Golf Events from the Weekend 23rd November 2014

Well it was another awesome weekend on the Major Professional Golf Tours from around the world and this week the European Tour and Race to Dubai had its final event of the 2014 season and it was the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and it was played on the Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Only the top 60 players on Race to Dubai Money list the week prior qualified to play in it. It had a huge prize purse on offer of US $ 8,000,000 for the taking. Henrik Stenson (Sweden) was the defending champion and was keen to defend his title. And it was the Golfer by the name of Henrik Stenson (Sweden) who scored rounds of 68-4, 66-6, 68-4 and a final round of 70-2 for a 72 hole total of 272-16 and won by two shots for his second consecutive DP World Tour Championship, Dubai title in as many years having won it in 2013. He won US $1,666,600 for the win and finished in second position on the final 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 4,981,093 earned from the twenty events he played in this season. Rory McILroy (NIR) won the 2014 Race to Dubai Title with € 7,149,503 earned from the 15 events he played in this season. From the twenty events Henrik Stenson (Sweden) played in this season he made 19 cuts and achieved ten top ten finishes which included the win this week. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all under par especially his second round 66-6.

Henrik Stenson (Sweden) played a steady final round under the circumstances of being tied for the lead after 54 holes. He scored 70-2 which included a front nine of 34-2 which included birdies on the par five, second hole, par four, fifth hole and par five, seventh hole with his lone bogey coming on the par four, eighth hole and he made the turn at minus 16 and  was leading by four shots. Rory McILroy (NIR) went out in 34-2 and made the turn at minus 12 and was four shots behind the leader. Justin Rose (England) went out in 36 even par and made the turn at minus eleven and was five shots behind the leader. Victor Dubuisson (France) went out in 35-1 and made the turn at minus eleven and was five shots behind the leader. 

 

Henrik Stenson (Sweden) tees off during the final round

Henrik Stenson (Sweden) played holes ten to 14 in two over par and that included making a double bogey on the short par four, eleventh hole where he put his tee shot out of bounds using an iron and he had fallen back to minus 14 and was now only leading by one shot. Rory McILroy (NIR) played holes ten to 14 in one under par and moved to minus 13 and was now only one shot behind the leader. Justin Rose (England) played holes ten to 14 in one under par and moved to minus 12 and now was only two shots behind the leader. Victor Dubuisson (France) played holes ten to 14 in two under par and moved to minus 13 and now was only one shot behind the leader.

Henrik Stenson (Sweden) played holes 15 to 17 in one under par and that included hitting an amazing tee shot into the Island green par three, 17th hole where his ball landed just over the bunker and rolled down to within two feet of the flag stick for a tap in birdie and he moved to minus 15 and was still leading by one shot heading to the par five, 72nd hole. Rory McIlroy (NIR) played holes 15 to 17 in one under par and moved to minus 14 and now was only one shot behind the leader heading to the par five, 72nd hole. Justin Rose (England) played holes 15 to 17 in two under par and moved to minus 14 and now was only one shot behind the leader heading to the par four, 72nd hole. Victor Dubuisson (France) played holes 15 to 17 in even par and remained at minus 13 and was now two shots behind the leader heading to the par five, 72nd hole.

Rory McILroy (NIR) who was playing a few groups ahead of the final group got an extremely fortunate bounce off his tee shot on the par five, 72nd hole. His drive was heading straight for the hazard that runs down the middle of the fairway but it hit a rock and bounced out to the right into the middle of the fairway. He struck his second shot with a long iron but lost it to the right pin high and it left him with a difficult chip shot to get up and down for his birdie four. He played the chip shot for his third with his 60 degree wedge and flopped it up high and landed it 12 feet past the pin. He was unable to hole the 12 foot birdie putt and had to settle for his par five.  He finished the 72 holes at minus 14 and finished two shots behind the winner. Justin Rose (England) who was playing in the group ahead of the leaders hit an awesome drive off the par five, 72nd hole which left him with a good chance of hitting the green in two shots. But he hit a poor second shot which he lost well to the right pin high and landed up against the grand stand. He took his free drop and hit a fine flop shot for his third which rolled about ten feet past the pin. He struck a good putt for his birdie four but it just broke to the right at the hole and he had to settle for his par five and finished the 72 holes at minus 14 and finished two shots behind the winner.

