Q-School: Final Stage preview

European Tour Final Qualifying Stage
PGA Calalunya Resort (Girona, Spain)

Beginning tomorrow, the European Tour's Final Stage of Qualifying School will commence.  Spread out over six rounds (72-hole cut), the tournament separates the men from the boys.  Players will leave with either joy or heartbreak.

Here are some quick facts about the makeup of the field of 156 players:

• 27 countries represented (England has the most with 33 players)
• 34 players have made it all the way from the First Stage
• Field comprises 39 European Tour winners (63 wins between these players)
• Seven players with three European Tour wins apiece: Nick Dougherty, Johan Edfors, Kenneth Ferrie, Mathias Grönberg, Peter Hedblom, Pablo Martin Benavides, and Phillip Price 
• Two players with over 500 European Tour appearances: Price (556) and Ignacio Garrido (552)
• Two players with over 400 European Tour appearances: Hedblom (454) and Maarten Lafeber (408)
• Three players with Ryder Cup experience: Garrido (1997), Price (2002), and Oliver Wilson (2008)
• Eight former Seve Trophy players: Markus Brier (2007), Dougherty (2005, 2007, 2009), Bradley Dredge (2005, 2007), Garrido (2003), Grönberg (2002), Lafeber (2005), Price (2000, 2003), and Wilson (2007, 2009)
• Three amateurs: Christopher Dammert (Germany), Dermot McElroy (Northern Ireland), and Callum Shinkwin (England)

The top-25 and ties will gain European Tour cards and will immediately have the opportunity to compete on Tour as the 2014 season begins with the South African Open Championship, less than a week following the conclusion of Qualifying School.

There are players in the field that look almost certain to regain their cards based on their form in the past few months on Tour, such as Fredrik Andersson-Hed, David Higgins, Tjaart van der Walt, and Richard Finch.  So I look for these four players to regain their places on Tour with relative ease.

There are also numerous Challenge Tour players who will be looking to continue their fine play which has been on display recently: Oliver Wilson, Lucas Bjerregaard, Rhys Davies, Niklas Lemke, Duncan Stewart, Wil Besseling, Andrew MacArthur, and Brandon Stone.

Also, there are players who have played in previous stages of Q-School this season that have finished at the high-end of the leaderboard: Liam Bond (T1-First Stage, 3rd-Second Stage), Thomas Pieters (2nd-First Stage, T5-Second Stage), and Zane Scotland (T2-First Stage, T12-Second Stage).  Scotland has also won five out of the seven events he's played this season on the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Tour and leads the Order of Merit on that Tour.    

While I wish every player the best, here's my list of the 25 players I'd like to see get their cards (no particular order):

1. Nick Dougherty
2. Mathias Grönberg
3. Markus Brier
4. Phillip Price
5. Daniel Popovic
6. Peter Hedblom
7. Rikard Karlberg
8. Liam Bond
9. Gareth Wright
10. Scott Drummond
11. Stiggy Hodgson
12. Simon Wakefield
13. Ben Evans
14. Oliver Wilson
15. Phillip Archer
16. Bradley Dredge
17. Richard Finch
18. Michael Jonzon
19. Rhys Davies
20. Andrew Marshall
21. Kenneth Ferrie
22. Pablo Martin Benavides
23. David Higgins
24. Alastair Forsyth
25. Zane Scotland

Bench:

1. Ross McGowan
2. Chris Paisley
3. Oskar Henningsson
4. Thomas Pieters
5. Kevin Phelan
6. Scott Arnold
7. Damian Ulrich
8. Guillaume Cambis
9. Daniel Brooks
10. Neil Fenwick
11. Matthew Zions
12. James Morrison
13. Ondrej Lieser
14. Adam Gee
15. Andrew MacArthur
16. Raymond Russell
17. Michael Lorenzo-Vera
18. Maarten Lafeber
19. Mikko Korhonen
20. Andrew McLardy
21. Jean-François Lucqin
22. Andreas Hartø
23. Martin Wiegele
24. Johan Edfors
25. David Dixon

For those that make the cut at Q-School, but don't gain a card, there's still consolation as they will get a high Challenge Tour category which enables them to play most, if not all, of the events on the developmental circuit next season.

For those that miss the 72-hole cut, they will gain a Challenge Tour category that will enable them to play some tournaments on the second-tier Tour next season (if they had lesser status last season).

Good luck to the 156 players and let's see what highlights and stories this year's Final Stage of Q-School produces!

Dual members need to show more loyalty to "home" Tour

It's been awhile since I last posted, but I certainly have been watching and following the European Tour as diligently as ever.  However, I will be posting today for different reasons.  The Tour's new Final Series is made up of four world-class events, over $30 million in prize money, loads of world ranking and Ryder Cup points, and should be supported by every Tour member.  Sadly, this is not the case.  I will admit that the structure of the Final Series needs some adjusting but, as with any new conception, that is to be expected.  The guidelines state that members wishing to play in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (open to the top-60 on the Race to Dubai following this week's Turkish Airlines Open) next week must play two of the three events (BMW Masters, WGC-HSBC Champions, and the Turkish Airlines Open) in order to be eligible for next week's event.  While I disagree with this rule, I find it extremely hard to grasp that players would pass up the opportunity to play in these world-class events.

The players whose comments have attracted attention are Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, Charl Schwartzel, and Ian Poulter (all dual members with the PGA Tour).  PGA Tour members must play 15 events to retain membership (13 events for European Tour membership), but the season in the States ended in early September.  Poulter is the only mentioned player who is going to play all four Final Series events.  Els, Garcia, and Schwartzel only played one event and are, therefore, not eligible for the Tour Championship, even though all are in the top-25 on the Race to Dubai and have met the 13-tournament minimum.  Donald, who played the first two events, is taking a big risk by sitting out this week.  He's 55th on the Race to Dubai and he's only played 12 events.  There is a good possibility that the Englishman might sneak into next week, but I don't know why he would even risk it.  If he were to miss Dubai, he'd have to reapply for membership with the European Tour.  He's not had a good season on either side of the pond and the only reason for not playing must have been the fear of burnout or wanting to see his family.  Essentially, Donald had close to two months off following the PGA Tour season.  There is absolutely no excuse for him not to be playing this week when he's in such a precarious position.  For any player to skip the Tour Championship on a Tour that they are a member of is appalling.

All these players mentioned above have one thing in common: they're PGA Tour players also.  Dual members need to show more loyalty to their "home" Tour.  The majority will play in the Middle East at the start of the year, go back to the US, play the Tour's flagship event (the BMW PGA Championship), go back to the US, play one or two of the national opens in Europe prior to the Open Championship, go back to the US, and then play the Final Series.  It's too easy for players to meet their 13-tournament requirement.  Four majors, four WGCs, and either President's or Ryder Cup or Seve Trophy already knocks off nine events.  That only leaves players to play four "regular" events to meet their minimum.  Throw in three Final Series events and another event and players will have met their minimum.  Too easy if you ask me.

With so many of Europe's top players being dual members, it would be so satisfying for me to see a full-time European Tour player win the Race to Dubai by playing 20-25 events.   Too often dual members don't put enough emphasis on the Race to Dubai until after their PGA Tour seasons are over.  I would love to see the European Tour increase the minimum to 14 or 15 events, but I'm certain some dual members would relinquish their membership if that occurred.  I absolutely love the rule the Tour has instituted for next season which states that members must play at least one event in their home country or, if they don't, have their minimum increased to 15 tournaments for membership that season.  The Nordea Masters (Sweden) should see the strength of its field improve dramatically.  In fact, current Race to Dubai leader and world number three, Henrik Stenson has already committed to the event.  It's a fantastic rule.

So as the complaints of the Final Series continue to make headlines, let's not forget about the golf being played in Turkey and next week in Dubai.  There is so much to play for.  And someone will be able to have the prestigious distinction of being named European #1.  

What will the European Tour look like in five years?

In five years, I see the European Tour being on a level comparable to that of the PGA Tour.  If you go back to the stretch from 2008-2011, the European Tour had finally been able to catch up to its American counterparts.  The last two years, however, have been a struggle due to the economic situation in Europe and the number of European players choosing to split time between the European and PGA Tours.  Definitely the loss of European events has contributed to players choosing to spend more time on the US Tour.  There have been encouraging signs in the Eurozone countries in terms of their economies.  Next year, the Tour will be bringing a new event to Denmark and will be returning to the Czech Republic after a two-year absence.  Unfortunately, the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles will not be taking place next season due to the impending Ryder Cup, but will be back on the schedule in 2015.  

The Tour needs to find ways to have more tournaments in the United Kingdom and Ireland.  Only one tournament (outside of The Open Championship) in both England and Ireland is appalling.  More tournaments in France and Germany would be ideal.  Once Spain's economy recovers, the majority of those six events which were lost will hopefully return to the schedule.  Also, Sweden's passion for golf should enable them to gain another event in addition to the Nordea Masters.  

Within five years, there will hopefully be a snowball effect:

improved European economy = more European events = bigger-name players remaining in Europe = better fields = better prize funds = European Tour becomes #1 Tour in the world 

That's the ideal scenario.  Only time will tell if these predictions will come to fruition.  One thing is for certain: the Tour will emerge from these rough 2-3 years stronger and more equipped if, in fact, the same thing were to happen again.  For now, it's all about riding through the storm and seeing what's on the other side.  Greener pastures lie ahead and I, for one, cannot wait.    

After hosting English Senior Open, Rockliffe Hall looking to host main Tour event

Great news emerged earlier last month following the staging of the English Senior Open at Rockliffe Hall in County Durham.  After only about six weeks of preparation, the course provided a great test to the European Senior Tour's best.  According to Paul Fraser of The Northern Echo, Rockliffe Hall’s chairman Warwick Brindle said, '"We are being told that we have everything to be a future venue for the main European Tour."'  Fraser also said, "If the business contacts of Rockliffe Hall’s managing director Nick Holmes and Brindle can secure a notable sponsor for the English Senior Open next August, all eyes will be on repeating the trick to bring the main Tour back to the region.  Laying on a European Tour event would mean a financial package well in excess of £1 million would have to be put together, which is why raising the money to support the second English Senior Open at Rockliffe Hall next August will be crucial going forward."

