAL TALENT I WAS delighted to see Henrik Stenson win the prestigious Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass last month in seemingly effortless style. I’ve always regarded Henrik as a hugely talented golfer who can take on the best in the world and beat them. When he won the World Golf ChampionshipsAccenture Match Play Championship at Tucson, Arizona, two years ago he proved that he can beat the top 63 players in the world head-tohead, so I won’t be at all surprised if he goes on to win a Major or two.
DALY BACK IN CONTENTION IT’S GOOD to see that John Daly is playing well again. His performance in finishing tied second at the BMW Italian Open gave an insight into how he can play when he puts his mind to it. I’ve always said that I’ve never seen a more naturally talented golfer than Daly in my entire career. He’s 4 Despite playing a hole with each of the 27 fourballs Gary Player takes the time to coach one of the juniors on the par-3 7th tee at Emirates Golf Club during the Worldwide Golf 100th Issue Anniversary golf day. “It would be a huge feather in the cap of the Emirates Golf Federation and the Arab Golf Federation to see one of their prodigies making a name for themselves in the professional game.” – GARY PLAYER. 44
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WWG COLUMNIST
A slimmed-down colourful John Daly (above) makes his comeback on The European Tour, finishing in a tie for second place in the BMW Italian Open that took him into the top 100 in The Race to Dubai.
“I’ve always regarded Henrik as a hugely talented golfer who can take on the best in the world and beat them.” – Gary Player Henrik Stenson with his wife, Emma, and daughter, Lisa, celebrate his outstanding victory in The Players Championship with the famous crystal trophy. His performance at TPC Sawgrass shot him up to fifth place on the Official World Golf Ranking – his highest position in his career so far.
just as talented as Tiger Woods but he doesn’t have Tiger’s mental strength and ability to go with it. He’s an unbelievable golfer who’s got every shot in the book but he’s let himself down so many times it’s hard to see whether he has now found the mental strength and belief to get himself back into contention. He could have been No.1 right now if he’d gone on to build on his two Major wins, at The Open Championship and the U.S. PGA
Championship. But his lack of self control and his unacceptable behaviour have thrown away a rare talent. If he can rebuild his career by finding success on The European Tour and prove he has put his past life behind him he could still make it. But he’s got to make the commitment of spending time in the gym and getting himself fully fit. I know he’s lost a lot of weight and he’s taken the first few steps in the right direction but he’s got a long way to go. I wish him well.
SAD TIME FOR THE MICKELSON FAMILY IT SADDENED me to hear that Phil Mickelson’s wife, Amy, has been diagnosed with breast cancer and that Phil has decided to quit the game for an indefinite period. He’s a fantastic player and his presence will be sorely missed on the PGA Tour. He’s a devoted family man and it’s only right that he should be by the side of his wife and family. At times like these, golf really takes a back seat and I wish Amy all the best on her road to recovery. ■ www.wwgolf.biz
45
JUNE
This Month in History
Great ts Momen lf o g in
Highlights from yesteryear
1980
Nicklaus seals his fourth U.S. Open
Jack Nicklaus wins the 80th U.S. Open at Baltusrol Golf Club, New Jersey. The Golden Bear shoots a 272 to beat Japan’s Isoa Aoki by two strokes.
2005
Remesy defends his French crown Jean-François Remesy defeats his fellow countryman Jean Van de Velde in a sudden-death play-off to successfully defend his French Open title.
2006
1977
Ben Curtis finally follows his Open Championship win
Geoff Ogilvy is born
Currently the highest-ranked Australian on the planet, Geoff Ogilvy is born on June 11th 1977. Ogilvy wins the U.S. Open in 2006 and picks up his third World Golf Championships title in 2009 at the Accenture Match Play Championship.
After winning the 2003 Open Championship at Royal St.George’s, Ben Curtis ends a three-year drought by taking the 2006 Booz Allen Classic by five strokes.
1996
Pepper wins back-toback Dottie Pepper takes the Rochester International and the ShopRite LPGA Classic on the LPGA Tour, earning over $200,000 over the two-week period.
46
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RACE TO DUBAI As of May 25, 2009
THE EUROPEAN TOUR R ACE TO DUBAI 2009 Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Name
Country
Paul CASEY Geoff OGILVY Rory MCILROY Ross FISHER Angel CABRERA Oliver WILSON Sergio GARCIA Robert ROCK Søren KJELDSEN Gonzalo FDEZ-CASTAÑO Thongchai JAIDEE Alvaro QUIROS Louis OOSTHUIZEN Thomas LEVET Johan EDFORS Charl SCHWARTZEL Henrik STENSON Richard STERNE Peter HANSON Camilo VILLEGAS Martin KAYMER Francesco MOLINARI Ernie ELS Jeev Milkha SINGH Thomas AIKEN Wen-tang LIN Anders HANSEN Anthony WALL Stephen DODD Scott STRANGE Justin ROSE Rafael CABRERA-BELLO Fabrizio ZANOTTI Nick DOUGHERTY Graeme MCDOWELL Tim CLARK Prayad MARKSAENG Ian POULTER Rodney PAMPLING Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ Lee WESTWOOD Simon DYSON David HORSEY Søren HANSEN Anthony KANG Robert KARLSSON Andrew MCLARDY Alastair FORSYTH Gareth MAYBIN Michael HOEY
ENG AUS NIR ENG ARG ENG ESP ENG DEN ESP THA ESP RSA FRA SWE RSA SWE RSA SWE COL GER ITA RSA IND RSA TPE DEN ENG WAL AUS ENG ESP PAR ENG NIR RSA THA ENG AUS ESP ENG ENG ENG DEN USA SWE RSA SCO NIR NIR
Tournaments Played 9 4 11 9 3 10 7 12 12 11 10 10 14 11 14 11 10 10 13 5 8 13 8 9 10 6 12 11 10 14 6 15 10 13 9 5 9 5 5 11 11 15 14 12 10 7 12 13 14 11
Prize Money €1,948,431 €1,464,867 €1,141,334 €1,041,844 €1,041,145 €903,795 €877,529 €786,300 €725,239 €697,371 €661,016 €647,711 €603,734 €602,545 €572,184 €563,186 €555,382 €501,375 €489,817 €483,881 €482,823 €481,287 €479,269 €459,880 €407,560 €406,621 €403,500 €391,359 €382,034 €372,934 €370,469 €351,116 €330,293 €330,274 €324,664 €318,870 €315,458 €314,941 €313,114 €312,742 €305,573 €302,171 €299,615 €293,317 €288,247 €286,508 €280,304 €279,174 €277,710 €275,226
Rank 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
Name Thomas BJÖRN Peter LAWRIE Ross McGOWAN Ben CURTIS Alexander NOREN David DRYSDALE Padraig HARRINGTON Daniel VANCSIK Damien MCGRANE Marc WARREN Luke DONALD Raphaël JACQUELIN Robert-Jan DERKSEN Richard FINCH Pablo LARRAZÁBAL Adam SCOTT Brett RUMFORD Marcus FRASER Mark BROWN Felipe AGUILAR Graeme STORM Jyoti RANDHAWA Robert ALLENBY Paul BROADHURST Anthony KIM Jamie DONALDSON Trevor IMMELMAN Tano GOYA Stephen AMES Rory SABBATINI David DIXON Aaron BADDELEY Colin MONTGOMERIE Danny WILLETT Marcel SIEM Maarten LAFEBER Steve WEBSTER Markus BRIER Chris WOOD Paul LAWRIE Miles TUNNICLIFF Vijay SINGH Richard BLAND John DALY Jean-François LUCQUIN Andrew COLTART Pablo MARTIN José Manuel LARA Roope KAKKO Retief GOOSEN
Country
Tournaments Played
Prize Money
DEN IRL ENG USA SWE SCO IRL ARG IRL SCO ENG FRA NED ENG ESP AUS AUS AUS NZL CHI ENG IND AUS ENG USA WAL RSA ARG CAN RSA ENG AUS SCO ENG GER NED ENG AUT ENG SCO ENG FIJ ENG USA FRA SCO ESP ESP FIN RSA
9 13 14 4 10 10 6 13 15 10 4 13 12 15 14 5 12 11 14 13 13 10 5 14 6 13 6 11 3 6 14 5 11 10 14 13 13 13 13 10 13 3 12 6 15 13 15 14 3 7
€272,330 €269,286 €260,582 €256,000 €254,162 €248,723 €247,508 €247,179 €243,568 €230,832 €228,561 €226,898 €226,634 €222,171 €221,259 €220,235 €219,731 €216,568 €211,804 €209,744 €199,347 €193,820 €189,267 €188,333 €187,797 €181,702 €179,650 €178,867 €174,091 €163,156 €159,873 €155,532 €154,414 €154,403 €151,861 €150,176 €149,568 €149,550 €148,464 €148,369 €147,637 €145,730 €145,462 €144,321 €143,449 €141,098 €135,971 €135,357 €134,585 €132,400
E X P L A N AT I O N O F T H E E U R O P E A N T O U R R A C E T O D U B A I 2 0 0 9 The Race to Dubai is a $10 million season-long competition for the world’s leading golfers, which culminates in the world’s richest golf tournament, the Dubai World Championship at The Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, UAE, November 19-22. Players will be ranked according to their earnings from all events on The European Tour International Schedule, including the Major Championships and the World Golf Championships, ensuring the cream of world golf will qualify. No.s 1-60 players in The Race to Dubai at the conclusion of the previous tournament compete in the season’s climax, the $10 million Dubai World Championship. Following the Championship, the season’s 15 top-ranked players by earnings share a Bonus Pool of $10 million. The No.1 player will receive $2,000,000, the runner-up $1,500,000 and the third-placed player $1,000,000, with prizes down to the 15th player, who will earn $250,000. The winner of The Race to Dubai will receive a seven-year European Tour Card exemption. From 2010 The Race to Dubai will commence in January and the Dubai World Championship will complete the season in November. THE RACE TO DUBAI BONUS POOL BREAKDOWN 1 US$ 2,000,000 2 US$ 1,500,000 3 US$ 1,000,000 4 US$ 800,000 5 US$ 700,000
6 US$ 600,000 7 US$ 550,000 8 US$ 500,000 9 US$ 450,000 10 US$ 400,000
11 US$ 350,000 12 US$ 325,000 13 US$ 300,000 14 US$ 275,000 15 US$ 250,000
Date: 23 - 26 April 2009
Tournament: Ballantine’s Championship Venue: Pinx Golf Club, Jeju Island, South Korea
THONGCHAI Jaidee picked up his second title of The European Tour season with a play-off victory at the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea. Jaidee finished level on 4-underpar alongside Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Korean Sung-Hoon Kang but triumphed on the first extra hole. Fernandez-Castano failed to create a birdie opportunity as the trio replayed the 18th but Kang and Jaidee both knocked their approach shots to within six feet. Kang stepped up first and missed his putt leaving Jaidee the chance to win. He duly obliged sinking his putt to pick up the biggest cheque of his career so far. “I played very well all week,” said Jaidee. “The only bad thing was my putting at times. There were five or six holes where I three putted but I made the important ones and that’s what matters. “I was thinking that if I win the tournament, it would be my 12th victory on the Asian Tour and the fourth I’ve won on The European Tour in my life. “That’s one very good thing. I think that I’ll be close to the Top 50
in the World Ranking, and that’s my target.” Fernandez-Castaño was five shots off the pace at the start of the final day but a 3-under 69 elevated him to the top of the leader board. Korean Tour member Kang made his move and was 4-under by the tenth hole after making an eagle. He bogeyed the 15th but made up more shots with another eagle at the 16th which pushed him into a one-shot lead as he stood on the final tee. However, he three-putted the 18th green to drop back to 4-under for the tournament. Fernandez-Castaño also had a birdie attempt on the 18th but his putt pulled up short, which meant only Jaidee was still out on the course with a realistic chance of victory. He, too, left himself a long putt for the title but it rolled past the cup and he finished level with Kang and Fernandez-Castano. Jaidee’s victory in sudden-death meant that Fernandez-Castano was left in the runner-up spot for his third successive tournament and both he and Kang took home winnings of €182,395 for their share of second place.
INTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAG
Driver: Fairway Wood: Hybrid: Irons: Putter: Ball:
Callaway FT-9 Callaway FT-i Squareway Callaway X Callaway X-Forged Odyssey White Hot Tour #2 Callaway Tour i
EE R: ID NE JA IN AI W CH G ON TH
JAIDEE MAKES IT A DOUBLE AT THE BALLANTINE’S
FACT FILE: Scoring was tough on day three of the Ballantine’s Championship as extreme winds saw the lowest scores of the day posted by Ernie Els and Danny Willet at 1-over 73. Gonzalo FernandezCastano carded the low round of the tournament on day 1 with a 7-under 65.
WINNER’S CHEQUE:
$350,000 WINNING SCORE: 4-UNDER-PAR - 284 (66,71,77,70) RUNNER-UP: GONZALO FERNANDEZ-CASTANO, SUNG-HOON KANG 284 – (DEFEATED IN PLAY-OFF)
Tournament: Zurich Classic of New Orleans Venue: TPC Louisiana, Avondale, La.
Date: 23 - 26 April 2009
KELLY CLINCHES NEW ORLEANS CLASSIC
R: Y NE LL IN KE W RY R JE
JERRY Kelly ended a seven-year winless streak on the PGA Tour with a nervous victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Kelly carded a 1-under 71 to win by one shot from Rory Sabbatini, Charlie Wi and Charles Howell III who all charged at Kelly’s overnight lead with rounds in the 60s. Sabbatini had a chance of tying with Kelly on 14-under on the par-5 18th but could only birdie, meaning Kelly needed just a par to seal the victory. “It’s been a long time,” said a jubilant Kelly, who won twice in 2002 for his only previous PGA Tour titles. “I sometimes doubted if it was ever going to happen again.”
WINNER’S CHEQUE:
$1,116,000
Despite the seven-year drought, Kelly said he didn’t have trouble with his nerves until his final putt on the 18th, which was from just two feet away. He admitted to practising some deepbreathing techniques to settle him down. “My heart started beating a little bit faster,” he smiled, “so I had to calm that down a little bit. I calmed it down until right before I took it back.” Howell carded six birdies in his round as he battled to challenge Kelly down the stretch. However, the Augusta resident bogeyed 15 and 17 which left him with a 68 and a 13-under total. Wi also carded a 68 to finish on the same total while Sabbatini fired a superb 5-under 67 but it wasn’t enough as Kelly hung on.