Victor Dubuisson (France) who was also playing in the group ahead of the leaders hit a good drive off the par five, 72nd tee and it landed in the centre of the fairway. He went for the green in two shots and his ball came up short in the front right bunker. But he played an amazing bunker shot for his third and flew it on green and it landed about four feet short of the flag stick and on the second bounce it almost landed in the hole and spun back to about two feet away. He easily tapped in for his birdie four and finished the 72 holes at minus 14 to finish two shots behind the winner. Henrik Stenson (Sweden) now stood on the par five, 72nd tee with a one shot lead and knew if he could make a par five the title was his. He chose three wood off the tee and slightly pulled it into the left rough but it was good because he now knew he would have to lay up and play the hole as a three shot par five. He laid up to his short iron shot for his second shot with his mid iron. But his third shot wasn’t that straight forward as there was a strong wind coming off his left hand side. After a lot of discussion with his caddie they chose the correct short iron and he hit a brilliant shot under the circumstances which came to rest ten feet short of the pin. He now knew he had two putts to win the championship as he walked up to the green he got a standing ovation from the gallery surrounding the 72nd green!!  He calmed his nerve and sank the ten foot putt for his birdie four and finished the 72 holes at minus 16 to win by two shots for his second straight DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. He scored 36 even par on the back nine. Henrik Stenson (Sweden) got a huge high five from his caddie, Gareth Lord to celebrate!! Then when interview by the TV reporter he said “He was so pleased to be the first player to win this title back to back in consecutive years and he was very happy to finish runner up in the final 2014 Race to Dubai Points list standings in his defence of it”.

It was his ninth European Tour International Schedule victory in his 297th European Tour event. He moves to 4,340,786 points in The Race to Dubai. He could move to second in the Official World Golf Ranking from fourth. It was his first European Tour victory since the 2013 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. It was his third consecutive European Tour season with a victory. In 2012 he won the SA Open Championship, 2013 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and 2014 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. This marks the first time he has won in three consecutive European Tour seasons. This victory beats his previous best 2014 European Tour finish of second in the Volvo World Match Play Championship. (His best 2014 European Tour stroke play performance was tied second in the BMW International Open).

It was his first successful defence of a European Tour title. He becomes the first player to successfully defend the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. He becomes only the third Swede to successfully defend a European Tour title, following Anders Forsbrand (Sweden) (1990-91 Volvo Open di Firenze) and Per-Ulrik Johansson (Sweden) (1996-97 European Open). He was the sixth player to successfully defend a title this season. He follows: Charl Schwartzel (RSA) (Alfred Dunhill Championship), Miguel Angel Jiménez (Spain) (2012 Hong Kong Open, 2014 Hong Kong Open – Dec 13), Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) (Volvo Golf Champions), Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) (Omega Dubai Desert Classic) and Graeme McDowell (NIR) (Alstom Open de France). Six is a new record for the most number of successful defences in a single European Tour season. He claims his fourth European Tour victory in the Middle East. They are: the 2006 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, 2007 Dubai Desert Classic, 2013 and 2014 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

