Bad lies The Match…
I have only bumped into one person who watched The Match from start to finish. Like me, many taped it and watched it on Saturday.
I’m sorry to say, the golf overall was under-whelming. The banter was the same. There was almost no needling between the two. Tiger just doesn’t seem comfortable chatting on the golf course.
Here’s a question…
Do you think it would have made any difference if they had been playing for $ 1 million instead of $ 9 million? I think I would have enjoyed it more. I found myself thinking how many RDP houses could have been built for $ 9 million. If they had built them in South Africa, it would be about 3000.
I found the whole thing a bit obscene.
Thanks to Supersport we didn’t have to pay any extra to watch The Match. In America viewers had to pay $ 19.99. Yes, I would have paid, but was the golf worth $ 9 million? Sorry, but no! The final day at every one of the majors was far more exciting, and The Ryder Cup made the Match look silly.
I would like to see a different way of the money being paid. Have a match between say Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia. Each gets $ 2 million on the first tee and then they bet their own money as they go around. There has to be a bet of $100,000 on each hole and the overall winner gets $200,000 from the loser. Each bet must be made on the tee and can be for anything on that hole - a win; hitting the fairway; longest drive; nearest the pin; birdie or eagle – you name it.
But back to Mickelson and Woods… Mickelson drove the ball well and there were a lot of good approach shots to the greens but each of them missed a number of holeable putts.
Shadow Creek didn’t look nearly as spectacular as it really is. The greens looked like they been hollowtyned recently and you could still see the holes. They also seemed a little slower than what the players are used to.
As far as the coverage was concerned, I loved the fact that the players were mic’d up but it was a pity that Tiger was mostly quiet, which meant we had to listen to Phil huffing and puffing. Also, the commentators talked over the players. There were just far too many voices and far too much talking over each other. Well except for poor Natalie Gulbis. Did anyone notice that we saw her at the beginning and then not again? There was also some break-up from some of the cameras, which was irritating.
In case you missed it, Phil beat Tiger in the dark on the 22nd hole. He had led 1-up through the front nine before Tiger birdied the 11th and 12th. It went all-square again when Mickelson birdied the 13th and he went 1-up when Tiger bogeyed the 15th. Woods birdied the 17th and both birdied the 18th to force the extra holes. They both parred the first play-off hole and then moved onto the special set up par 3 which they play played until a winner was determined.
Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open…
This week is the Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open at the Four Seasons Golf Club at Anahita.
The event alternates between Anahita and Heritage and this year has attracted another terrific field of players including Ernie Els, Matteo Manasero, Richard Sterne, past winner’s Dylan Frittelli and George Coetzee, Jordan Smith, Edoardo Molinari and Justin Harding, who has been so successful on the Asian Tour.
The golf course, which was designed by Ernie Els, is always in terrific condition. The design is similar to Ernie’s courses in South Africa with wide fairways, large greens and loads of bunkers. With a little wind it will be a very good test for the players.
Each year the event has done a spectacular job, it’s just a shame that all South Africa's top players don’t support the tournament.
When the Ball Hits Back…
Check out the QE2 Shootout that took place in celebration of the of the tenth anniversary of the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. Francesco Molinari, Thorbjørn Olesen and Jon Rahm got to have a go…
Festive Season Book & Ball Offer
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Reference: Please use your First Name and Surname Players of the month
• Justin Rose successfully defended his title in the Turkish Airlines Open (1st to 4th Nov) at the Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort in Antalya: - “It's taken me 20 years to defend a title, I guess, so that's great. I've had some pressure-packed Sundays of late, dare I say, coming away with consolation prizes in a way. World Number One after losing in a play-off, finishing fourth but winning the FedExCup. I was keenly aware I wanted to get back in the winner's circle and it was good to get it done today.”
• Matt Kuchar returned to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2014 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic (8th to 11th Nov) at El Camaleon GC in Mexico: - “It feels extra sweet having kind of had to suffer through a year of not playing great in 2018. Being four years removed since my last victory I realize how difficult it is to win on the PGA TOUR.”
• Winning for the first time since 2014, Lee Westwood was a popular winner of the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player (8th to 11th Nov) at the Gary Player CC: - “I'm a bit emotional, to be honest. You're never sure whether you're going to be able to do it again. Until now my emotions have felt really under control all day which is what I've been working hard on. I was just trying to hit fairways and stick to my game-plan and hit it in the right places.”