WORLD ROUNDUPS Date: 30 April - 03 May 2009
Tournament: Open de España Venue: PGA Golf Catalunya, Girona, Spain
R: ET NE EV IN L W MAS O TH
LEVET IS THE TOAST OF SPAIN “Winning is never easy. It is a tricky golf course. You just have to keep your game going. As long as you make pars and birdies, you just have to concentrate on putting the ball on fairway.” – THOMAS LEVET FRENCHMAN Thomas Levet once again enjoyed a shower of champagne from his fellow countrymen after a two-stroke victory over Fabrizio Zanotti at the Open de España. Levet was two shots ahead, teeing off on the first hole, but quickly found himself two behind after four holes as playing partner Stuart Davis shot out of the blocks with three successive birdies. However, European Tour rookie Davis fell away with a 78 for 15th place and it was left for Zanotti, Thomas Björn and Peter Lawrie to challenge the Frenchman. The 25-year-old, Zanotti, had never previously posted a top ten finish on The European Tour prior to this event but fired nine birdies in a best-of-the-day 7-under 65 for a 16-under total. Björn also found form with a final round 66 for 14-under while Lawrie carded a 69 to finish level with the Dane.
However, Levet held strong with birdies on holes 15 and 17 to move ahead of the chasing pack and card a 68 for an 18-under winning score. “Winning is never easy. It is a tricky golf course. You just have to keep your game going. As long as you make pars and birdies, you just have to concentrate on putting the ball on the fairway,” said Levet. “I made very few mistakes and it all went according to plan.” Zanotti was delighted with his performance and took away a career-best €222,220 for outright second place. “I am very happy,” said Zanotti. “I played very solid from yesterday. Everything worked out as I wanted to. I am playing very well this season, with lots of confidence. I have made many cuts and this is my best score on The European Tour. I have secured my card – I am really happy, very nervous but happy.”
INTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAG
Driver: Fairway Wood: Irons (2-PW): Wedge: Wedge: Putter: Ball:
TaylorMade R7 Limited 8.5° Inesis Canaveral 901 Inesis TD Tour Inesis Exult TL 53° Inesis Exult TL 60° Odyssey Black Series i #1 Titleist Pro V1 (2009)
FACT FILE: Thomas Levet won his second European Tour title on Spanish soil with his win at the Open de España after he claimed last year’s Open de Andalucia by Valle Romano. Levet’s three previous victories on Tour came in England, Scotland and his native France.
WINNER’S CHEQUE:
$333,330 WINNING SCORE: 18-UNDER-PAR - 270 (64,67,71,68) RUNNER-UP: FABRIZIO ZANOTTI - 272
Tournament: Quail Hollow Championship Venue: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, NC
Date: 30 April - 03 May 2009
O’HAIR HANGS ON FOR QUAIL HOLLOW VICTORY
R: IR NE A IN ’H W NO A SE
SEAN O’Hair won his third PGA Tour title despite bogeying the last two holes of the Quail Hollow Championship. He closed with a 3-under 69 for an 11-under total to win by one stroke from Lucas Glover and Bubba Watson. “It feels so good, especially finishing the way I did. I played so good on the back nine – it’s a great feeling,” said O’Hair. “A win is a win, and it’s nice to win in such a strong field as this one. I think this year I’ve been striking the ball really well. My coach and I have been doing a lot of good work, and I feel like as a ball-striker I’m a much better player this year.” Glover bogeyed the 17th to drop to 10-under and level with Watson who held the lead after the second round. Tiger Woods finished alone in fourth place on 9-under with six players a shot
WINNER’S CHEQUE:
$1,152,000
further back, including Phil Mickelson and Ian Poulter. Overnight leader Zach Johnson faltered to a 4-over 76 and finished in a tie for 11th place. Woods was poised for a final round push after beginning the day in a share of second place but his charge petered out as he closed the tournament with 10 consecutive pars for an even-par 72. “It was one of those weird weeks,” he said afterwards. “I didn’t feel comfortable with my swing today.” O’Hair began solidly with rounds of 69 and 72 and a third round 67 helped him remain in touching distance with the top of the leader board. His victory earned him 500 FedExCup points and he moved up to third place on the rankings system behind Mickelson and Geoff Ogilvy.
Date: 14 - 17 May 2009
Tournament: Valero Texas Open Venue: La Cantera Golf Club, San Antonio, Texas
ZACH Johnson sank a ten-foot birdie putt at the first hole of suddendeath to defeat James Driscoll and take home his second title of the season and his second Valero Texas Open in eight months. Johnson won the event last October when it was part of the PGA Tour’s Fall Series. Now it’s scheduled as the first of three tournaments in Texas in the Regular Season and Johnson vaulted to the top of the FedExCup ranking after his victory. “I hit some quality shots – the last three holes especially,” said Johnson. “When I’m in contention, all I want to do is trust my numbers and trust my clubs, and I did that. I really didn’t show it on my scorecard, but my execution was really, really good and I’m proud of that. “ After beginning the final round eight shots back in 22nd place, Driscoll fired a best-of-the-day 62 to post a 15-under total and then had to wait for overnight leader Johnson to finish his round to see if he were to slip up and hand him the victory.
His wait wasn’t in vain as Johnson could only post an even-par 70 to also finish on 15-under. “James obviously played a ridiculously good round of golf today,” said Johnson after getting the better of his opponent. “It’s one thing to shoot 8-under on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, but to do it on Sunday is just stellar – so I feel lucky to have won.” Driscoll, who posted his second runner-up finish on his PGA Tour career, was not too disappointed with how the play-off played out. “It’s not like I totally screwed it up or anything,” he said afterwards. “I hit it 25, 30 feet and gave a decent run at it. I didn’t do as well as I would have liked, but he made a great birdie, so what are you going to do?” Bill Haas and Paul Goydos finished one shot out of the play-off after rounds of 65 and 69 respectively while four players took a tie for fifth place on 13-under including three-time Texas Open champion Justin Leonard.
INTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAG
Driver: Fairway woods: Hybrid: Irons (4-9): Wedges: Putter: Ball:
Titleist 909D2 8.5° Titleist 909F2 13.5° and 18.5° Titleist 909H 21° Titleist AP2 with True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts Titleist Vokey Design 48°, Vokey prototype 54°, Vokey 60 V 60° SeeMore FGP Titleist Pro V1x
R: ON NE S IN HN W JO CH ZA
JOHNSON SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS TEXAS OPEN TITLE
FACT FILE: Zach Johnson (Sony Open in Hawaii) joins Geoff Ogilvy (Mercedes-Benz Championship, WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship) and Phil Mickelson (Northern Trust Open and WGC-CA Championship) as two-time winners on the PGA TOUR in 2009. Johnson, Ogilvy and Mickelson are currently ranked 1-2-3 in the FedExCup standings respectively.
WINNER’S CHEQUE:$1,098,000 WINNING SCORE: 15-UNDER-PAR - 265 (68,67,60,70) RUNNER-UP: JAMES DRISCOLL – 265 (DEFEATED IN PLAY-OFF) Tournament: BMW Italian Open Venue: Royal Park I Roveri, Torino, Italy
Date: 07 - 10 May 2009
VANCSIK CRUISES TO ITALIAN TITLE
R: SIK NE NC IN A W EL V NI DA
ARGENTINE Daniel Vancsik fired an assured finalround 6-under-par 65 to complete a six-stroke victory at the BMW Italian Open for his second European Tour title. “My putting was fantastic,” he said. “I played more aggressively and thought if I got to six or seven under (on the day) the tournament is for me. Now my goal is to get into a Major.” When Vancsik won his first European Tour title in 2007 at the Madeira Islands Open BPI – his 50th start – it was his first ever Tour finish inside the top ten. He started the day with just a one-stroke lead over Finland’s Roope Kakko but quickly raced into a lead with birdies at four of his opening six
WINNER’S CHEQUE:
€216,660
holes. He made the turn in 32 and then added three more birdies in the next five holes to post an almost unassailable lead. Vancsik finished the round with three consecutive pars as he posted a 17-under-par total, six shots ahead of John Daly, Raphaël Jacquelin and Robert Rock. Kakko fell away to a share of eighth place after a 73. Daly posted four rounds in the 60s for an 11-under total and admitted later that he was looking forward to competing more on The European Tour. “I would love to be in The Race to Dubai,” said Daly after his runner-up finish earned him €96,940. “If I was to get into the top 60 I would definitely come back over and play that.”
WORLD ROUNDUPS Date: 14 - 17 May 2009
Tournament: The 3 Irish Open Venue: County Louth Golf Club, Baltray, Ireland
SHANE Lowry defied his status as an amateur as he defeated the inform Robert Rock in sudden-death to win The 3 Irish Open at County Louth Golf Club, Baltray. Lowry looked to have the tournament in the bag when he pitched to within four feet on the final hole of regulation but he missed the putt which would have sealed victory. “I didn’t think I would have a better chance than that,” he admitted afterwards. But, thankfully, for the 22-year-old he did – at the third extra hole – and he took it to complete a dream victory. Rock missed a nine footer to win the Championship at the first play-off hole and the pair shared the next with birdies. However, on their third trip down the 18th Rock pitched over the green and failed to get up and down, leaving Lowry with a tap-in par for victory. “I can’t believe it – this is going to take a long time to sink in,” said Lowry, who was playing in his
first European Tour event. Rock had to settle for this third runnerup finish of the season but took home the first prize cheque of €500,000 as Lowry was ineligible for prize money. “It’s a little bit of a consolation,” said Rock who was quick to congratulate his victor. “It’s absolutely unbelievable what Shane’s done. So I’m happy for him.” Lowry began the tournament with a 67 but fired himself into contention with a sensational 62 on the Friday. Two weekend rounds of 71 saw him post a 17-under finish while Rock fired rounds of 66, 65, 69 and 71 to post the same total. Swede Johan Edfors finished third after sharing the lead with Rock with six to play, but fell out of the hunt with bogeys on holes 13 and 17. Edfors finished two shots back while in joint fourth place on 13-under were England’s Nick Dougherty and Scotland’s Marc Warren as they both recorded their best finish on The European Tour since last August.
INTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAGINTHEBAG
Driver: 3-wood: Hybrid: Irons (3-9): Wedge: Wedge: Wedge: Putter: Ball:
Titleist 909D2 8.5° Titleist 909F2 15.5° Titleist 909H 19° Titleist AP2 Titleist Vokey Design 48° Titleist Vokey Design 52° Titleist Vokey Spin Milled 58° Scotty Cameron Fastback Titleist Pro V1x
Date: 21 - 24 May 2009
) R: (AM NE Y IN R W LOW E AN SH
MAGICAL LOWRY SEALS HOME VICTORY
FACT FILE: In winning The 3 Irish Open, Lowry became only the third Amateur to win a European Tour event but the second of the 2009 season after Danny Lee’s victory at the Johnnie Walker Classic in February.
WINNING SCORE: 17-UNDER-PAR - 271 (67, 62, 71, 71) RUNNER-UP: ROBERT ROCK – 271 (DEFEATED IN PLAY-OFF) Tournament: HP Byron Nelson Championship Venue: TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas, Irving, Texas
SABBATINI GETS BACK TO WINNING WAYS IN ‘HOME’ STATE
I R: IN NE AT IN BB W SA RY RO
RORY Sabbatini won his first tournament in two years thanks to a superb final-round 64 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship for a two-shot victory over England’s Brian Davis. South African Sabbatini, whose last PGA Tour title came in Texas, which he now regards as his ‘home’ state, at the 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, made sure of the victory with a third successive birdie on the 17th which gave him a three-shot lead heading up the last hole. He received a huge ovation as he walked up the final fairway and his tap-in bogey sealed the victory. “Obviously this tournament is very special,” Sabbatini said. “It’s one that I wish I had been able to win and look up and see Byron sitting there at the 18th green. What a wonderful name to be
WINNER’S CHEQUE:
$1,170,000
associated with now.” Sabbatini, who lives in Fort Worth, finished on 19-under 261 at TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas to break the previous best tournament victory total of 18-under set by Loren Roberts and play-off loser Steve Pate in 1999. D.A. Points carded a 65 for a 16-under careerbest finish of third place while Scott McCarron and Dustin Johnson posted rounds of 62 and 66 respectively for a tie for fourth at 15-under. Davis made a 26-foot eagle putt at the 546yard 16th to get to 17 under but couldn’t make any further progress to put more pressure on Sabbatini. Sabbatini earned 500 FedExCup points for the victory and moved up 22 places from 29th to seventh in the standings.
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Claude Harmon III
SWING Pro swing analyst >>
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CLAUDE HARMON III, DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION, BUTCH HARMON SCHOOL, DUBAI SPORTS CITY
MARKUS BRIER
HAVING HIT THE HEADLINES AS THE FIRST AUSTRIAN TO WIN ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR IN 2006, MARKUS BRIER HAS BECOME A CONSISTENT PLAYER AND BALL STRIKER. BRIER PROVES THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE THE FLASHIEST PLAYER TO GET THE JOB DONE. HE IS VERY SOLID IRON PLAYER, WITH A GREENS IN REGULATION AVERAGE RIGHT AROUND 70%. BRIER HAS A GOLF SWING BUILT AROUND SOUND BASIC FUNDAMENTALS.
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SWING MARKU CLAUDE HARMON III, DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION, BUTCH HARMON SCHOOL, DUBAI SPORTS CITY
The chest here is rotating to the right as the club works back. As the chest turns, the head stays very level, meaning no real up and down movements. As the chest rotates, the arms stay connected to the upper body. You want to keep your triceps in contact with your upper torso as you work the club off the ball. Think about starting your backswing with the buttons on your shirt.
Here the hips are rotated and opening towards the target, shoulders square, clubface square, right heal still down. All classic impact positions for good ball striking! Markus has loads of space between his arms and lower body here at impact. This shows how well he has maintained all of his posture angles as the club swings through impact. If your arms are too close to your body at impact it means your lower body has moved closer to the ball. When this happens, the hips have not turned enough through impact.
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The ball is starting to the right post impact. If you slice the golf ball, you need to get your ball to feel as if it is starting to the right of your target. Markus is working his right shoulder under his chin, which is still level and stable. The right heal, post impact, has yet to fully come up, which allows Markus to swing his arms and hands down his target line. Most slicers will not be able to see hands in this position, and they will be working too much to the left and across the body.