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/10722126.Tuesday_topic__Rockliffe_Hall_must_seize_the_moment_to_shine/

Why I think six Scots can make the Ryder Cup team

There were four Scottish players competing for Great Britain & Ireland in the Seve Trophy, the most Scotland has ever produced in an edition of the event.  Stephen Gallacher, Paul Lawrie, Marc Warren, and Scott Jamieson took part in the event this time around.  While Lawrie has played in two Ryder Cups (1999 and 2012), neither of the other three Scots mentioned above have played in the biennial Europe vs. United States competition.  Throw in Richie Ramsay, who didn't qualify for the Seve Trophy, and Martin Laird, who is not currently a European Tour member (will become a member in 2014), and there are six Scottish players who will have a legitimate chance to play in their home country in golf's greatest event next year at Gleneagles in Perthshire, Scotland.

Currently, Laird is Scotland's highest-ranked golfer at 57th in the Official World Golf Rankings.  He is followed by Gallacher at 65th, Lawrie at 74th, Warren at 109th, Jamieson at 110th, and Ramsay at 125th.  The latter five are handily-placed on the Race to Dubai, meaning they should be eligible to compete in at least three of the four no-cut European Tour "Final Series" events, which have prize funds ranging from $7,000,000 to $8,500,000.  The final event is the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai where the top-60 on the Race to Dubai will compete.  It is essential that these Scots, excluding Laird, qualify for that event.  Valuable world ranking points will also be on offer, on top of everything else.

Laird, meanwhile, cannot begin the Ryder Cup qualification process until January, when he becomes a member of the Tour.  Therefore, he will be playing catch-up as he will have missed out on the first four months of qualifying.  With Laird playing the majority of his golf on the US PGA Tour, his best chance to qualify will be through the World Points List.    

The 2014 Ryder Cup qualification process began on August 26, 2013 and runs through August 31, 2014.  The European Ryder Cup rankings are divided into two lists: the European Points List and the World Points List.  All Euros earned by European Tour members during the qualification period will count towards the European Points List, while all Official World Golf Ranking Points earned by European Tour members during the qualification period will count towards the World Points List.  The leading four members on the European Points List will qualify for the team.  The leading five members on the World Points List, not otherwise qualified, will make the team.  Captain Paul McGinley will have three Wild Card picks.      

Getting inside the top-50 in the world rankings by the end of this calendar year is essential for potential Ryder Cup players.  By doing so, you become eligible for all four majors and have a better chance of qualifying for the four World Golf Championships.  In addition, doors to limited-field events, such as the Volvo World Match Play Championship become opened.

I firmly believe that these six Scottish players have the ability to qualify for Gleneagles.  The chances of all six actually qualifying are slim, but it will be a goal at the top of their lists.  There are a little less than 11 months of qualification left, but what a thrilling time it will be.

KLM Open: Top-10 on leaderboard after two rounds has many players looking for a big week

Abbreviated Leaderboard:

T3 Oliver Fisher (-8)

T3 Julien Quesne (-8)

T7 Jorge Campillo (-6)

T7 Matthew Nixon (-6)

T7 Anthony Snobeck (-6)

Several players who are outside or hovering around the all-important top-110 on the Race to Dubai are playing well at this week's KLM Open.  England's Oliver Fisher (118th in the Race to Dubai) leads this pack at -8, currently tied-third.  The 2011 Czech Open champion has struggled since that win and potentially faces a trip to Q-School due to his two-year exemption running out after this season.  France's Julien Quesne (93rd) is also tied-third after two rounds.  The Frenchman is in a less worrisome spot than Fisher, but he'd have his card safe and sound with a top-10 in any of the remaining five events before the "Final Series."  Like Fisher, Quesne's exemption runs out at the end of this season.  Spain's Jorge Campillo (97th) has failed to build off of last season's impressive rookie season.  Much like Quesne, a top-10 would take any pressure off of him to retain his card.  Englishman Matthew Nixon (103rd) is having his best season on Tour so far in his young career.  Two top-10s, most recently a second-place finish at the M2M Russian Open, have kept him on the right side of the top-100.  Nixon needs to keep grinding and not let the pressure of having full playing rights for next season crowd his mind.  Another Frenchman, Anthony Snobeck (161st) has developed more consistency this season as he's only missed two cuts in his last 11 events.  The next two rounds will be the two most important rounds of his season.                  

Notable groups: KLM Open

KLM Open (Zandvoort, The Netherlands)
Dates: September 12-15
Purse: €1,800,000 ($2,392,920)
Venue: Kennemer G&CC
Yardage: 6,626 yards (Par 70)
Opened: 1927
This week's weather: Showers and thunderstorms expected for Thursday, and very windy on the weekend

Notable groupings for the first two rounds: 1st round tee time/2nd round tee time (all times according to Eastern Standard Time):

Graeme Storm, Jaco Van Zyl, Richie Ramsay (1:45 a.m./6:45 a.m.)
Scott Jamieson, Danny Willett, Anders Hansen (2:05 a.m./7:05 a.m.)
Nicolas Colsaerts, Mikko Ilonen, Ross Fisher (2:15 a.m./7:15 a.m.)
Joost Luiten, Matteo Manassero, Paul Casey (2:25 a.m./7:25 a.m.)
Paul McGinley, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry (2:35 a.m./7:35 a.m.)
Pablo Larrazabal, Darren Fichardt, Craig Lee (2:45 a.m./7:45 a.m.)
Thomas Levet, Jeev Milkha Singh, Rafa Cabrera-Bello (6:55 a.m./1:55 a.m.)
Maarten Lafeber, Jose Maria Olazabal, Marc Warren (7:05 a.m./2:05 a.m.)
Simon Dyson, Alvaro Quiros, Thorbjorn Olesen (7:15 a.m./2:15 a.m.)
Padraig Harrington, Robert-Jan Derksen, Miguel Angel Jimenez (7:25 a.m./2:25 a.m.)
Raphael Jacquelin, Chris Wood, Thomas Aiken (7:35 a.m./2:35 a.m.)
Marcus Fraser, Robert Allenby, James Kingston (7:45 a.m./2:45 a.m.)
Alejandro Canizares, Robert Rock, Gergory Havret (8:25 a.m./3:25 a.m.)

U.S. TV Coverage (Golf Channel) (all times Eastern)

Thursday: 12:30-2:30 p.m. (taped)
Friday: 12:30-2:30 p.m. (taped)
Saturday: 2:00-6:00 a.m. (live)
Sunday: 2:30-5:00 a.m. (live)

Final round replay: Monday from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Golf Channel

Alternative: www.firstrowsports.eu (Sky Sports 1 HD) (all times Eastern)

Thursday: coverage starts at 5:30 a.m.
Friday: coverage starts at 5:30 a.m.
Saturday: coverage starts at 6:00 a.m.
Sunday: coverage starts at 6:00 a.m.

Notable groups: Omega European Masters

Omega European Masters (Crans Montana, Switzerland)
Dates: September 5-8
Purse: €2,200,000 ($2,906,638)
Venue: Crans-sur-Sierre GC
Yardage: 6,881 yards (Par 71)
Opened: 1908
This week's weather: Partly sunny with some wind expected.  Rain is possible at the weekend.

Notable groupings for the first two rounds: 1st round tee time/2nd round tee time (all times according to Eastern Standard Time):

Marcus Fraser, Marc Warren, Damien McGrane (1:50 a.m./6:50 a.m.)
Padraig Harrington, Stephen Gallacher, Gaganjeet Bhullar (2:00 a.m./7:00 a.m.)
Richard Sterne, Brett Rumford, Jeev Milkha Singh (2:10 a.m./7:10 a.m.)
Thomas Bjorn, Tommy Fleetwood, Gregory Bourdy (2:20 a.m./7:20 a.m.)
Matteo Manassero, Thongchai Jaidee, Miguel Angel Jimenez (2:30 a.m./7:30 a.m.)
Anders Hansen, Soren Kjeldsen, Jamie Donaldson (2:40 a.m./7:40 a.m.)
Mathias Gronberg, Martin Wiegele, Ye Wo-cheng (3:00 a.m./8:00 a.m.)
Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Ricardo Gonzalez, Brooks Koepka (6:50 a.m./1:50 a.m.)
Jose Maria Olazabal, Rikard Karlberg, Ross Fisher (7:00 a.m./2:00 a.m.)
Branden Grace, Thaworn Wiratchant, Paul Lawrie (7:10 a.m./2:10 a.m.)
Darren Clarke, Richie Ramsay, Peter Uihlein (7:20 a.m./2:20 a.m.)
Paul Casey, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Francesco Molinari (7:30 a.m./2:30 a.m.)
Mikko Ilonen, Danny Willett, Joost Luiten (7:40 a.m./2:40 a.m.)

U.S. TV Coverage (Golf Channel) (all times Eastern)

Thursday: 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. (taped)
-Replays: 1:00-3:30 p.m. and 8:30-10:00 p.m.
Friday: 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. (taped)
-Replays: 1:00-3:30 p.m. and 8:30-10:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. (taped)
Sunday: 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. (taped)

Final round replay: Monday from 2:00-6:00 p.m. on Golf Channel

Notable groups: ISPS Handa Wales Open

ISPS Handa Wales Open (The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales)
August 29-September 1
Purse: £1,800,000 (€2,095,460 or $2,803,100)
Venue: The Twenty Ten Course
Yardage: 7,352 yards (Par 71)
Opened: 2007
This week's weather: Dry, sunny, and warm

*This week marks the start of the 2014 Ryder Cup qualification period.  Current Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley will hit the first tee shot in celebration of the beginning of the year-long points race.

*The 2010 Ryder Cup was staged at this venue.  Europe prevailed over the United States, 14.5-13.5.

*Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee won this event last year (his first win outside Asia and 6th European Tour victory) with a score of six-under-par.  Thomas Bjorn, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Joost Luiten, and Richard Sterne were all a stroke behind at five-under.

*29 different nations will be represented this week.

Notable groupings for the first two rounds: 1st round tee time/2nd round tee time (all times according to Eastern Standard Time):

Paul McGinley, John Parry, Espen Kofstad (2:25 a.m./7:35 a.m.)
Anders Hansen, Ross Fisher, Scott Henry (2:55 a.m./7:45 a.m)
Thorbjorn Olesen, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (3:05 a.m./7:55 a.m.)
Mikko Ilonen, Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood (3:15 a.m./8:05 a.m.)
Chris Wood, Danny Willett, Robert Rock (3:25 a.m./8:15 a.m.)
Raphael Jacquelin, Rhys Davies, Peter Uihlein (3:35 a.m./8:25 a.m.)
Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Phillip Price, Ricardo Santos (3:45 a.m./8:35 a.m.)
Alvaro Quiros, Pablo Larrazabal, Joost Luiten (7:45 a.m./2:55 a.m.)
Jeev Milkha Singh, Simon Khan, Simon Dyson (7:55 a.m./3:05 a.m.)
Marc Warren, Brett Rumford, Bernd Wiesberger (8:05 a.m./3:15 a.m.)
Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Thongchai Jaidee, Darren Clarke (8:15 a.m./3:25 a.m.)
Stephen Gallacher, Thomas Bjorn, Scott Jamieson (8:25 a.m./3:35 a.m.)
Jose Maria Olazabal, Ricardo Gonzalez, Stephen Dodd (8:45 a.m./3:55 a.m.)