It was his fourth European Tour victory in the Middle East and equals Ernie Els (RSA) (1994, 2002 and 2005 Dubai Desert Classic and 2005 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters), for the player with most wins in the Middle East. It was his second victory and came in his fifth appearance in the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. It was the third Swedish victory in the history of the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. They are: Robert Karlsson (Sweden) (2010) and Henrik Stenson (Sweden) (2013 and 2014). He was the second Swedish win of the 2014 European Tour season. They are: Mikael Lundberg (Sweden) (Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity) and Henrik Stenson (DP World Tour Championship, Dubai). It was the 97th Swedish victory in European Tour history. He moves within two victories of Robert Karlsson (Sweden) in the list of most prolific Swedish winners on The European Tour. He becomes the 20th winner this season to win after leading going into the final round. He moves through €18 million in European Tour Official Career Earnings. It was his ninth top five finish and tenth top ten finish of the season, the most of any player this season in both of these categories. He gains his 16th win as a professional and his first of 2014. He becomes the 25th 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 Bjørn (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 and Portugal Masters), 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 (Paraguay) (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 (Wales) (D+D Real Czech Masters), Hennie Otto (RSA) (71° OPEN D’ITALIA Presented by DAMIANI), Joost Luiten (Netherlands) (ISPS Handa Wales Open), Oliver Wilson (England) (Alfred Dunhill Links Championship), Thorbjørn Olesen (Denmark) (ISPS HANDA Perth International), Marcel Siem (Germany) (BMW Masters) and Brooks Koepka (USA) (Turkish Airlines Open by the Ministry of Youth and Sports) and Henrik Stenson (Sweden)  (DP World Tour Championship, Dubai). And finally he becomes the 354th European Tour victory by a former Challenge Tour player.

Henrik Stenson (Sweden) has been playing the European Tour since the 2001 season and has won eight European Tour events. From 2005 to 2008 he finished each year in the top 10 of the European Order of Merit. Henrik Stenson (Sweden) reached the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings in 2006 and the top 10 in 2007. Later in February, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) then became the first Swede to win one of the World Golf Championships when beating Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) 2&1 in the final of the WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship. This victory took Henrik Stenson (Sweden) to the top of the European Tour Order of Merit and also to a high of fifth in the world rankings, which was also the highest a Swedish player had ever been ranked, surpassing Jesper Parnevik’s (Sweden) previous record of reaching seventh place in May 2000. In all, he spent over 90 weeks in the top 10 of the rankings since 2007. These two victories put Henrik Stenson (Sweden) in the lead of the 2007 European Tour Order of Merit, but he failed to add to his success over the rest of the season and finished in fourth place.

Henrik Stenson (Sweden) made his Ryder Cup debut in 2006, and after getting a half-point in the foursomes against Stewart Cink (USA) and David Toms (USA) on the Friday, he had the honour of holing the winning putt and ensuring Europe won the Ryder Cup for a third consecutive time when beating Vaughn Taylor (USA) 4 & 3 in the Sunday singles. He played again in 2008 at Valhalla, tallying a win, a loss and a draw in the foursomes. However he was not as fortunate as two years before, losing the singles on Sunday 3 & 2 to an inspired Kenny Perry (USA). In March 2009 Henrik Stenson (Sweden) created a storm in the media after stripping to his underwear and golf glove in order to play a recovery shot from a muddy water hazard at the first round of the WGC – CA Championship. On 10 May 2009, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) won The Players Championship with a dominating final round score of 66 to finish four ahead of Ian Poulter (England). The win was his first American stroke play victory. This win again brought him to fifth in the Official World Golf Rankings. The following week he moved up to fourth without playing. Henrik Stenson (Sweden) would falter after reaching a career OWGR high, falling to 230th at the beginning of 2012.

On 5 April 2012, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) led during the first round of the Masters Tournament with two eagles on the front nine to lead at 6-under-par until the 18th hole. He scored a quadruple-bogey on the par-4 18th hole, tying the Masters' record for the highest score ever on that hole. In 2013, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) had his best year to date while winning several tournaments, scoring many high-place finishes, and earning a reputation among many observers as one of the best ball-strikers in the game. In the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) finished as the runner-up, three strokes behind Phil Mickelson (USA), with a total of 284 (Even) for the tournament. He shot a final round of 70 and held the lead for brief moments during the round, but was beaten by Phil Mickelson's (USA) four birdie finish. This was Henrik Stenson's (Sweden) best performance in a Major Championship, bettering his two previous tied for third finishes at the same championship. Henrik Stenson (Sweden) moved back inside the world's top 20 with this result. Henrik Stenson (Sweden) finished runner-up again the following month at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational behind Tiger Woods (USA). He moved up to eleventh in the world rankings on the back of this result.

