This is one of my favourite tournaments of the year. It’s different, exciting and unpredictable in equal measure. The fact it’s a World Golf Championship event means we’ve got the world’s greatest golfers, and the fact it’s a match-play event means they’ll be going head-to-head and playing up to 126 holes in five days, including a 72-hole weekend.

Striking Matches

Sixteen groups must be whittled down to sixteen players. Brutal? Yes. Entertaining? YES!

Group 12 is comprised of Jason Day (2014 and 2016 Champion), Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson (2007 Champion) and Jim Furyk. Lefty recently won at Pebble Beach, and Jim Furyk started Sunday at last week’s Valspar Championship in 6^th following his runner-up at The Players. Just to re-iterate: Only one of them can reach the knockouts.

Group 14 features big-hitting Tony Finau, match-play master Ian Poulter, last year’s finalist Kevin Kisner and in-form Keith Mitchell in what I’d argue is the most intriguing group.

Tommy Fleetwood and Louis Oosthuizen will be an interesting watch, although Kyle Stanley and Ben An (the latter sitting one spot outside of Masters invite) will be no pushovers. Jon Rahm will need to be at his best (which he so often is this season) to wrestle past Matt Kuchar; a strong match-play golfer and the 2013 Champion here.

History on Their Side

For three consecutive years leading up to last season (2015-17), this tournament was won by the World No. 1. Whilst Bubba Watson’s victory snapped that streak, it maintained a trend of big-hitting winners; Watson, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day again. Austin Country Club lends itself to those who can bomb it off the tee.

I may as well copy-paste this part from week to week, but here goes: Tiger Woods has the best record in this tournament. Tiger is both the only man to retain the title (2003/04) and to win it three times (’03, ’04, ’08).

The Best Chance

DJ is much-fancied thanks to outstanding form, his style of play, his 2016 win here… Oh, and being the top-ranked golfer in the world helps. Justin Rose has had virtually no success in this tournament, with match play simply not being his forte. This could boost the likes of Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy. Jon Rahm’s 2019 form deserves a win, and this golf course is as likely as any to stage that win.

With all that said, Tony Finau is my one to watch. The American went 2-1 here last year, but the defeat to Alex Noren (1UP) sent the Swede through to the knockouts. His win over Fleetwood (6&4) at the Ryder Cup made it a 3-1 record in career match-play singles. His distance off the tee will help, and if he can come through arguably the toughest group then his first PGA Tour win is very much on the cards.

More golf, more quality, more entertainment. This is far more than just a Masters warm-up.

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

The McIlroy Critics

Eyes rubbed, jaws dropped and heads turned… McIlroy arrived at Sawgrass beneath the golfing world’s microscope. It was all getting a bit surreal. Something had to give. What seemed more likely, he’d finally get over the line and win or he’d stop finishing in the top six?

McIlroy entered Sunday knowing that, if he did not come out on top, it would be another Sunday failure. Some had been his own doing and some, such is the nature of golf, were just downright rotten luck. It seemed that every pundit in golf was siding with the monkey that clung so interminably to his back; obsessing over Sundays and refusing to give credit for Thursday, Friday or Saturday. This relentless besmirching of world class golf irked me, but this simply made McIlroy’s cool-headed nature even more impressive.

But now that monkey is gone, and golf pundits across the globe have wasted no time in switching sides.

Living Up to the Hype

The buzz around TPC Sawgrass felt bigger than ever, and that’s saying something. The move to March put The Players- dubbed the Fifth Major- before any official Major. This did little to separate it from Major conversations. In fact, this felt like the perfect curtain-raiser to Major Season 2019. Tiger Woods was once again a genuine contender, the World No. 1 spot is a hotter seat than ever before and Rory McIlroy is in eye-rubbing, jaw-dropping, head-turning (winless) form approaching his latest shot at the career Grand Slam. Florida had a gargantuan billing on its hands.

How it Happened

Tommy Fleetwood soared to a flawless opening 7-under 65 before starting Friday with birdie-eagle-birdie en-route to a 67. McIlroy matched those scores in reverse order. But Friday belonged to American Ryder Cup Captain Jim Furyk, who shot a bogey-free 64.