US BRIER The swing is halfway down now and notice how level the hips are here, just before impact. As the hips level, the upper body stacks on top of the lower body. The shoulders here are also level, almost a mirror image of the address position. The clubhead is higher than the hands in this position, which means Markus is maintaining some lag in his downswing. Power is achieved in the downswing when the clubhead is lagging behind the rotation of the lower body. Think of your lower body pulling the clubhead into the impact zone
Take a look at the right hip here at the top of the backswing. Most good ball strikers keep their left hip low at the top of the backswing. This allows the upper body to turn around a very stable lower body. If your hips over rotate during your backswing, your right hip will be higher than your left at the top of your backswing. When this happens, you run the risk of your weight staying too much on the left side at the top of the backswing. Markus supports the golf club at the top of his backswing with a stable right elbow. I like to see the left forearm work through the right shoulder at the top of the backswing. There is no surprise as to why Markus hits a ton of greens from this position!
Both the head and the right heal have finally come up and the body is turning towards the target. Just as the chest rotated away from the target during the backswing, the chest is now rotating towards the target on the downswing. Markus has his left hip and left shoulder higher than the right hips and shoulder. In doing this, he has swung the club from an in to out path, creating a right to left ball flight.
I like to see players have the club shaft work through or near the left forward during their follow through. The easiest way to hit the ball from right to left is for players to try and feel the follow through nice and high. Most fades and slices happen when the club finishes too low. Although Markus is not one of the Tour’s longest hitter, he is easily one of the straightest. These pictures illustrate why.
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TUTORIAL By Claude Harmon III
O
NE of the most common questions I get asked by my students is how do you spin the ball? Everyone wants to be able to hit the one- bounceand-stop shot from around the green. Learning to control the spin of your chip shots will improve your scoring from 50 yards and in. Watch any Tour event and you will see players getting the ball close to the hole by using spin. In order to spin the ball, you need speed. This is where most players struggle. I see too many players make backswings that are far too long for the length of shot they are trying to hit. When the backswing gets too long, you will have to slow down coming into impact, robbing you of vital speed. The speed at which the club makes contact with the ball is what causes the ball to spin. The more speed at impact, the more spin you impart on the ball. Try to make a much shorter swing than normal, focusing on keeping a constant speed through the impact zone.
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TUTORIAL START with the majority of your weight on your lead leg, maybe around sixty per cent. The key here is that this set up position will also be your impact position. By setting up with your weight forward and your hands ahead of the ball, you’re trying to preset your impact position. To spin the ball, you need to stay forward during your entire swing. Don’t go backwards to try and get the ball up in the air. Any move back during your swing will rob you of speed and create and inconsistent club/ball strike.
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AS my weight stays on my lead leg, I swing my arms back. Notice how little I am using my wrists. Most players I see have far too much wrist action around the greens. Try to think about using your arms and shoulders, not your hands. I try to feel my hands are very passive during my backswing. My legs remain very stable as the club works off the ball. You don’t need nearly as much movement as you think in order to hit the ball with spin and speed. Less is more!
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NOTICE how this followthrough position matches the backswing position. So think about the length of the backswing matching the length of the followthrough. The hands here are very passive, similar to the backswing. You want to control these shots with your arms, not your hands. Both your right and left hand work through impact together as one single unit. If the backswing length and the followthrough length match, you will be able to create speed in your swing.
THE proper club position for the backswing is where the clubface and shaft match the position of your lead arm. Whatever loft you have on the club at address, you want to have the same loft here in your backswing. For example, if you start with 58 degrees of loft at address, try to think about keeping that loft on the club as you swing back. The faults come when the clubhead works back too much on the outside, thus closing the face. The opposite is where the clubhead gets too inside, behind the hands on the backswing, thus creating too much loft on the club. www.wwgolf.biz
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WAYNE JOHNSON – INSIDE THE ROPES WAYNE JOHNSON is our correspondent for The Race to Dubai. Heavily involved in the planning and promotion of The Race to Dubai and the Dubai World Championship, Wayne is able to give a unique insight into the progress of the competitions and a behind-the-scenes (and ‘inside the ropes!’) look into The Race to Dubai – as well as giving us his views on the latest happenings in golf.
By the time The Race to Dubai reached Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship, The European Tour season really was in full swing.
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HE progress of the 2009 season was exemplified by the performance of Englishman Paul Casey, whose one-stroke victory at The European Tour’s flagship event propelled him to the summit of The Race to Dubai standings as well as enabling him to break into the top three of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time. To place these achievements in context, Casey becomes only the second Englishman, behind Nick Faldo, to reach such a lofty position on a global scale since the rankings were introduced in 1986. Furthermore, the €1,948,431 he had accumulated by the time he left Wentworth Club, left him just €784,317 short of the total that enabled Robert Karlsson to land last year’s Order of Merit title. With three Majors, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the Dubai World Championship itself still to play for, the 31 year-old has every chance of setting a challenging target for his rivals at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November. Casey has had a remarkable season by anybody’s standards. Competing on The European Tour as well as a selected number of tournaments on the U.S. PGA Tour, he has emerged as one of the clear favourites for the Dubai World Championship some six months before the event takes place.
First title in the U.S. Casey kick-started his season by winning the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, and proved he has a true taste for golf in the UAE two weeks later with a tie for fourth place at the Dubai Desert Classic. He followed that with a solid performance at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at Tucson, Arizona, losing 4 and 3 in the final to Australian Geoff Ogilvy, another strong contender for The Race to Dubai. Casey’s superb run of form also saw him pick up his first title on the U.S. PGA Tour with a play-off victory over J.B. Holmes at the Houston Open. A notable element in Casey’s emergence as a world class player has been his ability to stay fit and avoid injury. Indeed, he is reputed to be among the strongest and fittest players on Tour. This facet of the game is becoming increasingly important as players seek to perform consistently despite their packed schedules. As such, another notable appearance at Wentworth was the return of The Race to Dubai mobile Physiotherapy Unit which made its eagerly-awaited re-appearance following an extensive refit and rebrand. The Physio Unit, which is a joint initiative between The European Tour and Leisurecorp as part of our five-year partnership, underwent a substantial overhaul during the winter months and offers the newest and most innovative technology to assist the players’ physical and mental wellbeing during the remainder of the season. The Unit, which carried out more than 8,000 treatments last year and has become one of the most popular features on Tour among the players, is now back on the road at six consecutive events –
The European Open, The Celtic Manor Wales Open, the Austrian Golf Open, the BMW International Open, the Open de France ALSTOM and The Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond – in the lead-up to The 138th Open Championship at Turnberry in Ayrshire, where it will be at the disposal of everyone in the field at the world’s oldest Major Championship. By the time you read this article, Leisurecorp will, in fact, have hosted its first tournament of the year, The European Open at the London Club at Ash in Kent, England. The event has once again attracted a star-studded field with no less than five of the current world top 20 in attendance. In addition to Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Karlsson, Rory McIlroy, and Lee Westwood, Masters champion Angel Cabrera and double U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen were also on show. In contrast to the considerable experience of those household names, The European Open was also notable for the professional debut of Ireland’s Shane Lowry who became only the third amateur to win a European Tour event when he landed The 3 Irish Open title last month. In the spirit of its ongoing attempts to use its partnership with The European Tour to broaden the appeal of golf, Leisurecorp provided fans with free access to the tournament for all four days of competitive play, something it will repeat for the Dubai World Championship in November. With more than 20,000 people already registered to receive tickets to the climax of The Race to Dubai, it seems that this policy is proving a winner with spectators. Having staged a successful European Open, Leisurecorp now turns its full attention to The Open Championship at Turnberry in July. Ever since the company took control of the famous Scottish links and its iconic hotel, the planning process for the first Open Championship to take place at Turnberry for 15 years has been its absolute priority.
The Open right on schedule Preparations for the Open Championship are right on schedule and the hotel will serve as The R&A’s tournament headquarters as planned. Enhancements to the Ailsa course were completed early in the year and were well received by The R&A who recently announced that they were delighted with the progress of tournament preparations. The importance of The Open Championship to The Race to Dubai cannot be over-estimated. Casey had barely hoisted the BMW PGA Championship trophy aloft before he began to speak of his major intentions for the remainder of 2009. If he succeeds at the U.S. Open, at Turnberry or at the US PGA Championship, then he will almost certainly be in pole position for the Dubai World Championship. Anyone who has managed to stay within striking distance of Casey may then have to win the season-ending Championship and hope Casey has an off day – or four of them – to have a chance of landing The Race to Dubai title. ■
Paul Casey
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INSIDE GOLF
‘Watch’ Your Distance with Sandy Meyer
C
HIPPING and Pitching is one of the most important parts of the game and to score well you need to have a strong and reliable short game. Part of that short game includes the longer “pitch shot” and the shorter “chip shot”. Many of my ladies who are beginners are unsure of the difference. The pitch shot is played longer than 25 yards (approximately) and the chip shot is played under 25 yards. Controlling distance with these shots is the key to hitting the ball close to the pin and when pitching and chipping you have to allow for ball “flight time” and ball “roll time”. Depending on what club you use, the theory behind using different clubs, is how the loft determines this “flight time” and “roll time”. A sand wedge will produce 75% “flight time” and 25% “roll
time”. The pitching wedge is more 50% - 50 % and the less lofted clubs, like the 9, 8 or even 7 irons will be 25% “flight time” and 75% “roll time”. So when playing these shots always pick out the area you want to land the ball, don’t focus on trying to land the ball at the hole, unless you have the ability to generate enough spin to prevent the ball from fully releasing. Controlling the length of the swing will help to control how far you want to hit the ball. You need to visualise chipping and pitching as a “pendulum” movement. The length of the back swing should be approximately the same length on the followthrough. You don’t want a long back swing on a 20 yard shot as you will decelerate and lose all control through impact. I like to use the numbers on my watch to
help control my length of swing. On very short chips around the green – 10 to 15 yards –I like to feel that the club is swinging from the number 5 to the number 7, with my feet being at 6 o’clock. On longer chips –15 to 25 yards, – I imagine swinging the club from 4 to 8. This slightly increases the length of swing appropriate to that distance. When moving into “pitching” 25 – 35 yards, the idea now is to swing the club from 3 to 9, (half swing) 35 – 45 yards I swing from 2 to 10 and 45 to 55 yards 1 to 11. This is not the exact yardage for everyone but this will give you some idea of how to control your length of swing appropriate to that distance. So next “time” you are out on the course “watch” the length of swing to control the distance better.
“I like to use the numbers on my watch to help me mentally with controlling my length of swing.” – Sandy Meyer
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w w w. s p o r t n f i t n e s s m e . c o m
ISSUE 2
OUT NOW
W W G LO C A L F O C U S
ARABIAN Players honoured at End of Season ceremony
THE Pepsi Junior-Am at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club saw EGF General Manager Saeed Albudoor present the end of season awards to all the golfers who had excelled at the game in different ways. Matthew Turner is pictured right receiving his prize for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Junior’ after his heroics at the Dubai Desert Classic from Saeed Albudoor. Turner finished level-par at the Classic – the highlight of The European Tour’s Middle East swing – after outstanding rounds of 70, 72, 71 and 75 over the Majlis course where the he tied for 51st place. Also pictured right is Daniel Hendry who collects his award for the ‘Most Improved Junior of the Year’ while the Boys Net Order of Merit winner Aditya Judge also accepts his award from Saeed Albudoor. Details of all the awards and the final Order of Merit standings can be found on pages 68 and 69.
Matthew Turner
Clubs in June 2009 Worldwide Golf Emirates Golf Federation United Arab Emirates PGA Abu Dhabi Golf Club Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club Al Ghazal Golf Club Al Hamra Golf Club Arabian Ranches Golf Club Dirab Golf Club Doha Golf Club Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club Emirates Golf Club Four Seasons Golf Club Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa Katameya Heights Golf & Tennis Club Muscat Hills Golf & Country Club Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club The Montgomerie Dubai The Royal Golf Club, Riffa Views
Daniel Hendry
Aditya Judge
Thornberry inspires his team to Pepsi Am victory SEAN Thornberry guided his ‘Pepsi-1’ team to an impressive victory in the Pepsi Am, a season-ending tournament organised by the Emirates Golf Federation to honour the junior players for their achievements during the season. Defying the searing heat at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, the Thornberry-led ‘Pepsi-1’ team carded a sizzling net 54.3 to narrowly beat their nearest rivals Pepsi-3 (net 55.8) on a day when almost all the teams returned under-par scores. Thornberry, who won this season’s Emirates Golf Federation’s Junior Order of Merit title with 93.3 points, once again proved his credentials as one of the top junior players in the UAE, chipping in with crucial shots when it mattered most in the team scramble format. The Emirates Golf Club prodigy thanked his teammates – professional Neil Webb and amateurs Nigel Benstead, Christian Burke and Graham Burke – for producing some solid golf in difficult conditions. The ‘Pepsi-3’ team, consisting of junior Y.J. Kim, professional David Condon and amateurs Tariq Al Fakka, Amr Farghal and Rashid Ali, finished a creditable second, just ahead of the ‘Dubai Duty Free’
team, captained by junior Harley Knight. The ‘Dubai Duty Free’ team, which included professional Cyril Rozes and amateurs Colm McLoughlin, George Horan and Ara Nakhnikian, were closely followed in fourth place by the Aryan Chordia-led ‘Montgomerie Dubai’ team. Nigel Benstead, Vice-President and Chief International Compliance Officer, Pepsi Co, presented the prizes in the company of Saeed Albudoor, General Manager of the Emirates Golf Federation. Benstead congratulated the winners and promised to continue Pepsi’s support to the event which has become a popular fixture on the domestic circuit. Saeed Albudoor congratulated all the players on braving the heat and contributing to the success of the tournament. “We couldn’t have asked for a better finale to our season,” he said.. “The scores amply reflect on the intensity of the competition. We at the Emirates Golf Federation will try and create more playing opportunities – especially for juniors – next season. We have some of the best courses in the world and golf is flourishing. We need to keep the momentum going.”
The winning team ‘Pepsi 1’ at the presentation ceremony – Sean Thornberry, professional Neil Webb, and amateurs Nigel Benstead, Christian Burke and Graham Burke, with Saeed Albudoor, General Manager EGF (far right). Nigel Benstead, is also Vice-President and Chief International Compliance Officer, Pepsi Co (second from right).
PEPSI JUNIOR PRO-AM
ARABIAN GOLF The ‘Pepsi-1’ team of junior Sean Thornberry; professional Neil Webb and amateurs Nigel Benstead, Christian Burke and Graham Burke line up before play.
The ‘Pepsi-3’ team of junior Y.J. Kim, professional David Condon and amateurs Tariq Al Fakka, Amr Farghal and Rashid Ali pose before play.
The ‘Dubai Duty Free’ team of junior Harley Knight, professional Cyril Rozes and amateurs Colm McLoughlin, George Horan and Ara Nakhnikian pose with their drivers before teeing off.
