How Europe’s Ryder Cup team was finalised on a WhatsApp group and why Darren Clarke thinks Thomas Pieters is a future world No1 August 30, 2016 I know just how difficult it has been for Darren Clarke to finally settle on Thomas Pieters, Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood as his three captain’s picks for next month’s Ryder Cup, which he named on Tuesday. It is hard to leave out players like Russell Knox, Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell, while Darren also [...]
Matt Fitzpatrick clinches Ryder Cup place in style as decision time looms for captains August 22, 2016 It was fantastic to see young Yorkshireman Matt Fitzpatrick secure his place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team for the first time in style at the Czech Masters at the weekend. The 21-year-old had been in line for a debut at Hazeltine next month ever since winning the British Masters last year and clinched one of [...]
Justin Rose’s duel with Henrik Stenson was the perfect result for Olympic golf chiefs August 15, 2016 Newly-crowned Olympic champion Justin Rose wouldn’t have been the only person delighted with how golf’s return to the Games after more than a century’s absence unfolded over the last few days. After a difficult build-up to the event featuring a spate of withdrawals, organisers could not have hoped for a better outcome than a Major [...]
World-class Russell Knox couldn’t be doing any more to earn a Ryder Cup wildcard pick August 8, 2016 But for a technicality, Russell Knox would already be assured of a place at the Ryder Cup, and the up-and-coming Scot could hardly be doing any more to remedy that situation. Knox, 31, earned a fantastic win at the Travelers Championship on Sunday to put him right in contention for a European debut against his [...]
Golf Comment: Bright future beckons for Spieth but I can’t wait for Tiger’s return December 1, 2014 IF JORDAN Spieth’s win on Sunday offered a glimpse of how the future of American golf may look, this week should offer further clues as to whether Tiger Woods is likely to be part of that landscape or if his phenomenal success is a thing of the past. Spieth was very impressive in shooting a [...]
Golf Comment: Sublime Stenson 100 per cent ready for a first Major triumph November 24, 2014 TWELVE months ago Henrik Stenson played a brilliant approach to the 18th hole at the DP World Tour Championship to ensure he rounded off a landmark season with another victory. It also won him the European Tour’s shot of the year prize. But on Sunday, back in Dubai again, he mustered an even better effort, [...]
Golf Comment: Stenson and Westwood hit stride for Dubai November 17, 2014 ACROSS the Atlantic they have talked of Brooks Koepka being a potential Major winner for some time. The Turkish Airlines Open may not be a Major, but as one of the European Tour’s biggest events the field is just about as good. Koepka’s win there on Sunday is another step towards fulfilling his promise and [...]
Golf Comment: Watson has replaced Woods as America’s best November 10, 2014 LAST year Bubba Watson moved into Tiger Woods’s old mansion in Isleworth, Florida. Perhaps he found the former world No1’s swing notes in the cupboard, because he’s gone from strength to strength. Watson, who donned the Masters winner’s green jacket for a second time in April, racked up title No3 of a stellar 2014 on [...]
Golf Comment: Siem benefits from Levy disaster November 3, 2014 FANTASTIC though Marcel Siem’s win at the BMW Masters in China was, I’m still finding it hard to understand how the German won in Shanghai – or, to be more precise, how Alexander Levy lost. Siem beat the Frenchman and England’s Ross Fisher in a three-man play-off on Sunday, but only after Levy had squandered [...]
Golf Comment: Keeping tour card is like winning lottery October 27, 2014 HE MAY not have walked away with the trophy or the £155,000 first prize, but David Drysdale will have felt like the biggest winner at the Perth International on Sunday. Like a handful of others, the Scot went into the tournament knowing it was his last chance to secure his European Tour card for next [...]