Jon Rahm conjured up a Saturday 64 courtesy of 7 birdies and an eagle; catapulting himself into the overnight lead (-15). One behind the Spaniard, McIlroy and Fleetwood shared second; two clear of Jason Day (-12).

Rahm handed away the lead with three bogeys on the first four holes and two more- plus a double- on the back nine left him +4 for the day and -11 (T12) for the week. Eddie Pepperell and Jhonattan Vegas both jumped 13 places with closing 66 rounds and putts that have to be seen to be believed for T3 finishes (-14). Jim Furyk re-emerged in contention with a 67, and Fleetwood’s 73 (T5, -13) meant that was enough for solo second. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson was a model of consistency (69-68-69-69) for his first Top-10 at this event; sharing fifth with Fleetwood and Brandt Snedeker. Meanwhile, Justin Rose capped an incredible comeback from a Thursday +2 to finish T8 with a run of 66-68-68.

The Winner

It looked an eerily familiar story when the Northern Irishman struck a double bogey on the fourth. The ensuing five holes before the turn yielded two birdies and a bogey… Then he became Rory McIlroy again. Back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12 got him back under par as he tied Jim Furyk’s 15-under clubhouse lead. He handed one back at the 14^th to fall back into second, before back-to-back birdies on 15-16 gave him a lead, which he refused to squander with clutch pars at the iconic 17^th and par-4 18^th. A stellar display earned his 24^th professional victory, becoming the first man to lift the new Players Championship Trophy.

That's "Six Top-6 finishes and one win in six starts"... Sounds so much better, doesn't it?

Rory McIlroy – What’s in the Bag?

Driver: TaylorMade M5

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade M5

Irons: TaylorMade P790 (2-iron), TaylorMade P750 (3-4 irons), TaylorMade P730 (5-9 irons)

Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind Wedge, TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe Wedges

Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Putter

Golf Ball: TaylorMade TP5 2019

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

Field of Dreams

The world’s best always gather at TPC Sawgrass. They did it every March for 33 years, then in May for 11 years and now they’ve gathered in March once more. Tiger Woods is back. That’s the headline. There’s no point in pretending it’s not. Having withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a “minor neck strain”, the world and his dog suspect that he’s simply priming himself for Major season, which- for all intents and purposes- starts this week. Jason Day also returns after withdrawing six holes into Bay Hill, and the pair of TaylorMade poster boys are in dizzying company.

Of Course

The 17^th hole. The Island Green. Some love it, some hate it, some relish it, some fear it, but everybody knows about it. It’s produced plenty of iconic moments every year, and 2019 will be no different.

But there are seventeen other holes and none of them are gimmes. This course tends to produce colourful scorecards, with birdie opportunities and bogey traps aplenty. However, it’s changed this year.  Having moved back to March, both Phil Mickelson and Jason Day expect the course to yield more birdies; the latter describing it as a “relatively new” course, such is the significance of the different climate. Mickelson expects lower scores- much to his delight- and Rory McIlroy expects that the course looking “as pure as it ever has” could play into his own hands.

Unpredictable

Anybody can win. You can try every method under the sun to call The Players, but you better factor in the madness. Nobody saw Webb Simpson winning last year, and eyes popped from sockets when Si Woo Kim walked it in 2017, yet the trophy is etched with the greatest names in golf’s history; Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Sandy Lyle, Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and many, many more. In fact, whilst Si Woo Kim’s win came as World No. 78, Jason Day’s victory the previous year came as World No. 1.

The Best Chance

I could try to pull a name out of a hat, but it’d be far more useful to rank my top three players with the best chance of winning.

Firstly, Xander Schauffele. The FedEx Cup leader and World No. 8 finished T2 here on his debut last year and he is no doubt on the rise. I feel he’s been eclipsed somewhat by the big names, but he’ll be a big name himself soon enough so don’t sleep on Schauffele.

Next up is Francesco Molinari. Sure, it’s an obvious choice, but there’s a reason for that. At TPC Sawgrass in March, the birdies will come; it’s the bogeys you need to worry about. And Molinari just doesn’t do bogeys like everybody else. His four wins in the past year have been closed out with bogey-free streaks of 44 (BMW PGA Championship), 28 (Quicken Loans National), 37 (The Open) and 28 (Arnold Palmer Invitational). That’s sensational. In 8 appearances here, he has four missed cuts and four Top-10s. So if Frankie is still hanging about come Saturday then keep your eyes peeled.

