Golf Events from the Weekend 5th October 2014

This week the European Tour and Race to Dubai stayed in Scotland for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and it was played on the Old Course St. Andrews, Carnoustie & Kingsbarns, Scotland. It carried a large prize purse of US $5,000,000 for the taking. David Howell (England) was the defending champion and was keen for back to back titles. It was played as a Pro – Am format where top sports stars from other sports and Movie Stars competed alongside the professionals similar to the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro – Am on the USPGA Tour. And it was the golfer by the name of Oliver Wilson (England) who scored rounds of 64-8, 72 even par, 65-7 and a final round of 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 271-17 and he won by one shot for his maiden win of his career on the European Tour. He earned € 625,787.10 for the win and moved to 39th position on the current 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with €635,067 earned from the four events he has played to date this season so far. Rory McILroy (NIR) still has a commanding lead at the top of the Race to Dubai Money list standings with €5,400,700 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. From the four events Oliver Wilson (England) has played to date this season so far he has made three cuts and this win is the first top ten finish he has achieved to date so far this season. 

Oliver Wilson (England) played a great final round under the circumstances of leading by three shots after 54 holes. He scored 70-2 which included a front nine of 37+1 which included a lone bogey on the par four, fourth hole and he made the turn at minus 14 and was tied for the lead. Richie Ramsay (Scotland) went out in 33-3 and made the turn at minus 14 and was tied for the lead. Rory McILroy (NIR) went out in 34-2 and made the turn at minus 14 and was tied for the lead. Tommy Fleetwood (England) went out in 32-4 and made the turn at minus 16 and was leading by two shots. 

Oliver Wilson (England) played holes ten to 14 in two under par and moved to minus 16 and was now one shot behind the leader. Richie Ramsay (Scotland) played holes ten to 14 in three under par and moved to minus 17 and was now leading by one shot. Rory McILroy (NIR) played holes ten to 14 in two under par and moved to minus 16 and now was only one shot behind the leader. Tommy Fleetwood (England) played holes ten to 14 in even par and remained at minus 16 but now was one shot behind the leader. 

Oliver Wilson (England) played holes 15 to 17 in one under par and that included making an excellent birdie three on the par four, 16th hole where his second shot landed two feet from the flag stick and he also made a brilliant par on the famous road hole par four, 17th hole where his third shot approach from 80 yards came to rest three feet from the pin and he moved to minus 17 and was now leading by one shot. Richie Ramsay (Scotland) played holes 15 to 17 in one over par and fell back to minus 16 and was now one shot behind the leader. Rory McILroy (NIR) played holes 15 to 17 in one over par and that included making a poor bogey five on the famous road hole par four, 17th hole where he putted into the Road Hole bunker for his third shot and he fell back to minus 15 and now was two shots behind the leader. Tommy Fleetwood (England) played holes 15 to 17 in even par and remained at minus 16 and was still one shot behind the leader. 

 

Oliver Wilson (England) tees off on the 18th Tee at St Andrews

Richie Ramsay (Scotland) who was playing a couple of groups ahead of the leaders made a poor par on the par four, 72nd hole and finished the 72 holes at minus 16 and was one shot behind the winner. Rory McILroy (NIR) who was playing in the group ahead of the final group made a good birdie on the par four, 72nd hole and finished the 72 holes at minus 16 and was one shot behind the winner. Tommy Fleetwood (England) who was playing in the final group with Oliver Wilson (England) had a ten foot putt for birdie on the par four, 72nd hole that would of moved him to minus 17 and forced a playoff but unfortunately he missed on the right hand side and he had to settle for his par four and he finished the 72 holes on minus 16 to finish one shot behind the winner. Oliver Wilson (England) stood on the par four, 72nd tee with a one shot lead. He chose to hit his three wood instead of his driver because he wanted to leave himself with a full wedge shot for his second shot. He landed it in perfect position right down the centre of the fairway over Granny Clark’s Wynd. He stuck a perfect wedge shot for his second shot from just over 100 yards that landed about twenty feet past the pin and spun back to 15 feet. He hit a good putt for birdie from 15 feet that just didn’t break enough to the right and he easily tapped in for his par four and he scored 33-3 on his back nine and finished the 72 holes on minus 17 to win by one shot. Oliver Wilson (England) then got a huge hug and high five from his caddie, John Dempster. Then his wife, Lauren met him as he came off the 72nd green to give him a hug and kiss!! The emotions started to come out of him as he started to realise what he had achieved because the only reason he was playing this week was because he had been granted a sponsor’s exemption from the tournament director because he had performed well in this tournament on a previous occasion. Since the end of the 2011 European Tour Season when he lost his full playing rights on the European Tour he has been in the professional golfing doldrums with having to play the last two full seasons that includes this one on the Challenge Tour and only getting to play a handful of European Tour events. His world golf ranking had slipped to 792nd.  But he displayed some awesome intestinal fortitude this week to produce his maiden win on the European Tour with the odds stacked clearly against him and he beat a world class field!! 

