| TALES FROM THE BOX
A Very Agreeable
Stretch
From Crans Montana in the heart of the Swiss Alps to Hong Kong via the Dutch coast, European Tour commentator Julian Tutt takes in a handful of his favourite events.
T
AFP; Daniel Wong
Asian Tour Order of Merit leader David Lipsky (this page) won big at the European Masters; Andy Sullivan (opposite) received one of the more unusual prizes for his holein-one at the KLM Open 38
HK GOLFER・OCT 2014
here are two tournaments that are first on my event wish list every year: the Hong Kong Open and the European Masters in Crans Montana on the Haut Plateau high above the Rhone Valley. It is a spectacularly beautiful place, with air so pure that you’d love to be able to bottle it. The Crans-sur-Sierre Club, in conjunction with sponsors Omega, has spent over SFr6 million (nearly HK$50 million) on improving the course over the last three years, turning a stunning venue into a seriously good test of golf. Of course the ball flies for miles in the thin mountain air, so even with a tight par of 70, eighteen players shot four rounds in the 60s, a pretty unusual statistic. American David Lipsky was one of those. Starting the final round three shots behind the leader, Englishman Graeme Storm, there weren’t too many local tipsters plumping for the Asian Tour player. However, he’d shown a worldwide audience what he was capable of earlier in the season when finishing second at The Championship at Laguna National in Singapore and he was nerveless in holing a birdie putt at the 72nd hole to put pressure on Storm, who had hit a brilliant drive down the last, but then shied away from attacking the dangerous flag close to water. The former Amateur champion’s only previous Tour win came at the French Open in 2007, but after a year of financial torment Storm was more concerned to tie up second place and guarantee his playing rights for next season. Two putts meant a playoff
When you have a fabulous venue like the Hong Kong Golf Club situated close to one of the world’s most exciting cities there is a built-in recipe for success. It seems probable his appearances in Asia will be distinctly limited now. No doubt he’ll get a warm welcome at the Hong Kong Open this month. Storm did have a most rewarding week, which included winning the highly-regarded BMW i8 for a hole-in-one. A number of players are on the waiting list for one, and he wasn’t short of offers to buy it at the asking price or even better.
and with Storm in trouble off the tee, Lipsky hit a lay-up out of the fairway bunker that no one had anticipated or could remember seeing before. He appeared to have left himself a really difficult “up and down”, but played it superbly, leaving a tap-in for a win that gives him a free ticket around Europe for the next two years. His stated and natural aim is to end up on the PGA Tour but it won’t be easy under the new rules. If he gets his card at the PGA Tour School he then has to decide whether to play a full season on the Web.Com Tour to try and gain his full card, or whether to spend more time, or all his time in Europe; exciting, but daunting too. HKGOLFER.COM
It’s not just in Switzerland that these guys live in rarefied air. Not so thin though as that which Englishman Andy Sullivan won the right to experience, the following week at the KLM Open. With only two groups to come after him on Sunday he holed-in-one at the super-tricky 15th to earn a US$100,000 trip into space as a tourist with XCOR Space Expeditions. He admits to being “scared of heights and not the best flyer”, so it should be a bundle of laughs. He’s got a couple of years to think about it, so he’ll probably be a nervous wreck by the time they launch. At the KLM, Paul Casey became the fourth most successful Englishman with his 13th tour win. He needs five more to catch Mark James, with Lee Westwood having won 23 and Sir Nick Faldo 30. Would Paul McGinley have picked him for his Ryder Cup team if selection had been delayed a little? Would Tom Watson have gone for FedEx Cup Champion Billy Horschel? There’s certainly a case for the captain’s to make their selections closer to the competition, HKGOLFER.COM
regardless of what ever happened at Gleneagles. Casey incidentally was feeling chilled after recently becoming a father for the first time. His son Lex has already been dubbed “Ro” by the witty caddie fraternity. Watch out! Or “fore!”, as we should shout. Unfortunately Alexandre Kaleka’s drive on the 14th at Kennemer was so far off line that a stunned Fabrizio Zanotti wouldn’t have heard if they had screamed it. Collecting the full-blooded blow slap bang on the forehead he went down like a sack of potatoes. Fortunately the only long term damage he sustained was a Titleist tattoo. Play had to be halted, because groups were stacking up behind and it took two hours and twenty minutes before they resumed. His friends and colleagues were naturally concerned for his health, but a doctor was on hand within five minutes and one can’t help thinking that had it been a spectator who’d been struck they would have ploughed on regardless. With the Ryder Cup out of the way, different considerations face those attending the Hong Kong Open, such as “Do we do Wan Chai or Lan Kwai Fong tonight?” When you have a fabulous venue like the Hong Kong Golf Club situated close to one of the world’s most exciting cities there is a built-in recipe for success. The tournament this year is up against the Volvo World Match Play Championship at The London Club in Kent which is only a limited distraction, and it’s good to see such a strong field entered. There’s always considerable rivalry amongst the commentators as to who makes the first team for Hong Kong, with a larger than usual subs bench. I’ve been most fortunate to do it every year bar one since it became a co-sanctioned tournament. As local residents, Dominique Boulet and I have got the pick along with Warren Humphreys, who’s on his way back from Australia. The Computer King, as Humphreys is dubbed, will be treading new ground as the on-course reporter, a role about which he is a little nervous. Needles to say as a former European Tour champion and veteran of “The Booth”, as the Americans call it, he has no need to be. If you happen to be lining the fairways at Fanling do point Warren in the right direction, in case he gets lost round the Composite Course. He’ll appreciate your help. See you there! HK GOLFER・OCT 2014
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