FINAL RESULTS 1.
‘Pepsi-1’ (Sean Thornberry, Neil Webb, Nigel Benstead, Christian Burke, Graham Burke) Net 54.3
2.
‘Pepsi-3’ (YJ Kim, David Condon, Tariq Al Fakka, Amr Farghal, Rashid Ali) Net 55.8
3.
‘Dubai Duty Free’ (Harley Knight, Cyril Rozes, Colm McLoughlin, George Horan, Ara Nakhnikian) Net 56.1
4.
‘The Montgomerie, Dubai’ (Aryan Chordia, Steven Munro, David Russell, Chris King, Tom Gohill) Net 56.2
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E M I R AT E S G O L F F E D E R AT I O N
ARABIAN GOLF
Schoeman and Tufail emerge as EGF Order of Merit Champions JO Schoeman and Sana Tufail (pictured below) rounded off the season in style by respectively winning the Emirates Golf Federation’s Gross and Net Order of Merit titles. Arabian Ranches Golf Club’s Schoeman posted a strong top-ten finish in the Audi Ladies at Abu Dhabi Golf Club – the final event of the Order of Merit – to take her points tally to 121.5 which beat her nearest challenger K.S. Kim by 1.5 points Placed fourth on 90 points going into the final event, Dubai Creek and Yacht Club’s Kim certainly enlivened the title race with an impressive victory in the Abu Dhabi event but sadly for her it was not good enough to secure the coveted title. Adele McKelvey of Arabian Ranches Club finished third with 115 points, followed by Agnes Anwar of Emirates Golf Federation with 92.5 points and Sara Ensig of Abu Dhabi Golf Club on 91. The race for the Net Division title turned out to be a tame affair with Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s Tufail comfortably taking the honours with 89 points, ahead of K.S. Kim who scored 77.5 and Agnes Anwar who compiled 62 points. Saeed Albudoor, General Manager of the Emirates Golf Federation, congratulated all the players, the clubs and the sponsors for contributing to the success of the Order of Merit events. Top-10 Order of Merit winners (Gross) 1. Jo Schoeman (ARGC) 121.50 2. K.S. Kim (DCGYC) 120 3. Adele McKelvey (ARGC) 115 4. Agnes Anwar (EGF) 92.5 5. Sara Ensig (ADGC) 91 6. Sandra Grenet (TEC) 78.5 7. Sue Henderson (ADGC) 76.5 8. Nanna Nielsen (EGC) 70 9. Maho Hayakawa (EGC) 67 10. Sana Tufail (ADGC) 59.5
Net Division: 1. Sana Tufail 2. K.S. Kim 3. Agnes Anwar 4. Jo Schoeman 5. Sandra Grenet 6. Serifa D’Souza 7. Maho Hayakawa 8. Jean Wang 9. Nasha Sarkari 10. Sammy Bowles
(ADGC) (DCGYC) (EGF) (ARGC) (TEC) (DCGYC) (EGC) (ADGEC) (DCGYC) (ADGC)
Order of Merit Results Ladies Net Winner Sana Tufail Girls Net Winner Second Third Boys Net Winner Second Third
Sana Tufail Serifa De Souza Shloka Desai Aditya Judge Daniel Hendry Sean Thornberry
Boys Gross Winner Sean Thornberry Second Daniel Hendry Third Aditya Judge
Men’s Winner Second Third
Joel Neale Matthew Turner Khalid Yousuf
Most improved Junior of the Year – Daniel Hendry Outstanding Performance by a Junior – Matthew Turner (2009 Dubai Desert Classic) Junior Golfer of the Year – Sean Thornberry
Joel Neale receives his prize for winning the EGF Order of Merit for the second year in succession from EGF General Manager, Saeed Albudoor.
Neale retains EGF Order of Merit crown
89 77.5 62 52.5 50.5 44.5 42.5 42 40.5 39.5.
JOEL Neale retained the Emirates Golf Federation’s Order of Merit title after the talented youngster posted a strong finish in the BMW Men’s Open held at The Montgomerie Dubai. Neale, who plays off a plus one handicap, carded solid rounds of 73 and 70 to finish tied second on a gross total of 143, just one shot behind the winner, Pontes Fredriksson, in the seventh and final round of the Gulf News-sponsored Order of Merit. With his creditable second-place finish the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club star took his points tally to 122.25 which was good enough to beat his nearest challenger, Matthew Turner, of Emirates Golf Club by 5.25 points. Khalid Yousuf, who led the Order of Merit after the penultimate round – the NBAD Men’s Open – had to settle for third place on 113 points. Khalid had a good chance of winning the prestigious Order of Merit, but couldn’t feature in the final event because of the GCC Championship in Kuwait where he played a key role in guiding the UAE team to a fantastic second-place finish. In his absence, it was left to Neale and Turner to battle it out for the Championship title. With just three points separating the two going into the final round, both produced some solid golf in the final round to provide a fitting climax to the Order of Merit race. Neale held on to his slender lead, finishing just one point ahead of Turner, who settled for tied fourth on a gross 144. In the end, it was a strange coincidence that Neale, Turner and Yousuf finished the Order of Merit race in the same order as they did last year. The Musharrekh brothers – Ahmed and Abdulla – were in with a chance to sneak into the top ten, but had to skip the final event as they, too, joined Khalid Yousuf in the UAE team for the GCC Championship. Saeed Albudoor, General Manager of the Emirates Golf Federation, thanked the players, the sponsors and the clubs for making the Order of Merit such a great success. “All the seven events produced some good scores and that gives an indication of the rising standards of the game in the UAE,” he said. “There is huge talent in the Emirates and it showed in the performance of the players during the season. We, at the Emirates Golf Federation, are committed to creating more playing opportunities for golfers, both national and expatriates, to hone their skills. “We are also working on new initiatives to make the Order of Merit events even more appealing to the players.” The top-10 finishers in the Order of Merit table: 1. Joel Neale (EGC) 122.25 points 2. Matthew Turner (EGC) 117 3. Khalid Yousuf (EGC) 113 4. Paul Kind (DCGYC) 94.3 5. Miki Mirza (DCGYC) 71.2 6. Vikram Judge (DCGYC) 67.5 7. Steve Kelly (EGC) 67 8. Pontus Fredricksson (EGC) 64 9. Alex Charawani (ADGC) 60.75 10. Soo Chul Shin (DCGYC) 60 www.wwgolf.biz
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E M I R AT E S G O L F F E D E R AT I O N
ARABIAN GOLF
Schoeman and Tufail emerge as EGF Order of Merit Champions JO Schoeman and Sana Tufail (pictured below) rounded off the season in style by respectively winning the Emirates Golf Federation’s Gross and Net Order of Merit titles. Arabian Ranches Golf Club’s Schoeman posted a strong top-ten finish in the Audi Ladies at Abu Dhabi Golf Club – the final event of the Order of Merit – to take her points tally to 121.5 which beat her nearest challenger K.S. Kim by 1.5 points Placed fourth on 90 points going into the final event, Dubai Creek and Yacht Club’s Kim certainly enlivened the title race with an impressive victory in the Abu Dhabi event but sadly for her it was not good enough to secure the coveted title. Adele McKelvey of Arabian Ranches Club finished third with 115 points, followed by Agnes Anwar of Emirates Golf Federation with 92.5 points and Sara Ensig of Abu Dhabi Golf Club on 91. The race for the Net Division title turned out to be a tame affair with Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s Tufail comfortably taking the honours with 89 points, ahead of K.S. Kim who scored 77.5 and Agnes Anwar who compiled 62 points. Saeed Albudoor, General Manager of the Emirates Golf Federation, congratulated all the players, the clubs and the sponsors for contributing to the success of the Order of Merit events. Top-10 Order of Merit winners (Gross) 1. Jo Schoeman (ARGC) 121.50 2. K.S. Kim (DCGYC) 120 3. Adele McKelvey (ARGC) 115 4. Agnes Anwar (EGF) 92.5 5. Sara Ensig (ADGC) 91 6. Sandra Grenet (TEC) 78.5 7. Sue Henderson (ADGC) 76.5 8. Nanna Nielsen (EGC) 70 9. Maho Hayakawa (EGC) 67 10. Sana Tufail (ADGC) 59.5
Net Division: 1. Sana Tufail 2. K.S. Kim 3. Agnes Anwar 4. Jo Schoeman 5. Sandra Grenet 6. Serifa D’Souza 7. Maho Hayakawa 8. Jean Wang 9. Nasha Sarkari 10. Sammy Bowles
(ADGC) (DCGYC) (EGF) (ARGC) (TEC) (DCGYC) (EGC) (ADGEC) (DCGYC) (ADGC)
Order of Merit Results Ladies Net Winner Sana Tufail Girls Net Winner Second Third Boys Net Winner Second Third
Sana Tufail Serifa De Souza Shloka Desai Aditya Judge Daniel Hendry Sean Thornberry
Boys Gross Winner Sean Thornberry Second Daniel Hendry Third Aditya Judge
Men’s Winner Second Third
Joel Neale Matthew Turner Khalid Yousuf
Most improved Junior of the Year – Daniel Hendry Outstanding Performance by a Junior – Matthew Turner (2009 Dubai Desert Classic) Junior Golfer of the Year – Sean Thornberry
Joel Neale receives his prize for winning the EGF Order of Merit for the second year in succession from EGF General Manager, Saeed Albudoor.
Neale retains EGF Order of Merit crown
89 77.5 62 52.5 50.5 44.5 42.5 42 40.5 39.5.
JOEL Neale retained the Emirates Golf Federation’s Order of Merit title after the talented youngster posted a strong finish in the BMW Men’s Open held at The Montgomerie Dubai. Neale, who plays off a plus one handicap, carded solid rounds of 73 and 70 to finish tied second on a gross total of 143, just one shot behind the winner, Pontes Fredriksson, in the seventh and final round of the Gulf News-sponsored Order of Merit. With his creditable second-place finish the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club star took his points tally to 122.25 which was good enough to beat his nearest challenger, Matthew Turner, of Emirates Golf Club by 5.25 points. Khalid Yousuf, who led the Order of Merit after the penultimate round – the NBAD Men’s Open – had to settle for third place on 113 points. Khalid had a good chance of winning the prestigious Order of Merit, but couldn’t feature in the final event because of the GCC Championship in Kuwait where he played a key role in guiding the UAE team to a fantastic second-place finish. In his absence, it was left to Neale and Turner to battle it out for the Championship title. With just three points separating the two going into the final round, both produced some solid golf in the final round to provide a fitting climax to the Order of Merit race. Neale held on to his slender lead, finishing just one point ahead of Turner, who settled for tied fourth on a gross 144. In the end, it was a strange coincidence that Neale, Turner and Yousuf finished the Order of Merit race in the same order as they did last year. The Musharrekh brothers – Ahmed and Abdulla – were in with a chance to sneak into the top ten, but had to skip the final event as they, too, joined Khalid Yousuf in the UAE team for the GCC Championship. Saeed Albudoor, General Manager of the Emirates Golf Federation, thanked the players, the sponsors and the clubs for making the Order of Merit such a great success. “All the seven events produced some good scores and that gives an indication of the rising standards of the game in the UAE,” he said. “There is huge talent in the Emirates and it showed in the performance of the players during the season. We, at the Emirates Golf Federation, are committed to creating more playing opportunities for golfers, both national and expatriates, to hone their skills. “We are also working on new initiatives to make the Order of Merit events even more appealing to the players.” The top-10 finishers in the Order of Merit table: 1. Joel Neale (EGC) 122.25 points 2. Matthew Turner (EGC) 117 3. Khalid Yousuf (EGC) 113 4. Paul Kind (DCGYC) 94.3 5. Miki Mirza (DCGYC) 71.2 6. Vikram Judge (DCGYC) 67.5 7. Steve Kelly (EGC) 67 8. Pontus Fredricksson (EGC) 64 9. Alex Charawani (ADGC) 60.75 10. Soo Chul Shin (DCGYC) 60 www.wwgolf.biz
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UAE PGA
ARABIAN GOLF
Webb snatches victory from Hubner Fee wins third Order of Merit title
l-r: Clarke Lutton, George Mitchell, Phil Whyte and Gary McGlinchey NEIL Webb from Promo Sport won the PGA Championship at the Faldo course at Emirates Golf Club with a dramatic last-gasp victory over Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Stephen Hubner on the first hole of a sudden death play-off. Hubner, who led the field at the end of day one by six shots after carding a 6-under-par 67, and who still led by two shots standing on the tee at the final hole on the second day, could only manage a double bogey six on the 18th, letting in Neil Webb who forced a play-off with a 3-underpar 70 in his final round. Richard Sheridan from Four Seasons Golf Club came third with rounds of 3-over-par 76 and level-par 73. Winner Webb said: “This is my first tournament since I won the PGA Championship in 2001 so obviously I’m very happy with the result. I only decided to enter three days before the tournament and I was very nervous before the start. I had a steady first round and just decided to come out and put a bit of pressure on Stephen. Despite missing out so dramatically, Stephen’s been an absolute gentleman and was the first to congratulate me.” Hubner said after the play-off: “All credit to Neil, he played an extremely solid round today. I am very happy with my performance over the two days, especially my six-under-par yesterday on what was a very difficult course. I thoroughly enjoyed playing the Faldo course which posed a real challenge with some tough pin positions.”
STUART Fee of Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa won his third tournament in this season’s Order of Merit series thanks to a superb birdie at the first extra hole of a play-off against Simon Payne at the Palm Sports Resort course at Al Ain. It was the 12th and penultimate event in the UAE PGA Order of Merit Series and players were looking to improve their ranking as they headed into the finale of the season. Payne, of Tower Links Golf Club, came to the turn in 34 strokes but a costly eight at the driveable short par-4 10th put him firmly on the back foot for the back nine, eventually returning in 38. Fee, however, was left blaming a cold putter as he too turned in 34 and was 3-underpar after 11 holes but then three-putted the next three greens to finish tied with Payne on levelpar 72. Cyril Rozes (Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club) was left to think what might have been as he fell away over the closing holes, finishing bogeybogey for a 73 and a share of third place with club colleague David Gray. It was particularly painful for Rozes who, having played fewer events than others on the Order of Merit, was looking to leapfrog into the top 16 on the ranking and secure his place in the Dubai Trophy team to take on the UAE’s best amateurs in June.
