Golf Comment: Ryder Cup role like being honoured by Queen March 10, 2014 IT’S a great privilege to be asked to be part of another European Ryder Cup team, and I thank Paul McGinley for making me a vice-captain and for his kind words. It’s like receiving an honour from the Queen; I’d known for some time that I’d get the role but hadn’t been free to speak [...]
Golf Comment: Bad weeks for McIlroy and Woods March 3, 2014 ABOUT this time of year, with five weeks until the Masters, you expect the world’s best players to be hitting their stride. Instead, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods are showing some worrying signs. McIlroy blew a golden opportunity to claim his first title of the season in a comedy of errors at the Honda Classic [...]
Golf Comment: Upsets on the cards in welcome return to drama of match play February 17, 2014 I LOVE match play golf and I believe crowds really enjoy it too, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s WGC Match Play Championship in Arizona. It’s a totally different contest to stroke play and you really get to see the guts of a competitor. So it’s a great shame that three of the world’s top [...]
Golf Comment: In-form Walker shows Coetzee way February 10, 2014 WINNING that first big title can do wonders for a player, as one American is proving and a South African may be just about to discover. After 24 top-10 finishes, George Coetzee finally landed his first European Tour title on Sunday at the Joburg Open, coming from four shots back to win by three with [...]
Golf Comment: Gallacher stakes claim for home Ryder Cup February 4, 2014 AN HISTORIC second successive title at the Dubai Desert Classic for Stephen Gallacher on Sunday could prove a boost not just for the Scot but also for Europe at this year’s Ryder Cup. His successful trophy defence – the first in the event’s 25 years – puts him in a great position to qualify for [...]
Golf Comment: Putting demons behind him, it’s Garcia’s time to win Major January 27, 2014 WHEN conditions for golf are perfect it tends to mean the best individuals win, and that is why those tournaments held in the Middle East are enduringly popular among players. So it was great for the game and no surprise to see Sergio Garcia, regarded as one of the greatest natural ball-strikers since his teenage [...]
Golf Comment: Schoolboy error was McIlroy undoing January 20, 2014 FORMER world No1 Rory McIlroy was justifiably annoyed at missing out on the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Sunday because of a two-shot penalty, but the truth is that he had no one to blame but himself. The Ulsterman was penalised for having one foot on the spectator path when dropping his ball during the [...]
Golf Comment: Super Swede the man to beat as Euro stars begin Gulf Swing January 13, 2014 ALL eyes will be on 2013’s indisputable star Henrik Stenson this weekend as the European Tour begins its Gulf Swing with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The golf world will be fascinated to see whether the Swede can maintain the form that saw him win both the European and US tours last term in his [...]
Golf Comment: McIlroy on rise but double Major aim may be setting bar too high January 7, 2014 A TREND of the last few years has been for one player to dominate on both sides of the Atlantic: Henrik Stenson in 2013, Rory McIlroy before that, and in the previous season Luke Donald. All-time history shows that is such a hard thing to do, though it seems that, with today’s advanced equipment, when [...]
Golf Comment: Race to Dubai schedule is a thorny issue for Tour November 25, 2013 THE DUST has settled on the Race to Dubai but debate rages on over the format of the climax to the European Tour season. Some players object to rules stipulating they can only play in the lucrative DP World Tour Championship if they have taken part in two of the three final series events that [...]