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.