• Vijay Singh won the PGA TOUR Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Phoenix Country Club (8th to 11th Nov) while Bernhard Langer won the Charles Schwab Cup for the fifth time (the fourth time in the last five years): - "At age 61 to do it is quite an achievement. Maybe there's another in me."
• While Danny Willett won the season ending DP World Tour Championship (15th to 18th Nov) at Jumeirah Golf Estates, it was Francesco Molinari who, after a fantastic season, became the first Italian to top the European Tour’s Race to Dubai (Order of Merit): - “It's incredible…This morning on the first tee the announcement is the winner of The Open Championship, Race to Dubai leader, it doesn't sound real at the moment. It's more than I ever dreamed of achieving. I've seen guys that I think are better players than me not winning Majors and not winning Order of Merits or Race to Dubai’s. To achieve those things in one single season is just incredible.”
• Lexi Thompson won the LPGA’s season ending CME Group Tour Championship (15th to 18th Nov) at Tiburón GC in Florida, while Ariya Jutanugarn dominated the season winning all the prizes, and in addition to finishing the year as World Number One she also topped the LPGA’s Race to the CME Globe: “I’m so proud of myself. All week, I was thinking about all of the things [at stake] but today I didn’t think about that. I just wanted to have a good feeling going into the off season.”
• Belgium won the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf (22nd to 25th Nov): - Thomas Detry - "It feels amazing, World Champions. It was always nice to have that big brother talking to you and calming you down. It's like you're playing a game against your buddy at home, I learned a lot thanks to him. It's kind of a dream come true. There's nothing like representing your country on the other side of the world, it's just amazing."
Around the world
• Congrats to Team Belgium, Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry, who won the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf at The Metropolitan Golf Club. They had a five-shot lead after three rounds and then shot 4-under 68 in the final round foursomes. They won on 23-under 265, three strokes clear of Australia (Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith) who shot 65, and Mexico (Abraham Ancer and Roberto Diaz) who shot 66. Defending champions Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark tied for fourth on 17-under alongside Canada (Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor). Dylan Frittelli and Erik van Rooyen finished tied for 18th on 8-under.
• Aaron Rai won his first European Tour tournament in wire-to-wire style at the season opening Honma Hong Kong Open presented by Amundi. He held a 6-shot lead going into the final round at Hong Kong Golf Club and in tough weather conditions, shot a 1-under 69 to win by one over Matthew Fitzpatrick on 17-under 263. Fitzpatrick had a superb 6-under 64 to put Rai under pressure but sadly made bogey at the 17th. Victor Perez (a Challenge Tour graduate) and Jason Scrivener tied for third on 11-under. Justin Harding tied for 14th on 7-under and Thomas Aiken finished 15th on 6-under. Adilson da Silva tied for 30th on 4-under.
• Anne van Damm won her second LET title of the season at the Andalucia Open de Espana at La Quinta Golf & CC in Spain. She had to finish her third round on Sunday morning and started the final round four-strokes clear of defending champion Azahara Muñoz. She shot 1-under 70 to finish on 13-under 271, three clear of Munoz, who was trying to win for the third year in a row. Catriona Matthew finished third on 6-under. Nicole Garcia tied for 32nd on 4-over.
• Sixteen players and ties will advance from the Sunshine Tour's Q School 1st Stage at Maccauvlei GC to the Final Stage early next year. In his third attempt at a Tour Card, Amateur Hans-Jurie Human eagled the last to win by two on 11-under 277. Fourteen players and ties will progress from the First Stage held at Eagle Canyon, where Tristen Strydom won by 14-shots on 20-under 268. The Final Stage will be played at Houghton Golf Club in March next year.
• Ebotse Golf Club’s Kiera Floyd won the 2018 Mpumalanga Championship at Mbombela GC. She shot rounds of 73-74-70 to win by three on 4-over 217. Annalie Swanepoel was second and Monja Richards was third a further shot back.
• Tiger’s Hero World Challenge takes place in the Bahamas this week and the field is fantastic – Keegan Bradley; Jason Day; Bryson DeChambeau; Tony Finau; Rickie Fowler; Dustin Johnson; Hideki Matsuyama; Alex Noren; Jon Rahm; Patrick Reed; Justin Rose; Xander Schauffele; Webb Simpson; Henrik Stenson; Justin Thomas; Bubba Watson; Gary Woodland & Tiger Woods.