Sticking with obvious choices, I’ll round off with Brooks Koepka. Similar reasoning in that his T11 last year came courtesy of a bogey-free -9 final round (including an albatross on the par-5 16^th). Besides, it’s no secret that he’s a big-game player and this is one of the biggest games of them all.

Arguably the best field in golf, the highest prize fund, the most World Ranking points outside of Majors and, of course, The Island Green. The stage is set for an exhilarating week of golf. Enjoy!

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

The PGA Tour well and truly got into its 2019 swing at Bay Hill, yet there was a real European Tour feel about the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Race to Dubai Champion Francesco Molinari (-12) topped the pile, ahead of 5-time European Tour winner Matthew Fitzpatrick (-10) in second, Tommy Fleetwood & Rafa Cabrera Bello (-9) in T3 and Matt Wallace & Rory McIlroy (-8) in T6.

More Molinari Magic

The Italian jumped 16 places on a hot March Sunday (a reminder that this was not, in fact, a European Tour event) in his typical bogey-free fashion. His 8-under 64 was the low-round of the tournament- trumping Cabrera Bello’s opening 65- but it came after a +1 Saturday 73 that saw him sitting on -4; five strokes off Fitzpatrick’s lead and 10 pairings off the final group of Fitzpatrick and McIlroy.

Despite not hitting his best until Sunday, Molinari did make a hole-in-one on the 7^th during his opening round. This was followed by a second ace of the day on the same hole by Didier Points.

Talking Points

Five events played, five Top-6 finishes. Not bad from McIlroy, right? Well, the general consensus seems to be that this is the most disastrous run of form of any player in history. Now, there is obviously more to it than that. This marked his ninth consecutive appearance in the final pairing without a win and exactly one year since his last victory (in this very tournament), so there is a hump that needs getting over if he is to complete a career grand slam by slipping on the green jacket at Augusta next month. But five Top-sixes in a row at this level of the game? Give the guy some credit!

Tommy Fleetwood has looked primed to win a Major since his incredible closing 63 at last year’s U.S Open. The Englishman did his chances no harm with rounds of 69, 66 and 68 on Thursday, Friday and Sunday respectively showcasing himself at his brilliant best. A Saturday 76 cost him the title, but if he can learn to grind out less damaging scorecards during an off-day then he certainly has the ability to take a Major by the scruff of the neck.

There were 3 tickets to The Open at Royal Portrush up for grabs at Bay Hill. Last week’s winner, Keith Mitchell (T6), grabbed one spot with an 8-under on the final day, whilst two Koreans; Sungjae Im (T3) and Sung Kang (T6), wrapped up the others.

The Players

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is pencilled in to return to action at The Players, along with Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm to round out the World Top 10. Tiger Woods also hopes to return from a minor neck strain which saw him withdraw from the API. Jason Day withdrew after six holes and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be fighting fit. Regardless, it will be the most prestigious field of 2019 so far and we’ve got the best players hitting their best form ahead of the so-called “Fifth Major”.

Francesco Molinari – What’s in the Bag?

Just before the tournament, Molinari signed an equipment deal with Callaway. The entire golfing world questioned why on Earth anybody would change their equipment following the season of a lifetime. Well, they shall question no more. One start, one win from Molinari the Callaway Staffer. Epic Flash woods, Mack Daddy 4 wedges and a Stroke Lab putter… the latest truly is the greatest for Molinari. This title adds to an impressive list of 2019 wins for Callaway’s new hardware; the most of any manufacturer.

Driver: Callaway Epic Flash Sub-Zero

Fairway Wood: Callaway Epic Flash Sub-Zero

Irons: Callaway Apex Pro 19

Hybrid: Callaway Apex 

Wedge: Callaway Mack Daddy 4

Putter: Odyssey Toulon Madison Stroke Lab

Golf Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

Getting Busy

With the first WGC event in the bank and Major season fast-approaching, the PGA Tour is flying up through the gears this month. The big names are getting right in the thick of the action with the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play all building up to The Masters in April.