U.S. TV Coverage (Golf Channel) (all times Eastern)

Thursday: 10:00-2:00 (taped)
Friday: 9:30-12:30 (live)
Saturday: 8:30-12:30 (live)
Sunday: 8:30-12:30 (live)

Final round replay: Monday from 1:00-3:30 on Golf Channel

For some Europeans, the PGA Tour season has come to an end

On the PGA Tour this week, the FedExCup Playoffs begin with The Barclays.  Last week was the last chance for players to earn enough points to make the top-125 in order to be eligible for the Playoffs.  Also, it was the last chance for players to earn enough money to finish inside the top-125 on the Tour's money list.  Being inside either the top-125 in points or earnings will guarantee a player's spot on Tour next season.  Several European Tour members who also ply their trade on the U.S. Tour will be missing out on the Playoffs or have not earned enough money and will not have full playing privileges next season on the PGA Tour.

Two exceptions to this are Padraig Harrington and Nicolas Colsaerts.  Both players finished outside the top-125 in points, but finished inside that number on the money list to guarantee their full playing rights for next season.

The soon-to-be 42-year-old Harrington finished 130th in points with 345 (125th place had 369), but finished 113th on the money list with $711,244.  The affable Irishman had three top-10 finishes during the PGA Tour season.

Colsaerts, the 30-year-old Belgian, finished his rookie season on the PGA Tour at 128th in points with 353.  He was likely to remain inside the top-125 if he had not withdrawn prior to the final counting event, the Wyndham Championship, due to neck and shoulder injuries.  He will keep his Tour card courtesy of finishing 110th on the money list with $720,164.  The "Belgian Bomber" had three top-10s during this year's spell in America.

Others, however, were not so lucky.

Englishman Ross Fisher, a PGA Tour rookie after earning his card through the Qualifying School, notched just one top-10 en route to finishing a disappointing 161st in points and the same position on the money list with $311,168.  The 2010 Ryder Cupper finished the season ranked 5th in Greens in Regulation (69.71%) but will rue his play on the greens as he finished 183rd in Putts per Round (30.52).  An opening round 64 left him tied for the lead at the Wyndham Championship, but shot subsequent rounds of 69-74-72 to finish T-52.  This was an epitome of his PGA Tour season.  In the end, the 32-year-old can look back to his putting, to go along with playing new courses and being a member of a new tour, as the reasons for his hugely disappointing PGA Tour season.

Maybe the biggest surprise to (possibly) lose his playing rights was the Swede, Peter Hanson.  A veteran of the past two Ryder Cups, Hanson was also playing his first season as member of the PGA Tour.  Hobbled by a back injury which plagued him for most of the season, he was not able to build on a hugely successful 2012 season which saw him win twice on the European Tour en route to finishing 4th on the Race to Dubai (money list).  This season on the U.S. Tour, the 36-year-old only notched one top-10 finish and had three withdrawals and two missed cuts out of 15 events.  He looked all but set to finish inside the top-125 in points after finishing T-33 at the PGA Championship, but needed to make the cut at the Wyndham in order to guarantee his place on Tour for 2013-14.  Rounds of 68 and 73 saw him miss the cut.  He ended his season 127th in points with 356.

There is a glimmer of hope, though.  Hanson earned enough money ($610,178) to put him at number 124 on the money list.  If no one outside the top-125 on the money list were competing in the FedExCup playoffs, the Swede would be home free and he could count on another season in the States next year.  However, due to George McNeill ($475,838), Stuart Appleby ($489,613), Scott Langley ($573,564), and Chez Reavie ($590,925) all qualifying for the Playoffs via the points list, each one has a chance to pass Hanson due to the fact that all four players are outside the top-125 on the money list.  So the six-time European Tour winner will have to sweat it out and see if any of these four can overtake him on the money list.

Lastly, it was another disappointing season for Robert Karlsson, the 43-year-old Swede.  The 2008 European Tour Order of Merit winner decided to join the PGA Tour for the first time in 2012 and finished 158th on the points list, but regained his position on Tour with a solid showing at the Qualifying School (had to play both 2nd and Final Stages).  This year was better, but he still fell short of the top-125.  Due to his category coming out of Q-School, the big Swede was not able to play a full schedule.  He did, however, qualify for both the U.S. Open and Open Championship.  But you cannot possibly keep your card by only garnering one top-10 and missing nine cuts in 18 events.  His 2013 PGA Tour stats were: 156th in FedExCup points (236) and 143rd in money earned ($444,238)

The 11-time European Tour winner (most wins by a Swede on the European Tour) now has a choice to make regarding 2014: Either take part in the Web.com Tour Finals and earn your PGA Tour card that way, or play on the European Tour next season.  He could also play on sponsor's invitations in a limited number of tournaments next season.  The Finals are open to players who finished 126-200 on the FedExCup points list or in the top-75 on the Web.com Tour money list.  The Finals comprise of four events and a money list for those four events will determine 25 PGA Tour cards (this replaces PGA Tour Q-School which will no longer be taking place).  He is exempt in Europe until 2018 courtesy of his Order of Merit win (10-year exemption).  He's currently ranked 239th in the Official World Golf Rankings and needs to have some balance in his playing schedule.  He actually resigned his European Tour membership this season due to the fact that he would not be able to fulfill the 13 tournament minimum in Europe because he was trying to focus on keeping his U.S. Tour card.  The two-time Ryder Cupper is looking at a similar season if he chooses to play primarily in the States.

Although their seasons in America have concluded, the European Tour is still plugging away with 11 tournaments left on the Race to Dubai schedule.  Harrington will be playing in both the ISPS Handa Wales Open and the Omega European Masters in the next two weeks, while Colsaerts will be resting his injury and return to the Tour at the KLM Open in three weeks and play the following week at the Italian Open.  Fisher is competing in this week's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and also next week in Wales.  His website lists him playing the next five weeks in a row, but no confirmation has been made.  Hanson will most likely defend his 2012 title at the KLM Open.  There is no upcoming schedule for Karlsson yet, but I would guess a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals is in order.    

Outside of Donaldson and Price, Welsh presence on Tour is small

This season on the European Tour, there are only two Welshmen who have full playing privileges: Jamie Donaldson and Phillip Price.  Donaldson, winner earlier this year in Abu Dhabi, is ranked 42nd in the world and sits at 14th on the Race to Dubai.  Price, a three-time winner on Tour, has not finished inside the top-100 on the money list since 2004.  For a country that hosted the 2010 Ryder Cup, having only two fully exempt players three years later is quite disappointing.

Welsh golfers have always had a small presence on Tour, mainly due to the number of the country's golfers.  According to Nigel Edwards, the recent Walker Cup-winning captain, there are only 60,000 total male and female golfers in Wales.  Therefore, Wales struggles to produce the large quantities of golfers that countries such as England, France, Scotland, Spain, and Sweden do.  

Outside of the legendary 29-time Tour winner Ian Woosnam, the Welsh golfer with the most Tour wins is Stephen Dodd with three.  The four "D's," as I like to call them, and Price, have been at the forefront of Welsh golf since "Woosie" turned 50 years old and began playing on the European Senior Tour.  

Donaldson has won twice in a span of 13 months and will be looking to make a push for next year's Ryder Cup team.  The 37-year-old recorded his best finish in a major in the 2012 PGA Championship when he finished T-7.  His goal for the rest of the season should be to remain inside the world's top-50 so that he can be eligible for the four majors next season and give himself an opportunity to play in the "big money" events so that he can make his dream of playing in the Ryder Cup a reality.

Rhys Davies won the 2010 Trophee Hassan II (only Tour win) and was very close to making that year's Ryder Cup team, en route to finishing 18th on the Race to Dubai.  It's been a struggle, however, since then as he had a sub-par 2011 and lost his playing rights after finishing 121st on the money list (top-115 retain their cards).  He's currently focusing his schedule on the Challenge Tour, where he sits 41st.

Bradley Dredge, a two-time Tour winner, had a remarkable run of finishing in the top-100 on the Race to Dubai from 2001-2011 until finishing 125th last season.  He won the World Cup with Dodd in 2005 and has also competed on two Seve Trophy teams.  The 40-year-old has played poorly in the limited number of events in which he's played, making one cut on both the European and Challenge Tours.  

Dodd, a three-time Tour winner, has played a limited schedule since losing his playing rights after the 2011 season.  At 46-years-old, he is probably looking forward to the Senior Tour.  He sits 241st and 231st on the European and Challenge Tour money lists, respectively.

Price, probably most known for his singles victory over Phil Mickelson in the 2002 Ryder Cup, has seen his play suffer due to a lack of distance off the tee (has not averaged more than 277 yards in the past eight seasons).  The 46-year-old is still interested in competing against the "young guns," but he has to be looking forward to competing against a level playing field on the over-50 circuit.  He's currently 136th on the Race to Dubai.  

There is some light at the end of the tunnel, however.  On the Challenge Tour, Stuart Manley lies 7th on the rankings list (the top-15 qualify for the European Tour at the conclusion of the season).  Mark Laskey is currently 3rd on the EuroPro Tour Order of Merit and Oliver Farr is 18th (the top-5 earn Challenge Tour cards at the conclusion of the season).  Rhys Enoch is 15th on the Alps Tour Order of Merit (same criteria as EuroPro Tour).  Rhys Pugh won the 2012 European Amateur Championship, which earned him a spot in this year's Open Championship where he joined Donaldson as the two of the three Welshmen in the field, along with PGA professional Gareth Wright.  Pugh was also the only Welshman on the winning 2011 Walker Cup team, and also the youngest on both teams at 17-years-old.

With the ISPS Handa Wales Open taking place in two weeks at the 2010 Ryder Cup venue, Celtic Manor, every Welsh golfer will be fighting hard to become the first home player to win the event.  A Welsh victory would be widely-celebrated and a tremendous boost to the tournament.