Final results from the PGA Championship 2009 Wadi Course, Emirates Golf Club 1. Neil Webb (Promo Sport)
73 + 70 = 143
2. Stephen Hubner (Dubai Creek GYC)
67 + 76 = 143
3. Richard Sheridan (Four Seasons GC)
76 + 73 = 149
4. Adrian Flaherty (Golf in Dubai)
79 + 72 = 151
4. Simon Payne (Tower Links)
75 + 76 = 151
6. David Gray (Dubai Creek GYC)
79 + 76 = 155
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ARABIAN RANCHES GOLF CLUB
ARABIAN GOLF
McGlone to tee it up at Woburn COLIN McGlone (ARGC) claimed the Grand Final of the 2008/09 TNT Amateur Order of Merit Golf Series last month with a three-point victory over Allan Good and won a trip to play at Woburn Golf Club, England, in the process. Players in the TNT Series had competed over the last seven months for a spot in the prestigious Grand Final which had an elite field of 24 players. The top three Stableford scores earned each of the winners a crystal trophy and the winner of the Grand Final took the final spot for the trip to the magnificent Woburn course in Bedfordshire, England. Highlights of McGlone’s card were five gross pars and a gross birdie on his first hole of play, and with nines of 19 and 18 Stableford points he posted a 37 point total to claim the title by three points. McGlone and Good – both renowned for keeping the ball low – certainly had the upper edge on the field in the blustery conditions that swept over the course all afternoon. McGlone failed to score any points on holes 5 and 15 but it didn’t prove too costly as he was one of only 10 players who managed to score in the thirties and was a rightful champion. Good (ARGC – 5)
Dougherty, Watts, Scott and Morris break records at the Lady Captain’s Day THE four-player team of Fred Watts, Tony Dougherty, Ian Scott and Wayne Morris returned the lowest ever team scramble score at Arabian Ranches Golf Club since its opening in 2004 – an astonishing 54.5 Net. The team took the honours by more than four strokes in Adele McKelvey’s Lady Captain’s Day held last month. Outgoing Ladies Captain McKelvey (pictured below) officially opened the day by driving off the 1st tee at 1.15 pm before a capacity field of 104 players competed in the four-player team scramble format, with consecutive shots not permitted unless a putt from the putting surface. Teams were male, female and mixed and play was over the Blue Tee and Red Tee course respectively for men and ladies. The winning card was littered with birdies, with only four holes from the 18 not birdied or eagled, nines of 30 and 27 gross for a 15under-par 57 and net 54.5 gave them a clear victory. A day when irons from the fairway were impeccable and one of the four always holing from within 15 feet made it very difficult for anyone to compete against them. In the runner-up position was the team of Jim and Dillon Sim, Craig Yeats and Martin Issott who came in with a net 58.9. Lady Captain McKevey and Club Captain Bob Fletcher conducted the Prize presentation with McKelvey thanking everyone for competing and for the Lady Captains from other clubs in the UAE joining her on her special day. McKelvey presented Sandy Meyer and incoming Lady Captain Fortuna Dougherty a bouquet of flowers and thanked both of them for their support of Ladies golf at Arabian Ranches Golf Club.
Colin McGlone (centre) receives his Grand Final prize from Brian Moulds (right), Country General Manager of TNT, as Marketing Manager Mark Woodcock looks on. returned 34 Stableford points to take the runner-up spot after a countback over his playing partner Tim Sephton. Good’s back nine of 18 points was boosted by two net birdies at the 11th and 14th and two gross birdies at the 15th and 16th. However, failing to score on holes 5 and 13 cost Good the overall top prize. Bryan Moulds, Country General Manager of TNT, commented: “Congratulations to Colin who will join Peter Boland and Andre Coetzee of Arabian Ranches, who were respectively the top two in the 2008/09 Order of Merit, on the trip to visit the Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters at the Dukes Course at Woburn Golf Club in september.”
Hill-Smith and Scott take the title by a shot THE team of Leslie Hill-Smith (ARGC) and Ian Scott (ARGC) were crowned Gross Champions in the third annual Dubai Duty Free Mixed Greensomes Strokeplay tournament held at Arabian Ranches in late April. The popular team event saw 66 players take part in a format which involved both players teeing off and then picking the best-positioned ball to be played alternatively until holing out. Each team received 3/8 of their combined handicaps as the allowance. Men played from the blue tees at 6,700 yards and ladies from the red tees at 5,500 yards. Scott and Hill-Smith were consistent throughout their round, posting inward and outward nines of 40 for a total gross score of 80. They managed to score three gross birdies and didn’t shoot anything worse than bogey on their way to the winning total. They were challenged all the way by Tony and Fortuna Dougherty, who took second place with a gross 81. The best score of the day belonged to the team of Tony Azoulay and Christine Curtis who became the Net Champions thanks to an impressive net 66 which saw them win by eight shots. With Azoulay playing off three and Curtis off 36 it meant their allowance for the day was 15 shots. Taking second place in the Net Division was the husband and wife team of Nick and Charmaine Bruwer with a net 74. Commenting at the Prize Presentation, George Horan, Deputy Managing Director of tournament sponsors Dubai Duty Free said: “We had a wonderful event at the Arabian Ranches Golf Club and we take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in the third Dubai Duty Free Mixed Greensomes, and look forward to seeing you all again next year.” www.wwgolf.biz
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Champions for 2009, Luiz and Noemy Bertuol raising the trophy presented by Shahriar Khodjasteh, Group Marketing Director of Al Qili Furnishings alongside Dubai Creek’s Golf Operations Executive David Gray.
Bertuols crowned Carpetland kings IN a thrilling grand finale to the Carpetland Monthly Open Series in May at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club Luiz and Noemy Bertuol were crowned overall champions by a single shot. A superb better ball strokeplay score of net 63 (8-under-par) along with an amazing back nine finish of 29 secured the title. Seven pairs were all within three shots of the eventual winners and clinching runners-up spot by virtue of their better back nine was J.D Park and S.H Kim on net 64. Raminder Vig and Jason King finished in third place and claimed the last of the crystal prizes also on net 64. Luiz Bertuol commented: “I must say thank you to Carpetland for sponsoring this great event at our home club of Dubai Creek. We have played in nearly every one over the last three years and thoroughly enjoy playing our golf every weekend. It is such a fantastic feeling and our proudest moment in our amateur golfing careers to win the overall Carpetland event.” The hugely successful series witnessed over 1,100 golfers take part since May 2008 and 46 finalists qualified for the grand final. Carpetland has gladly confirmed carrying on sponsoring the event exclusively at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club for the new 2009/2010 season. The regular Carpetland monthly Open for May was also staged along side the overall final and it witnessed an amazing net 61 from Kennon and Lisa Rider to take home the top spoils. In second place were J.S and K.S Kim on net 65 and third place Adhip Shankar and Julian Coolbrook on net 67. All three winners will be invited back to the grand finals to be held in May 2010.
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Plac e
D U B A I C R E E K G O L F & YA C H T C L U B
ARABIAN GOLF LOCATION Deira, opposite Deira City Centre C0NTACT (04) 295 6000 dcgyc@dubaigolf.com Book online tee times at www. dubaigolf.com INFO First Open 1993, redesigned in 2005 Course: 18 holes, Par 71, 6,857 yards, championship course Design Originally: Karl Litten Redesign: European Golf Design in association with Thomas Björn
RATES
Indian Golf Society Reign Supreme THE Indian Golf Society were crowned Inter Golf Society Champions for 2009 last month with an amazing team score of 131 points from their best three Stableford scores from four. K.J Singh and Mukesh Kochhar scored a huge 49 points to help their team onto a comfortable victory. Anand Lakhani and Kurup Devanand scored 44 points and Kush Sama and Farad Lakdawala scored 38 points to make up the winning haul of 131 points. Nine points further back and in second place were the Korean Golf Society on 122 points while in third place was The Jiggers Golf Society on 110 points. Joseph Andrade, non-playing
Indian Society Captain commented: “It was a wonderfully organised event and the Indian Golf Society players played fantastically well to claim the championship. Thank you also to Ecco for sponsoring the event with such great prizes.” David Gray, Golf Operations Executive at Dubai Creek, was also pleased with how the day unfolded: “Eight Societies and a total of 64 players took part and we hope to invite back all the societies who play on an annual basis at Dubai Creek. I am sure next year’s event will be another great success with even more taking part who were unable to play today. Thank you to Nimal Perera from Ecco for their support and
contributing all the superb prizes for the winners.” Longest drive on the 12th hole was awarded to Mohamed Sidik. Kamal Kosta won nearest the pin on hole 5, Bruce Penn on hole 8 and D.Y Yoon on the 16th. Raffle winners for Friday Brunch at Legends at Dubai Creek was won by the lucky Ramli Sulaiman and Syed Redzel.
The rates below are valid from 1st June 2009 until 30th September 2009. Summer rates: Dubai Creek Course: 18 holes Par-3 course: 9 holes RACK RATE
18
Shoulder Peak 400 Shoulder Off Peak 300
75 75
EGF Shoulder Peak 360 Shoulder Off Peak 270
75 75
JUNIOR Shoulder Peak 280 Shoulder Off Peak 280
55 55
Top right: Indian Golf Society, Inter Society Champions for 2009 pose with Nimal Perera from SUMMER HIRE RATES Ecco at the prize giving ceremony. Top left: The victorious Indian Golf Society pictured in front of the clubhouse.
9
Price (Dhs.) Club Hire Practice Balls (per bucket of 50 balls) Shoe Hire Trolley Hire
170 30 65 25
Madhav’s Maiden Win MADHAV Nair carried on his recent good form to claim his maiden BMW medal victory at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club last month. Weather conditions were very tough with a testing breeze and even after quadruple bogeying the 18th hole, Nair still managed to score an amazing net 66 to win by four shots from the rest of the field. Runner-up in the Men’s Division ‘B’ was Robert Platt with a consistent net 74 and comfortably within the buffer zone as the CSS for the day was 73. Men’s Division ‘A’ witnessed Craig McBride’s superb net 70 take the top prize by one shot from runner-up Kuttan Malattiti who was left dismayed after his triple bogey on the short par-3, fifth hole – his second last hole of the round – that denied his division win. Nasha Sarkari shot a net 73 to win the Ladies Division by three shots from Lisa Rider who made a superb score of net 76 from her 33 handicap in the tricky conditions.
Pictured left: Champion for May, Madhav Nair receives his BMW trophy from Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Director of Golf Alan Mackenzie. www.wwgolf.biz
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FOUR SEASONS GOLF CLUB
ARABIAN GOLF
Pillai’s performance rewarded by claiming prestigious Club Championship THE competitive feel at Four Seasons Golf Club was at an all-time high as Club Members gathered to compete for glory in the 2009 Club Championship. The two-day event saw a strong number from the field complete their rounds with respectable scores, resulting in a few players willingly prepared to see a few points shaved off their handicaps. The much-coveted Club Champion crown belonged to Madhu Pillai who, through an
outstanding and consistent performance, carded 81 on the final day and combined with his steady 82 from day one, finished the event with a total of 163 and the 2009 Four Seasons Golf Club’s Club Champion crown. Tony Billingham secured victory for best net over Thomas Hake on a countback after both had finished with a total score of 142, with Rami Safadi comfortably settling into third place with 144.
LOCATION Four Seasons Golf Club: Dubai Festival City, off Dubai 83, six miles out of Dubai City Centre. CONTACT +971 4 601 0101 www.fourseasons.com/ dubaigolf/golf INFO Course designed by Robert Trent Jones II. The 18-hole par-72, 7,303-yard championship course features a magical desert oasis theme. RATES Summer green fees: Package offer of 1,740aed includes 6 rounds of golf and a 50aed voucher for any of the outlets during the Summer. More information can be found by calling the Club. EGF 18 Holes – 335DHS Non EGF 18 Holes – 415DHS The rates are valid for 7 days a week, inclusive of range balls and cart.
Bahram Sepahi congratulates Madhu Pillai Club Champion 2009.
Bahram Sepahi congratulates Tony Billingham on winning best net.
May’s Monthly Medal winners crowned WITH only a matter of weeks separating the perfect playing conditions from the incredibly tougher, warmer summer months, Members of Four Seasons Golf Club braved a reasonably breezy day to compete for May’s Members Monthly Medal. Both divisions were well represented and provided some outstanding performances from many of the Members. Division ‘B’ was won by Harry Wright as his net 77 gave him a one-stroke victory over Rabih Sfeila. A close battle also ensued in Division ‘A’ as Steven Vanson took the title with a net 75 which pipped Bandi Rao into second place by a single stroke. The overall gross winner was Sylvain Denis who scored an impressive 85 while the net winner was Nadeem Masud who shot a 72. Harry Wright showed an impressive drive to claim hole 3’s Nearest the Pin with Nadeem Masud landing a mere four feet away to claim hole 11’s Nearest the Pin. Hole 8’s Longest Drive was secured by Steven Vanson while on Hole 16 Ahmad Hamza’s analytical eye rewarded him with Straightest Drive.
CHAMPION PRESENTATIONS: Left: Craig Smimming presents Harry Wright with his Division B prize. Bottom left: Craig Skimming with Nadeem Masud, the net winner with a 72. Bottom centre: Craig Skimming shakes hands with Sylvan Dennis, the overall gross winner with an 85. Bottom right: Craig Skimming congratulates Steven Vanson on winning Division A with a net 75. Steven also won the Longest Drive at hole 8.
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DIRAB GOLF CLUB
Kim and Kang claim Best Gross and Best Net at second Fuchs Annual Golf Championship
Jubilant winners of the second Fuchs Annual Golf Championship. M.S. Kim and D.S. Kang were back to their best at the second Fuchs Annual Golf Championship, winning Best Gross and Best Net categories respectively. Kang shot a 6-under net score of 66 which gave him the overall title after a countback over Jorby Michel and the Second Division crown (10-18 hcp). Scratch golfer Kim scored 5-over 77 to lay claim to the Best Gross title. Michel (28) won the Third Division (19-28) title, scoring a gross 94, which was matched by Korean K.W. Park who claimed third prize in
the division with a net 68. Phil Gandier ruled the First Division (0-9 hcp) with an even-par score of net 72. Mark Campbell came second and Richard Gaas third via a countback after both players shot matching net 73s. Longest Drives went to Mark Davies in the Men’s Division and to Mami Tsukuda in the Ladies Division, while the Nearest the Pin prize went to Richard Morin. Raffle prizes were won by Medwyn Rowlands, Abdul Hameed, Bertil Sandstrom, Tom Trimble and John Morris.
ABGR 16th Annual Golf Championship THE American Business Group of Riyadh (ABGR) returned home to Dirab Golf Club for their 16th Annual Golf Championship. A record number of 160 players participated in the two-day tournament, which was followed by a prize giving ceremony and dinner in the American Embassy Riyadh. Pictured below are the delighted winners of the Championship: Juan Rosado, Chris Ledwidge, John Davies and Majed Surourafter being presented with their trophies at the ABGR 16th Annual Golf Championship.
