Archive for the European Tour Category


Olazabal wants to win Royal Trophy for Seve

European thoughts will be with Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros as the continent’s leading golfers take on Asia’s best in the Royal Trophy in Bangkok, Thailand this week. Europe captain Jose Maria Olazabal is using the ailing Ballesteros as the rallying cry for his team. Seve is the regular captain for the Royal Trophy Europe team […]

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Five things to look forward to in 2009

A new year brings a new dawn for golf with plenty to look forward to in 2009. An epic 12 months has just passed us with Tiger Woods’ incredible victory at the US Open, his subsequent injury-enforced withdrawal from the Tour, the emergence of Padraig Harrington as a genuine star and the United States’ Ryder […]

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PGA Tour announces 2009 line-up with sponsors in place

The PGA Tour is finally saying what everyone knew about the global financial crisis, despite being able to announce a fully sponsored schedule for 2009. In the past few months, Tour executives have insisted on how they would not be unduly affected by the credit crunch that is causing havoc with almost every industry around […]

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Golf writers honour Harrington, Ochoa and Haas

The awards keep flowing for Ireland’s Padraig Harrington. The reigning British Open and PGA Championship champion has added to his vast 2008 honours list after being named Player of the Year for men by the Golf Writers Association of America. Harrington has already won the prestigious PGA Tour Player of the Year Award as well […]

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Europe in mood to retain Royal Trophy

The European team led by Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal is confident of continuing their domination over their Asian rivals when they clash in the Royal Trophy in Bangkok next month. The annual Ryder Cup-style shootout between the two continents will feature a strong European squad, with Olazabal recently adding former British Open winner Paul Lawrie […]

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Harrington wins European Shot of the Year prize

His ball laying 249 yards from the hole, the imposing thought of Greg Norman lurking two strokes behind him prompted Irish Padraig Harrington to take out his five-wood earlier this year at the British Open. Little did he know at the time that the incredible shot that saw the ball land just three feet from […]

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More money and events in Asia despite financial woes

Despite no end in sight to the global economic downturn, golf officials maintain that their lot is safe. Not so long ago the PGA Tour announced a new schedule that appears to make it impervious to the credit crunch. That was before General Motors, which sponsors two tournaments in America, said it was ending its […]

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Taiwanese beats McIlory in Hong Kong play-off

Taiwan’s Lin Wen-tang rose above the big names of European golf to win the Hong Kong Open after a play-off win over Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Italian Franceso Molinari. Lin shot a final round of 67 at the Hong Kong Golf Club to total 265, the same as McIlroy and Molinari, both of whom […]

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Singapore Singh – Jeev holds off Harrington and Els

Indian Jeev Milkha Singh emerged from a stellar field that included Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els to win the $5 million Singapore Open at Sentosa Island over the weekend. The son of a former Olympic runner shot a final round of two-under-par 69 for a total of seven-under 277 and a one-stroke victory […]

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Hong Kong wild about Daly

John Daly and the Hong Kong Golf Club make an incongruous pair. Daly is the “wild thing” of world golf, who only two weeks ago was reported to have spent 24 hours in a north Carolina jail sobering up after a heavy bout of drinking. The Hong Kong Golf Club is the ultimate in decorum, […]

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PGA Tour announces richer 2009 season

US PGA Tour officials had insisted that the current global credit crunch would not have a major impact on the circuit. And, as if to prove a point, on Wednesday they announced their 2009 schedule, featuring 25 tournaments that includes a “Texas swing”. Overall prize money increases to $222.9 million from $214.4 million this year […]

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Garcia claims second spot after Shanghai victory

Spain’s Sergio Garcia became the first winner of a European Tour Race to Dubai event when he triumphed at the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, China, which thrust him into second place in the world rankings. Garcia, who has suffered numerous play-off disappointments in his career, this time came out on top as he beat […]

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Jewel of Asia eager to sparkle

Next week, the 2009 European Tour stops at what many call the “Jewel in the Crown” of Asian golf – the Hong Kong Open. For me, the tournament has special meaning because I grew up in Hong Kong and covered the event more than a dozen times as a journalist. The golf was only part […]

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Goosen ends 21-month drought with Johor victory

It took an Asian Tour fling for South African Retief Goosen to end a 21-month run without a title to his name. The two-time US Open champion came good on the final round to shoot a six-under-par 66 and register a two-stroke victory at the Iskandar Johor Open in the southern Malaysian city of Johor […]

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Tiger may be back for Masters, says coach

It hasn’t come from the horse’s mouth but close enough. If Tiger Woods’ coach, Hank Haney, has got it right, then the world number one will be back in time for April’s US Masters in Augusta. Woods’ last outing was June’s US Open at Torrey Pines, where he won the title after an exhausting 19-hole […]

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