The present and future looks promising, but as with anything, these things go in cycles and it's time for Welsh golfers, as a whole, to become prominent on Tour again. 

Seve Trophy to go ahead as scheduled

Well, as the saying goes: Better late than never.  The Vivendi Seve Trophy, a biennial competition pitting 10-man teams from Great Britain & Ireland and Continental Europe, is due to be staged at Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche outside of Paris, France, from October 3-6.  The event is staged in non-Ryder Cup years.  The event has been on the 2013 schedule but was without a host course which made the event somewhat of a question mark.  According to Graham Otway of the Daily Mail, organizers at Saint-Nom, which has hosted the two previous installments of the event, did not wish to continue hosting due to the lack of paying spectators.  On one of the four days, only 53 fans came through the gates.  Personally, I don't blame the tournament hosts for being reluctant to host an event of this magnitude if it means that spectators will not attend.  Vivendi, a French media company, has agreed to once again sponsor the event.  They became title sponsors in 2009, the first year that the event was staged in France.  In 2011, GB&I defeated the heavily-favored Continental Europeans, 15.5 to 12.5.

The lack of spectator interest has me wondering why the event is not moved to Spain (birthplace of Seve Ballesteros, one of the key forces behind the creation of this event), England, or Ireland (there is only one regular European Tour event in these final two countries).  Economic reasons might prevent the competition from returning to Spain (hosted the event in 2003), but the fact that the 2018 Ryder Cup will be staged in Paris at Le Golf National gives me a hunch that the Seve Trophy will remain in France until at least 2017.  A team event such as this will give spectators a small slice of the action that will be taking place in 2018.  It can only benefit the popularity of the sport in France.

2014 Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has the task of naming the captain for each team.  My guess would be Darren Clarke (GB&I) and Thomas Levet (Continental Europe).  Regarding the selection of captains, McGinley said, "At the moment, the points are still running.  I'm a little bit reluctant to go ahead and choose now who the captains will be, but I would say in the next couple of weeks, particularly after this week, I'll have a good idea as to where we'll go with the captains."  

The selection of players is determined from the top-5 in the Official World Golf Rankings and the top-5 in the European Tour's Race to Dubai.  This year (and for the first time), the event will count towards a player's minimum of 13 tournaments required to remain eligible for the Race to Dubai.  If the points race ended now, the rosters would read as follows:

Continental Europe: Henrik Stenson (OWGR), Sergio Garcia (OWGR), Matteo Manassero (OWGR), Peter Hanson (OWGR), Martin Kaymer (OWGR), Mikko Ilonen (Race to Dubai), Thorbjorn Olesen (Race to Dubai), Thomas Bjorn (Race to Dubai), Nicolas Colsaerts (Race to Dubai), and Francesco Molinari (Race to Dubai)

Great Britain & Ireland: Rory McIlroy (OWGR), Justin Rose (OWGR), Graeme McDowell (OWGR), Luke Donald (OWGR), Lee Westwood (OWGR), Ian Poulter (Race to Dubai), Jamie Donaldson (Race to Dubai), Stephen Gallacher (Race to Dubai), Chris Wood (Race to Dubai), and Scott Jamieson (Race to Dubai)

Unfortunately, a few of the dual-members of the European and PGA Tours will most likely skip the competition as they gear up for the "Final Series," the new term for the lucrative last four events on the European Tour schedule.  The rosters will be finalized on the Monday after the Italian Open (September 19-22) to incorporate the world rankings weekly announcement.  Players began earning points at the beginning of the 2013 season, the first counting event being the Nelson Mandela Championship (December 6-9).  Including this week's U.S. PGA Championship, there are six events left for players to accrue points.  

Nick Dougherty makes first cut of 2013

Nick Dougherty was hailed as the heir-apparent to Sir Nick Faldo, England's most successful golfer with six majors.  After a glittering amateur career, he gained his place on the European Tour in 2002, where he finished 36th on the Order of Merit and was awarded the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award.  He won his first Tour event in 2005 and, after a sub-par '06, had his most lucrative season in 2007 when he won the prestigious Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and finished seventh in the U.S. Open, en-route to earning close to €1.4 million (11th in the Order of Merit).  He looked to be a contender for Faldo's 2008 Ryder Cup team, but the sudden passing of his mother in 2008 caused his play to suffer and he failed to make the 12-man roster.  The following season was somewhat of a bounce-back for Dougherty, as he delivered an emotional win at the BMW International Open.  Unfortunately, it's been quite the struggle since then on the course.  After making one cut out of 34 events in 2011, he lost his card.  He rediscovered some semblance of form on the second-tier Challenge Tour last year, finishing 39th on the money list after posting four top-10s.  This season has been another struggle for the 31-year-old Englishman.  In ten events, he's missed every cut (Six on the Challenge Tour and four on the European Tour).  However, after taking three weeks off he's finally made the cut in the Finnish Challenge, an event where he finished T5 last year.  He fired his first under-par round of the season with a first-round two-under-par 70 and followed that up with a 72 to make the cut on the number.

Dougherty's 2013 scoring average, excluding this week, is a mind-boggling 75.77.  While this week's performance will see him earn his first paycheck of the year, he only has eight Challenge Tour events left before the season-ending "Grand Final," where the top-45 on the money list will gather.  The top-15 on the season-long rankings list at the conclusion of that event will earn 2014 European Tour cards.  This is a change from previous seasons where the top-20 would earn Tour cards, but the main Tour  wants to give more playing opportunities to Challenge Tour and qualifying school graduates, thus the decrease from 20 to 15.  Dougherty is exempt into the final stage of q-school courtesy of being a European Tour winner, so he has another way of making his return to the big stage if he doesn't find himself among the top-15 come season's end.  While this season's struggles may be a result of trying to juggle being a husband and father, and also trying to perform on the course, he seems to have turned the corner this week.  There are a lot of golf fans who want to see Dougherty regain his best form and return to competing against the world's best.  

Player/Commentators are becoming more common nowadays

Having been an avid fan of watching golf on TV, over the last few years there have been more players who have been dabbling in the announcing role.  Most of these part-time golfers/commentators are in the final stages of their "regular" Tour careers (over 45-years-old) and are basically treading water until they become eligible for the Senior Tour.  Most are not fully exempt on the main tour or want to get their foot in the door for when their careers are over for a chance to join the broadcasting ranks. However, there are a select few who play a full schedule and also excel in the announcing booth.  The following players have commentated for The Golf Channel, Sky Sports, or French TV over the few years.

Rich Beem: The 2002 U.S. PGA champion last played competitively at the Web.com Tour's BMW Charity Pro-Am back in May.  He'll be returning to action next week at the Reno-Tahoe Open on the PGA Tour and the following week at the U.S. PGA Championship.  The 42-year-old played the majority of his golf on the European Tour last season, finishing 156th on the Race to Dubai.  Over the past month or so, Beem has been appearing in the Golf Channel studio, and on-course reporting and announcing at various tournaments.

Steve Flesch: The four-time PGA Tour winner has been appearing more and more on the Golf Channel, whether it be on Morning Drive or in-studio, or on-course reporting.  He's played five times this season, with a T22 at Colonial being his best finish.  He played 12 events last season and did not make a cut, before undergoing shoulder surgery at the end of last year.  The 46-year-old lefty will be competing at the Reno-Tahoe Open, in what will be his last start via his Non-exempt Medical Extension.  Needless to say, he needs a good week in Reno. 

Thomas Levet: The likable Frenchman has been working for French TV at the majors for the past couple of years.  The six-time European Tour winner and 2002 Open Championship runner-up has struggled with injuries and poor play since winning his national open (Alstom Open de France) in 2011.  He certainly has the personality for television and has many interests outside of golf.  At 44-years-old, his main goal should be to play some of his best golf leading up to the 2018 Ryder Cup, which will be staged at Le Golf National in Paris.  Who knows, maybe a possible captaincy is in order?

Scott McCarron: It's been a struggle this season for the three-time Tour winner.  The 48-year-old has missed all seven cuts on the PGA Tour and both cuts on the Web.com Tour.  Last season, he failed to make a cut in six appearances and chose to end his season with wrist surgery.  When he hasn't been playing, he's been walking the fairways as an on-course commentator at various PGA and Champions Tour events.  McCarron is certainly biding his time before joining the over-50s circuit.

Colin Montgomerie: A commentator for Sky Sports during the Masters, the U.S. Open, the U.S. PGA Championship, and the Ryder Cup, "Monty" has been showing up at majors without his clubs and switching them for a microphone for the past two or three years.  In addition to his playing schedule, he also has a golf design business and a foundation (the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation) that occupies much of his free time.  His play on the course has suffered since leading Europe to the 2010 Ryder Cup as captain, with only two top-10s on the European Tour from 2011 until the present.  He has since begun competing on the Champions Tour after turning 50 last month (T9 in Senior Players Championship and T30 in U.S. Senior Open).

Arron Oberholser: It's unfortunate that the 38-year-old's career may be over due to chronic hand and arm injuries.  He played two events earlier this season and eventually got to the point where the pain in his left hand was too excruciating.  While in college, he earned a broadcast journalism degree at San Jose State University, and has been working for The Golf Channel as an in-studio analyst.  While the 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am winner (only PGA Tour win) still has a desire to return to the PGA Tour, he looks to have made the transition to television.

Early observations of Russian Open

The European Tour returns to Russia for the first time since 2008.  The M2M Russian Open will be staged at the Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club in the Moscow Region (located 40 miles from Moscow).  The Jack Nicklaus-designed course was opened in 2007.  The 7,491-yard, par 72, layout is described as a mix of parkland and tree-lined.

The tournament is held at a bad time in the schedule, as it is the week after the Open Championship and a week before the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.  All of the players competing in the United States for the WGC and the PGA Championship the following week will be skipping this week's event in Russia.  That being said, there are numerous European Tour winners in the field, to go along with Tour rookies and veterans.  The tournament has a €1,000,000 purse (€166,660 to the winner) and also carries a one-year exemption on Tour to the winner.

Sweden's Mikael Lundberg has won this event twice, in 2005 and 2008.  Although the tournament has not been staged since '08, Lundberg is essentially the defending champion.

The field includes notables such as Michael Campbell, Jeev Milkha Singh, Soren Kjeldsen, Simon Dyson, Robert Rock, Tom Lewis, David Horsey, Michael Hoey, Gregory Havret, Tommy Fleetwood, Romain Wattel, Soren Hansen, and Gagangeet Bhullar.  In addition, former #1-ranked tennis player Yevgeni Kafelnikov will be contesting his national open, still looking for his first made cut on either the European or Challenge Tours in his professional golf career.