RGBB Winners: The winning team with John Coverdale (left) from SABB.
Richardson helps team to RGBB title Riyadh Group of British Businessmen (RGBB) held their inaugural Golf Championship at Dirab Golf Club with 136 players taking part in the event. The Championship was followed by a presentation dinner in the British Embassy Gardens, Riyadh. The winning team was led by event organiser Gary Richardson who played alongside Phil Pannell, Sam Montgomery and Mark Campbell to finish top of the table.
DOHA GOLF CLUB
ARABIAN GOLF
Fifth Annual Commercialbank Corporate Golf Challenge raises vital funds for local charity
LOCATION Close to West Bay Lagoon, 8km north of central Doha. CONTACT +974 483 2338 info@dohagolfclub.com INFO 18-hole 7,374-yard par72 Championship course accompanied by a floodlit 9-hole Academy Course with spectacular views of the West Bay Lagoon. Designed by Peter Harradine. VISITOR RATES Championship Course 18 holes – 590DHS 9 holes – 3985DHS
THE fifth edition of the annual Commercialbank Corporate Golf Challenge came to a nail biting conclusion when Kwan Jong Park emerged winner in the individual Stableford competition with a score of 38 points, narrowly edging out Gert Rousseau on 37 points with Dave Gilks a point further back. The battle for the team event went down to the wire with both the first and second placed teams tied with a score of 65 after 18 holes. Ian Mcinerney and Scott Flewellen lifted the coveted first place trophy from the team of Irek Myskow and Steve Lidisky who lost on the countback. The team of Willy Ribbe and Nick Baker ended their challenge with a creditable third-place finish on 64. Another highlight of the afternoon was the ‘Beat The Pro’ competition. Commercialbank and Doha Golf Club’s touring professional, Simon Hurd was stationed on the challenging par-3, 17th. All 192 competitors pitted their skill against Hurd and anyone who could land their ball closer to the pin than he did went into a special draw. The 17th was also the ‘Hole in One’ hole with a Ducati Motorcycle and a BMW Z4 up for grabs for the first person who aced the hole, which unfortunately, nobody did! In addition to rewarding the winners at the prize presentation, prizes were also presented for the ‘Nearest to the Pin’ competitions for both men and ladies. Andy Stevens, Group CEO of Commercialbank, was present and was pleased with how the day went. “It was a
great experience to play along with such talented players,” he said. “We are very grateful for the support of our clients, Doha Golf Club and our sponsors, particularly Al Fardan Automobiles, The Look Company and the Four Seasons Hotel, who have helped in making this day a great success. It was an opportune way for thanking our clients and for raising funds for Dhreima – Qatar Orphan Foundation.” Chris Myers, General Manager of Doha Golf Club said: “We thank Commercialbank’s continuing and growing involvement with the development of golf in Qatar and look forward to another successful event next year.” Players agreed that this event is something they look forward to every year. “I always have a great time playing in the Commercialbank Corporate Golf Challenge because of the people, the wonderful course and knowing that we are all contributing to supporting the community,” said Myskow, one of the tournament’s winners. A total of QAR132,000 from the fifth Commercialbank Corporate Golf Challenge were donated to Dhreima – Qatar Orphan Foundation, including player registration fees, the amount of which Commercialbank tripled and Charity Auction proceeds derived from the auction of, amongst others, autographed memorabilia from the 2009 Commercialbank Qatar Masters and the 2009 Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar.
De Boer wins Ladies Golf Challenge
Academy Course 18 holes – 365DHS 9 holes – 200DHS
Third BASF Scramble a close affair THE team of Cameron Bellman, Mihail Iordache, Alan Crozier and Grant Bowen were the winners at the BASF-sponsored scramble as they beat Con Strydom, Jim Hughes, Gunnar Eikebu and Ian Lillie into second place on a card countback after they both recorded a net 62. This close competition saw Hisham Al Rashid, Mohammed Hafiz, Larry Estrada and Merlyn Heynes scoop third place with a net 63. The memorable day was followed by a dinner and prize distribution ceremony where it was announced that the winning team also recorded the lowest number of putts with just 24.
DESPITE the blustery weather, 52 enthusiastic ladies gathered for an exciting Ladies’ Golf Challenge sponsored by Jaidah Group last month. With 32 points, Sharon De Boer was awarded the first place in the 0-26 hcp division while Jane Wilkie scooped the top position in the 27-36 hcp division with 40 points. Other prizes presented included the Longest Drive and Nearest to the Pin, which were awarded to Josephine Kojima and Cazzie Millington respectively. Jaidah Group also added an additional raffle prize draw at the end of the luncheon, where the ecstatic winner, Sue Ballinger, won the chance to drive away a new Chevrolet Traverse for a week. After the competition, Iain Burke, the General Manager of Jaidah Aftersales Division, presented the awards to the winners over lunch. The prizes included beautiful Ligne Roset vases and lamps from Jaidah Furniture Division, Archos wifi portable multimedia players from Jaidah Technology Division, as well as free ACDelco Car Servicing Vouchers.
Sharon de Boer accepts her prize from Ian Burke, General Manager of Jaidah Aftersales Division. www.wwgolf.biz
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SHARJAH GOLF & SHOOTING CLUB
ETIHAD ANNOUNCES SPONSORSHIP OF SGSC SUMMER OPEN ETIHAD Airways, The National Airline of the United Arab Emirates, have announced their support of the second Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club (SGSC) Summer Open Golf Championship. The 18-hole net Stableford event will be staged on Friday 12th June (8am and 2pm shotguns) over the fully grassed, Peter Harradine designed Championship Golf Course. Sales Manager Sharief Abbas commented: “Etihad is delighted to announce its title sponsorship of the second edition of the SGSC Summer Open Golf Championship. The inaugural event hosted 12 months ago was a huge success with over 100 players competing from six of the seven different Emirates. We are sure our support will help the event grow even further in terms of value, appeal and status.” Also supporting the event are Orient Travel and Al Nawras Catering Services.
Photo caption- Iris Ebel (right) with Sharief Abbas (centre) Etihad Sales Manager for Sharjah and N. Emirates and Muhammad Rafi Account Manager at the announcement of their Title Sponsorship of the Summer Open.
Caption: From left – Peter Gutteridge, Martin Geskes, Robin Bailey, Jacqui Stewart, Mike Siddaway and Eric Roeterdink.
QUARTET ON FORM IN BMW MAY’S edition of the BMW Members and Guest social was played with the usual duel-format as the front nine Betterball Medal which was won by Eric Roeterdink (16) and playing partner Mike Siddaway (24). They romped around the front nine in a swashbuckling 31 which consisted of five net birdies and four pars. They made net birdies on holes 1, 3, 4, 6 and the tricky par-3 eighth to become the victorious pair. Siddaway cited hours on the putting green and some tips from SGSC Golf Professional Tom Hartley for his much improved putting performance. The back nine format was an intriguing two-ball Betterball Foursomes, meaning two balls were player per team, but each shot was alternated. Regular competitor Robin Bailey (22) teamed up with fellow member Martin Geskes (20) to take the spoils by 0.25 shots as they returned a score of 31.5 which included net birdies on five of the nine holes. Female golfer Jackie Stewart (18) smiled at the cheers of “boom, boom” as she beat all the big hitters to win the Longest Drive competition at the seventh hole. Successfully defending his Nearest the Pin award at the eighth was Peter Gutteridge (15) thanks to a finely struck 6-iron to within 10 feet of the pin.
THE MONTGOMERIE, DUBAI
Captain’s handover a fun day for all THE annual Captain’s Trophy sponsored by BMW took place in May and signified the passing of the captaincy from one year’s captain to the next. Malcom Gray and Beccy Yoemen passed the torch on to David Russel and Barb McBean and all took part in an exciting day of golf. The eventual winners of the scramble tournament were Martin Lambert, Gerd Fischer and Raja Flora with a brilliant score of 55.4 net. In second place was the group of Chris King, Nikhil Nanda, Venkat Kumar and Dave Voller with a team score of 58.4. The new Vice Captains were announced at the festivities as well, with Richard Smith and Jane Gray taking the honour of Men’s and Ladies Vice Captain respectively.
Russel isn’t gone with the wind THE wind picked up during the morning of the Ecco Medal and with much tougher conditions than usual scoring was not as low as previous months. However, the conditions didn’t deter the players as some bossed the course – the best example of this coming in the Men’s Gross division as David Russel shot a superb even-par 72 to take home the title. In the Men’s net Divisions Dillon and Tom Gohil pulled off a Father/Son monopoly as they both took home their
CONTACT (04) 390 5600 www.themontgomerie.com GREEN FEES All rates are in UAE Dirhams (AED) 1st June 2009 to 30th September 2009 Visitor: 395 UGA Member (Fri-Sat): 325 UGA Member (Sun-Thu): 250 Green Fees are inclusive of 18 holes of golf, shared cart and access to the Practice Facility with unlimited range balls prior play. All green fees are subject to 10% Dubai Municipality fees. Current Twilight Rate (2:00PM onwards) - AED 225 GOLF SERVICES
division Championships. Asim Arshad took home the net Division ‘C’ with an excellent round of 64. In Ladies net Division’s Angela Lee and Valerie Saeed were able to capture the net titles, while Bar McBean took home the Ladies Gross with the score of 84.
Club Rental 18 holes: 200 Club Rental 9 holes: 130 Shoe Rental : 60 Driving Range: 135 9-Hole Academy Course: 135 Range + Academy Course:220
SHARJAH GOLF & SHOOTING CLUB
ARABIAN GOLF
AIR ARABIA WINTER MATCH PLAYS SEPTMEBER 2008 was an historic month for Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club as Air Arabia became sponsors for the Inaugural Match Play Championships, sponsoring the doubles, singles and gross match plays. Nine months, and 54 matches later the fields, which saw over 50 competitors, have been whittled down to four victorious individuals. Winners of the doubles match play title were Ian Roberts (12) and Johannes Louw (9) as they defeated Marty Brown (14) and S.V Reddy (20) 1up. Roberts and Louw found themselves two down with four to play but managed to turn the deficit around to take the trophy. Winner of the first Men’s Club Championships and undisputed Club No.1 Bill Buchanan (5) continued his fine form by making the final for both the Singles and Gross match play. Buchanan, who defeated friend and doubles partner George Liu (6) in the semi final to set up a match with Brown (14), played out a one-sided Gross final as he won 7&6. Credit must go to Brown as he defeated several players who had lower handicaps than himself en route to the final. Third place was won by George Liu. Buchanan couldn’t add to his collection though as he was beaten 2&1 by Mike Holliday for the Singles title while third place was again won by ever-consistent George Liu.
LOCATION 2km from Tasjeel Auto Village behind Emirates Road. A five minute drive from University City. CONTACT +971 6 548 7777 info@golfandshootingshj.com INFO A 9 hole fully floodlit course designed by Peter Harradine. Played twice results in a par-72 layout in excess of 7,300 yards. RATES ON PEAK 18 HOLES: Guest – 275DHS EGF – 245DHS OFF PEAK 18 HOLES: Guest – 220DHS EGF – 200DHS ON PEAK 9 HOLES: Guest – 165DHS EGF – 150DHS
The four winners now have the distinguished honour of having their names forever etched in SGSC golfing folklore as the winners of not only one of the club’s major domestic championships, but as the inaugural winners of their respective categories.
Fun for all at JDP Tournament SHARJAH Golf & Shooting Club held their annual end of season day for all participants of the Junior Development Programme last month as two fun tournaments were held for the youngsters. The first event was a four-hole par-3 challenge on the driving range for all children on Cadets, Bronze and Silver levels. Local Ahmed Al Musharrekh shot a very impressive score of 17 and his better score on the last hole saw him beat Arief Zulkifiki by a countback. Zulkifiki hit the ball very well but poor putting was to blame for him not walking away with the title. Third place went to 10-year-old Keenan Spies who was a shot back on 18. The Nearest the Pin prize was awarded to Ameen Osman who hit a spectacular shot to within 15 feet of the hole – his first shot of the day. The prize for best girl went to Vrunda Atul Shah who shot 19 over the four holes. The second competition was a four-hole challenge on the main course where players played holes 6, 7, 8 and 9. Yannik Kumar took first place with a score of 23 and beat Georgina Liu and Jack Sparks on countback thanks to his performance over the last two holes. Sparks made an excellent recovery to get into a medal position after he took eight shots on the par-3 eighth. The ever-improving Bushra Dalile was the best placed girl with a stunning score of 24 while the Longest Drive was won by student Karana Singh who flew her ball past the bunker on hole 7 and left himself just 70 yards to the undulating green. Seven-year-old Jonathan Harel hit a fantastic shot into the tricky green on hole 8 to win the Nearest the Pin competition. The next JDP season will start in September.
Caption: From left – Amiya Ranjan, Ramsey Yassin, Ian Roberts and Martin Duff.
OFF PEAK 9 HOLES: Guest – 135DHS EGF – 120DHS HIRE RATES Golf cart – 18 holes: 60AED Full club set – 18 holes 150AED Golf shoes – 50AED Golf trolley – 20AED
Roberts equals Monthly record SHARJAH Golf & Shooting Club’s May Monthly Medal sponsored by Orient Travel saw Ian Roberts (13) equal the lowest net score in the 11-month history of the medal. Roberts’ net 68 was produced from the championship tees with the course measuring just under 7,200 yards. His round included six pars and two birdies to beat nearest rival Ramsey Yassin (6) by two shots. Ramsey shot an opening nine of 37 and was level-par after 14 holes. Admitting to thinking of breaking the amateur course of 74 he then double bogeyed the 18th hole to shoot a gross 76 and claim second spot. Best gross went to ever improving Amiya Ranjan (11) who shot a very convincing gross 81. Since September Amiya has seen his handicap decrease by four shots.
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T H E R OYA L G O L F C L U B R I F FA V I E W S
Hansens off to Kenya THE husband and wife pairing of Claus and Hanne Hansen won a luxury Kenyan Safari holiday after clinching first place in the Royal Golf Club’s inaugural Mixed Open tournament with a net score of 66.7. Another husband and wife team, Rob and Debbie Lane came second with net 67.9 while Mohamed Al Sayed and Jenny Burke took third place with net 72.4 and Steve and Yvonne Newall came in fourth with 74.2 net. The second, third and fourth placed teams were each presented with accommodation vouchers for various Kenyan Safari camps, sponsored by Bahrain International Travel while the winner’s prize was also supported by Ethiopian Airlines and Safarilink. All lady golfers taking part in the Mixed Open also received a spa gift voucher courtesy of the Diplomat Radisson BLU Hotel.