Something Brewing

Last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational was won by Rory McIlroy, ahead of now-World No. 5 Bryson DeChambeau, World No. 2 Justin Rose, former World No. 2 Henrik Stenson and a little-known golfer called Tiger Something. Not a bad title race, and we expect no less from this year’s star-stacked field. 12 of the world’s Top-20 and all 2018 Major Champs are lined up for Bay Hill Club & Lodge.

Unfortunately Tiger has been forced to withdraw due to a neck injury, but that won’t leave us short-changed for entertainment.

The Course

From the first to the last, Palmer’s architecture challenges the best of today’s golfers. A lot of the holes that throw up a birdie opportunity tend to simultaneously punish mistakes with little mercy. Subsequently, the final three holes are prone to drama. Take last year, when McIlroy carded five birdies on the final six as runner-up DeChambeau managed an eagle at 16 before a bogey at the last. Payne Stewart’s 264 (1987) still stands as the 72-hole record, whilst Adam Scott’s 62 (2014) tied the 18-hole record on this par-72 with Andy Bean (1981) and Greg Norman (1984).

For the Win

This one really favours the favourites. Defending Champion McIlroy is on a streak of four consecutive Top-5 finishes without a win, and has managed a T11 and T4 here in the past four years along with his 2018 win. Justin Rose will be looking to regain the World No. 1 spot that he lost to Dustin Johnson just last week. Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler shared second last week at PGA National and will both be looking to go one better. Jason Day (2016) and Marc Leishman (2017) made it back-to-back Australian winners here; Day arrives with seven consecutive Top-20 finishes (including three Top-5 spots), whilst Leishman has a win (CIMB Classic) and four other Top-5s in his last eight outings. Ian Poulter is on a run of T6-T3-T6-T3, whilst for Francesco Molinari it’s his history at Bay Hill (six-for-six; three Top-10s) that offers the most promising signs.

An array of big names is always great, but big names in great form is a true gift. McIlroy, Rose, Koepka, Fowler, Day & DeChambeau are the six respective favourites; everybody bar Koepka combining current form with form at this event (the American has a T26 in 2014, WD in 2015 & MC in 2017). Whilst it was great to see the so-called “No-name” Keith Mitchell- who was even called Kevin by one commentator- overcome the world’s best last week, that looks very unlikely this week.

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

There’s nowhere to hide on the golf course, especially on Tour. For golf club manufacturers, that means you can’t fake performance. Results matter. So let’s take a look at some of the most interesting results on the PGA and European Tours.

Odyssey Stroke Lab

Odyssey are the most-used putters on Tour by a country mile. The putting experts boast around 50% of all putters in play week in, week out. But one particular Odyssey win gained a lot of attention at the conclusion of last season’s European Tour.

Danny Willett, DP World Tour Championship:

Willett hadn’t recorded a single victory since his 2016 Masters title… Then he put an Odyssey Stroke Lab putter into play. The Englishman reaped the rewards of Odyssey’s consistency-based Stroke Lab putter shaft en route to winning the European Tour’s season finale. The Tuttle model turned a lot of heads and there’s no doubt it will be a popular one this year.

Callaway Epic Flash

Callaway have taken the Tours by storm in 2019, with wins in Abu Dhabi, Hawaii, California (2) and Australia (2) in the first couple months. The Epic Flash woods have helped put an end to trophy droughts, had a hand in first wins and scorched star-studded fields.

Shane Lowry, Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship:

The Irishman may be one of the most popular guys on Tour, but popularity doesn’t win you golf tournaments. In fact, Lowry hadn’t won since 2015 on the European Tour. But, armed with Callaway’s new Epic Flash Sub-Zero Driver, Lowry returned to the winners’ circle in Abu Dhabi.

Xander Schauffele, Sentry Tournament of Champions:

Schauffele equalled the course record in Hawaii as he claimed the title with the same Callaway Epic Flash Sub-Zero Driver that aided Lowry.

The American also benefitted from the Callaway Apex 19 Pro Irons as he shrugged off big names like Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson.

