Course Notes:
Campo de Golf Parador de El Saler (Valencia, Spain)
Year opened: 1968
Designer: Javier Arana ("the architect of Spanish golf")
Years hosted Open de Espana: 1984, 1989, 2001
Yardage: 6,350 yards; 5,810 meters
Par: 72
Course record: 62; Berhard Langer (-10) in 1984
Accolades:
-Considered one of the top-60 courses in the world
-Considered top-three in Europe
-Considered for the host course for the 1997 Ryder Cup
-Hosted the 2003 Seve Trophy
While the course may not be as famous as the hotel, the European Tour must view it as the ideal test that a national Open should be. German legend Berhard Langer won the Spanish Open held at El Saler in 1984 (-13) and 1989 (-7), showing that precision and good putting is an ideal winning formula. Sweden's all-time leader in European Tour wins (11), Robert Karlsson, won in 2001 (-11) showing that power is certainly rewarded.
The course is located on the coast, presenting a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean Sea to go with normally picture-perfect weather. World #16 Sergio Garcia has high praise for the course, saying: "I've always said that it's one of the best Spanish courses. I am sure the conditions will be perfect and we will enjoy a great show. I encourage all golf fans to come down to Valencia, because they're going to have the time of their lives."
The course features ten par-4's, eight of which play under 400 yards, which makes a player's short game and wedge play an essential ingredient for success. The longest hole is the par-5 11th hole at 519 yards.
Early commitments: Sergio Garcia (2002 winner), Francesco Molinari (defending champion), Chris Wood, and Thomas Aiken (2011 winner)
Sources:
http://www.parador.es/en/cargarFichaParadorOtrosContenidos1.do?parador=066
Friday, March 22, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Monty looks to get back into the swing of things at this week's Avantha Masters
World Ranking: 549th
Race to Dubai: 120th
2013 Results:
Volvo Golf Champions: T29
Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship: MC
Commercial Bank Qatar Masters: MC
Omega Dubai Desert Classic: MC
Season so far:
This will be Colin Montgomerie's first tournament in five weeks as he was not eligible for the World Golf Championships in the United States and has never played in the co-sanctioned events in South Africa. It has not been the ideal start to the season for the eight-time European Order of Merit Champion. While his putting has significantly improved this season (29.8 putts per round compared to 31.06 last season), his ball-striking seems to have suffered due to Monty's focus on improving his short game. His driving accuracy (fairways hit) is 57.86% this season, compared to last season when he finished 14th on Tour by hitting 70.61% of fairways. As a result, his greens in regulation have decreased; 60% this season, compared to 70.61% last season. Not hitting enough fairways and greens results in a higher scoring average, 73.50 this season compared to 72.73 the previous season. In a nutshell, the 49-year-old Montgomerie needs to get back to doing what has made him one of the all-time great ball-strikers in the history of golf, and that is hitting fairways and greens. He's never been the longest of hitters, but as he gets closer to his 50th birthday he has become one of the shortest hitters on Tour (currently 162nd out of 163 at 261.3 yards per drive). Ironically, it's his long game that needs work, not his short game, which has been a constant work in progress over the last few years.
Avantha Masters
This week, the Avantha Masters is being held at the 7,347-yard Greg Norman-designed Jaypee Greens GC (the longest course in India), located southeast of Delhi, India. The tournament has grown in stature since it's inception in 2009 and this year's field may be it's strongest to date. The tournament is co-sanctioned by the European Tour, the Asian Tour, and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). India's Jeev Milkha Singh, Gagangeet Bhullar, Shiv Kapur, and Anirban Lahiri lead the home challenge. Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee is the highest-ranked player in the field at 59th in the world. In addition to Montgomerie, other notable names include defending champion Jbe Kruger; former Ryder Cup stars David Howell, Edoardo Molinari, Ignacio Garrido, Phillip Price, and Niclas Fasth; and European Tour winners Bernd Wiesberger, Anders Hansen, Simon Dyson, Joost Luiten, Alvaro Quiros (first tournament back since undergoing wrist surgery in November), Pablo Larrazabal, Thomas Aiken, Raphael Jacquelin, Ricardo Santos, Gregory Bourdy, Michael Hoey, and Soren Kjeldsen.
My expectations:
It's tough for me to expect anything spectacular from Monty this week as it's his first tournament in five weeks, coupled with the fact that it's a long golf course and obviously favors longer hitters. That being said, if he can keep the ball in the short grass and hit 11-12 greens per round, it could be a surprisingly good week for the Scot. At the end of the day, however, it comes down to who can whole the most putts at crucial points in a round. With the way he's putted this season, that is not out of the question. As a fan, I would be satisfied with a made cut and four rounds of solid golf from Monty at the end of the week. Par is 72, so if he can shoot sub-72 in all four rounds, he should be nicely-placed on the leaderboard come Sunday night.
What's next:
Monty's next scheduled tournament is the Trophee Hassan II (March 28-31) in Morocco. After that, there is no tournament on the European Tour the next week, and then he'll presumably be commentating for Sky Sports at the Masters, the first major of the year. Following his duties at Augusta, I would expect him to play the Open de Espana the following week, take the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea off, and possibly tee it up in the Volvo China Open (May 2-5) the following week.