It was his first European Tour International Schedule victory in his 228th European Tour event. He moves to €635,067 in The Race to Dubai. He could move to inside the top 160 in the Official World Golf Ranking from 792nd. This victory beats his previous best European Tour performances of finishing second on a record nine occasions without winning. The last of his nine runner-up places was at the 2009 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. This victory beats his previous best 2014 performance of tied 40th in the Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS Handa. (He only had played three European Tour events this season). He is currently a Challenge Tour Member. He became the first Challenge Tour Member to win a European Tour event since Jin Jeong (South Korea) won the 2013 ISPS HANDA Perth International. He becomes the tenth first-time winner of the 2014 season. They are: Morten Ørum Madsen (Denmark) (South African Open Championship hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni), George Coetzee (RSA) (Joburg Open), Jason Day (Australia) (WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship), Patrick Reed (USA) (WGC – Cadillac Championship), Marco Crespi (Italy) (NH Collection Open), Alexander Levy (France) (Volvo China Open), Daniel Brooks (England) (Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI), Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) (BMW International Open), David Lipsky (USA) (Omega European Masters) and Oliver Wilson (England) (Alfred Dunhill Links Championship). He was playing on a sponsor’s invitation. He became the first sponsor’s invitee to win on the European Tour since Henrik Stenson (Sweden) at the 2012 SA Open Championship. (He was the first sponsor’s invitation to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship). This victory comes in his tenth appearance in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. This victory beats his previous best performance in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship of tied second in 2009.

He joins Lee Westwood (England) (2003), Nick Dougherty (England) (2007), Simon Dyson (England) (2009) and David Howell (England) (2013), as English winners of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He follows Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) (2004) as players to make the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship their first European Tour victory. He led going into the final round by three strokes. This is the first time he has led going into a final round of a European Tour event since the 2009 Hong Kong Open (Nov 2008). It was the 290th English victory in European Tour history. He was the 90th different English player to win on The European Tour. He becomes the seventh English victory this season. They are: Ross Fisher (England) (Tshwane Open), Lee Westwood (England) (Maybank Malaysian Open), Daniel Brooks (England) (Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI), Justin Rose (England) (Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open), David Horsey (England) (M2M Russian Open), Paul Casey (England) (KLM Open) and Oliver Wilson (England) (Alfred Dunhill Links Championship). He moves over €6 million in European Tour Official Career Earnings. (Prior to this victory held the record for most money won without winning on The European Tour). 

He gains a European Tour exemption until the end of the 2016 season. He gains a place in the 2014 WGC – HSBC Champions and 2015 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational. He would gain his largest European Tour prize of €625,787. He gains his first win as a professional. He becomes the 20th European Tour win of the 2014 season by a former Challenge Tour player. They are: Morten Ørum Madsen (Denmark) (South African Open Championship hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni), Thomas Björn (Denmark) (Nedbank Golf Challenge), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (Volvo Golf Champions), Pablo Larrazábal (Spain) (Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship), Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) (Omega Dubai Desert Classic), Ross Fisher (England) (Tshwane Open), Marco Crespi (Italy) (NH Collection Open), Alexander Levy (France) (Volvo China Open), Felipe Aguilar (Chile) (The Championship at Laguna National),  Daniel Brooks (England) (Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI), Mikael Lundberg (Sweden) (Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity), Martin Kaymer (Germany) (US Open Championship), Fabrizio Zanotti (Italy) (BMW International Open), Justin Rose (England) (Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open), David Horsey (England) (M2M Russian Open), Marc Warren (Scotland) (Made in Denmark), Jamie Donaldson (D+D Real Czech Masters), Hennie Otto (RSA) (71° OPEN D’ITALIA Presented by DAMIANI), Joost Luiten (Netherlands) (ISPS Handa Wales Open) and Oliver Wilson (England) (Alfred Dunhill Links Championship). He becomes the 349th European Tour victory by a former Challenge Tour player. And finally he becomes the 137th former Challenge Tour player to win on The European Tour.