In the year's next major championship, the 2013 PGA Championship, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) contended again on Sunday, teeing off in the penultimate group two strokes behind the leader Jim Furyk (USA). Despite an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole, which moved him to within one stroke of the leaders, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) was never quite able to build any momentum in an even-par round that included four bogeys. He finished alone in third place, three strokes behind the champion Jason Dufner (USA). Henrik Stenson (Sweden) moved up one place in the world rankings to move back inside the world's top ten. Henrik Stenson's (Sweden) good form continued into the 2013 FedEx Cup Playoffs, when he won the Deutsche Bank Championship by two strokes over runner-up, Steve Stricker (USA). It was the Swede's first USPGA Tour victory in over three years. He tied the tournament record of −22 en route to his third career USPGA Tour win. The win vaulted him into first place in the FedEx Cup standings just ahead of Tiger Woods (USA). On 22 September 2013, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) won The Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup. He also tied his career best Official World Golf Ranking which was fourth. He then moved up to a career best third in the OWGR ranking on 3 November 2013. He finished the 2013 season ranked first on the USPGA Tour in greens in regulation, first in ball striking, second among money leaders, third in total driving, fourth in scoring average, and seventh in driving accuracy percentage.  

Henrik Stenson (Sweden) poses with the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai Trophy he won for the second straight year!!

On 17 November 2013, he won the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, thereby also winning the Race to Dubai which he was already leading. Having already won the FedEx Cup Series in September, he thus became the first player to win the FedEx Cup on the USPGA Tour and the European Tour's Race to Dubai, and to do so in the same season, a 'historic double'. Henrik Stenson (Sweden) described his feat as a 'double-double' because in the process of winning these two seasonal points crowns, he also won the season finales of both tours (the Tour Championship and the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai). He was later named European Tour Golfer of the Year. In May 2014, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) reached a career high ranking of number two in the world, trailing only Adam Scott (Australia). Over the course of 2014, Henrik Stenson (Sweden) achieved career-best finishes at the Masters (Tied for 14th) and U.S. Open (tied for fourth) while tying a career-best finish at the PGA Championship (tied for 3rd). And this past week he moved back to second on the Official World Golf Rankings with the win this past week. Let’s hope he can keep up this fine form in the 2015 season both on the European and USPGA Tours. I wish him all the best for the 2015 season.

Coming in tied for second position at 274-14 after 72 holes was Rory McILroy (NIR); he earned US $748,323 for his efforts and finished in the Number Open position on the final Race to Dubai Money list with € 7,149,503 earned from the 15 events he played in this year. And this meant he won the Race to Dubai Title for the 2014 season!! (It was his second Race to Dubai title having won it for the first time in 2009). From the 15 events he played in this season he made 14 cuts and achieved nine top ten finishes which includes the one here and also winning four tournaments (BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, 143rd OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP (Third Major Championship), WGC - Bridgestone Invitational and the 96th PGA CHAMPIONSHIP (Fourth Major Championship). He will be happy with his first and final rounds that were both in the 60s especially his first round 66-6 which saw him tied for the lead. But he will be just content with his lacklustre second and third rounds that were both mediocre 70-2s which were not up to the current World Number One’s very high standards. But it was still a very good performance by him after a six week layoff. He has really come of age in the 2014 season on both the USPGA Tour and European Tours with winning four tournaments as I mentioned above and regaining the Number One Ranking on the Official World Golf Rankings points list. Rory McILroy (NIR) in 2014 again swept the PGA Tour awards: Arnold Palmer Award (leading money winner), PGA Player of the Year, PGA Tour Player of the Year, Vardon Trophy and Byron Nelson Award. Next week he heads down to Sydney, Australia to defend his Emirates Australian Open title he won in 2013 in dramatic fashion over Adam Scott (Australia). I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2014 season and his quest to complete the Grand Slam of Major Championships with winning the 2015 Masters Tournament next April. I wish him every continuing success for the 2015 season on both European Tour and USPGA Tours. 