Interestingly, there are only two players in the field who competed at the Open Championship: Shiv Kapur, who led for most of the first round only to finish in a tie for 73rd at +15, and Richard McEvoy, who missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 82 for a score of +13.

For me, the tournament favorites should include Dyson, Fleetwood, Rock, Hoey, and Wattel.

Dyson is coming off a T5 in the Alstom Open de France (his first top-10 since the Irish Open last year) and a T12 at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in consecutive weeks.  The Englishman has been holing more putts, which was the key because his ball-striking has been so good all season.

Fleetwood, who stands at 62nd in the Race to Dubai, is a long hitter who has had previous success on this course back when it hosted a Challenge Tour event.

Rock has had only two top-10s all season, but the most recent one came in the Irish Open four weeks ago where he finished T2 behind Paul Casey.  The two-time Tour winner needs to develop some sort of consistency, and it all starts with his putter.  

No one, with as much talent, has had a poorer season than Hoey.  The Northern Irishman has missed nine cuts in 15 events, languishing at 142nd in the Race to Dubai.  After recently becoming a father, his golf has improved over his past few events.  An underrated four-time Tour winner, he seems to contend more often in smaller tournaments with so-called "weaker fields."

One of the great young Frenchmen on Tour, Wattel is still looking for his first Tour win.  In a field where he'll be one of the favorites, this could very well be his week.    

World's best look forward to the challenge of Muirfield

The Open Championship, golf's oldest major, begins tomorrow at famed Muirfield Golf Club in Gullane, Scotland.  The course is described is described as being the fairest test in the Open Championship rotation, with no hidden obstacles; everything is right in front of you.  However, that is easier said than done.  With the fairways being rock-hard due to the weather and the constantly changing winds, the player with the best short game and/or ball-striking over the four days will be the 142nd Open Champion.  Defending champion Ernie Els was the champ in 2002, the last time the event was staged at Muirfield.  The South African is on the short list of favorites this week.  Don't read too much into his missed cut last week in the Aberdeen Asset Scottish Open; there's not an event that excites him more than the Open.  Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, the winner of the Alstom Open de France two weeks ago, has recorded three wins but has missed five cuts in his last eight worldwide events.  He has a passion for links golf, and it would be surprising if he's not in the hunt for the title on Sunday.  American Phil Mickelson comes in on the heels of his first win on British soil in last week's Scottish Open.  The four-time major winner has had a "hate/love" relationship with links golf, but seems to have adapted over the past 4-5 years.  His best finish in the Open was in 2011, where he finished in a tie for second behind Darren Clarke at Royal St. George's.  A plethora of Englishmen will be looking to build off Justin Rose's triumph at the U.S. Open last month.  Lee Westwood has employed Sean Foley as his swing coach in an effort to track down his first major.  Foley, coincidentally, is Rose's coach.  "Westy" will have the home support this week and his major drought might just end this week.  Luke Donald comes in having contended at the U.S. Open, but put in a mediocre performance at the French Open.  He'll be looking to use his short game and ball-striking talents to his advantage this week.  Paul Casey, the winner of the Irish Open three weeks ago, is a dark horse pick this week as he has built his game up after struggling with injuries and poor play the last two-and-a-half years.  Ian Poulter has had an extremely disappointing season so far, but he's been experimenting with different putters over the past few weeks and playing in the Open might just give him the spark he needs to have a special week.  For the Scottish fans, Paul Lawrie and Martin Laird look to be the favorites.  Lawrie has had a disappointing season, with his putting being the main reason for his struggles.  Laird won on the PGA Tour earlier this season and finished in the tied-fifth in the Scottish Open, so he'll be looking to delight the home fans.  In the end, it's the "Open" Championship, so it's a guess about who will be the champion.  There have been many surprise winners over the years, but this year a proven winner will triumph.  We'll find out who it'll be come Sunday night.      

5 takeaways from the Alstom Open de France

1.  Graeme McDowell's limited schedule this season has proved to be very beneficial, as he has recorded three wins (two European Tour and one PGA Tour) this season.  In his last eight worldwide events, he's either missed the cut (5 MCs) or won.  He'll be one of the favorites at the Open Championship (June 18-21).

2.  Following the Open de France, five players from the top-20 of the Race to Dubai became eligible for the Open Championship.  Richard Sterne (Race to Dubai ranking: 4th) finished second behind McDowell in France and has made a tremendous jump in the world rankings, moving to 56th after starting the season outside the top-150.  He's already won this season at the Joburg Open.  Brett Rumford (6th) won back-to-back events at the Ballantine's Championship and the Volvo China Open earlier this season, which were his first wins since 2007.  Mikko Ilonen (8th) won the Nordea Masters, a much-deserved win after showing consistent form leading up to that point.  Thomas Bjorn (13th) has had four top-10 finishes in his last five starts and has begun to return to the form that saw him win three tournaments in 2011.  Marc Warren (17th) has had his fair share of tough finishes in the past year, most notably the Scottish and Spanish Opens, and losing in a playoff at the BMW PGA Championship.  However, these results have shown that he's been playing well enough to win, but just hasn't been able to get over the finish line.

3.  Two players who have been very disappointing this season picked up their first top-10s of the season: Simon Dyson (5th) and Richard Green (tied-6th).  It was Dyson's first top-10 since last year's Irish Open and Green's first top-10 since the 2011 Irish Open (Dyson beat Green by a shot that year to claim the title).  In terms of keeping cards, these two players made a nice move towards guaranteeing their playing rights for next season.  However, both players have been in the world's top-50 for the majority of the last three or four seasons, so their objectives should be to try to build off this week and continue moving up in the world rankings.

4.  Le Golf National once again proved that it will be a worthy venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup.  The players view it as one of the best courses on the schedule.  The closing stretch of holes 15-18 might be the toughest closing stretch in world golf, which should make for quite a thrilling spectacle in 2018.  In addition, the amphitheater surrounding those holes should help add to the drama that is the Ryder Cup.

5.  Out of the 22 French players in the field, only five made the cut.  Victor Dubuisson was the highest-placed at tied-18th.  France is producing many young players via the Challenge Tour or Alps Tour (third-tier developmental tour).  Dubuisson, Romain Wattel, Julien Quesne, Alexander Levy, Alexandre Kaleka, Gary Stal, Francois Calmels, and Julien Brun (still an amateur) are the future of French golf.  Raphael Jacquelin, Gregory Bourdy, Thomas Levet, and Gregory Havret have been flying the flag for French golf in recent seasons, and I expect them to continue to lead the charge.  But, come 2018, French golfers will be rivaling their English counterparts for top dogs in European golf.      

Irish Open: Notable tee times for first and second round

Pairing (First round tee time/Second round tee time) *British Standard Time

Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Thomas Bjorn (7:50 a.m./12:50 p.m.)
Paul Lawrie, Paul Casey, Alvaro Quiros (8:00 a.m./1:00 p.m.)
Mikko Ilonen, Stephen Gallacher, Paul McGinley (8:10 a.m./1:10 p.m.)

Richard Sterne, Jose Maria Olazabal, Michael Hoey (12:40 p.m./7:40 a.m.)
Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Jamie Donaldson (12:50 p.m./7:50 a.m.)
Darren Clarke, Francesco Molinari, Ross Fisher (1:00 p.m./8:00 a.m.)


A full list of tee times can be found here: http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2013/tournamentid=2013050/teetimes/index.html

Major champions return for much-anticipated Irish Open

The summer of European golf is in full swing, beginning with last week's BMW International Open in Munich, Germany.  The 25th staging of the event was won by South African Ernie Els, who beat Thomas Bjorn by one shot to finish -18 overall.  It was Els' 28th European Tour victory (seventh on the all-time list), and he also became the first "Springbok" to win the prestigious event.

This week the Tour returns to Ireland for The Irish Open, being staged at Carton House Golf Club in County Kildare.  This tournament has been a mainstay on the Tour's schedule and is a favorite amongst the players.  Fans come out in their thousands to watch not only the home players, but many of the other European and international stalwarts.  Tournament organizers are expecting crowds to exceed 100,000 for the week.  Carton House hosted the 2005 and 2006 Irish Opens, won by Stephen Dodd and Bjorn, respectively.  The course hosting the tournament was designed by Colin Montgomerie, who will not be competing in Ireland this week as he will be making his Champions Tour debut at the Senior Players Championship.  The 7,301-yard, par-72 layout has been described as a tough track, but the rough has been cut down so scoring should be somewhere around 10-under-par.

As with every national open, the home players will command the majority of the attention, and rightly so.  That is even more evident this week, with world #2 Rory McIlroy and #6 Graeme McDowell highlighting the field, along with three-time Major winner and 2007 Irish Open champion Padraig Harrington.  2011 Open champion Darren Clarke, 2014 Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, and Carton House member Shane Lowry finish out the strong Irish contingent.  There will be 27 Irish players competing this week.  On the international side, defending champion Jamie Donaldson, two-time Major champion and 2012 Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal, 1999 Open champion and eight-time Tour winner Paul Lawrie, ball-striking extraordinaire Francesco Molinari, and top-five machine Bjorn round out the notable foreigners who will be trying to claim this prestigious title.

As for contenders, it's hard to look past the top two players in the field: McIlroy and McDowell.  The two Ulstermen have had two entirely different seasons, with G-Mac winning twice and Rors failing to display any sort of consistency with his game.  McIlroy does not come in with good form, with a tied-41st at the U.S. Open two weeks ago being his best finish in a month's worth of golf.  McDowell's form has been streaky, as he has two wins and four missed cuts in his last six tournaments.  However, playing in front of the Irish fans might just help them produce some of their best golf.  However, history is not on their side.  No Northern Irishman has ever won The Irish Open since it became European Tour event in 1975.  To make matters worse, McIlroy has not won a professional tournament on European soil.  But with the talent that both of these world-class players exhibit, I would be very surprised if both weren't in contention come the back-nine on Sunday.  And, with girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki losing in the second round at Wimbledon, there will be an added motivation for McIlroy.