Phil Mickelson, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am:

“Lefty” used the Epic Flash Sub-Zero Fairway Wood at Pebble Beach as he edged out Paul Casey. He also utilised Callaway’s new Triple Track deign on his golf ball; a simple but effective alignment aid being heralded as a genuine game-changer in putting.

David Law, ISPS Handa Vic Open:

In just his 18^th start, the Scotsman claimed his maiden European Tour title in Australia. Law is contracted to Wilson but has free reign on his driver, and his choice of the new Callaway Epic Flash Driver proved a winning one.

JB Holmes, Genesis Open:

The 36-year-old picked up his first victory since 2015 just three weeks after putting the Callaway Epic Flash Sub-Zero Driver into play. Coincidence? I think not.

Ryan Fox, World Super 6 Perth:

The Callaway Epic Flash 3-Wood played its part in the big-hitting New Zealander’s first-ever European Tour victory.

TaylorMade M5 & M6

Last year, TaylorMade introduced corrective Twist Face technology as a game-changer in forgiveness off the tee. Now, they have injected that twisted face with a resin. Why? Because this face was too fast; it needed to be brought back to the legal limit. And that’s where it has stayed: On the legal limit. But how has it performed on Tour?

Jon Rahm, Hero World Challenge:

The young Spaniard stormed to victory over a star-studded field with TaylorMade’s face-injected M5 Driver and corrective-face 3-wood. Power is a huge part of Rahm’s game, so his decision to put these clubs in his bag is a credit to TaylorMade’s design and his victory suggests it was the right decision.

Dustin Johnson, Saudi International:

DJ’s first-ever European Tour victory (outside of Majors and WGC events) and first title of 2019 came at the controversial Saudi International. En route to climbing to World No. 2, the American played the TaylorMade M6 Driver and TaylorMade M5 Fairway Wood.

Dustin Johnson, WGC-Mexico:

DJ cruised to a 5-stroke victory at Club de Golf Chapultepec for his third win in this event and 20^th PGA Tour title. He did so having switched out his M6 Driver for the M5 model.

Justin Rose, Farmers Insurance Open:

Despite his high-profile move to Honma, Justin Rose retained a TaylorMade fairway wood (his Honma club contract only extending to eleven clubs), with which the World No. 1 chose the M6 before winning the Farmers Insurance Open.

Cobra F9 Speedback

Cobra's F9 Speedback models have been met with rave reviews, so it should come as no surprise that Cobra's staffers have seen great success so far in 2019.

Bryson DeChambeau, Shriners Hospitals Open & Dubai Desert Classic

One of the greatest success story of new equipment in 2019 so far. Bryson DeChambeau put the new Cobra F9 Speedback Driver in his bag at the PGA Tour’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and came out on top. Rickie Fowler also put the F9 in his bag for the first time at this event, and just so happened to record a T4 finish. DeChambeau went T12-7-T10 before recording another victory (his first on the European Tour) at the Dubai Desert Classic. Not too shabby.

Rickie Fowler, Waste Management Phoenix Open

Fowler cemented his fan-favourite status with a victory at the PGA Tour’s most crowd-driven event. He did so with the Cobra F9 Speedback Driver and Cobra F9 Speedback 4-iron in play.

With the WGC-Mexico cranking up the gears on both Tours, I for one can't wait to see how things play out. New players have entered the winning circle and former greats have re-emerged (I wonder who he's referencing there?) but, perhaps most interestingly, we've seen the likes of Schauffele and DeChambeau become dominant figures with new weapons in their arsenals.

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

What a year for golf. From the return of an all-time great to the birth of a new British superstar and, of course, Team Europe’s victory. Plenty to celebrate. With Christmas around the corner, let’s take a look back at the gifts golf gave us this year.

Francesco Molinari

“Frankie” has had a year, hasn’t he? It’s testament to his achievements that we’re forced to bundle them all together into one “gift”. The Italian became the first-ever Major winner from his homeland, capping off a run of three wins and two runners-up in six tournaments, including a win at the European Tour’s flagship event; the BMW PGA Championship, second spot on home soil at the Italian Open, a win and a runner-up on the PGA Tour (Quicken Loans National & John Deere Classic respectively) and the aforementioned Major title in The Open Championship at Carnoustie. Of course, he then became the first European ever to win 5 of 5 at the Ryder Cup, with four wins coming as part of Moliwood, but more on that later.