 

Oliver Wilson (England) poses with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Trophy he won on the
Famous Swilcan Bridge!!

Oliver Wilson (England) professional golf career looks very bright after this week when prior to this week it looked bleak for him. It just shows that on the Major Professional Golf Tours any player can win at any time. He now will have to change his schedule in the coming weeks as he will get in to some of the bigger tournaments coming up on the European Tour and if he can remain inside the top 60 on the Race to Dubai Money list in the week prior to the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai he will get to play in it as well. Let’s hope he can get back to the form he displayed in 2009 where he earned € 2,010,158 from the twenty five events he played in with making twenty two cuts and achieving six top ten finishes and he finished in seventh position on the final 2009 Race to Dubai Money list standings. Before the win this week he had achieved nine second place finishes on the European Tour (As I mentioned earlier). I wish him all the best with the remaining events on the European Tour and Race to Dubai for the 2014 season. 

Coming in tied for second position at 272-16 after 72 holes was Richie Ramsay (Scotland); he earned € 279,990.20 for his efforts and moved to 35th position on the current 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 663,106 earned from the 18 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 18 events he has played to date this season so far he has made 12 cuts and achieved six top ten finishes which includes the one here. He was also the only player this week to score all four of his rounds in the 60s. Richie Ramsay (Scotland) has been playing the European Tour Fulltime since the 2009 season and has kept his card every year since. He has achieved two wins on the European Tour to date so far and the first one came at the 2010 South African Open Championship and the second one at the 2012 Omega European Masters. His career year to date on the European Tour came in 2012 where he earned € 1,009,417 from the twenty five events he played in with making 16 cuts and achieving four top ten finishes that included his win at the Omega European Masters and he finished in twenty sixth position on the final 2012 Race to Dubai Money list standings. It was a great result for him this week because it secures his card for the 2015 season and his place inside the top 60 on the Race to Dubai Money list standings. Let’s hope he can keep this form up for the rest of the 2014 season. 

Also tied for second position was Rory McILroy (NIR); he too earned € 279,990.20 for his efforts and remained at the top of the Race to Dubai Money list standings with €5,400,700 earned from the 13 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 13 events he has played to date this season so far he has made 12 cuts and achieved eight top ten finishes which includes four wins with the first coming at the BMW PGA Championship in late May and the second win came at the 143rd OPEN Championship (Third Major Championship win) in mid July and his third win came at the WGC - Bridgestone Invitational in early August and his fourth win came the following week at the 96th PGA Championship (Fourth Major Championship win). It was ironic that the only cut he missed was at his own National Open which was the Irish Open in late June. Rory McILroy (NIR) has been playing the European Tour fulltime since the 2009 season and he won the Race to Dubai in 2012 with € 5,519,118 earned from the 15 events he played in which included two wins and eight more top ten finishes. And it would take a brave person to bet against him winning the 2014 Race to Dubai Title. He has also won nine tournaments on the European Tour to date so far with his last one coming at the 96th PGA Championship in August. I wish him all the best with for the rest of the 2014 season. 

The final player to tie for second position was Tommy Fleetwood (England); he too earned € 279,990.20 for his efforts and moved to 16th position on the current 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 1,155,922 earned from the twenty three events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty three events he has played to date this season so far he has made 16 cuts and achieved seven top ten finishes which includes the one here. He is in red hot form at the moment with his last two finishes being second place finishes. His career year to date on the European Tour came in the 2013 season where he earned € 1,007,872 from the 32 events he played in and made twenty four cuts and achieved five top ten finishes which included his maiden win at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and finished in twenty six position on the final 2013 Race to Dubai Money list standings. But he has already surpassed those earnings in the 2014 season so this year will be even better. I feel his second win is not too far away and could possibly happen before the 2014 season is finished. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 season. 

