Sunday 28 March 2010

Oosthuizen another first time winner in Europe.

South African Louis Oosthuizen put four runners-up finishes behind him to land his first European Tour title.

And with victory in the Open de Andalucia de Golf in Malaga comes a return trip to Augusta for the Masters Tournament in two weeks. The 27 year old had to win to climb into The World's Top 50.

With a closing three under par 67 Oosthuizen won by three from England's Richard Finch and Scot Peter Whiteford.

He did it in impressive fashion, taking over at the top with a second day 63 and closing with rounds of 66 and 67 for a 17 under aggregate of 263.

After being drenched in champagne by fellow countryman Thomas Aiken and then kissing his wife and three month old daughter Jana he said: "I was quite nervous down the stretch and very nervous on the 18th tee.

"I just decided to hit it as hard as I could."

He added: “Now I want to stay in the top 50 and be competitive every time I play.”

There was 9 Irish in the field and 8 made the cut.The best of them was Michael Hoey,Simon Thornton and Gareth Maybin.They all finished in a tie for 36th on 3 under par and winning €6,500 each.

Paul McGinley promised so much when he was 6 under after 36 holes.He faded over the weekend with a 74/70 to finish in 45th on -2.He won his first cheque since his knee operation of €4,900.

Darren Clarke closed with a 69 for a share of 52nd and win €3,900.Shane Lowry also closed with a 69.His +2 result gave him a share of 64th and a cheque for €2,150.

Peter Lawrie +6 won €1,477 in 77th place and Gary Murphy +8 was 81st and won €1,468.

Damien McGrane was unlucky to miss the 36 hole cut by a shot.He took a 73 in the first round with a triple bogey at the 18th.He rallied well in the second round with a 68 but still found himself with the weekend off.

Sunday 21 March 2010

Welshman Rhys Davies wins his first European event.

Rhys Davies secured his maiden European Tour title at the Trophée Hassan II in Morocco as he overhauled Louis Oosthuizen to win by two shots.

The 24 year old Welshman was two behind the South African going into the final round, but shot a seven under 66 to Oosthuizen’s 70 at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam to finish 25 under.

The Challenge Tour graduate, who chose to take up golf professionally instead of cricket, earns €229,160 for his victory.

It completes a remarkable year for the former British boys champion, who a year ago by his own admission had “no status in Europe”.

Victory at last year’s SWALEC Wales Open on the Challenge Tour changed all that, and he then captured the Fred Olsen Challenge de España en route to finishing fourth in the rankings and earning his European Tour card.

Having come third in the Maybank Malaysian Open and sixth in Abu Dhabi already this season, Davies now climbs into the top 15 on The Race to Dubai.

“I’m a little bit lost at the moment – this is all completely surreal to me,” said Davies.

For Oosthuizen it was a fourth runners-up finish on The European Tour, while Frenchman Thomas Levet, Spaniard Ignacio Garrido, Finn Mikko Ilonen and another South African Thomas Aiken shared third place five strokes further back.

There was good finishes for Peter Lawrie 67 and Gareth Maybin 69.They shared 10th spot and earned €25,483.

Darren Clarke who started with a fine opening 69 fell away over the weekend with two 72s and a 73.He finished in 43rd and picked up €7,425.

The 36 hole cut came at -2.Damien McGrane was one shot too many on -1 after rounds of 75/69.Shane Lowry shot 74/71 to miss by 2 on level par.
Paul McGinley had a dissapointing comeback from a knee injury.He shot 76/71 to miss the cut by 4 shots on +2,while Michael Hoey improved by 11 shots but still was 6 shots too many.He went from an opening 80 to a brilliant 69.

Monday 15 March 2010

Els wins World event at Doral,Florida.

Ernie Els ended two years without a win in superb style at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in Miami, and became The European Tour's all-time leading money winner in the process.

The 40 year old captured the second of this season's WGC events - and his 63rd professional title - by a commanding four shot margin after what developed into a straight head-to-head with his fellow South African Charl Schwartzel.

“I want to just enjoy this one, this took so much work to win,” Els revealed afterwards. “A lot of people have said that the older you get, the tougher it becomes to win, and that's very true.

“I'm 40 years old, and it feels like in my 20s I had so many chances and I didn't quite take them. Now that you're older, you don't get as many chances, so you've got to try to take them when they come.

“I'll have a bit more confidence now, I'm sure, but I just want to keep working hard. I know what works for me now, and that's hard work. Just to be back in that group of players who are really performing well - I feel honoured to be back in there.”

Three strokes further back in joint third were German Martin Kaymer, American Matt Kuchar and Ireland's Padraig Harrington, whose closing 72 was never going to give him a chance on a day of low scoring.

With the win Els returns to the Official World Golf Ranking Top Ten, a place where he has spent more weeks - 759 now - than any other player since the rankings started in 1986.

It was a level par closing 72 for Harrington to finish in a share of 3rd place.He had to work hard and rely on his brilliant short game to stay in contention.He picked up a nice cheque for $426,666.

Graeme McDowell came through the pack with a closing 66 for a -10 finish and a share of 6th place that earned him $214,300.

It was a bad tournament for Rory McIlroy.On a course that should have suited his game he never broke par.He finished in 65th place out of 67 starters after scores of 76,73,73,73.He won $40,625.

Sunday 7 March 2010

18 year old NOH wins Malaysian Open in style.

South Korean teenager Noh Seung-yul edged out compatriot K J Choi by one shot to win the Maybank Malaysian Open following a dramatic finale at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.

The 18 year old holed a four foot birdie putt on the 18th green to card a four under par 68 after playing a superb chip shot from the edge of the practice putting green behind a hospitality marquee.

Choi, 39, had earlier birdied the last to card a three under par 69 and post the clubhouse lead at 13 under.

“I first won on the Asian Tour in 2008 but I struggled last year, but to win early in this year I am very happy,” said Noh, who now holds card in Asia, Europe and Japan.

“Coincidentally, when I was playing a practise round with K J earlier in the week he asked me when my last win was and when I told him it was in 2008 he said ‘isn't it about time you won?’

The win was worth €246,290 and a full 2 year exemption on the European tour.

Peter Lawrie was the only Irishman to make the cut and he finished well in a share of 10th place after rounds of 69,72,71,68 for an 8 under par total.He won €26,488.

Darren Clarke opened with a 73 but fell foul to the heat in round 2 with a 77 to miss the +1 cut by 5 shots.

Gary Murphy didn't like the heat or the course.He had his worse tournament for years when he returned a 78 and 79 to miss the cut by a massive 12 shots.