In prestigious tournaments such as this, the cream usually rises to the top, with the best players in the field generally competing for the title.  Sure, I would love to see McGinley (ranked 399th) or Clarke (366th) make a run, or struggling players such as 2011 champ Simon Dyson, Tom Lewis, Robert Rock (who lost in a playoff to amateur Shane Lowry in 2009), Paul Casey, or Harrington get into contention.  Out of these players, Harrington has the best chance due to his Irish Open record and he will feed off the galleries this week.  He has acknowledged that if you put him on a tough golf course, he will be one of the contenders.  I'm expecting big things from Paddy this week, even though his form has been poor this season based on his standards.  He has shown a return to form recently, however.  He finished tied-10th in the FedEx St. Jude Classic on the PGA Tour, tied-21st at the U.S. Open the week after, and was in contention going into the weekend at the Travelers Championship (PGA Tour) last week before finishing well down in the field after a disappointing final two rounds.  As someone who works on his game as hard as he does, it's fair to say that a win is in the near future.  The Irishman has not won on either the European or PGA Tours since his PGA Championship victory in 2008.  I can tell you that there will be no better place than Carton House for him to win his second Irish Open title and end his almost five-year winless drought on either Tour.  As he mentioned in his pre-tournament interview, there would be a great cause for celebration if he wins on Sunday.

The conditions for the event are fair, as the weather in the past few weeks has been dry and warm.  The forecast for Thursday through Sunday calls for generally dry conditions, with sporadic showers expected due to the winds picking up as the week progresses.  All in all, it should be a fabulous week in the Emerald Isle and let's hope that the golf lives up to it as the buildup to the event has been massive.  Certainly, a worthy champion will be crowned on Sunday.        

The U.S. Open is very important for several over-40's players

113th U.S. Open (Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pennsylvania)

Peter Hedblom (43-years-old)

The three-time Tour winner has struggled for the past few seasons since his last win in 2009 at the Johnnie Walker Championship.  The Swede has played in 12 events this season and made only three cuts.  He was one of 12 players to qualify for the U.S. Open two weeks ago at Walton Heath, so he'll need to find some semblance of form for the difficulties of Merion.  Currently competing out of Category 12 (players who finished between 120-155 on the Race to Dubai last season), every event is important because they are few and far between.  The Swede made the cut at the Lyoness Open so hopefully he can take some confidence into the U.S. Open and get his season onto the right track.  His ball-striking will need to improve as he has only hit 63.2% of his greens (181st on Tour) and 58.8% of his fairways (142nd on Tour).

Darren Clarke (44-years-old)

The 2011 Open champion has struggled mightily since his win at Royal St. George's.  He finished 108th in the Race to Dubai last season and sits 125th this season.  He has started to show a return to form, with a tied-32nd at the BMW PGA Championship and has acknowledged he is happy with his game heading into the second major of the season.  It's all about holing putts with "DC."

Jose Maria Olazabal (47-years-old)

This will be the two-time Masters champion's first U.S. Open appearance since 2007, after having qualified at Walton Heath in a playoff.  The 2012 Ryder Cup captain finished inside the top-115 in the Race to Dubai last season for the first time since 2006, largely as a result of injuries.  Hitting fairways has always been an Achilles heel for Olazabal, as he hasn't hit above 60% of fairways in a season since 2006.  After hitting 49% last season, he's improved this season to 57%.  Unfortunately, he's only averaging 270 yards off the tee, so a course like Merion might favor him.  "Ollie" still has one of the best short games on Tour and that should serve him well at this season's second major.  If he can keep the ball in the fairway, he'll have plenty of opportunities to display his skills from 150 yards and in.  

Michael Campbell (44-years-old)

The 2005 U.S. Open champion's on-course struggles have been well-documented since his win at Pinehurst.  However, last season, he finished the back end of 2012 by playing his best golf since 2005.  He closed at 77th in the Race to Dubai after finishing 181st, 244th, and 249th in his previous three seasons.  The New Zealander's perseverance and determination has to be commended, and I thought that his resurgence deserved more notoriety.  "Cambo" hasn't made a cut at the U.S. Open since 2007, so he'll try to rectify that at this week's 113th U.S. Open.  Although he's not one of the longer hitters on Tour at 265 yards off the tee on average, he ranks 74th on Tour in greens in regulation (12.4 G.I.R., 68.7%).  Much like Olazabal, if his short game holds up, it could be a productive week for Campbell.

Paul Lawrie (44-years-old)

The Scotsman has an interesting story heading into the U.S. Open: he hasn't contested one since 2004 (has only played in four total).  Last season was the culmination of a long journey of hard work after several years of struggle with two wins, a place in the Ryder Cup team after his first, and only, appearance in 1999, and a 10th-place finish in the Race to Dubai.  This season has been a bit of a struggle, and one only has to look at his putting as the reason.  He's 172nd in both putts per round (30.4) and putts per green in regulation (1.8).  In contrast, he's 39th on Tour in greens in regulation at 12.9 per round at a 71.5% clip.  So his ball-striking is very good, but his putting is causing him to not shoot the scores that he deserves.  There has been some drastic improvement of late on the greens, with Lawrie leading the putts per greens in regulation stats at the Nordea Masters two weeks ago, and finishing 6th in putts per round in the tournament as well (he finished tied-21st on the leaderboard).  With his ball-striking being in good shape at the moment and with his positive outlook heading in, I expect "Chippie" to have a very good finish this week which will hopefully kick start his season.

Notable groups for the first two rounds of the BMW PGA Championship

Group (First round tee time)
*times are based on British time (+5 hours for Eastern Standard Time in the United States)

Alex Noren, Felipe Aguilar, Mikko Ilonen (7:30)
Paul McGinley, Wen-chong Liang, Shane Lowry (7:40)
Robert Rock, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Marcel Siem (7:50)
Darren Clarke, Thorbjorn Olesen, Richard Sterne (8:00)
Martin Kaymer, David Lynn, Justin Rose (8:15)
Paul Lawrie, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy (8:25)
Scott Jamieson, Matteo Manassero, Branden Grace (8:35)
Thongchai Jaidee, Retief Goosen, Stephen Gallacher (8:45)
Thomas Aiken, Bernd Wiesberger, Chris Wood (8:55)
Richie Ramsay, Edoardo Molinari, Fredrik Andersson Hed (9:30)
Pablo Larrazabal, Ricardo Santos, Simon Dyson (12:00)
David Howell, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, David Horsey (12:10)
Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Jose Maria Olazabal, Raphael Jacquelin (12:20)
George Coetzee, Ross Fisher, Jamie Donaldson (12:30)
Nicolas Colsaerts, Ian Poulter, Brett Rumford (12:40)
Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (12:50)
Francesco Molinari, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els (1:00)
Thomas Bjorn, Paul Casey, Peter Uihlein (1:15)
Marcus Fraser, Alvaro Quiros, Colin Montgomerie (1:25)

*Second round tee times have not been released yet, but Thursday's morning players will be teeing off in the afternoon on Friday and vice versa for Thursday's afternoon players.

For golf fans, all eyes should be on the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth

BMW PGA Championship (Virginia Water, Surrey, England): May 23-26
Wentworth Club (West Course)
Yardage: 7,302 yards (6,679 meters)
Course Designer: Harry Colt (1926)
Purse: 4,750,000 euros

This week's BMW PGA Championship is one of the world's biggest and most prestigious tournaments.  Winners of the event include Tony Jacklin (1972 and 1982), Arnold Palmer (1975), Sir Nick Faldo (1978, 1980-1981, 1989), Seve Ballesteros (1983 and 1991), Bernhard Langer (1987, 1993, 1995), Ian Woosnam (1988 and 1997), Jose Maria Olazabal (1994), Colin Montgomerie (1998-2000), Miguel Angel Jimenez (2008), Paul Casey (2009), and Luke Donald (2011-2012).  There has been an increase of 250,000 euros to put the prize fund at a record 4,750,000 euros.  11 out of the 12 "Miracle at Medinah" 2012 Ryder Cuppers will take part, along with their captain, Olazabal, and vice-captains Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and Paul McGinley (2014 Ryder Cup captain).  Sweden's Peter Hanson is the only member of last year's Ryder Cup team not to commit to the BMW PGA. 

The weather for England's only regular Tour event has been fantastic for the last three editions of the tournament, although this week isn't expected to be quite as fortunate.  The forecast for Thursday thru Sunday calls for the weather to be cloudy and cool with a chance of showers.  Winds are expected to be gusting over 10 miles per hour and temperatures are going to be around 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit for most of the tournament.  Still, tens of thousands will converge on the West Course each day to see the European Tour's best fight it out over the four days.  British golf fans are the most knowledgeable in the world and it's a delight to see the players put on a wonderful show for the worthy fans.  With a minimum of 64 world ranking points on offer to the winner, a spot in this year's U.S. Open, a European Tour exemption for the next five years, and a healthy winner's check of 791,660 euros, this is a Championship that every European Tour member wants to win.

Donald, the current world #6, has won the event in back-to-back years.  He will be trying to emulate Montgomerie, who went back-to-back-to-back from 1998 to 2000.  Donald, much like Monty, is not an overpowering player and, instead, uses his pinpoint iron play to his advantage.  The West Course is a tree-lined layout that requires strategy and calls for players to think their way around, unlike most of the bomber's-type courses that seem to be dominating world golf at the moment. 

For a tournament of this caliber, it's tough to pick a winner as there are so many players who could triumph.  Donald is among my favorites, not just because he has won the event two years in a row, but because he has the ideal playing style for this course.  I'm also looking for three other Englishmen to contend: Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, and Ian Poulter.  Westwood lost out in a playoff to Donald in 2011 and has posted four consecutive top-10s in his last four worldwide events.  Something tells me he'll be near the top of the leaderboard during his back nine on Sunday.  Rose, ranked #4 in the world, finished second to Donald last year at Wentworth and has the type of iron play that could see him go one better this year.  Poulter, a matchplay wizard who was eliminated before the knockout stages of last week's Volvo World Match Play Championship, has extra motivation this week to avenge last week's poor performance.  Other European favorites include Graeme McDowell (last week's Volvo World Match Play winner, but without a top-10 in this event in 10 tries), world #2 Rory McIlroy (has had average success here with only one top-10 in five tries), Francesco Molinari, Martin Kaymer, Matteo Manassero, Paul Lawrie, Paul Casey, Ross Fisher, Alex Noren, David Horsey, and David Howell.  Non-European challengers should include Ernie Els (lives on the Wentworth estate and also revamped all 18 greens from 2009-2011), Brett Rumford (winner of back-to-back events in Korea and China within the past month and is #2 in the Race to Dubai), Richard Sterne (ranked #4 in the Race to Dubai), Branden Grace (finished tied-3rd in last week's Match Play), Thomas Aiken (also finished tied-3rd last week), Thongchai Jaidee (lost in the final to McDowell last week and is #7 in the Race to Dubai), Marcus Fraser (finished tied-4th in 2011 and has the playing style to contend at Wentworth), and Peter Uihlein (now exempt on the European Tour after winning last week's Madeira Islands Open, the opposite field event which was co-sanctioned between the European and Challenge Tours). 

