Dougherty and Ferrie play limited schedules

At the end of 2007, Nick Dougherty was ranked 48th in the Official World Golf Rankings.  He won the lucrative Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and finished 11th on the European Tour's Order of Merit.  He was on the fringe of a Ryder Cup place the following year and was brought by Nick Faldo to Valhalla to give him a taste of what was destined for him.  The Liverpudlian was branded the next Faldo due to his prestigious amateur play.  Fast forward to now and Dougherty is ranked 1184th in the world and has only played in one Tour event this season.  

Kenneth Ferrie was ranked 68th in the world at the end of 2005.  He won the prestigious Smurfit European Open that year and finished 11th in the Order of Merit.  The man from North East England has struggled since, with few bright spots but did win the 2011 Austrian Golf Open, the most recent of his three European Tour titles.  The 6'5" Englishman lost his playing privileges in 2012 and spent 2013 on the Challenge Tour.  Since 2013, he's played in five main tour events and two Challenge Tour events.  

In terms of the rest of 2015, Dougherty looks like playing in at least two more main Tour events (BMW International Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, where he is a past champion of both events).  Ferrie will be playing in the Lyoness Open and European Open as a past champion of both events and will be eligible via his Challenge Tour ranking to play in the Madeira Islands Open (co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour) in July.  There will also be opportunities for both to gain entry via invitations for Made in Denmark, D+D REAL Czech Masters, M2M Russian Open, and the Italian Open.  These tournaments generally have weak fields and would be prime opportunities for the two Englishmen to gain entry into those events.  But for both players, qualifying school in November will be their best chance to reclaim their full playing rights on the European Tour in 2016.

Garcia is the clear favorite in the Open de Espana, but he faces a tough challenge from the field

Open de España (May 14-17)

Course: Real Club de Golf El Prat (Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain)

Yardage: 7,326 yards

Purse: €1,500,000

The European Tour finally begins its European portion of the schedule with this week's Open de España.  The Madeira Islands Open (co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour) was supposed to be the first event on European soil, but the tournament was canceled due to bad weather and rescheduled for July 30-August 2. Miguel Angel Jimenez is the defending champion, with world number seven Sergio Garcia and Ryder Cup stars Victor Dubuisson, Thomas Bjorn, and Francesco Molinari also taking part.  In addition to Jimenez and Garcia, the Spanish contingent also includes Pablo Larrazabal (El Prat is his home course), Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Alejandro Canizares, Alvaro Quiros, and Jose Maria Olazabal.  The course is projected to play firm and fast, which should make it a tough test for the field.  

This is Spain's only tournament on the schedule, a significant reduction from when the country staged six in 2011.  The economic recession has hit Spain particularly hard, but there are signs of improvement.  The fact that it's the only event in Spain makes the tournament extra special, especially for the home players.  The event was last held at El Prat in 2011, an event overshadowed by the death of Seve Ballesteros.  Thomas Aiken won at -10.  I would expect scoring to be around that number this week, due to the firmness of the course.  

Here are two of my dark-horse picks:

Paul Lawrie: Has only played five Tour events this season but seems to play well on tough courses.  His ball-striking is always good but his putting can be inconsistent at times.  If he can put four rounds together, the Scot could challenge for the title.  Lawrie finished T5 at this course in 2011.

Simon Dyson: The Englishman has many similarities with Lawrie.  He has had a disappointing season so far, with his best finish being T37.  He switched club companies and hasn't played since missing the cut at the Tshwane Open almost two months ago.  Dyson's ball-striking, much like Lawrie's, is always good.  But, like Lawrie, his putting is erratic.  Dyson is always a favorite on tough courses.  He, again like Lawrie, finished T5 at El Prat in 2011.

Notable groupings (Eastern Standard Time; first round/second round)

Alvaro Quiros, Thomas Pieters, Ross Fisher (2:00 AM/7:00 AM)

Thomas Bjorn, Pablo Larrazabal, Andy Sullivan (2:10 AM/7:10 AM)

Victor Dubuisson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Tommy Fleetwood (2:20 AM/7:20 AM)

Nicolas Colsaerts, Peter Uihlein, Richie Ramsay (2:30 AM/7:30 AM)

Jose Maria Olazabal, Raphael Jacquelin, Peter Hanson (7:00 AM/2:00 AM)

Matteo Manassero, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, David Howell (7:10 AM/2:10 AM)

Francesco Molinari, Thomas Aiken, Sergio Garcia (7:20 AM/2:20 AM)

Y.E. Yang, Thorbjorn Olesen, Alejandro Canizares (7:30 AM/2:30 AM)

TV Coverage (Eastern Standard Time; Golf Channel)

Thursday: 5:30-7:30 AM, 9:30 AM-12:30 PM

Friday: 5:30-7:30 AM, 9:30 AM-12:30 PM

Saturday: 7:30-11:30 AM

Sunday: 7:00-11:30 AM