 

Rory McILroy (NIR) poses with the Race to Dubai Trophy he won for winning the Race to Dubai Money list title for the 2014 Season!!

Also tied for second position was Justin Rose (England); he too earned US $748,323 for his efforts and finished in third position on the final 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with €  3,180,388 earned from the 14 events he played in this season. From the 14 events he played in this season he made 14 cuts and achieved five top ten finishes that included the one this week and his win at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in July. He will be happy with his final three rounds that were all in the 60s especially his second round which was 66-6. But just content with his first round 71-1.  Justin Rose (England) has had another very successful season after winning his maiden Major Championship at the 113th U.S. Open Championship and he has now won a tournament on the European Tour the last three seasons. I feel his 2015 season is going to bring great things and perhaps he will win his second Major Championship? I wish him all the best for the 2015 season on both the USPGA Tour and European Tour.

The final player to tie for second position was Victor Dubuisson (France); he too earned US $748,323 for his efforts and finished in fifth position on the final 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 2,966,524 earned from the twenty three events he played in. From the twenty three events he played in he made twenty cuts and achieved eight top ten finishes. He will be happy with his second, third and final rounds this week that were all in the 60s especially his third round 67-5. But he will just be content with his first round 71-1. He has had an excellent year in 2014 on the European Tour without achieving a victory. Victor Dubuisson (France) turned professional in 2010 after playing in The Open Championship, and qualified for the European Tour at that year's qualifying school. He ended in 52nd position in the 2012 Race to Dubai. He won for the first time as a professional at the 2013 Turkish Airlines Open. With seven top 10s, he ranked sixth at the 2013 Race to Dubai. Victor Dubuisson (France) finished second in the 2014 WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship to Jason Day (Australia). The match play event ended on the 23rd hole. He earned enough non-member FedEx Cup points to be eligible for "Special Temporary Membership" on the USPGA Tour, which he accepted. This allowed him unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the 2014 season. He finished ninth at the 2014 Open Championship and seventh at the 96th PGA Championship. He had total earnings of US $670,000 on the final 2013/14 USPGA Tour Money list standings. He played well enough on the 2013/14 USPGA Tour as a non-member to earn a USPGA Tour card for the 2014–15 season. Also, he qualified directly to represent the winning European team at the 2014 Ryder Cup. Let’s hope he can continue this fine form into the 2015 season and perhaps win a WGC – Event and even a Major Championship? I wish him all the best for the 2015 season.

Coming in solo fifth position at 275-13 after 72 holes was Shane Lowry (NIR); he earned US $424,700 for his efforts and finished in tenth position on the final 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 2,173,864 earned from the twenty seven events he played in. From the twenty seven events he played in he made twenty cuts and achieved seven top ten finishes that includes the one here. He will be happy with his first and final rounds that were both 66-6 and were both the equal low rounds of the day. But he will be only content with his middle two rounds that were low 70s. He really came into the spotlight in May 2009 when he won the Irish Open as an amateur defeating Robert Rock (England) on the third playoff hole and he turned professional the next week. And in 2012 he won his second European Tour event and first as a professional at the 2012 Portugal Masters. I sure his third win will come in the 2015 season and he should gain starts in all the Majors Championships now he is inside the top 50 in the world rankings. I wish him all the best for the rest of the 2015 European Tour season.

