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December 2012 - January 2013 / Issue 217
News in Brief PARRY LEADS GRADUATES Yorkshire’s John Parry led home a group of 28 relieved graduates from the final stage of the European Tour’s qualifying school in Spain. The 26-year-old began the final round of the 108-hole marathon four shots clear, and his lead was never threatened at PGA Catalunya Resort. Gary Orr became the oldest player to win a card at 45 years and 202 days, while former Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson finished two shots shy of the required mark.
WATSON GETS CAPTAINCY
Tom Watson has been named the US Captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. It will be 63-year old’s second time in the role, having captained USA to victory in 1993 at The Belfry the last time the Americans won the title away from the US. He is the first repeat US captain since Jack Nicklaus in 1987, and is the oldest captain in the history of the contest.
STENSON BAGS SA TITLE Henrik Stenson ended a five-year wait for a Tour title by capturing the SA Open Championship at the Serengeti Golf & Wildlife Estate. The Swede saw off a charge from home favourite George Coetzee to finish on 17 under par and triumph by three shots.
FROST WINS IN MAURITIUS David Frost survived a final round scare to win the MCB Tour Championship by one stroke from Peter Fowler and Barry Lane, sealing his second victory at Belle Mare Plage in Mauritius on a dramatic final day of the European Senior Tour season. The South African began the final round with a four-shot lead, but had to birdie the final hole to cling on for victory.
SCOTT’S FIRST Scott Jamieson won the opening event of the new European Tour season in South Africa. The inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship was cut to 36 holes on a rain-soaked Royal Durban course, with Jamieson shooting a second-round 57 at the par-65 course, and then beating Steve Webster and Edoardo de la Riva in a play-off.
Westwood drops bagman Billy
Tour unveils £19m ‘Final Series’ The European Tour is introducing a new £19m climax to the 2013 Race to Dubai with a ‘Final Series’ of four events. The four tournaments are the BMW Masters and HSBC Champions in China, the Turkish Open in Antalya, and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. Players will only be eligible to compete in the season-ending showdown if they play in two of the first three. If they participate in all three, then their points on the Race to Dubai money list will receive a 20 per cent bonus. “We felt there had to be an additional level of commitment from the membership to these important tournaments, hence the new regulation,” said European Tour chief
George O’Grady. Of the 45 scheduled events for 2013, England will host just one, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in May, while the Wales Open at Celtic Manor switches from the end of May to the end of August. Spain drops from seven tournaments to just one, reflecting the financial pressures the country is facing. The 2013 Race to Dubai began this month with the Nelson Mandela Championship in South Africa – the first of six tournaments to be staged in the country this season. The Hong Kong Open and the Singapore Open will be staged as usual next year in the latter part of November, but they will now become the opening events of the 2014 schedule.
McDowell rises to the World Challenge Graeme McDowell continued his love affair with California by winning for the first time in two years when he held off his playing partner Keegan Bradley to clinch the World Challenge by three shots. The 33-year-old Northern Irishman, who had endured a title drought since his play-off victory in the same event over tournament host
Tiger Woods in 2010, ended his 2012 campaign on a triumphant note, as he closed with a four-under-par 68 to post a 17-under total. “This really caps off my season,” he said. “We try not to put winning on a pedestal, but this one feels very sweet because it’s been a grind all year. “Certainly I will draw some confidence from this one. The game
hasn’t given me a huge amount this year.” Although McDowell survived a few anxious moments over the closing stretch at a rain-soaked Sherwood Country Club, he rebounded from a bogey at the 13th with birdies at the 16th and the last to keep Bradley at bay. The 2011 US PGA champion had been the subject of heckling from the crowd during the second round following his continued use of the broomhandle putter, which is set to face restrictions on how it is used in 2016. Bo Van Pelt finished third on 10 under, a stroke better than compatriots Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, and the five-time champion Woods.
Lee Westwood has parted company with his caddie, and long-time friend, Billy Foster. Foster has been off bag-carrying duties for the last six months following a cruciate knee injury, and although Westwood originally promised to give the 46-year-old Yorkshireman back the job when he was fit again, it seems that the world No.10’s patience ran out. With one major to go before his 40th birthday, and Foster unable to guarantee his fitness for the start of next year in the build-up to the Masters in April, Westwood has taken on the full-time services of Zimbabwean Mike Kerr. Foster said: “It’s been very difficult these last six months – I’ve been in a dark tunnel. I’ve only started walking again last month, so to get the call from Lee just as I was starting to see the light again was unbelievably disappointing. We had such a laugh together, have been great mates, and were very successful, but it’s a tough game for caddies, and I’ve just to focus on getting myself right. I’m a
strong character and I’ll be fine – but it’s hard to take.” Speaking about the split, Westwood’s manager, Chubby Chandler, said: “Lee is at that stage of his career where he has to be a little bit selfish. He’s only got four or five prime years left, and he simply can’t afford to mess about with this one coming up. He is playing six tournaments in a row, starting in Dubai next February, and you can’t have Billy one week and then another caddie the following week. It was a difficult decision, because we all know how good Billy is as a caddie, and they’re great mates as well.” Westwood also sacked his long-term coach, Pete Cowan, in August, and has recently moved to Florida in a bid to end his major drought. A brief association with Zimbabwean short game coach Tony Johnstone also come to an abrupt end after Westwood’s chipping let him down in the final round of the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.
Kaymer banks SA win Former world No.1 Martin Kaymer won his first tournament in more than a year when he finished two strokes clear in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa. The 26-year-old German, who spent eight weeks at the top of the rankings early last year, earned his last victory at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai in November 2011. He hit a final-round 69 to finish on eight under par, two better than the local favourite Charl Schwartzel who also shot a 69, to secure the $1.25m first prize in the 12-man invitational event. Defending champion Lee Westwood was aiming to become the first player to win the event three times in a row, but poor putting let him down and he fell away, shooting a oneover 73 to finish fifth, behind Louis Ooosthuizen and Bill Haas.
“I’m just very happy to finally win this year,” said a relieved Kaymer. “I’ve practised very hard and played very well this season, but it just hasn’t happened for me. I said to my caddie, we had to win one tournament every year, and this was our last chance.” Ryder Cup hero Kaymer has taken up membership of the PGA Tour for next season. He was given automatic qualification for the tour following his victory in the 2010 US PGA Championship, but has waited until now to take up the exemption.
Wesselingh claims Senior rookie title Paul Wesselingh has been crowned the European Senior Tour Rookie of the Year. The 51-year-old Liverpoolborn player secured a maiden victory and six other top-ten finishes in 14 appearances in 2012, and finished fifth in the Order of Merit. “This is the highlight of my career,” said Wesselingh, who enjoyed a successful career as a club pro at Kedleston Park before joining the Senior Tour. “I’m absolutely over the moon. I’m living the dream
playing on the Senior Tour.” Wesselingh, who plays with John Letters’ clubs, was joint runner-up on his debut, in the Mallorca Senior Open, and won the ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship at DeVere Slaley Hall a month later. Derby-based Wesselingh opted against playing on The European Tour in his younger days, choosing instead to spend time with his family. As he approached his 50th birthday, however, he decided to compete
on the Senior Tour and, after several years of rigorous preparation, took the second card at the Qualifying School Final Stage in February, having won Stage One a week earlier. “The Senior Tour is something I worked towards for four or five years, so it’s nice that all the hard work has paid off with this award,” he said. “The main thing was the fitness and getting the body in shape to be able to cope with the demands of life on Tour. As we get older, it’s not so easy!”