There's a certain buzz that surrounds European events, but the flagship event tops them all.  The crowds, course, and competition make for a great tournament.  A worthy champion will be crowned on Sunday, and he will be fully deserving after having beaten a star-studded field and tackled a challenging course.  There have already been three Tour events in Europe so far this season, but the BMW PGA Championship signals the true beginning of the European golfing season.  Let's get it started with a bang!

Players still looking for their first European Tour win

Every Tour member will tell you how hard it is to win, more so than 10-15 years ago.  The players are younger, bigger, stronger, and better.  A lot that goes into winning is the type of golf course (long or short), weather, competition, and confidence.  Many Tour members have the talent and confidence to break their winless drought.  Some are only a few years removed from amateur golf, some are entering their prime or are already in it, and some are journeymen.  Whatever the case, there are fully-capable Tour players still searching for their first Tour win.  For many, a win will open the floodgates to multiple victories.  Here's a list of the most notable players on the European Tour who are still searching for their first Tour win:

Matthew Baldwin: The 27-year-old Englishman was in the running for the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award last season had it not been for Ricardo Santos's win at the Madeira Islands Open.  In Baldwin's first season on Tour, he finished 72nd on the Race to Dubai, with two top-10s and two made cuts in majors (tied-59th in the U.S. Open and tied-23rd in the Open Championship).  While the start to his 2013 season hasn't been too impressive, he's started to rediscover some of last year's form with four straight cuts made (best finish was a tied-5th at the Trophee Hassan II).  This season, he is ranked 202nd on Tour in putts per round (30.9).  If he's able to improve that aspect of his game, his results will drastically improve and his confidence from last season will return.  One of many talented, young Englishmen on Tour, it's going to be interesting to see how Baldwin develops over the next 5-10 years.

George Coetzee: The 26-year-old, big-hitting South African has the sky as his limit.  Currently ranked 48th in the world rankings, he will be eligible for the remaining three majors of this season.  He has had three 2nd -place finishes and five 3rd-place finishes in his short career (one 2nd and one 3rd this season).  There's not one player on Tour who's ready to win more than Coetzee.  It's just a matter of time before he breaks through, and then the floodgates will open.  He's had success in every part of the world, so it's just a question of which continent will yield his first victory.  I expect Coetzee to break through this season.

Victor Dubuisson: The 23-year-old Frenchman has played very well this season, with four top-10s to his credit.  He's ranked a career-high 105th in the world rankings and he'll obviously be looking to crack the top-100 by the time the U.S. PGA Championship rolls around.  He's fresh off a 3rd-place finish in the Volvo China Open so he'll be taking some good form into the upcoming tournaments.  Dubuisson has always been one of the longer hitters on Tour but, if he wants to take his game to the next level, he'll need to improve his putting (30.85 putts per round in 2012 and 30.17 so far in 2013).  Long courses suit the Frenchman the best, so I look for him to contend at the Nordea Masters (7,607 yards) in three week's time.


Tommy Fleetwood: Out of all these golfers listed, this 22-year-old Englishman might have the most potential.  He's gotten off to a flying start this season, registering two top-10s and has almost won the same amount of money as he did all of last season (has won €190,361 this season; won €203,699 last season).  The former #3-ranked amateur was the 2011 Challenge Tour #1.  This season, he's averaging almost a stroke and a half less than he did last season (70.88 this season vs. 71.49 last season).  The only thing holding him back is his putting, as he's averaging 30.09 putts per round and that's too many no matter how good your ballstriking is.  I'm predicting a victory for Fleetwood this season.

Jaco Van Zyl: The 34-year-old South African might be somewhat unknown to most golf fans, but he certainly knows how to compete around the world.  The majority of his success has taken place in South Africa in his career, with 13 wins on the Sunshine Tour, including three this season so far.  He's currently ranked 78th in the world rankings, but he needs to exhibit more success outside his homeland if he wants to continue progressing up the world rankings list.  Within the next couple of seasons, I expect Van Zyl to have multiple wins on the European Tour.


Romain Wattel: The 22-year-old Frenchman recently finished 4th at the Ballantine's Championship so he's taking some good form into the European section of the schedule.  Last season, he played in the final group at the Johnnie Walker Championship with eventual winner Paul Lawrie, where he finished tied-3rd.  The following week at the Omega European Masters, he finished in a tie for 2nd.  The talented Frenchman needs to keep knocking on the door and one of these weeks it will open for him.

Oliver Wilson: The 32-year-old Englishman is famous for his 2008 Ryder Cup appearance.  He's also had nine 2nd-place finishes on Tour.  Formerly ranked in the top-50 in the world rankings, he's now ranked 556th.  He has yet to make a cut this season on either the main Tour or Challenge Tour.  Still not fully recovered from a broken wrist suffered during the winter break, he needs a confidence-boosting week sooner rather than later.  Next week could be his week, as he recorded his only top-10 of the season in the Madeira Islands Open with a tied-4th finish last season.  "Ollie" has enormous potential, but he will need to make his way back to the European Tour via the Challenge Tour as his category won't allow him to play many more events on the main Tour this season.  Once he makes his way back, I firmly believe that a European Tour win will not be far off.

BMW PGA Championship entry list revealed

The European Tour's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, released the entry list for the tournament taking place from May 23 to May 26.  The tournament will once again be contested on the West Course at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.  As always, there is an extremely strong field, with world #2 Rory McIlroy, back-to-back champion Luke Donald, and world #4 Justin Rose headlining the field.  All 12 of Europe's 2012 Ryder Cup-winning team will tee it up, along with their captain, Jose Maria Olazabal.   Other notables include Thomas Bjorn, Paul Casey, Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, 2014 Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, and Colin Montgomerie.  The prize fund has been increased by approximately €250,000 to a record €4,750,000.  Less than three weeks remain until the Tour's best battle it out for one of golf's most prized tournaments.    

However, there are some notable Europeans and European Tour members who are not entered:

Louis Oosthuizen
Charl Schwartzel
Henrik Stenson
Carl Pettersson
Fredrik Jacobson
Martin Laird

New developments in Monty's schedule plans

http://www1.skysports.com/golf/news/12040/8682031/Colin-Montgomerie-talks-to-Sky-Sports-about-his-senior-tour-ambitions

In an interview with Sky Sports, Colin Montgomerie has indicated that he will begin his career on the over-50s circuit at the Senior Players Championship in Pittsburgh on June 27.  He turns 50-years-old on June 23.  As a Monty fan and someone who wants him to play on the European Tour as much as possible, this is a little disappointing.  It's quite shocking that he's going to miss the French (July 4-7) and Scottish (July 11-14) Opens after saying that those were two tournaments that he'd be certain to play.  Especially his national open, which is quite baffling that he'd skip it in favor of the Senior U.S. Open.  It's important to note that he's played five events this season and he'll need to play eight more on the European Tour to be included on the Race to Dubai money list (he's exempt until 2016).  When the BMW PGA Championship rolls around in three weeks, he will have not played since the Avantha Masters (March 14-17).

The benefits of splitting time on both the regular and senior tours have the potential to be great for Monty.  By playing on shorter courses on the senior tours, he will not be at a disadvantage in terms of distance like he faces most of the time on the regular tour.  This, in turn, will give him confidence that he can do well and compete for a high finish, something he has not felt in the last three or four years.  By gaining confidence from playing in the senior majors, he can take that confidence to the regular tour events that he plays and hopefully post some good finishes.  

I am perfectly happy with Monty playing in the senior majors and maybe a few other senior events.  But I hope that his main priority will remain playing on the European Tour.  While his results as a whole have not jumped off the page in the past three or four years, he's still posted top-10s in each of the past two seasons (2011 BMW PGA Championship and 2012 Johnnie Walker Championship).  Maybe if a few putts drop or a couple of breaks go his way in those tournaments, then he ends up winning one of those events.  I'm confident that he can still compete with the "young guys" on the right courses (preferably sub-7,100 yards).  

Lastly, it's been much too long since he teed it up in an event, so I'm really looking forward to seeing him make his return to the Tour at Wentworth, where he's had so many great memories, including winning the Tour's flagship events in back-to-back-to-back years (1998, 1999, 2000).  Luke Donald will be looking to repeat Monty's feat this year after winning the event in 2011 and 2012.  All in all, it's going to be a golf-filled summer for Monty and let's hope that he's able to post some good results and possibly qualify for the U.S. Open or Open Championship.     

Potential schedule for the remainder of 2013:

May 23-26: BMW PGA Championship (European Tour)

May 27: U.S. Open Qualifying (36 holes)

May 30-June 2: Nordea Masters (European Tour)

June 13-16: U.S. Open (if he qualifies)

June 20-23: BMW International Open (European Tour)

June 27-30: Senior Players Championship (Champions Tour)

July 11-14: Senior U.S. Open (Champions Tour/European Senior Tour)

July 25-28: The Senior Open Championship (Champions Tour/European Senior Tour) 

August 16-18: SSE Scottish Senior Open (European Senior Tour)

August 22-25: Johnnie Walker Championship (European Tour)

August 29-September 1: ISPS Handa Wales Open (European Tour)

September 5-8: Omega European Masters (European Tour)

September 12-15: KLM Open (European Tour)

September 26-29: Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (European Tour)

October 10-13: Portugal Masters (European Tour)

Open de Espana: Halfway observations

Leaderboard: Top 10

1 Peter Uihlein (-6)

T2 Felipe Aguilar (-5)

T2 Raphael Jacquelin (-5)

T2 Rikard Karlberg (-5)

T5 Marc Warren (-4)

T5 Eddie Pepperell (-4)

T5 Morten Orum Madsen (-4)

T5 Craig Lee (-4)

T5 Andreas Harto (-4)

T10 Lasse Jensen (-3) 

T10 David Howell (-3)

T10 Tommy Fleetwood (-3)

T10 Matthew Baldwin (-3)

Notables:

T14 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (-2)

T14 Paul Casey (-2)

T22 Edoardo Molinari (-1)

T22 Anders Hansen (-1)

T30 Shane Lowry (E)

