Joost Luiten (-14) held his composure on the 18th hole at the Celtic Manor Resort to beat Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood by one stroke in possibly the last Wales Open. It was the Dutchman's 4th European Tour win and he continues a very solid season, in which he now has a win and six other top-10s. The win should propel him to somewhere around the mid-30s in the Official World Golf Rankings. The 28-year-old was in contention for a Ryder Cup spot but I firmly expect him to be on the 2016 team.
Lowry shot one-under today and Fleetwood looked completely out of it before he made his way to the back nine, but shot 30 to finish tied-2nd. He'll be sickened at the double-bogey he made on the par-3 12th hole, but it's another great week for the young Englishman.
Sadly, this is the last time the 2010 Ryder Cup course will host the Wales Open, at least for the for the foreseeable future. Tournaments in Britain are always top-class, but maybe that means a tournament in England will make its way onto the 2015 schedule. The Wales Open could still be held next year, but on a different course. We'll have to wait and see.
Several players stepped up who needed big weeks for either keeping their card or moving closer to the top-60 in the Race to Dubai. Nicolas Colsaerts finished tied-4th and will look to continue that form in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in just under two weeks. Robert Rock closed with a 65 to finish tied-9th and, from all accounts, it has been a long time coming. Andrea Pavan, sitting 139th in the Race to Dubai before the event, also finished T9 and needs one or two decent week to secure his playing privileges for next season (the top-110 on the Race to Dubai have full playing rights for the following season). The English duo of Anthony Wall (108th on R2D) and Steve Webster (109th on R2D) finished in a tie for 12th to cap off good weeks.
Updated Race to Dubai rankings for above players:
Luiten (10th)
Lowry (14th)
Fleetwood (30th)
Colsaerts (77th)
Rock (96th)
Pavan (120th)
Wall (98th)
Webster (99th)
Four European Ryder Cup team members took part in the event this week, with very mixed results. Jamie Donaldson was the highest finisher in his home open with a T4. Thomas Bjorn finished T58, but sounded upbeat about his game in his post-round interview. Lee Westwood finished T60 and he is clearly the weakest link on the European side so it'll be interesting to see how much Captain Paul McGinley plays him. Stephen Gallacher missed the cut after rounds of 78 and 70 but his mind was probably more on next week. I think "Stevie G" is going to be a real dark horse and will be inspired by the home fans.
The golfing world shifts its focus to Gleneagles for next week's Ryder Cup, an event that I have been looking forward to since that epic Sunday at Medinah in 2012. It is my favorite sporting event and I cannot wait to watch both teams battle it out over the three days. In the United States, coverage begins at 2:30 AM on Friday so I'll be looking to get some extra sleep in the days leading up to the competition. I'll plan on providing blog entries throughout the week
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Ryder Cup teams finalized
On Tuesday, September 2, the European and United States Ryder Cup teams were finalized. The European captain, Paul McGinley, and American captain, Tom Watson, had three picks each. McGinley chose Stephen Gallacher, Ian Poulter, and Lee Westwood. Watson chose Keegan Bradley, Hunter Mahan, and Webb Simpson. In addition, McGinley today announced that Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and Jose Maria Olazabal would be vice-captains, joining Des Smyth and Sam Torrance in assisting the Irishman. So far, Watson's assistant captains are Raymond Floyd, Andy North, and Steve Stricker.
I was certain that Gallacher and Poulter would be chosen, but the third pick could have gone to three players in my opinion: Westwood, Luke Donald, or Francesco Molinari. In the end, the captain chose the eight-time Ryder Cup player because he will provide a veteran presence and has the ability to partner different players due to the fact that he's played with nine different partners in the Ryder Cups dating back to 1997. Donald had a strong April and May, but has not had his usual consistent season. Molinari has had a great season so far, with a ton of world ranking points earned, but no wins which probably cost him a pick; the Italian has only won three times on the European Tour and that's clearly an underachievement.
On the U.S. side, I was confident that Watson was going to select Bradley and Mahan, but the third pick was up in the air. Bill Haas, Chris Kirk, Simpson, and Brandt Snedeker were all in consideration. In the end, Simpson's record in the 2012 edition proved to be too hard to overlook, plus his potential partnership with Bubba Watson gave him an advantage over the other candidates.
With only 23 days until the first ball is struck at the PGA Centenary Course at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland, the excitement level is already pretty high among players and fans. I, for one, cannot wait because the Ryder Cup is, without a doubt, the greatest sporting event in the world.
I was certain that Gallacher and Poulter would be chosen, but the third pick could have gone to three players in my opinion: Westwood, Luke Donald, or Francesco Molinari. In the end, the captain chose the eight-time Ryder Cup player because he will provide a veteran presence and has the ability to partner different players due to the fact that he's played with nine different partners in the Ryder Cups dating back to 1997. Donald had a strong April and May, but has not had his usual consistent season. Molinari has had a great season so far, with a ton of world ranking points earned, but no wins which probably cost him a pick; the Italian has only won three times on the European Tour and that's clearly an underachievement.
On the U.S. side, I was confident that Watson was going to select Bradley and Mahan, but the third pick was up in the air. Bill Haas, Chris Kirk, Simpson, and Brandt Snedeker were all in consideration. In the end, Simpson's record in the 2012 edition proved to be too hard to overlook, plus his potential partnership with Bubba Watson gave him an advantage over the other candidates.
With only 23 days until the first ball is struck at the PGA Centenary Course at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland, the excitement level is already pretty high among players and fans. I, for one, cannot wait because the Ryder Cup is, without a doubt, the greatest sporting event in the world.
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