Written by Golf World on Thursday 13 January 2011
The Sony Open is the first full-field event of the PGA Tour, a time filled with as much optimism as curiosity. It is not unusual to see veterans looking at names on the golf bags to figure out who some of these guys are. There are 26 rookies at Waialae, 10 of them who have never teed it up in...
Written by Golf World on Friday 14 January 2011
All those rookies ready to start their PGA Tour careers will have to wait another day. The opening round of the Sony Open, the first full-field event of the season, was washed out Thursday because of heavy overnight rain that left too much water on Waialae Country Club. Once the sun came up and officials could see, it was a quick...
Written by Golf World on Friday 14 January 2011
Martin Maritz and Tyrone Mordt share the first round lead at the Joburg Open after both carded faultless nine under par rounds of 62. However, they came on different courses at the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club, and while Mordt’s efforts on the West Course were outstanding, Maritz’s (right) on the more difficult East Course were truly sensational. The two South...
Written by Golf World on Friday 14 January 2011
Two-time Open Champion Padraig Harrington is announced as The R&A’s first Working for Golf Ambassador, using his position in the global game to promote the work of the game’s governing body. The 39 year old Dubliner, who at Birkdale three years ago became the first European golfer to make a successful defence of the Claret Jug since James Braid in 1906,...
Written by Golf World on Sunday 16 January 2011
South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel ground out a four shot win to successfully defend his Joburg Open title. The World Number 32 was never at his best from tee to green in his final round 67, but some remarkable up-and-downs helped him finish 19 under par, four ahead of compatriot Garth Mulroy. Another South African, Thomas Aiken, saw his challenge for a maiden...
Written by Golf World on Sunday 16 January 2011
Dustin Johnson says he hasn’t been dating anyone for two months, not even Natalie Gulbis. Johnson spoke out Saturday because he was tired of hearing gossip and innuendoes that he withdrew from the Sony Open because his girlfriend found out about a relationship with Gulbis. He said he broke up with college girlfriend Amanda Caulder a few months ago. Caulder has since...
Written by Golf World on Monday 17 January 2011
Mark Wilson endured an epic 36-hole Sunday before birdieing the last to win the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday. Wilson barely had time to eat a sandwich, much less keep track of his round, when he arrived at the 17th green Sunday afternoon at the Sony Open and realized he had not made a single bogey during this 36-hole...
Written by Golf World on Monday 17 January 2011
Q: How do you make one of the best tournaments on the European Tour schedule even better? A: Lengthen the course, toughen up the bunkering and bring in one of most innovative sponsors in golf. Tim Maitland sat down with some of the world’s top players to work out how to plot your way to success at this week’s Abu Dhabi...
Written by Golf World on Monday 17 January 2011
US Open champion Graeme McDowell has moved level with Phil Mickelson in fourth place in the world rankings as both build up to this week’s Abu Dhabi Championship. Northern Irishman McDowell and American Mickelson join a star-studded field in the Arabian desert for the event Martin Kaymer won last year. Englishman Lee Westwood, who took over the No 1 spot at the...
Written by Golf World on Monday 17 January 2011
Jose Maria Olazabal is set to be named the 2012 Ryder Cup captain in a press conference in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The Spaniard is the overwhelming choice of the players’ committee which makes the decision. It’s also emerged from the USA that Davis Love III will captain the American team at Medinah next year. Despite his continuing battle with rheumatism –...
Written by Golf World on Tuesday 18 January 2011
JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL – CAREER FACTFILE FULL NAME: Jose Maria Olazabal Manterola COUNTRY: Spain BORN: 5.2.66; Fuenterrabia, Spain RESIDENCE: Fuenterrabia HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5ft 10in 12st 4lb (178cm 78kgs) TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1985 (plus 4) QUALIFYING SCHOOL: 1985* (winner) EUROPEAN TOUR CAREER RECORD (Prior to the 2011 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship) EVENTS PLAYED 383 IN MONEY 323 TOP TEN FINISHES 141 EARNINGS €11,693,000 EUROPEAN TOUR VICTORIES: Total 23 1986 Ebel European Masters – Swiss Open,...
Written by Golf World on Tuesday 18 January 2011
Padraig Harrington has spent the winter changing his swing… again. He’s implemented some significant changes, from his set-up to his takeaway and even the way he puts his grips on. According to Golf World contributor Brian Keogh of the Irish Golf Desk (www.irishgolfdesk.com), Harrington said: “I changed the actual grips on my golf club. Most people would think ‘well, what’s that’.
Written by Golf World on Tuesday 18 January 2011
It’s now an obligatory requirement for the world’s top golfers to engage in some kind of publicity pictures when the hit the desert on the European Tour, and here’s this year’s instalment. Half of the world’s top 10 golfers – Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Paul Casey and Louis Oosthuizen – hit the high seas this morning,,,...
Written by Golf World staff on Tuesday 18 January 2011
As expected, José Maria Olazábal has been named the captain of the next Ryder Cup team, to be held at Medinah Country Club, in Illinois, USA, from September 28-30, 2012. The two-time Masters Champion, Olazabal, will be the 23rd golfer to captain a Ryder Cup team against the USA, and the second Spaniard, following Seve Ballesteros in 1997. Olazábal made the first...
Written by Golf World on Wednesday 19 January 2011
Scotland’s Elliot Saltman has been banned for three months from competing on the European Tour for cheating during an event in Russia last year. The 28-year-old’s ban will start on January 19, a statement from European Tour chief George O’Grady said. The tournament committee met on Tuesday and “unanimously” found Saltman guilty of breaching a regulation during the first round of the...
Written by Golf World on Wednesday 19 January 2011
The 2011 Golf Season is underway — and, if 2010 was any indication of what’s to come for this year, PUMA’s Rickie Fowler is certainly the man to beat. The newly-named 2010 PGA Rookie of the Year was busy during the break, combining his love for Golf and Moto GP at the Eagle Creek Golf Course in Naples, Florida. Donning his...
Written by Golf World on Wednesday 19 January 2011
The latest issue of Golf World is out now, and it’s dedicated to the murky art of the short game. The “Short Game Issue” features tips and interviews with the likes of Butch Harmon, Mark Roe, Ross Fisher and Dave Pelz. They will help you chip better, get out of bunkers, and beat the yips. Elswehere in the issue there’s...
Written by Golf World on Wednesday 19 January 2011
Tiger Woods will be starting his season in San Diego next week. Woods officially entered the Farmers Insurance Open on Wednesday, which has become the traditional start of his season since 2006. He will then fly from California to compete on the European Tour in the Dubai Desert Classic. He has not played the PGA Tour stop at Torrey Pines the...
Written by Golf World on Thursday 20 January 2011
Lee Westwood and Ernie Els are just two of the game’s biggest names who are unhappy about the current schedules of tour golf. Ernie has said he might miss this year’s President’s Cup because it clashes with the South African Open, while Westwood has confirmed he may skip the so-called fifth major because he isn’t allowed to play in the...
Written by Golf World on Thursday 20 January 2011
Charl Schwartzel continued his phenomenal start to the 2011 Race to Dubai to claim the first round lead at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Four days after retaining the Joburg Open, the South African shot 64 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and is now a staggering 69 under for his last 17 rounds. He was eight under after 12 holes,...