Tour players will help sponsor three events in 2015

Rory McIlroy, Paul Lawrie, and Ian Poulter have been long-standing supporters of the European Tour.  Next season, they will be big reasons why events will be staged.  McIlroy's foundation, The Rory Foundation, will be the "host" of the Irish Open.  Lawrie will actually have his name in the following tournament's title: Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay.  And, while not formally announced by the Tour, Ian Poulter will be "host" of the British Masters (October 8-11), to be held at Woburn GC, Poulter's home club in England.  The British Masters was last played in 2008.

Lawrie's involvement in golf continues.  The Paul Lawrie Foundation has provided an abundant amount of money for Scottish youngsters to get involved with the game and Lawrie is very involved in everything the foundation does.  The Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open was staged in Lawrie's home city of Aberdeen at Royal Aberdeen GC and he wanted to get another event in the "Granite City."  Murcar Links GC will be the host venue for the 64-man matchplay event, which will be staged the week after the Open Championship.

The news of another event in England is welcomed on all fronts.  The British Masters will be "hosted" by Justin Rose, Luke Donald, and Lee Westwood, separately, over the next four years.  Each player will have the choice of host course when it comes to their year to host the tournament.  I still think that there needs to be more English tournaments.  The revival of the English Open has been discussed in recent years, but nothing has come to fruition.  Tour officials have been saying for years that there will be more English events, that everything goes in cycles.  Woburn has had a history of hosting prestigious tournaments, most recently on the European Senior Tour.  According to Poulter, the Queen's Course will be the course used during the event.

The news that Tour players are giving back to their home Tour is a great sign.  Players like Miguel Angel Jimenez and Sergio Garcia helped organize events in Spain in the past, so it is not like it has not been done before.  All the credit to these three players and I hope that more players follow their example.

2014 European Tour bests (in my opinion)

Best player: Rory McIlroy

Best moment: Oliver Wilson's win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Best tournament: (tie) Open de España and the U.S. PGA Championship

Best shot: Charl Schwartzel shot's shot off the cart path in the Volvo Golf Champions

Best round: Nicolas Colsaerts' 59 in the first round of the Portugal Masters

Best atmosphere: 16th hole at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort (Made in Denmark)

Best dominating performance: Martin Kaymer's eight-stroke win in the U.S. Open

From Turkey to Indonesia to South Africa, three players grab much-needed wins

The last wins for John Daly, Padraig Harringon, and Danny Willett came in 2004, 2010, and 2012, respectively.  Today, those winless streaks have come to an end.  The 48-year-old and two-time major winner Daly won the Beko Classic, a pro-am event in Turkey sanctioned by the PGAs of Europe.  Three-time major Harrington won by two strokes in the Bank BRI Indonesia Open on the Asian Tour.  Willett won by four strokes one of the biggest events on the European Tour outside Europe in the Nedbank Golf Challenge.  

Daly's last win came at the Buick Classic on the PGA Tour.  Although his win won't garner him any world ranking points, it definitely will do wonders for his confidence heading into 2015.  Next year, I expect him to play sort-of a mixed schedule between the PGA, Web.com, and European Tours as he bides his time before turning 50 and joining the Champions Tour.  The key for "JD" is to stay healthy, take advantage of sponsor's invites when he gets them, and play four good rounds.

Harrington's last win was also in Asia at the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia (although he did win the 2012 Grand Slam of Golf, which only had four competitors).  The Irishman had fallen all the way to 385th in the Official World Golf Rankings, but maintained the belief that he was close to playing really well.  Although the field in Indonesia wasn't the greatest, a win is a win.  Following the win, Harrington said, "Winning is a good habit to have. It gives you a lot of confidence and I need that confidence." The now 29-time winner around the world added, "I didn't start too well but I came through and I got the win.  This win brings a lot of confidence to my game and hopefully it will show up next year."  2015 will be an interesting year for Harrington as he lost his PGA Tour card after last season and will have to rely on sponsor's invites, which he shouldn't have trouble securing.  Still fully exempt in Europe, I expect him to play more tournaments on the European Tour than in previous years because he's had his best results in recent seasons in Europe, not America.  How will he spend the holiday period?  By taking 49 days off from competition and making 100,000 swings!  Typical of the Dubliner, as he's arguably one of the hardest workers in the sport.

Willett's last win was the most recent, but he has so much potential that it's a wonder why he went such a long time between victories.  He won the 2012 BMW International Open in Germany for his first European Tour win, and had 11 top-10s in the previous two seasons.  The Englishman has been hovering around the 75-100 mark in the world rankings and this win should take him inside the top-70.  He had to hold off challenges from fellow countrymen Ross Fisher and Luke Donald, but prevailed in the 30-man field.  I'm looking for a big 2015 from the Yorkshireman. 

Next week, the European Tour stays in South Africa for the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek CC, a popular venue with the players.  Home players Charl Schwartzel (trying to win the event for the third straight year), Louis Oosthuizen, Richard Sterne, Branden Grace, George Coetzee, Thomas Aiken, and Hennie Otto will be looking to maintain their dominance in Tour events in their home country.  International players looking to change that trend include Willett, Francesco Molinari, and Morten Ørum Madsen.