T43 Rafael Cabrera-Bello (+1)

T43 Sergio Garcia (+1)

T61 Matteo Manassero (+2)

MC Simon Dyson (+4)

MC Robert Rock (+5)

MC Miguel Angel Jimenez (+6)

MC Alvaro Quiros (+6)

MC Thomas Levet (+6)

MC Michael Hoey (+7)

MC Francesco Molinari (+7)

MC Pablo Larrazabal (+7)

MC Tom Lewis (+8)

MC Jose Maria Olazabal (+11)

MC Michael Campbell (+11)

MC Oliver Wilson (+16)

Observations:

• Peter Uihlein (-6): The American is playing this week on a sponsor's exemption and he's certainly making the most of it.  He's ranked 75th on the Race to Dubai, with his best finish being a 4th-place finish in the Tshwane Open.  He only has status on the Challenge Tour, so it's important that he takes advantage of invites on the Main Tour.  The former world #1 amateur will need to battle the nerves tomorrow, as well as the changing winds.  It's going to be interesting how he reacts tomorrow; if he shoots 72 (par) or better, I'd consider that a success and he likely wouldn't lose much ground, if any.
• Rikard Karlberg (-5): The big-hitting Swede started his second round on fire, starting birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie on his first four holes.  He would have been leading at the end of the day if he hadn't bogeyed the final two holes.  Karlberg, who is playing out of a lower category this season due to his 130th-place finish on the Race to Dubai last season, needs to post some good results in the coming weeks.  He's playing in the Ballantine's Championship and the Volvo China Open in the next two weeks, respectively.  While he plays the majority of his golf on the Asian Tour, he's stated that he wants to get his full Tour card in Europe.  Now that he has a category on the European Tour, he needs to take advantage of the co-sanctioned events in Asia (where he's exempt due to his Asian Tour ranking) and the limited events that he'll get into in Europe.  The first two rounds in Spain were certainly a good start.

What is Monty's next move?

Let me start this entry off by saying that I was very surprised to see that Colin Montgomerie hadn't signed up for the Open de Espana (April 18-21). The fact that he's played six out of the last seven stagings of the event makes this decision quite baffling.  Monty's last event was the Avantha Masters six weeks ago, so one would think he'd be playing soon.  Playing in Spain made perfect sense.  If he played in Spain, he probably wouldn't have played the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea the next week (due to travel), and it would have been a toss-up whether he'd play the Volvo China Open the following week due to his World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in St. Augustine, Florida, on Monday May 13.

All in all, it's disappointing that he's only played five events this season, and only 12 competitive rounds under his belt.  Montgomerie's next event will probably be the BMW PGA Championship, the Tour's flagship event and a tournament that he won three years in a row from 1998-2000.  He finished tied-seventh in 2011, so it's definitely a course that he feels comfortable on and can contend on.  He'll most likely participate in the 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier at Walton Heath on the Monday after the BMW PGA, so let's hope that he takes some confidence going into the qualifier.

He'll either be playing or commentating for Sky Sports at the U.S. Open.  After the U.S. Open (June 13-16), his upcoming schedule will be his own decision as he has a few options.  The BMW International Open in Germany is the following week, so if he doesn't qualify for the U.S. Open I would expect him to play in Germany.  He will turn 50 years old on June 23, making him eligible to enter the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship (June 27-30).  He has admitted that this is a possible option, after originally saying that his Senior debut would take place at the Senior Open Championship at Royal Birkdale (July 25-28), the week after the Open Championship.  There's a side story though; the Irish Open this season is being held at Carton House Golf Club on the Montgomerie Course (designed by Montgomerie in 2004).  Monty played in the previous two stagings of the Irish Opens on the Montgomerie Course at Carton House.  So, this creates a dilemma: Does he play in the Senior major or in the Irish Open on the course that he designed?  At this point,   I have no idea what he'll do.  Two things are certain: As he has stated when talking about his Senior schedule, he will compete in the Alstom Open de France and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open the following two weeks after the Irish Open.  Whether he qualifies for the Open Championship through International Final Qualifying (36 holes) at Sunningdale on June 24 or based on his performance in the events leading up to the Open, he'll definitely be ready for the Senior Open.

An interesting note is that the Open Championship qualifier at Sunningdale is on June 24, so that might rule Monty out for the Senior Players Championship, which begins on the 27th.  And with the Irish Open being staged that week, it would make sense travel-wise for Monty to play in Ireland versus Pennsylvania.

Here is an excerpt from Martin Dempster's article in the Scotsman on April 9th:  

"For the third Masters running, Montgomerie has traveled to Augusta without his clubs. He’s part of the Sky commentary team and insists he’s beyond the point of feeling he should be out on the manicured fairways.  'The Masters and the USPGA are against me now in terms of length so I’m losing that thought that I should be here playing,' he said.  'But I’m going to really try my damndest to qualify for the US Open this year because Merion is the shortest course they’ve had for that in 20 years.  I’m also keen, of course, to play in the Open Championship at Muirfield because, one, it’s in Scotland, and two, the running fairways suit me.'"

Here's a breakdown of my proposed schedule for Montgomerie leading up to the Senior Open Championship:

May 23-26: BMW PGA Championship
May 27: U.S. Open Qualifier (36 holes)
May 30-June 2: Nordea Masters
June 13-16: U.S. Open (if he qualifies)
June 20-23: BMW International Open
June 24: Open Championship Qualifier (36 holes)
June 27-30: Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship (Champions Tour) or The Irish Open
July 4-7: Alstom Open de France
July 11-14: Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open
July 18-21: The Open Championship (if he qualifies)
July 25-28: The Senior Open Championship (European Senior Tour and Champions Tour)

Adam Scott’s Resiliency, Grit, and Determination Led Him to the Masters Win

July 2012: Australia’s Adam Scott goes to the 15th hole leading the Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes by four shots. For all intents and purposes, the tournament was his to lose. South Africa’s Ernie Els, a two-time Open Champion, was his closest pursuer and he needed a major collapse if he wanted to make it to a playoff. Scott bogeyed the 15th. No worries. He bogeyed the 16th. Alright, you still have a two shot lead, but you’re making this hard for yourself. He bogeyed the 17th. Oh boy, this is turning out to be a Van de Velde-esque collapse that we are witnessing before our eyes. He came to the 18th hole after having heard the roars for Els’s birdie on the last, which put them in a tie for the lead. All Scott needed to do was drive the ball in the fairway, avoid the thick rough, get his second shot onto the green, two-putt on the green for a par four and there would be a playoff. You guessed it, he bogeyed 18.

I remember watching that collapse like it was yesterday.  Adam Scott, proclaimed as the next great Australian golfer, had to that point been categorized as one of the best players never to have won a major.  On the side, he’s one of the genuinely nicest guys in golf and it’s hard not to root for guys like that.  So when he essentially choked away last year’s Open Championship, the entire golf world was absolutely stunned and wondered if he’d ever get another shot to redeem himself and capture that elusive major.  The very next major, the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, he responded with a seventh-place finish, confirming that he had great resolve and perseverance after only a month earlier throwing away the Open. 

Scott came to this year’s Masters as sort-of an underdog.  Most of the experts were going with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, and Justin Rose.  So, in that sense, Scott didn’t have the added pressure of knowing that he was a favorite going into the tournament.  However, there’s a hidden pressure that all Australians feel at Augusta: In the Masters’ 77-year history, no Australian had ever won the Masters.  For a country with 15 majors all-time, this had been a travesty.  So many Aussies had come close, the most crushing defeat having been Greg Norman’s blown six shot lead in 1996 to eventual champion Nick Faldo.  Scott had had success at Augusta National in the past, notably a tie for second in 2011 behind Charl Schwartzel.

He posted rounds of 69, 72, and 69 to sit a stroke behind leaders Angel Cabrera, the 2009 Masters Champion, and Brandt Snedeker.  As Snedeker’s chances ended after bogeying the 10^th hole, it looked to be a three-horse race with Scott, Cabrera, and another Australian in Jason Day.  Unfortunately for Day, the three closing holes proved to be his nemesis once again as he bogeyed 16 and 17 to finish at seven-under-par.  Scott was a stroke better than Day going to the 18^th, knowing that a birdie would, at worst, result in a playoff as Cabrera had the same score (-8).  Scott hit his second shot onto the green, giving him a birdie putt somewhere between 15-20 feet.  He stepped up and the ball sneaked into the left side of the cup, causing massive roars around the green and quite a celebration from Scott.  I’ll admit that I didn’t even see his celebration after holing the putt because I was fist-pumping around my room.  Now he had to wait for Cabrera, who undoubtedly heard the roars, to play the 18^th.  Cabrera hit one of the best second shots into the final green of the week and holed his birdie putt to send the tournament to a playoff.  Considering what was at stake, Cabrera (nicknamed “El Pato,” which means “the duck”) showed his mettle and why he’s always a contender at this event. 

So onto the sudden-death playoff they went.  It was back to the 18^th, where both Scott and Cabrera came up short of the green with their second shots.  It was now a chipping contest from the front of the green to determine the Masters Champion.  Cabrera nearly holed his, while Scott left his about five feet short.  However, in going with the theme of grit and determination, Scott duly holed the putt without a problem.  Two pars and the playoff would continue.  They walked to the 10^th hole knowing that a birdie would most certainly win it.  Both players found the fairway with their tee shots, putting themselves in prime position to hit a quality second shot into the green.  In the end, it was Scott who hit his ball inside Cabrera’s.  Cabrera narrowly missed his birdie attempt, and there was a feeling that this was Scott’s time.  He had a 12-foot putt for his first major title and Australia’s first Masters victory.  From the moment the ball left his putter it was in the center of the cup and as the ball rolled in, Scott spread his arms and looked up like the weight of a nation was lifted off his shoulders.  Just another Sunday at the Masters!   

            

It was only a matter of time before one of Australia’s players broke through at the Masters.  As a golf fan, I’m glad that it was Adam Scott.  He’s been one of the world’s best players for a decade or so, to go with the fact that he’s one of the nicest guys in golf.  For him to get himself into contention for a second consecutive major following the collapse at Lytham last summer was an accomplishment, further proving the point that he has the heart of a champion.  To hole pressure birdie putts on the 18^th in regulation, the 18^th on the first playoff hole, and the 10^th to claim his first major was absolutely incredible and a true story of redemption.  CBS analyst and fellow Australian, Ian Baker-Finch, said it best: “From Down Under to on top of the world.”