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

Two tournaments this week, but my focus is on the Hong Kong Open

After an incredibly frustrating week at the Portugal Masters in which the event was reduced to 36 holes due to rain, the European Tour comes back this week with two events.  The Volvo World Match Play Championship, the 50th anniversary of the event's initial staging, began today at The London Club in Kent, England.  The Hong Kong Open, which will be included twice on this season's schedule (the event was also staged in December), is once again being held at Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling.  Both tournaments have their unique history, but I must admit that my focus will be mostly directed towards the event in Hong Kong, due to the course and the players fighting to get inside the top-110 on the Race to Dubai to keep their playing rights.  That being said, the Match Play being staged in England is quite exciting due to the country's lack of events, but there is positive news on the horizon in terms of tournaments being staged in England, which I will explain in a separate blog entry.

In Hong Kong, Miguel Angel Jimenez will be going for his third consecutive win in the event that he has won a total of four times.  The tournament became a co-sanctioned event with the European Tour in 2002 and boasts winners such as Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie, Ian Poulter, Rory McIlroy, and Padraig Harrington.  The old-fashioned course measures only 6,699 yards, but the rough is thick and the greens are small, so accuracy off the tee and into the greens will be paramount this week.  While the field is not its strongest, their are still some notables taking part: Jimenez, Ernie Els, Nicolas Colsaerts, Soren Hansen, Anirban Lahiri, Y.E. Yang, and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

The pre-tournament favorite has to be Jimenez, even if his form has not been up to his usual standard over the past couple of months.  But you cannot discount the fact that the ageless Spaniard is a four-time winner of the event.  Another favorite is Colsaerts, who has recorded two top-five finishes in his last two events (T4 in Wales and 2nd in Portugal).  The "Muscles from Brussels" seems to have rediscovered the form that saw him qualify for the 2012 Ryder Cup.  With the short course this week, he could have a field day.  Plus, his putting has been better of late, which was on display in last Thursday's 60 (-11) in Portugal.

The main reason I am interested in the Hong Kong Open is the battle for the top-110.  Lucas Bjerregaard is the man sitting in the 110th spot, but he is by no means safe.  Any player outside the top-100 should be playing this week and next week in the ISPS HANDA Perth International in Australia.  It is certainly a nerve-racking time for players in that situation, but two solid weeks should be enough to get the job done.  Sometimes players play great golf when faced with a challenge such as this.

It should be an enthralling week in England and Hong Kong, with prestigious titles up for grabs.  For viewers in the United States, Golf Channel provides the coverage of both events:

Volvo World Match Play Championship 

Thursday (6:30-11:30 AM)
Friday (6:30-11:30 AM)
Saturday (6:30-11:30 AM)
Sunday (7:30-11:30 AM)

Hong Kong Open (*tape delayed)

Thursday (11:30 AM-2:30 PM)
Friday (11:30 AM-2:00 PM)
Saturday (11:30 AM-2:00 PM)
Sunday (11:30 AM-2:00 PM)

Luiten wins ISPS Handa Wales Open for 4th career European Tour victory

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

Why this year's European Ryder Cup team will look drastically different than 2012

The race to qualify for captain Paul McGinley's team is nearing its final stages, with only five events left in which to earn points (WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, US PGA Championship, Made in Denmark, D+D REAL Czech Masters, Italian Open).  The next two events offer enormous amounts of points and represent the make or break for those on the outside looking in.

As the European team takes shape, it's amazing to see how different this year's team looks versus the 2012 version.  Here was the 2012 team:

Rory McIlroy
Justin Rose
Paul Lawrie
Graeme McDowell
Francesco Molinari
Luke Donald
Lee Westwood
Sergio Garcia
Peter Hanson
Martin Kaymer
Ian Poulter (captain's pick)
Nicolas Colsaerts (captain's pick)

As it stands now, the 2014 squad would look like this:

Rory McIlroy
Victor Dubuisson
Jamie Donaldson
Henrik Stenson
Sergio Garcia
Justin Rose
Martin Kaymer
Thomas Bjorn
Luke Donald
(captain's pick)
(captain's pick)
(captain's pick)

Out of the nine players currently in the top-9, four were not on the last Ryder Cup team (two rookies).  Luke Donald is trending downward with Graeme McDowell coming fast and furious.  Where is Ian Poulter?  "Poults" is currently 7th on the European Points List (top-4 qualify) and 12th on the World Points List (top-5 not already qualified).  Unfortunately, he's had a poor season and has missed his last two cuts.  He recently was stung by a horsefly in England and had to go to the hospital, and it's unsure if he'll play in the WGC this week.  But we all know what kind of record the Englishman has in this competition so it's very hard to think he'll miss out on a captain's pick if he doesn't qualify automatically.