Molinari was honoured with the European Tour Player of the Year as well as the BBC World Sport Star of the Year. Well done, Francesco!

Hall’s Home Honours

Commeth the hour, commeth the woman. Women & Girls’ Golf Week was an initiative to inspire- you guessed it- women & girls to get into golf. In support of the initiative, we at Foremost interviewed three of our highly successful female Golf Professionals; Tracy Loveys, Jo Taylor & Sarah Smith. Everybody was in high spirits about the effects of the campaign, although nobody could have foreseen the perfect conclusion to the week. Georgia Hall, who had been quietly climbing the Ladies European Tour ranks, burst onto the scene with an incredible victory at the Ricoh Women’s British Open.

Hall’s timing was almost as perfect as her golf around Royal Lytham, and we can only hope that it will play its part in inspiring a new generation of female golfers. Yes, her snub for the Sports Personality of the Year was bitterly disappointing, but the public response to said snub was resoundingly positive for the women’s game.

Tiger’s Tour Championship

One of the most iconic worldwide sporting moments of the year. The image of Tiger being swallowed by a hoard of fans as he approached the 18^th green with victory all-but sealed will live long in the memory of any golf fan.

Almost every golf writer in America seems blissfully unaware of the existence of the European Tour, so it’s nice to have so much to write about on this side of the pond. With that said, Tiger’s influence on the game was, is and always will be universal so I can’t ignore this moment on the PGA Tour.

Justin Rose

Tiger was the main attraction at the Tour Championship, sure, and it was great to see an all-time great complete the comeback, but wasn’t it nice to see an Englishman win the ultimate prize on the PGA Tour?

Justin Rose reached World No. 1 on multiple occasions this year, but that was nothing more than a symbol of his incredible golf. Since August 2017, Rose has played 33 tournament and finished in the top ten 25 times, including 5 wins and eleven Top-5 finishes with just the one, lonesome missed cut. It’s been a phenomenal year that will conclude with Rose as World No. 2, but that doesn’t tell half the story. Oh, and could you wish it on a nicer guy?

Brooks Koepka

What on earth does Brooks Koepka have to do to get some love? He’s the ultimate overlooked-middle-child doing everything to get attention but receiving none, except instead of tantrums and rebellious behaviour Koepka wins golf Majors. In actual fact, the World No. 1 and three-time Major Champ has everybody talking about him; they’re saying “Why is nobody talking about him?”

Like I said, this is a more European perspective but sometimes you can’t ignore a story in America and three Majors is two years is one of those times.

European Euphoria

Moliwood halted the rampant U.S. team to prevent a Friday morning whitewash. Fleetwood and Molinari’s “bromance” typified the European spirit that gave them such a dominant victory in Paris against the star-studded States. As enjoyable as it was to see the sublime golf produced by this team spirit, my favourite part of the 2018 Ryder Cup was, without doubt, the celebrations.

Stocking Fillers

Back-to-back FedEx Cup playoff wins earned Bryson DeChambeau 4 titles in his last 13 finishes. When Fleetwood climbed from World No. 99 to 17^th in a year we said “WOW” but, as things stand, “The Mad Scientist” will climb from 99^th to 5^th in a year. Wow.

Matt Wallace recorded three wins for the season (and hasn’t received the recognition he deserves, if you ask me) but that appears only the start for a rising English star.

The European Tour are doing their bit to keep golf moving forward with the times. After all, time waits for no man. The players were very aware of that at the Shot Clock Masters which, along with the Belgian Knockout, will return in 2019. The Hero Challenge events continue to grow in popularity.

I’ve already mentioned Rose, Fleetwood & Wallace, but they were just part of an incredible year for English golf. Eddie Pepperell won his first two European Tour events, with the second coming on home soil at the British Masters. Matthew Fitzpatrick successfully defended his Omega European Masters title. Masters Champion Danny Willett returned to the European Tour winners’ circle along with Lee Westwood, whilst Ian Poulter and Paul Casey did so on the PGA Tour. Aaron Rai recorded his first win, too. Oliver Fisher shot the first-ever European Tour 59.