Coming in tied for sixth position at 276-12 after 72 holes was Louis Oosthuizen (RSA); he earned US $307,167 for his efforts and finished in 17th position on the final 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 1,783,971 earned from the 14 events he played in this season. From the 14 events he played in this season he made 13 cuts and achieved five top ten finishes which included the one here and his win at the Volvo Golf Champions in mid January. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all under par especially his final round 66-6 which was equal low round of the day. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) has already achieved seven wins on the European Tour to date so far with his last one come in January at the Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) Volvo Golf Champions in January. One of those victories was his maiden Major Championship when he won the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews in Scotland. He has also won at least one tournament every year since 2010. I wish him every continuing success for the 2015 season.

Also tied for sixth position was Robert Karlsson (Sweden); he too earned US $307,167 for his efforts and finished in 34th position on the final 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 1,143,774 earned from the twenty two events he played in. From the twenty two events he played in he made twenty cuts and achieved five top ten finishes which included the one this week. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all under par especially his second and third rounds which were consecutive 68-4s. Now aged 45 he is heading into the twilight years of his European Tour career. He has won eleven European Tour events in his career to date so far with his last win coming at the 2010 Dubai World Championship where he defeated Ian Poulter (England) in a playoff. His best finish in a Major Championship came at the 2008 U.S. Open Championship and the 2011 PGA Championship where he tied for fourth in both of them. Let’s hope he can achieve his twelfth win in the 2015 season. I wish him all the best for the 2015 season.

The final player to tie for sixth position was Tyrrell Hatton (England); he too earned US $307,167 for his efforts and finished in 36th position on the final 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 1,088,446 earned from 30 events he played in. From the 30 events he played in this season he made 19 cuts and achieved five top ten finishes which included the one this week. Tyrrell Hatton (England) played on the Challenge Tour in 2012 and 2013. His best finishes were a pair of tied for second places at the Kazakhstan Open and The Foshan Open in 2013. He finished 10th on the 2013 Challenge Tour rankings to qualify for the 2014 European Tour. Tyrrell Hatton's (England) best finish on the European Tour to date is tied for second at the 2014 Joburg Open, a position that would have qualified him for the 2014 Open Championship. He did not earn entry since tiebreakers are settled according to world golf rankings. He finished tied for fourth at the 2014 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, which qualified him for the 2014 Open Championship but unfortunately missed the cut. He is certain to have a bright future ahead of him in the next few years on the European Tour being only 23 years old. I wish him all the best for the 2015 season.

Rounding out the top ten in tied for ninth position at 277-11 after 72 holes was Branden Grace (RSA); he earned US $208,870 for his efforts and finished in 31st position on the final 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 1,190,107 earned from the twenty one events he played in. From the twenty one events he played in he made 18 cuts and achieved three top ten finishes which included the one this week. He will be very pleased with his second round 67-5 and his third round 68-4. But he will only be content with his first and final rounds that were both in the low 70s. Branden Grace (RSA) has won four times to date so far on the European tour and all his wins came in the 2012 season with his last win coming at the 2012 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. With only being twenty six years old I’m sure he has many more successful years left on the European Tour. I wish him all the best for the 2015 season.

Also tied for ninth position was Joost Luiten (Netherlands); he too earned US $208,870 for his efforts and finished in eleventh position on the final 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 2,158,172 earned from the twenty seven events he played in. From the twenty seven events he played in he made twenty six cuts and achieved nine top ten finishes which included the one here and his win at the ISPS Handa Wales Open in mid September. He will be happy with his four rounds this week that were all under par especially his third round 68-4. Joost Luiten (Netherlands) is coming off a very good 2014 season where he won the ISPS Handa Wales and finished third at the Volvo Golf Champions, sixth at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, fourth at the Open de Espana, third at the Lyoness Open and third at the Volvo World Match Play Championship. By 24 November, he reached 28th in the Official World Golf Ranking, a high point so far. He also played in the United States, finishing 13th at the WGC – Cadillac Championship and 26th at the Masters Tournament and PGA Championship. Having already won four European Tour events in his career to date I am sure he will win his fifth in the 2015 season. I wish him all the best for the 2015 season.