Coming in solo fifth position at 273-15 after 72 holes was Chris Doak (Scotland); he earned € 159,200.30 for his efforts and moved to 71st position on the current 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 342,943 earned from the twenty eight events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty eight events he has played to date this season so far he has made 14 cuts and achieved one top ten finish that came at this event. He has been playing the European Tour fulltime since the 2009 season but he lost his card in his rookie season by finishing in 168th position on the final Race to Dubai Money list. He gained his European Tour card back for the 2013 season when he finished in tenth position on the final 2012 Challenge Tour rankings. His second go at the European Tour in 2013 was much better with him finishing in 101st position on the final 2013 Race to Dubai money list standings and he kept his card for the 2014 season. Prior to this week he had only made € 183,743 from the twenty seven events he played in. But with this finish this week he has secured his card for the 2015 season and if he has a few more top ten finishes he could get to playing in the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai in late November. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 season. 

Coming in tied for sixth position at 274-14 after 72 holes was Richard Sterne (RSA); he earned € 112,641.68 for his efforts and moved to 34th position on the current 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 669,918 earned from the 14 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 14 events he has played to date this season so far he has made ten cuts and achieved two top ten finishes that includes the one here. He has been playing the European Tour fulltime since the 2003 season and has kept his card for the next year every season since. His career year to date came in 2013 where he earned € 1,687,014 from the twenty two events he played in and he made twenty cuts and achieved six top ten finish which included his win at the Joburg Open which was the sixth of his European Tour career. He finished in eighth position on the final 2013 Race to Dubai Money list standings. I feel his seventh win isn’t too far away and could well happen in the next few events. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 season. 

Also tied for sixth position was Shane Lowry (Ireland); he also earned € 112,641.68 for his efforts and moved to 12th position on the current 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 1,270,383 earned from the twenty one events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty one events he has played to date this season so far he has made 14 cuts and achieved five top ten finishes which includes the one here. He has been playing the European Tour fulltime since the 2009 season after he won The 3 Irish Open as an amateur. He has kept his card for the next year every season since with his career year to date so far coming in the 2012 season where he earned € 996,540 from the twenty eight events he played in and he made 17 cuts and achieved five top ten finishes which included his second win which came at the Portugal Masters and he finished in twenty ninth position on the final 2012 Race to Dubai Money list standings. But 2014 will be his career year as he has already won over one million euros. I feel his third win isn’t too far away either and could well happen in the next few tournaments. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 season. 

The final player to tie for sixth position was Louis Oosthuizen (RSA); he also earned € 112,641.68 for his efforts and moved to eleventh position on the current 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 1,338,891 earned from the 12 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 12 events he has played to date this season so far he has made eleven cuts and achieved five top ten finishes which includes the one here and his win at the Volvo Golf Champions in early January. He has been playing the European Tour fulltime since the 2004 season and has kept his card for the next year every season since. His career year to date so far came in the 2012 season where he earned € 3,187,364 from the 16 events he played in with making 15 cuts and achieved nine top ten finishes which included winning the African Open and the Maybank Malaysian Open and he finished in third position on the final 2012 Race to Dubai Money list standings. The biggest win of his career would have to be his maiden Major Championship which came at the 139th Open Championship at St Andrews in 2010. And he has achieved seven wins to date on the European Tour. I am sure his eighth win isn’t too far off either. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 season. 

Rounding out the top ten in tied for ninth position at 275-13 after 72 holes was Brooks Koepka (USA); he earned € 79,600.13 for his efforts and moved to 32nd position on the current 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 704,676 earned from 12 events he has played to date this season so far. From the 12 events he has played to date this season so far he has made eight cuts and achieved four top ten finishes which includes the one here. This is only his second season at playing the European Tour full time and it is his career season to date so far. He gained a battlefield promotion from the Challenge Tour in 2013 straight to the European Tour midway through the season because he won three tournaments on the Challenge Tour. He is still very young with only being twenty four years old. He has a bright future ahead of him and I am sure he will achieve his maiden European Tour win very soon. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 European Tour season. 