Celebrate Good Times

So, plenty to celebrate in a year of golf both globally and close to home. It’s a funny old game, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

Willett Winner

Being chased down by the reigning Masters champion, Danny Willett held on to claim his first win since his monumental victory at the 2016 Masters. The Englishman has hardly been a model of consistency, but the DP World Tour Championship is a big stage on which he stole the show and you can’t fluke a win on the European Tour. The win takes Willett back inside the World Top 100, having been outside of 300 to start this month. Whilst consistency has eluded Willett, the victory at Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates was the 14^th of the season and 333^rd of all time on the European Tour for English golfers.

After his friend Lee Westwood ended a long drought last week, we’ve been treated to two extremely popular champions to finish off the season. Speaking of popular champions…

Molinari Wins Race to Dubai

Tommy Fleetwood’s 10-under T16 ultimately decided his good friend’s fortune. The European Tour couldn’t have chosen two more popular men to be battling it out for the season-long prize, but in the end Sunday was a non-contest. Italy can now add a first Race to Dubai title to their first golf Major thanks to Frankie, and you’d like to think that the Molinari Magic will inspire a new generation of talent in a country with a modest history in the sport.

Worth Noting

Matt Wallace capped off an incredible three-win season with a T2 in Dubai. The 28-year-old slipped under the radar somewhat in racking up the titles due to the calibre of field they’ve come against, but this result proves his ability against the strongest of fields. He’s one to watch in 2019.

Shubhankar Sharma’s two-win debut season on the European Tour earned him the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award. Wins at the Joburg Open and Maybank Championship, along with Top-10 results at the WGC-Mexico and on home soil at the Hero Indian Open, etched his name on a trophy alongside Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie, Sir Nick Faldo and many more distinguished golfers.

Danny Willett – What’s in the Bag

Driver: Callaway Rogue

3-Wood: Callaway Rogue Fairway Wood

Irons: Callaway X Forged Utility, Callaway X Forged 18

Wedges: Callaway Mack Daddy Forged, Callaway Mack Daddy 4

Putter: Odyssey Stroke Lab (Prototype - Coming 2019)

Golf Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

Gary Player Country Club is home to some of the world’s most amazing wildlife, but last week it played to host to some of the world’s greatest golfers in the penultimate event of the 2018 European Tour; the Rolex Series Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Sergio Garcia obliterated the field on Thursday in South Africa, getting around Gary Player Country Club in 64 with eight birdies and zero bogeys to boast a four-stroke lead. In typical Sergio style, he shot back-to-back 1-under rounds of 71 to build a score of -10 heading into the final round. His nearest challenger was home favourite Louis Oosthuizen on -8, with Belgium’s Thomas Detry, Finland’s Mikko Korhonen & England’s Lee Westwood sharing third on -7.

Player’s Punishment

On Friday, Ross Fisher was on course for an 8-under round after an eagle and six birdies through 14, before a quintuple bogey at the par-5 15^th followed by three consecutive bogeys brought the Englishman back to level-par. Whilst birdies and eagles were fairly free-flowing, the wildlife-filled course claimed plenty of double, triple & even quadruple bogeys throughout the week with the unforgiving surroundings punishing wayward drives to devastating effect. Just ask Marcus Kinhult, who racked up a whopping 11-over with six bogeys and 3 doubles to a lone birdie on Saturday. In fact, the methodical Sergio was the only man to finish in the Top-6 and not record at least one double-bogey throughout the week.

Frantic Finale

Sergio, the round 4 leader, bogeyed the first to open things up and Westwood took full advantage with a sublime eagle at the second. Oosthuizen then birdied the third to give us a three-way tie at the top before taking the lead with another birdie at the 5^th. Sergio levelled it up at the next, then Oosthuizen retrieved the lead at the next; making it -11, -10, -9 between himself, Sergio & Westwood respectively. The South African then handed a shot back as Westwood gained one at the next to make it a three-way tie AGAIN at -10. Apparently allergic to pars, Oosthuizen then delighted the home crowd with a birdie at the 9^th to start a three-hole birdie streak around the turn. That built up a two-stroke lead, only for him to blow it at the 12^th with a bogey to Sergio’s birdie. Two tied for the lead and Westwood one behind with six to play.