The final player to tie for ninth position was Rafael Cabrera – Bello (Spain); he too earned US $208,870 for his efforts and finished in 42nd position on the final 2014 Race to Dubai Money list standings with € 952,452 earned from the twenty four events he played in this season. From the twenty four events he played in this season he made twenty cuts and achieved seven top ten finishes which included the one here. He will be extremely happy with his second round 64-8 which was the low round of the day by two shots and his third round 65-7 which was blemish free and the equal low round of the day. But he will be disappointed with his average first round of 73+1 and extremely disappointed with his final round 75+3 especially his back nine of 41+5 which included back to back double bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes and ruined his chance of winning when he was in great position to do so. Rafael Cabrera – Bello (Spain) has been playing the European Tour fulltime since the 2007 season and in that time has won two events with the last one being the 2012 Omega Dubai Desert Classic. I feel he will use this disappointment to drive him on to bigger and better things in the 2015 season. I wish him all the best for the 2015 season.

Next week PGA Tour of Australasia heads to Sydney for the Emirates Australian Open and it is played on the Australian Golf Club, Sydney, NSW. It carries a large prize purse of AU $1,125,000 for the taking. Rory McILroy (NIR) who is the current World Number One is the defending Champion and will be keen for back to back wins. There will be a few New Zealand Golfers entered as well including Ryan Fox (NZL). It starts on Thursday 27th November and I will report back who won the Stone Haven Cup next week.  

So to the Top 5 on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list this week and coming in at Number One Position for the seventeenth week of his fifth spell of his career and for the 56th week of his career in total is Rory McILroy (NIR) fresh off his tied for second position this past week at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and five weeks ago finished in third place at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf and he also tied for second position at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship seven weeks ago and was part of the winning European Ryder Cup Team eight weeks ago and ten weeks ago tied for second position at the Tour Championship by Coca – Cola and eleven weeks ago he finished in tied for eighth position at the BMW Championship and twelve weeks ago tied for fifth position at the Deutsche Bank Championship and thirteen weeks ago finished in twenty second position at The Barclays and 15 weeks ago winning at the 96th PGA Championship and 16 weeks ago won WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and also 18 weeks ago winning the 143rd Open Championship with 11.97 Official Golf World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Two is Henrik Stenson (Sweden) who is fresh off his win this past week at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai  and one week ago finished in solo third finish at the Turkish Airlines Open on the European Tour and was part of the winning European Ryder Cup Team eight weeks ago with 8.26 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Three is Adam Scott (Australia) fresh off his tied for second position at the Bet Easy Masters this past week and two weeks ago tied for 12th position at the WGC – HSBC Champions and five weeks ago tied for 38th position in the Japan Open and he tied for ninth position ten weeks ago at the Tour Championship by Coca – Cola and eleven weeks ago tied for eight position at the BMW Championship and twelve weeks ago finished in 16th position at Deutsche Bank Championship and thirteen weeks ago he tied for 15th position at The Barclays and 15 weeks ago tied for 15th position at the 96th PGA Championship with 8.18 Official World Ranking Points; coming in at Number Four is Bubba Watson (USA) who is fresh off his tied for twenty fourth finish at the Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters on the Japan Golf Tour one week ago and winning the WGC - HSBC Champions two weeks ago with 7.62 Official World Ranking Points; and rounding out the top 5 on the Official Golf World Ranking Points list standings this week is Sergio Garcia (Spain) who is fresh off his tied for 12th position this past week at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and was part of the winning European Ryder Cup Team eight weeks ago with 7.03 Official Golf World Ranking Points. Danny Lee (NZL) is in his fourth week of a new spell being the highest ranked New Zealand Golfer in the world after his tied for third position at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba one week ago on the USPGA Tour. This week he remains in 212th position on the Official World Golf Rankings Points list standings with 0.86 Official Golf World Ranking Points.

Remember when it is breezy, swing easy!!

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