WORLDWIDE GOLF COLUMNIST
another vintage year
I
’M PLEASED to say that the rise and rise of South African golfers is continuing at pace. Charl Schwartzel, winner of the 2011 Masters Tournament ended his 2012 campaign at the top of his game. Following his share of third place at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, Charl went on to win the Thailand Golf Championship by an emphatic 11 shots and the following week won the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek, South Africa, by a remarkable 12 shots. Charl shot a tournament record 67-64-64-69 to finish on 24-under 264 for his eighth European Tour win. When he birdied the last he recorded the third biggest winning margin in European Tour history and continued his rise up the World Ranking to 14th place. Charl must have a soft spot for Leopard Creek, which borders on to the magnificent Kruger National Park. He won his first European Tour event there in 2004 and has had four runner-up finishes at the course. It was also his second victory in the Alfred Dunhill, having also won the Joburg Open twice. Fellow South African George Coetzee, who has greatly impressed me throughout the 2012 season, shot a final round 65 to finish in a share of 10th place which secured his position as 49th in the World Top 50 and booked his place for a spot at this year’s Masters Tournament. Playing at Augusta National will be a great experience for George, who I fully expect to be a winner soon on The European Tour this season. Another South African who will be making his Masters debut is Branden Grace, who shared 12th place at Leopard Creek with fellow South African Tyrone Van Aswegen and England’s David Howell. Branden has just completed a phenomenal 2012 season, winning five times, four times on The European Tour, and shooting to 34th on the World Ranking. It was good to talk to Branden after his victory in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October, following his outstanding wins at the Joburg Open, the Volvo Golf Champions tournament at Fancourt
and the Volvo China Open earlier in the year. He’s a very likeable personality and a dedicated golfer. It’s a tough proposition playing Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and the Old Course at St Andrews but Branden rose to the occasion at the Home of Golf and won the Dunhill by two shots in fine style. I was pleased to congratulate Branden on his fantastic year and wish him well for the 2013 season. I’m also pleased that Branden has Zack Rasego as his caddie, both of whom are featured in this edition of Worldwide Golf. Zack is a special individual. I helped teach him to be a caddie. He caddied for me on The European Tour and I’m so happy he made the journey from the bush to being an award-winning bagman working for a while for Louis Oosthuizen and now for Branden. Do the double MY congratulations go to Tom Lehman for winning back-to-back Charles Schwab Cups to become the first player in the history of the US PGA Champions Tour to do the double. He also collected the Player of the Year Award. Another former Ryder Cup Captain, Bernhard Langer, chased Tom all the way to the line in the Charles Schwab Cup finishing just 435 points behind in second place. But Bernhard did win the the Arnold Palmer Award as the Champions Tour leading money winner for a record fourth time and was the only player to break the $2 million barrier in prize money earnings for the 2012 US Champions Tour season. Bernhard showed just how good he still is by shooting a final round 62 to win the 3M Championship in August and then shot a final round 63 to win the SAS
Championship in October. Two wins and 17 top 10 finishes is quite an achievement. England’s Roger Chapman should also be congratulated for winning two Majors on the US Champions Tour in 2012 in his rookie season. Former European Tour player Roger had been working as a Rules Official before joining the European Senior Tour on reaching the qualifying age of 50. After playing just one event on the Senior Tour Roger went over to the United States in May and became the first Englishman to win the US Senior PGA Championship. He returned seven weeks later to the state of Michigan to win the US Senior Open and finish fourth on the US Champions Tour. Roger finished top on the European Senior Tour Order of Merit and was awarded Honourary Life Membership of The European Tour. I’ve often said that the standard of golf played on the European Senior Tour and the US PGA Champions Tour is very little different to that on the two regular Tours. Miguel Angel Jiménez proved the point again by winning the Hong Kong Open on The European Tour with a final round 65 to become the oldest winner on the Tour at 48 years and 318 days. It was his 19th win on The European Tour and the remarkable aspect of his victory is that 12 of those wins have come after reaching the age of 40. I wish all the players on the European Senior Tour and the US PGA Champions Tour my best wishes for the 2013 season and with the introduction of players like Colin Montgomerie, who becomes eligible on reaching 50 in June, we can be sure to see some more outstanding golf from the over-50s. Q www.wwgolf.biz
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