The winners of the Royal Golf Club Mixed Open, Hanne and Claus Hansen with Jacky Clabburn of Bahrain International Travel (centre).
Dutch Team Win Bud Cup THE team representing the Netherlands clinched first place in the annual Budweiser World Cup of Golf with a team score of 85 points. The team was comprised of club members Marco Wolters, Warren Hill and husband and wife Robert and Anne Timmers. The Danish team of Claus and Hanne Hansen, Oystein Nilssen and Jason Smith came second with 84 points while a team representing the USA and Canada came third with 83 points. Over 100 golfers took part in the popular tournament which was played over 18 holes in the Team Better Ball Stableford format with morning and afternoon shotgun starts. A ‘World Tour’ themed barbecue was held in the Club’s marquee in the evening and was followed by the prize-giving ceremony with trophies and prizes provided by BMMI and Budweiser. Competitors were also able to take part in some fun golf games at the Royal Golf Academy including a 10-yard bucket challenge and a longest putt competition.
Above: Club Captain Alan Horne and wife Marion representing Wales.
CONTACT
Tel: +973 17 699725 Fax: +973 17699857 Website: www.theroyalgolfclub.com
COURSE INFO
18-hole, par 72 championship golf course (back 9 holes floodlit) 9-hole academy course (floodlit) Opened 1st January 2009 Designer: Colin Montgomerie
LOCATION
Situated just 20 minutes drive from Bahrain’s capital, Manama, the Royal Golf Club boasts the country’s only 18-hole grass golf course which forms the stunning centerpiece of Riffa Views, a residential lifestyle community.
Rack Rates
Montgomerie championship course Montgomerie championship course Wee Monty academy course
18 holes 9 holes 9 holes
BD60 BD35 BD15
All rates inclusive of access to driving range prior to play
The winning Dutch team (l – r) Robert and Anne Timmers, Marco Wolters and Warren Hill.
ABU DHABI GOLF CLUB
ARABIAN GOLF
CONTACT (02) 558 8990 INFO: The 27 hole championship course, managed by the world-renowned Troon Golf, weaves through undulating terrain that features palms, ornamental trees and shrubs, as well as nine spectacular saltwater lakes. The experience provides a tough-but-fair challenge, with lush fairways, strategically placed bunkers and generous greens. Designed by Peter Harradine, planting had begun way back in 1992, accounting for the well-established look the Club presented even on the day of its inauguration. SUMMER RATES May 17th – August 31st
All the winners pictured outside the clubhouse after the tournament’s completion.
Kim in control at Audi Ladies Open K.S. KIM fired an impressive final round 78 to capture the illustrious Audi Abu Dhabi Ladies Open at Abu Dhabi Golf Club recently. Extreme conditions saw Kim keep her cool down the stretch of the Championship course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to fight off a host of contenders including Jean Wang and Nanna Nielson. Although Kim was pushed on the final day she still managed to improve on her two-shot overnight lead to win by a comprehensive six shots and claim the Audi Abu Dhabi Ladies Open Trophy. This was her second Ladies’ Open victory after winning previously in 2004 as well. Her performance was consistent throughout the weekend with especially impressive displays of chipping
and putting: “I played really nice this week. The course was playing long and the heat was punishing at times but I hung in there and thanks to some great up and downs I was able to put some good scores on the board,” said Kim. Other results of the open included Michaela Hlouskova and Natalya Wisely winning the silver and bronze net divisions, respectively. Nanna Nielsen ended up finishing tied for second gross and second place net as well followed by Agnes Anwar claiming third place in the Silver Division. Following Natalya Wisely’s victory in the Bronze Division were Shari Corbin finishing second place and Sammy Bowles rounding out the top three.
PEAK RATES: 27-hole Championship Course Rack Rate AED 390 Twilight Rate AED 250 Junior Rate* AED 290 NON PEAK RATES Rack Rate AED 325 Twilight Rate AED 250 Junior Rate* AED 225 Juniors aged 17 and below. Buggy Hire & Range Balls included in the above rates.
Callaway Optifit System now available THE Callaway Optifit System is now available to use at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. The system gives you the flexibility to replicate the look, feel, and performance of production drivers with the I-Mix interchangeable heads and shafts. The system also allows you to explore and experiment with different driver head options such as model (FT-9 & Ft-iq), draw, neutral or fade biased heads as well as different loft options. The biggest advantage to this system is the convenience of trying the different shaft combinations available from Callaway. The Optifit System is an innovative way to find your ideal Callaway driver. To contact any member of The Golf Institute staff for more information, call 02-558-8990
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JEBEL ALI GOLF RESORT & SPA LOCATION Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa PO Box 9255 Dubai UAE CONTACT +971 4 883 6000 golf.teetimes@jaihotels.com www.jebelali-international.com SUMMER GOLF RATES 1st June 2009 until 30th September 2009 Green Fees are per person and include shared cart fee or trolley hire and a bucket of range balls prior to tee off RATES - EGF 9 holes OFF PEAK 9 holes PEAK 18 holes OFF PEAK 18 holes PEAK
AED 160 AED 175 AED 220 AED 250
TWILIGHT PEAK & OFF PEAK
AED 115
Rates are subject to change without prior notice and are inclusive of 10% Municipality Charge
Coles’ win clinches Season Championship CHARLIE Coles’ win in the final monthly Stableford Tournament of the season at Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa proved to be decisive as he also secured the coveted prize of COGS Golfer of the Year. His winning total of 36 points – highlighted by a magnificent 22 points on the front nine – earned him sufficient points to ease out a number of contenders for the annual award. His back nine haul of 14 points reflected a little self-imposed pressure from the thought of the winning the major prize of the season, however a steady par down the last was enough for a relieved Coles to secure the win. Runner-up was the ever-steady Ahmed Shams who finished one point ahead of Xavier Farrington who claimed third place on countback from talented youngster Aaron Birch. Long Drive and Nearest to the Pin prizes were won by Lee Hewitt, Farrington and Birch while other notable prizes awarded at the end of season finale included Jo Kaye who, in addition to being runner-up to Coles in the Golfer of the Year Tournament, capped a great season by taking the Annual Eclectic and the Match Play titles, the latter after a sudden-death play-off against Ahmed Shams. Nick Bentley secured the Mug of the Year a trophy – a title he has vowed not to defend next season!
Winner and COGS Golfer of the year Charlie Coles slides one down the first fairway.
AL GHAZAL GOLF CLUB
Low and Bester win Golfer of the Year accolades
CONTACT: TEL. : +971 2 5758040 FAX: +971 2 5758041 CLUB HOUSE BAR - TEL: +971 2 5758044 ACADEMY DIRECT TEL: +971 2 5758185 WEBSITE: www.alghazalgolf.ae EMAIL:golfclub@emirates.net.ae SUMMER RATES 18 HOLES: EGF – Non EGF –
75 95
9 HOLES: EGF – Non EGF –
50 60
AL Ghazal Golf Club held its end of season annual dinner dance and special prize presentations last month where the Match Play Golfer of the Year, Ladies Golf Union Medal and Pendant and Most Improved players were announced. Lady Captain Gill Sibson presented the Ladies section prizes to Anina Bester who received the LGU Medal Silver Division Medal, Most Improved Lady Player and Golfer of the Year prizes. Not to be out done, Sharon Yang received the LGU Bronze Medal and Pendant and also collected the Mixed Doubles Match Play Runner-up trophy for herself and her partner Rob Jennings. The Men’s prizes were presented by Captain Will Low to Most Improved Player Stan Nikau; Mixed Doubles winners Gill and Derek Sibson; Men’s Pairs runners-up Low and Rene Valencia and winners Phil Wilkes and Neil Howitt. The Men’s Singles winner was S.J. Hwang with Mark Hayman taking the runner-up prize and the final prize of the night went to Captain Will Low who was crowned The Men’s Golfer of the Year.
Anina Bester with out-going Captains Will Low and Gill Sibson.
Low and Bester win Golfer of the Year accolades Photo of all the day’s prize winners.
IT seems like only yesterday when the Al Ghazal Golf Club Members were welcoming in the 2008/09 seasons new Captains last September, but the time has shot by and the very successful Captaincy of Gill Sibson and Will Low is now almost over. Technically they will remain as custodians until September but traditionally they hold their end of season Farewell before the summer break. This year the competition format was a Mixed Texas Scramble with all the club members turning out to bid farewell and thank the outgoing Captains for their support and efforts over the past season.
The competition was hotly contested and extremely close, however one thing is certain in the game of golf, there is always a result and this years Captain’s Farewell winners with a superb score of net 63.5 were Dennis Cox, Rob Fulton and Nick Mellor closely followed by the team of Bernie Blanchard, Walter TiamFook and Steve Coulson on 64.6. Kevin Jamieson, Emily Gordon and Stanley Mirossay finished in third place with a net 65. Nearest the Pin on holes 3 and 6 were won by Rene Valencia and Steve Coulson while the Two’s Club winners were Kevin Jamieson, Eric Baboulin and Rene Valencia.
AL HAMRA GOLF CLUB
ARABIAN GOLF
TWO YEARS OF CONTINUED SUCCESS KIM AND NOVACK WIN
RAK JUNIOR OPEN
AL Hamra Golf Club marked its two-year anniversary on April 17th by hosting a Fourball Texas Scramble where numerous teams of members took on the professionals. The Al Hamra Pro team, comprising of Andrew Pilfold, Ross McArthur, Simon Mees and Fraser Moore, laid down the reward of complimentary drinks for any team who beat them. Fortunately for them, after such a bold claim, only one team beat their score of 62. The inspired performance from Chris Sharkey, Andy Stevenson, Steve Jones and Steve Dunnage saw them score 61.7 for all the drinks they could handle. The victorious team dedicated their success to Greg Smith, a founder club member and friend who unfortunately lost his battle with cancer the same week, and they announced that a Greg Smith Macmillan Cup would be held annually in Aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
K.J. KIM and Jack Novack produced some superb golf as they won their respective gross and net divisions in the second RAK Junior Open. Kim returned a great gross score of 74 to take the gross division one ahead of Sean Thornberry who carded a 75 to finish in second place while in third place was Daniel Hendry with a gross 80. The net division was secured in empathic style by Novack whose 5-under-net 67 saw him finish four shots ahead of his nearest rival Harley Knight with Nasha Sakari in third place a shot further back.
NAIR AND HUSBAND SHINE IN OPEN STABLEFORD
MOORE AND ROGERS TRIUMPH IN THE HEAT
Open Stableford Winners
A WARM day on the links saw David Moore and Vicki Rogers continue their current form by taking their respective divisions in the May Monthly Medal. Moore narrowly clinched the men’s gross division with a score of 84 after a three-way card play-off while Eric Engelbrecht stormed the net division as he carded a magnificent 3-under-par 69 to take the honours. Rogers blew away the ladies field to claim an eight-shot victory in the ladies gross
division after carding an 82. Rogers was helped along the way by a superb hole-inone on the 122-yard seventh. The feat has to be one of the high points of yet another remarkable season for Rogers who in the true tradition of the game joined other players in the club’s bar to celebrate and discuss golfing tales. The ladies net division was a little bit tighter with Cindy Rials triumphing by one shot over Sharon Moore after a net 75.
THE Engel and Volkers and Maison Chic sponsored Open Stableford continues to flourish at Al Hamra with Shirley Husband and Madhav Nair coming out on top in their respective sections over a strong field of golfers. Nair recorded 38 points on a tough scoring day around the Al Hamra Links to take victory over Herb Krause who finished second, after a card play-off. Third place was claimed by Brian Moore after a three-way card play-off on 37 points. The Ladies Division was an Al Hamra members affair with Husband taking the honours thanks to a superb score of 38 points. Lynda Sambolec beat Norma Williamson in card countback to take second place as they both scored 33 points.
UPSHALL AND MARRIOT TASTE SUCCESS IN THE THIRD RAK MIXED OPEN AL Hamra Golf Club hosted over 60 UAE couples in the third RAK Mixed Open recently as some of the finest men and lady golfers in the region battled it out over the links in very blustery conditions. David Upshall and Annie Marriot triumphed in the Net Division with a 36-hole total of 136 as they pipped Kelly and Susie Dagless into second place by one stroke. Sergy and Serifa D’Souza were relegated into third place after a card play-off after they too scored a 137 total. Winners of the Gross Division, Tony Azoulay and Ashley Anderson battled hard to retain their title as they finished a staggering 14 shots ahead of their nearest rivals with a gross of 150. Eric Englebrecht and Rita Hicks claimed second place, with a 164 gross score, one ahead David and Sharon Moore who took third place. www.wwgolf.biz
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MUSCAT HILLS OPENS OMAN’S
FIRST GRASS GOLF COURSE M
uscat Hills Golf & Country Club officially launched Oman’s first grass golf course at a VIP opening day attended by members of the Omani Royal Family, Government Ministers, international diplomats, business leaders and enthusiastic local golfers. The opening of the first nine holes of the course marks a huge step forward in the development of the RO250 million ($650 million) integrated project that combines world class golf with luxury residential housing, a planned country club and a 5-star hotel. The Muscat Hills project has been driven by the vision of His Highness Sayyid Kais bin Tarik Al Said, himself an enthusiastic golfer who is proud that his dream is now becoming a reality in the hills and wadis of the site located near Seeb International Airport. When the 18-hole course is complete in September it will help to attract premium golf tourism and world class golfers from across the globe. Guests at the VIP opening day included H.H. Sayyid Azzan bin Barqash Al Said, and the Minister of Tourism, H.E. Dr. Rajiha bint Abdul Amr Ali, Minister of Commerce & Industry H.E. Maqbool bin Ali Sultan and the Minister of Sports Affairs H.E. Ali bin Masoud bin Ali Al Sunaidi. A number of Ambassadors were also present at the event. Commenting on the opening of the unique grass course, Muscat Hills Group Managing Director Chandra Lahiri said: “The entire Muscat Hills team is very proud to have helped bring the vision of His Highness to life by building the most remarkable golf course in the entire Middle East that uniquely blends into the mountain terrain of Muscat Hills. Leon Sassen, Manager, Memberships and Marketing is proud of how the development 88
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has taken shape. “The opening of the first championship grass golf course is a massive step forward in the development of this project and for the future of golf in Oman,” he said. “It will allow us to host major international golfing tournaments in the future and we are looking forward to our local golfers using the course.” Once completed, the project will comprise Oman’s first 18-Hole championship golf course with the potential of hosting a PGA European Tour event in 2011. Muscat Hills will offer a unique golfing experience in the Middle East through its use of the natural and unusual topography of the site. The Dave Thomas Associates 6,287 yards, par-72 course, designed by Paul Thomas, has 10 par-4s, four par-3s and four par-5s and flows naturally over the local Omani
The Omani National Team pictured at the opening of the Muscat Hills Golf & Country Club, which affords them valuable practice facilities on grass.
landscape with natural wadis that run adjacent to a number of holes which offer a spectacular golfing experience. The course has been built by global golfing construction specialists Southern Golf. The real estate development surrounds the natural rolling fairways and greens among the green hillsides that afford spectacular sea and mountain views over the Gulf of Oman. The commitment of His Highness Sayyid Kais bin Tarik Al Said has also been responsible for ensuring that Muscat Hills will offer some of the most competitive prices for grass course golf in the Gulf. Muscat Hills Golf & Country Club is also fully committed to Omanisation with one unique element of the project being the development of a specialist Turf
MUSCAT HILLS
Academy that will train young Omanis to be professional Greenkeepers – allowing individuals to develop unique and specialised skills. Muscat Hills is also committed to the development of golfing excellence in Oman and the country’s leading golfer Azaan Al Rohmi struck the ceremonial first tee shot to get grass course golfing in Oman officially under way. Muscat Hills has also already hosted the Oman National Golf Team, providing them with invaluable grass practice facilities to help them compete in the Middle East. ■
Azaan Al Rohmi (above), the leading golfer in Oman, hits his ceremonial tee shot to mark the opening of Oman’s first grass golf course, at Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club. Chandra Lahiri (left), Managing Director of Muscat Hills Group welcomes the distinguished guests to the opening. Below left: The first golfers to play a grass course in Oman set out for the course in a line of golf carts. Below right: Mike Knudsen, GM of Southern Golf Oman, hands over the official Club flag to H.H. Sayyid Kais bin Tarik Al Said.