The final player to tie for ninth position was Chris Wood (England); he too earned € 79,600.13 for his efforts and moved to 52nd position on the current 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 492,115 earned from the twenty three events he has played to date this season so far. From the twenty three events he has played to date this season so far he has made 15 cuts and achieved five top ten finishes which includes the one here. He has been playing the European Tour Fulltime since the 2009 season and has kept his card for the next year every season since. His career year to date came in 2013 where he earned € 998,281 from the twenty two events he played in and he made 17 cuts and achieved four top ten finish that included his maiden win at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. I sure his second win on the European Tour will come in the next few years and I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 season.

Next week the European Tour and Race to Dubai heads to Portugal for Portugal Masters and it is played on the Oceånico Victoria GC, Vilamoura, Portugal. It carries a good prize purse of €2,000,000 for the taking. David Lynn (England) is the defending Champion and will be keen to defend his title. It starts on Thursday 9th October. I will report back next week who won the trophy. And also next week the 2014/15 USPGA Tour and FedEx Cup season commences on Thursday 9th October and is the Frys.com Open and it is played on the Silverado CC – North, Napa, California. It carries a prize purse of US $6,000,000 for the taking. Jimmy Walker (USA) is the defending champion and will be keen for back to back titles. Danny Lee (NZL), Tim Wilkinson (NZL) and Steve Alker (NZL) are likely to gain starts as well. I will report back who won the trophy once the result is known.

So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list this week and coming in at Number One Position for the tenth week of his fifth spell of his career and for the 49th week of his career in total is Rory McILroy (NIR) fresh off his tied for second position at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this past week and one week ago was part of the winning European Ryder Cup Team and three weeks ago tied for second position at the Tour Championship by Coca – Cola and four weeks ago he finished in tied for eighth position at the BMW Championship and five weeks ago tied for fifth position at the Deutsche Bank Championship and six weeks ago finished in twenty second position at The Barclays and eight weeks ago winning at the 96th PGA Championship and nine weeks ago won WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and also eleven weeks ago winning the 143rd Open Championship with 11.70 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Adam Scott (Australia) fresh off his tied for ninth position three weeks ago at the Tour Championship by Coca – Cola and four weeks ago tied for eight position at the BMW Championship and five weeks ago finished in 16th position at Deutsche Bank Championship and six weeks ago he tied for 15th position at The Barclays and eight weeks ago tied for 15th position finish at the 96th PGA Championship with 8.84 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Sergio Garcia (Spain) who is fresh off being part of the winning European Ryder Cup Team one week ago and three weeks ago tied for ninth position at the Tour Championship by Coca – Cola and four weeks ago he tied for fourth position at the BMW Championship and six weeks ago tied for 57th position at The Barclays and eight weeks ago tied for 36th position at the 96th PGA Championship and he also finished solo second position nine weeks ago at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and eleven weeks ago he tied for second position at the 143rd Open  Championship with 7.66 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Jim Furyk (USA) who is fresh off being a part of the losing USA Ryder Cup Team one week ago and three weeks ago he tied for second position at the Tour Championship by Coca – Cola with 7.52 Official Golf World Ranking Points and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list standings this week is Henrik Stenson (Sweden) who was fresh off  being part of the winning European Ryder Cup Team one week ago and four weeks ago he tied for twenty third position at the BMW Championship and five weeks ago finished in tied for 26th position at the Deutsche Bank Championship and six weeks ago he finished in 38th position at The Barclays and he finished in tied for fourth position at the 114th U.S. Open Championship 16 weeks ago and also finished tied for second at the BMW International Open and 14 weeks ago and also finished in tied for 39th position at the 143rd Open Championship eleven weeks ago and eight weeks ago finished in tied for third position at the 96th PGA Championship with 7.33 Official Golf World Ranking Points; Steven Alker (NZL) is in his first week of his second spell being the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world after his missed cut at the Web.com Tour Championship two weeks ago on the Web.com Tour. This week he gains one place and rises to 250th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list standings with 0.73 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember 200 metres in the fairway is better than 250 metres in the trees!!

Source: Pgatour.com, Official World Golf Rankings, wikipedia.org, Google search engine, europeantour.com