Another Ryder Cup stalwart not having a good season is Lee Westwood.  The eight-time Ryder Cup team member won the Maybank Malaysian Open in April but is still 20th and 16th on the points lists.  Assistant captain and 2002 Ryder Cup-winning captain Sam Torrance said a few weeks ago that Westwood should be a lock.  If "Westy" doesn't perform well in the next month or so, he could be missing out on his first Ryder Cup.

Where are Lawrie, Molinari, Hanson, and Colsaerts?  Only Molinari is within shouting distance of automatically qualifying for the team. The Italian sits 14th on both lists and I expect him to do everything in his power to qualify for the team (i.e. playing all five events to gather more points).  Wouldn't it be awesome if he won his national open and, by doing so, qualified for the team?

Lawrie (75th and 91st) would be a really compelling pick if he wins an event or finishes well in one or two.  Being a Scot and McGinley stating that he'd love Scottish representation in the team like the Irish team had in 2006, it's not completely over for "Chippy."  The 45-year-old has had an atrocious year with the putter and has seen his world ranking fall to 215th.  He is scheduled to play in the Made in Denmark event so if he performs well, McGinley could give him a thought.

Colsaerts (69th and 73rd) and Hanson (51st and 50th) have both had a rough time since the Ryder Cup and they need to set their sights on the 2016 edition.  We'll see lots more of them in Europe due to Colsaerts announcing that he's finished playing the PGA Tour after he couldn't get adjusted to life in America and Hanson's poor play has seen him probably, barring a miraculous turnaround, lose his PGA Tour card.

Stephen Gallacher is currently 12th and 11th on the lists, but only around eight points (world ranking points) behind Donald for the 9th spot.  He's having the best season of his career and certainly looks like someone who's going to qualify automatically.  Being Scottish doesn't hurt his case either.  There's no way a Ryder Cup in the Home of Golf cannot have a Scotsman in the team.

Two other dark horses are Joost Luiten (10th and 15th) and Miguel Angel Jimenez (11th and 13th).  Luiten's play has tailed off recently but he has the game to perform well in the next two weeks to give himself a better chance.  The "most interesting man in golf" has won twice this season on the European Tour and once on the Champions Tour in the United States.  Like Luiten, the Spaniard has not performed to his usual standard in previous weeks, but it's remarkable to think that a 50-year-old is in contention for a Ryder Cup spot.  Don't rule out the "Mechanic!"

The next two weeks should see the team look about 75% set.  After that, it's up to players outside the top-9 to impress the captain with their play in the next three events, whether they be on the European or PGA Tours.  It obviously makes for compelling viewing!

The 40th Ryder Cup will take place at the PGA Centenary Course at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland from September 26-28.

For some Europeans, the PGA Tour season has come to an end

On the PGA Tour this week, the FedExCup Playoffs begin with The Barclays.  Last week was the last chance for players to earn enough points to make the top-125 in order to be eligible for the Playoffs.  Also, it was the last chance for players to earn enough money to finish inside the top-125 on the Tour's money list.  Being inside either the top-125 in points or earnings will guarantee a player's spot on Tour next season.  Several European Tour members who also ply their trade on the U.S. Tour will be missing out on the Playoffs or have not earned enough money and will not have full playing privileges next season on the PGA Tour.

Two exceptions to this are Padraig Harrington and Nicolas Colsaerts.  Both players finished outside the top-125 in points, but finished inside that number on the money list to guarantee their full playing rights for next season.

The soon-to-be 42-year-old Harrington finished 130th in points with 345 (125th place had 369), but finished 113th on the money list with $711,244.  The affable Irishman had three top-10 finishes during the PGA Tour season.

Colsaerts, the 30-year-old Belgian, finished his rookie season on the PGA Tour at 128th in points with 353.  He was likely to remain inside the top-125 if he had not withdrawn prior to the final counting event, the Wyndham Championship, due to neck and shoulder injuries.  He will keep his Tour card courtesy of finishing 110th on the money list with $720,164.  The "Belgian Bomber" had three top-10s during this year's spell in America.