For further information about the new golfing experience in Oman go to www.muscathills.com
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K ATA M E YA H E I G H T S G O L F & T E N N I S C L U B
World Team closes the Cup gap THE World team won the 11th Pharaoh Cup last month to cut the lead held by the USA team to just one victory as it now stands 6-5.The World team triumphed 27-21 as they dominated from start to finish as the USA struggled on day one during the fourball matches and found themselves 12-4 down. With an eight-point advantage going into day two the World Team looked to have the tournament in the bag but they were wary of a comeback from their American counterparts. Team USA certainly gave it their best shot and took the singles matches 17-15 but the eight-point deficit from day one proved too much to overcome as the World team who secured a six-point victory. World Team captain Ronny Farag, who was captaining the team for the first time, was the happiest captain ever with the success of his team and the way that his team performed over the two days. He congratulated all his team players and also the USA Team captain Randy Lewis and all of his team players in putting up a very tough fight over the two days. With this victory it brings the world team closer to team USA in the series but USA still hold a lead of 6-5 in all the Pharaoh Cup matches played so far.
KATAMEYA WIN THE ANNUAL MATCH AGAINST MIRAGE CITY THE annual match between Katameya Heights and Mirage City is always a competitive match but the teams were made to battle blustery and sandy conditions as well as each other this year. After an excellent performance from the Katameya team last year, Mirage was hungry for revenge and, in keeping with the tradition of the event, day one consisted of 15 fourball betterball matches and day two saw 30 singles matches with both days being played in match
play format. The fourballs were played at Katameya Heights and it was the home side who took control as they ended the day with a 10-point lead – 12 ½ - 2 ½. Day two saw the singles played at Mirage City Golf Club and home advantage for the Mirage team was extremely important for them after day one result. As the day progressed, both teams braved the elements but it was Katameya who proved too strong and demonstrated a spectacular
level of singles match play golf to win by 13 points, 29-16.
Junior Elite Programme going strong
Ladies World Team win inaugural Cleo Cup Match
THE World Ladies team scored a fantastic victory over the Egypt Ladies team in the inaugural Cleo Cup match at Katameya Heights. Captained by Hellene Guillou, The World Team got off to tremendous start by winning the Fourballs on day one by 5.5-0.5. Holding a five-point lead heading into the singles matches on day two they only required four points to secure the victory. Day two went to plan for the world team as the maintained the high level of consistency from day one and won the singles 9.5 - 2.5 and gave them the required points they needed to win. The final result was a landslide 15-3 victory. At the presentation both team captains thanked and congratulated their teams on their performances, Katameya Heights and the Egyptian Golf Federation for supporting the event and they look forward to next year’s event.
THE Katameya Heights Junior team squad met at the golf academy for their monthly Elite Squad Coaching as part of the many incentives that are proudly sponsored by Egypt Yellow Pages. During the coaching session the things discussed with the team were dealing with pressure situations out on the course, and different practice drills which can be used to help them benefit from their practice. Steven Wilson Academy Manager said: “All of the PGA Professionals are very pleased with the attitude and level of performance shown by all of the Squad. It is good to see our junior team improving so quickly, and the men’s team will have to be at their best if they are to beat the juniors this year!”
K ATA M E YA H E I G H T S G O L F & T E N N I S C L U B
World Team closes the Cup gap THE World team won the 11th Pharaoh Cup last month to cut the lead held by the USA team to just one victory as it now stands 6-5.The World team triumphed 27-21 as they dominated from start to finish as the USA struggled on day one during the fourball matches and found themselves 12-4 down. With an eight-point advantage going into day two the World Team looked to have the tournament in the bag but they were wary of a comeback from their American counterparts. Team USA certainly gave it their best shot and took the singles matches 17-15 but the eight-point deficit from day one proved too much to overcome as the World team who secured a six-point victory. World Team captain Ronny Farag, who was captaining the team for the first time, was the happiest captain ever with the success of his team and the way that his team performed over the two days. He congratulated all his team players and also the USA Team captain Randy Lewis and all of his team players in putting up a very tough fight over the two days. With this victory it brings the world team closer to team USA in the series but USA still hold a lead of 6-5 in all the Pharaoh Cup matches played so far.
KATAMEYA WIN THE ANNUAL MATCH AGAINST MIRAGE CITY THE annual match between Katameya Heights and Mirage City is always a competitive match but the teams were made to battle blustery and sandy conditions as well as each other this year. After an excellent performance from the Katameya team last year, Mirage was hungry for revenge and, in keeping with the tradition of the event, day one consisted of 15 fourball betterball matches and day two saw 30 singles matches with both days being played in match
play format. The fourballs were played at Katameya Heights and it was the home side who took control as they ended the day with a 10-point lead – 12 ½ - 2 ½. Day two saw the singles played at Mirage City Golf Club and home advantage for the Mirage team was extremely important for them after day one result. As the day progressed, both teams braved the elements but it was Katameya who proved too strong and demonstrated a spectacular
level of singles match play golf to win by 13 points, 29-16.
Junior Elite Programme going strong
Ladies World Team win inaugural Cleo Cup Match
THE World Ladies team scored a fantastic victory over the Egypt Ladies team in the inaugural Cleo Cup match at Katameya Heights. Captained by Hellene Guillou, The World Team got off to tremendous start by winning the Fourballs on day one by 5.5-0.5. Holding a five-point lead heading into the singles matches on day two they only required four points to secure the victory. Day two went to plan for the world team as the maintained the high level of consistency from day one and won the singles 9.5 - 2.5 and gave them the required points they needed to win. The final result was a landslide 15-3 victory. At the presentation both team captains thanked and congratulated their teams on their performances, Katameya Heights and the Egyptian Golf Federation for supporting the event and they look forward to next year’s event.
THE Katameya Heights Junior team squad met at the golf academy for their monthly Elite Squad Coaching as part of the many incentives that are proudly sponsored by Egypt Yellow Pages. During the coaching session the things discussed with the team were dealing with pressure situations out on the course, and different practice drills which can be used to help them benefit from their practice. Steven Wilson Academy Manager said: “All of the PGA Professionals are very pleased with the attitude and level of performance shown by all of the Squad. It is good to see our junior team improving so quickly, and the men’s team will have to be at their best if they are to beat the juniors this year!”
LOCKER ROOM HUBLOT BIG BANG EARL GRAY HUBLOT make some of the finest watches on the planet and the Big Bang Earl Gray is the perfect showcase for the Swiss manufacturers’ unmistakable style. The Earl Gray comes in a soft but intense matt gray finish, enhanced by the sparkling diamonds surrounding the dial. The subtle gray alligator strap is made supple by the rubber which is stitched on the inside while the watch also comes in a steel strapped version whose side is covered with gray composite resin. Bold, striking watches that use a fusion of materials have become Hublot’s hallmarks and the Big Bang Earl Gray certainly ticks all the boxes.
www.hublot.com
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ARCAM MUSO SPEAKERS
COOL STUFF
FANTASTIC quality speakers from Germany/UK based manufacturer Arcam. The Musos are fairly discreet in their appearance yet stunning in their performance. The enclosure is made from a clever combination of aluminium and steel components bonded together with the latest adhesive technology for the lowest possible resonance. The two-way speaker offers a bass performance far beyond that of a typical “satellite” speaker, meaning it can be used as a simple stereo pair when placed close to a wall or combined into a surround sound system for a truly epic sonic experience.
www.arcam.co.uk
ECCO ULTRA TERRAIN II ULTRA TERRAIN II for ladies and men give you cool looks combined with great functionality. The innovative surface contact gives improved grip making these shoes perfect for all outdoor activities.
www.ecco.com
SKLZ FLY TRAP CHIPPING NET THIS chipping net from SKLZ is the perfect portable practice aid. It folds away into a slim bag which can be carried over the shoulder, similar to those foldaway camping chairs you see. It’s incredibly easy to set up – you just remove it from the bag and it opens up…like a flytrap funnily enough! The net itself is great fun with different sized holes allowing varied shots of ranging difficulty levels while each hole a gives different score. Can be used absolutely anywhere and if you have a mat to use with it, you don’t even need to be on grass!
www.sklz.com
FAIRWAY TO HELL THIS hilarious book by Carl Hiaasen will strike a chord with every weekend hacker. Having taken a 32-year break from golf, Haissen made the slightly rash decision to return to the game in 2005. The book follows his journeys round the courses of Florida as his obsession takes hold once more and his love-hate relationship with unruly drivers, temperamental putters and the many hazards of the golf course – local wildlife included – unfolds. His game gets better, then worse, then slightly better, then much worse with much hilarity along the way caused mainly by his own misguided belief that he could actually play the game. But through it all, at the centre of the story is the fact that golf once more had a key place in his heart. The perfect memoir of the trials and tribulations of an amateur golfer. www.wwgolf.biz
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BURBERRY SUMMER FOR MEN
LANVIN L’HOMME SPORT
This limited edition summer fragrance for men by Burberry is a wonderful blend of fruity and woody notes. A definite head turner for the summer months. Technical jargon: Top notes – green apple, mint, lime, yuzu. Heart notes – cumin, driftwood. Base notes – cedar, amber and white musk.
If it’s good enough for tennis star Rafael Nadal the new face of Lanvin L’Homme Sport is good enough for us. This eau de toilette is strong and opulent with a very refreshing twist. Described as, “elegant, masculine and modern.” Technical jargon: Top notes – bergamot and lemon. Heart notes – sage, lavender. Base notes – musk.
LAB SERIES MULTI-ACTION FACE WASH This great foaming cream cleanser washes away dirt and grime for a brighter, healthier-looking appearance. It leaves the skin feeling clean, refreshed and conditioned, while gentle exfoliating beads help smooth dry, patchy skin. It’s also an ideal shave preparation.
Groom Room
NICKEL TRAVEL KIT This travel kit from Nickel is the perfect accompaniment for the travelling golfer. The kit contains Super Clean Scrubbing Gel 30ml, which uses jojoba oil to exfoliate and brighten your skin; Smooth Operator Shave Gel with ginger extract to lift the hair for an easier shave, while moisturising agents put back in what shaving takes out; and Fire Insurance Aftershave Balm to calm the skin, soothing and healing razor burns.
BAG
D R I V E R - F A I R W AY- H Y B R I D - I R O N S - W E D G E S - P U T T E R - B A L L
INTHE
STEPHEN DEANE GOLF PROFESSIONAL, EMIRATES GOLF CLUB DRIVER:
TAYLORMADE BURNER TOUR TP FUJIKURA ROMBAX S FLEX 10.5°
3 WOOD:
TAYLORMADE BURNER GRAFALLOY BLUE S FLEX 14.5°
HYBRID:
TAYLOR MADE RESCUE TP FUJIKURA REAX S FLEX 19°
IRONS (4 – PW):
TAYLORMADE R7 TP DYNAMIC GOLD LIGHT S FLEX ½ LONGER, 2° UPRIGHT
WEDGES:
R7 TP 52° WEDGE, TP 56°, TP 60° PUTTER: ROSSA MODENA 8 34”
Q&A: Q.When did you first start playing golf and where? My father introduced me to the game quite late in life at the age of 16. Up until then I had never really been interested in golf and focused on playing team sports such as hockey and football. My first game of golf was on a course called Bright Castle and after that initial experience I was totally hooked! All the other sports I used to play started to take a back seat as I focused all my attention on golf.
Q. How long have you been in Dubai and what has been your most memorable golfing moment during that time? I have now been in Dubai for 18 months and I can’t believe now quickly the time has flown. During this time so much has happened but probably my most memorable experience was getting a chance to watch and get advice from Peter Cowen – one of the world’s best coaches – during the Dubai Desert Classic. Q. What was your first set of clubs? My first set of clubs was a combination of Titleist DCI oversize plus irons, Mizuno T-Zoid woods and an old Titleist Bullseye putter.
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Q. Who is your favourite golfing hero and why? My golfing hero has to be Seve Ballesteros. I just loved the way he used to play the game, with his unbelievable ability to take on and pull off the most impossible shots backed up with one of the best short games the world has ever seen. Q. If you were head of the R&A what rule would you change? I would like reduce the maximum number of clubs allowed in a player’s bag to 12 from 14. I think this would encourage more players to become more creative, and re-establish the importance of shot-making.
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The Links at Fancourt
Gary Player Country Club
Leopard Creek
Gary Player-designed golf courses continue to lead the way globally. www.garyplayerdesign.com
even on this terrain, the ECCO sandals are holding up like i couldnโ t imagine. Everett Kunitz, ECCO Sherpa Testing the Offroad Sandal in the Peruvian Andes
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