• Ernie Els last week announced Australian Geoff Ogilvy as his first captain’s assistant for the 2019 Presidents Cup at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club from 9th to 15th December 2019. Ogilvy was a vice-Captain to Nick Price in 2017 and he played in three events himself, in 2007, 2009 and 2011, so he brings some experience to the table. Els also unveiled a new logo for the International team which will allow each player to have their country’s flag placed into the centre of the emblem. Ernie has also overseen some other changes like a new one-year points selection policy, which means he will have more in form players on the team plus he’ll have four captains picks instead of two. He’ll also have more say in the golf course setup and will get to choose the order of play.
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• European Solheim Cup Captain Catronia Matthew announced that Dame Laura Davies will be one of her Vice-Captain at Gleneagles in September 2019. Davies joins Suzann Pettersen and Kathryn Imrie.
• Remember the lawsuit involving Vijay Singh, the PGA Tour and the deer antler spray? Me either… but just to be clear, the parties issued a joint statement last week to say the issue had been resolved. "The settlement reflects our mutual commitment to look to the future as we put this matter behind us. The PGA Tour fully supports Vijay as he continues to be a true champion on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. The PGA Tour recognizes that Vijay is one of the hardest working golfers ever to play the game, and does not believe that he intended to gain an unfair advantage over his fellow competitors in this matter. Vijay fully supports the PGA TOUR’s Anti-Doping Program and all efforts to protect the integrity of the game that he loves so much." Case closed.
• Who’s up this week? (Please note that this is the entry list as at Monday & is subject to change)
• PGA TOUR - Hero World Challenge – No South Africans in the field
• EUROPEAN – Australian PGA Championship – No South Africans in the field
• SUNSHINE / EUROPEAN / ASIAN TOUR – Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open – too many SA’s to mention but including Dylan Frittelli; Ernie Els; Richard Sterne; George Coetzee; Haydn Porteous; Justin Harding & Thomas Aiken…
By The Rules
The new Rules of Golf will come into play on 1st January 2019 – that’s just over one month away!
If you haven’t already collected your FREE Rules Booklet from your local golf club, then do it now so you are prepared for the changes!
Here’s a reminder of the key changes... (Click on the image to enlarge it)
I suggest you check out this webpage, which gives you a number of short videos you can watch, which clearly explain all the changes that you need to know. On tour with Dale City Lodge Hotel Group has just launched a Half Price Campaign, for bookings between 14/12/2018 and 13/01/2019. Click here to access all the details and T&C’s.
Dale Hayes Golf appreciates the ongoing support of City Lodge & SkyNet.
The 5th World Club ProAm
Sanctioned by the PGAs of Europe - 17th to 24th of March 2019
The 5th World Club ProAm sanctioned by the PGAs of Europe will be hosted in the beautiful country of Thailand in 2019 at the popular resort city of Hua Hin, about 3 hours south of Bangkok.
The tournament will be played on four courses - Black Mountain Golf Club, the Bayan Golf Club, Springfield Royal Country Club and Lake View Resort and Country Club.
Entry and participation is simple with teams from all over the world already registered, intent on playing great golf, touring, and networking for global business purposes or establishing new, personal friendships.To enter and further details visit www.worldclubproam.com and complete the online form. Register before 30th of September and qualify for the Early Bird Package and easy payment plan. The Driving Range
This month Elsabe Hefer looks at how how power is created in the swing, which will help you to get a few extra yards off the tee.
This week she looks at how a strong right elbow move on the downswing can be a source of power.
Elsabe Hefer is a Fellow Member of the PGA; a former Gauteng North PGA Teacher of the Year and PGA Top 20 Teacher. She is the Head Teaching Professional at Zwartkop Country Club.
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Tour news European Tour, Sunshine Tour, PGA and LPGA Tour Schedules. Take a look at all the events plus the international golfing events coming up soon. And, to finish off... The rare hole-in-one, the perfect fluke ever, it’s the best feeling in golf.
Celebrate – get the certificate and have bragging rights forever! For further information and to join, contact Margaret on (012) 654-1144 or click here to send an email.
The Fans: -
“I drew a big gallery today. I was paired with Arnold Palmer.” - Gene Littler
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