Others, however, were not so lucky.

Englishman Ross Fisher, a PGA Tour rookie after earning his card through the Qualifying School, notched just one top-10 en route to finishing a disappointing 161st in points and the same position on the money list with $311,168.  The 2010 Ryder Cupper finished the season ranked 5th in Greens in Regulation (69.71%) but will rue his play on the greens as he finished 183rd in Putts per Round (30.52).  An opening round 64 left him tied for the lead at the Wyndham Championship, but shot subsequent rounds of 69-74-72 to finish T-52.  This was an epitome of his PGA Tour season.  In the end, the 32-year-old can look back to his putting, to go along with playing new courses and being a member of a new tour, as the reasons for his hugely disappointing PGA Tour season.

Maybe the biggest surprise to (possibly) lose his playing rights was the Swede, Peter Hanson.  A veteran of the past two Ryder Cups, Hanson was also playing his first season as member of the PGA Tour.  Hobbled by a back injury which plagued him for most of the season, he was not able to build on a hugely successful 2012 season which saw him win twice on the European Tour en route to finishing 4th on the Race to Dubai (money list).  This season on the U.S. Tour, the 36-year-old only notched one top-10 finish and had three withdrawals and two missed cuts out of 15 events.  He looked all but set to finish inside the top-125 in points after finishing T-33 at the PGA Championship, but needed to make the cut at the Wyndham in order to guarantee his place on Tour for 2013-14.  Rounds of 68 and 73 saw him miss the cut.  He ended his season 127th in points with 356.

There is a glimmer of hope, though.  Hanson earned enough money ($610,178) to put him at number 124 on the money list.  If no one outside the top-125 on the money list were competing in the FedExCup playoffs, the Swede would be home free and he could count on another season in the States next year.  However, due to George McNeill ($475,838), Stuart Appleby ($489,613), Scott Langley ($573,564), and Chez Reavie ($590,925) all qualifying for the Playoffs via the points list, each one has a chance to pass Hanson due to the fact that all four players are outside the top-125 on the money list.  So the six-time European Tour winner will have to sweat it out and see if any of these four can overtake him on the money list.

Lastly, it was another disappointing season for Robert Karlsson, the 43-year-old Swede.  The 2008 European Tour Order of Merit winner decided to join the PGA Tour for the first time in 2012 and finished 158th on the points list, but regained his position on Tour with a solid showing at the Qualifying School (had to play both 2nd and Final Stages).  This year was better, but he still fell short of the top-125.  Due to his category coming out of Q-School, the big Swede was not able to play a full schedule.  He did, however, qualify for both the U.S. Open and Open Championship.  But you cannot possibly keep your card by only garnering one top-10 and missing nine cuts in 18 events.  His 2013 PGA Tour stats were: 156th in FedExCup points (236) and 143rd in money earned ($444,238)

The 11-time European Tour winner (most wins by a Swede on the European Tour) now has a choice to make regarding 2014: Either take part in the Web.com Tour Finals and earn your PGA Tour card that way, or play on the European Tour next season.  He could also play on sponsor's invitations in a limited number of tournaments next season.  The Finals are open to players who finished 126-200 on the FedExCup points list or in the top-75 on the Web.com Tour money list.  The Finals comprise of four events and a money list for those four events will determine 25 PGA Tour cards (this replaces PGA Tour Q-School which will no longer be taking place).  He is exempt in Europe until 2018 courtesy of his Order of Merit win (10-year exemption).  He's currently ranked 239th in the Official World Golf Rankings and needs to have some balance in his playing schedule.  He actually resigned his European Tour membership this season due to the fact that he would not be able to fulfill the 13 tournament minimum in Europe because he was trying to focus on keeping his U.S. Tour card.  The two-time Ryder Cupper is looking at a similar season if he chooses to play primarily in the States.

Although their seasons in America have concluded, the European Tour is still plugging away with 11 tournaments left on the Race to Dubai schedule.  Harrington will be playing in both the ISPS Handa Wales Open and the Omega European Masters in the next two weeks, while Colsaerts will be resting his injury and return to the Tour at the KLM Open in three weeks and play the following week at the Italian Open.  Fisher is competing in this week's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and also next week in Wales.  His website lists him playing the next five weeks in a row, but no confirmation has been made.  Hanson will most likely defend his 2012 title at the KLM Open.  There is no upcoming schedule for Karlsson yet, but I would guess a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals is in order.