Montgomerie is competing not only for world ranking points and to improve his position on the Race to Dubai, but also for Senior Golf. Once he turns 50 on June 23, he has said that he will play a few events on the Champion's Tour in the States and the European Senior Tour, probably focusing more on the Senior majors than regular tournaments. He will continue to play on the European Tour, but it's just a question of how many events he'll actually play. Personally, I don't see him playing any fewer than the minimum 13 events that players need to play in order to be included in the Race to Dubai.
I think any European golf fan would love to see Monty qualify for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, Scotland, just five minutes from his house. In order to make that dream a reality, he would have to make his way into the top-50 in the world, which enables you to be eligible for the majors, WGCs, and the Volvo World Matchplay. His age is certainly against him, and he has not been able to post the results over the past few seasons to warrant a place in the Ryder Cup team (only two top-10's since 2008). It would certainly be a fairytale story if Monty can play his way onto the team in 2014. A good finish this week, and it could be the start of that journey.
Race to Dubai: 120th
2013 Results:
Volvo Golf Champions: T29
Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship: MC
Commercial Bank Qatar Masters: MC
Omega Dubai Desert Classic: MC
Season so far:
This will be Colin Montgomerie's first tournament in five weeks as he was not eligible for the World Golf Championships in the United States and has never played in the co-sanctioned events in South Africa. It has not been the ideal start to the season for the eight-time European Order of Merit Champion. While his putting has significantly improved this season (29.8 putts per round compared to 31.06 last season), his ball-striking seems to have suffered due to Monty's focus on improving his short game. His driving accuracy (fairways hit) is 57.86% this season, compared to last season when he finished 14th on Tour by hitting 70.61% of fairways. As a result, his greens in regulation have decreased; 60% this season, compared to 70.61% last season. Not hitting enough fairways and greens results in a higher scoring average, 73.50 this season compared to 72.73 the previous season. In a nutshell, the 49-year-old Montgomerie needs to get back to doing what has made him one of the all-time great ball-strikers in the history of golf, and that is hitting fairways and greens. He's never been the longest of hitters, but as he gets closer to his 50th birthday he has become one of the shortest hitters on Tour (currently 162nd out of 163 at 261.3 yards per drive). Ironically, it's his long game that needs work, not his short game, which has been a constant work in progress over the last few years.
Avantha Masters
This week, the Avantha Masters is being held at the 7,347-yard Greg Norman-designed Jaypee Greens GC (the longest course in India), located southeast of Delhi, India. The tournament has grown in stature since it's inception in 2009 and this year's field may be it's strongest to date. The tournament is co-sanctioned by the European Tour, the Asian Tour, and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). India's Jeev Milkha Singh, Gagangeet Bhullar, Shiv Kapur, and Anirban Lahiri lead the home challenge. Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee is the highest-ranked player in the field at 59th in the world. In addition to Montgomerie, other notable names include defending champion Jbe Kruger; former Ryder Cup stars David Howell, Edoardo Molinari, Ignacio Garrido, Phillip Price, and Niclas Fasth; and European Tour winners Bernd Wiesberger, Anders Hansen, Simon Dyson, Joost Luiten, Alvaro Quiros (first tournament back since undergoing wrist surgery in November), Pablo Larrazabal, Thomas Aiken, Raphael Jacquelin, Ricardo Santos, Gregory Bourdy, Michael Hoey, and Soren Kjeldsen.
My expectations:
It's tough for me to expect anything spectacular from Monty this week as it's his first tournament in five weeks, coupled with the fact that it's a long golf course and obviously favors longer hitters. That being said, if he can keep the ball in the short grass and hit 11-12 greens per round, it could be a surprisingly good week for the Scot. At the end of the day, however, it comes down to who can whole the most putts at crucial points in a round. With the way he's putted this season, that is not out of the question. As a fan, I would be satisfied with a made cut and four rounds of solid golf from Monty at the end of the week. Par is 72, so if he can shoot sub-72 in all four rounds, he should be nicely-placed on the leaderboard come Sunday night.
What's next:
Monty's next scheduled tournament is the Trophee Hassan II (March 28-31) in Morocco. After that, there is no tournament on the European Tour the next week, and then he'll presumably be commentating for Sky Sports at the Masters, the first major of the year. Following his duties at Augusta, I would expect him to play the Open de Espana the following week, take the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea off, and possibly tee it up in the Volvo China Open (May 2-5) the following week.
Montgomerie is competing not only for world ranking points and to improve his position on the Race to Dubai, but also for Senior Golf. Once he turns 50 on June 23, he has said that he will play a few events on the Champion's Tour in the States and the European Senior Tour, probably focusing more on the Senior majors than regular tournaments. He will continue to play on the European Tour, but it's just a question of how many events he'll actually play. Personally, I don't see him playing any fewer than the minimum 13 events that players need to play in order to be included in the Race to Dubai.
I think any European golf fan would love to see Monty qualify for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, Scotland, just five minutes from his house. In order to make that dream a reality, he would have to make his way into the top-50 in the world, which enables you to be eligible for the majors, WGCs, and the Volvo World Matchplay. His age is certainly against him, and he has not been able to post the results over the past few seasons to warrant a place in the Ryder Cup team (only two top-10's since 2008). It would certainly be a fairytale story if Monty can play his way onto the team in 2014. A good finish this week, and it could be the start of that journey.
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