Sergio steadied the ship with six consecutive pars to close… the other two did anything but. Both Westwood and Oosthuizen shot consecutive birdies over 13 & 14 to leave Sergio dwindling in third, but it was a bogey at 15 for the local lad that gave Westwood a share of the lead at -13. The Englishman seized his opportunity with another set of back-to-back birdies over 16 & 17 to reach -15. Oosthuizen fell victim to the course’s notoriously common double-bogeys at the last to hand Sergio outright second.

Westwood’s Win

On the same day that Matt Kuchar sealed his first PGA Tour victory since 20^th April 2014, Lee Westwood won his first European Tour title since 20^th April 2014. Westwood’s flawless 8-under Sunday was deserving of any Tour title, and you could see how much it meant for the Englishman to snap a four-year winless streak as the tears flowed nearly as much as the champagne after seizing his 24^th European Tour title and 43^rd worldwide at the age of 45. Without doubt, an extremely popular champion.

Lee Westwood – What’s in the Bag?

Driver: PING G400 LST

3-Wood: PING G400

Hybrid: PING G

Irons: PING i210 (4-PW)

Wedges: PING i210, Glide Forged

Putter: PING Sigma 2 Fetch

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

It’s All Rosey

Since 2017, Justin Rose has played 31 events: 5 wins, 15 Top-5s, 24 Top-10s, one outside the Top-50 and just ONE Missed Cut. He’s now the World No. 1 for the second time this year, but that says very little about the magnitude of what the Englishman has achieved. His latest win came in Turkey at the start of the European Tour’s final stretch of three consecutive Rolex Series events to decide the Race to Dubai winner. Whilst Rose’s PGA Tour commitments have restricted his climb in the Race to Dubai rankings, he is still third in the season’s leaderboard and a strong finish could see him become the best player on both Tours, having already won the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup in September.

Turkish Airlines Open

In our tournament preview I picked out Haotong Li as having a real chance at the title. The two-time European Tour winner led by three strokes heading into Sunday, but a bogey at the second and a Rose birdie at the seventh shut the gap to a single stroke at the turn. Rose then lit it up, going birdie-par-birdie-par-birdie-par-birdie between 10 and 16. Li, meanwhile, laboured to +1 through 14 following a bogey-birdie at 11 and 12. Suddenly Rose held a two-stroke lead with four to play. But Li’s second shot at the par-5 15^th claimed the undisputed title of Shot of the Week in setting up a tap-in eagle to tie up the scores at the top. With three eagles and 17 birdies, Haotong Li’s red and gold scoreboard bore a striking resemblance to the Chinese flag beside his name.

An electrifying shootout continued as Rose birdied the next to retake the lead… before bogeying the penultimate hole to level things up again. Heading to the 18^th tied on -18, separating the pair seemed damn near impossible. Both men had a par putt for victory and both missed. The pair went again on the 18^th in a playoff and Rose, whose previous par putt lipped out in excruciating fashion, nailed it this time around. Li had an eerily similar putt to the last, and produced an eerily similar result as nerves got the better of him and he snatched at it; pushing the ball well past the hole and handing the title away.

Having won this event last year, this is Rose’s first-ever successful title defence and it will taste all the more sweet knowing he returns to the summit of world golf.

Cloud F9

Plain and simple, there is no better way to market a product than to prove it works. Bryson DeChambeau, or “The Mad Scientist” to his closest friends, may already have been in scintillating form, but to put a brand new driver in your bag and go out and win a PGA Tour event straight off the bat is nothing short of remarkable. DeChambeau put the Cobra King F9 Speedback Driver into play this week at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and edged out defending champion Patrick Cantlay with a total of -21.

Not convinced? Perhaps you’d rather listen to Rickie Fowler. The Californian recorded his best finish (T4) since finishing runner-up at The Masters and carded the lowest final round of his career (63) with the F9 Driver in his bag for the first time.

The driver in question features the brand new Speedback technology and has been dubbed The King of Speed. Cobra Golf claim to be ‘in the business of innovation’, and all the evidence suggests this latest innovation is their best yet.

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com